I have been watching Outlander recently. In addition to my love for the male and female protagonists, I am also deeply attracted by the unique language, customs and traditions of Scotland. This land has a magnificent landscape, where barbarism and innocence coexist, flowing with countless ancient myths and legends. It is the habitat of elves and fairies, and has bred brave and fearless Scottish men and strong and tough Scottish women.
The following are the small details related to Scotland that I noticed when I watched the drama and read the novel, including the clothes, food, language and so on that are unique to Scotland.
Try not to be spoiled, but occasionally I can't help but want to talk about those little clips I like.
(Update status: I have watched the third season of the TV series at present, and the first novel has not been finished yet. It will be updated slowly with the progress of watching the drama and reading the novel. Any omissions are welcome to add)
Clothes & Weapon Clothes & Weapon
In the later period, everyone stopped wearing skirts and it was so much less fun.
kilt a skirt with many folds, made from tartan cloth and traditionally worn by Scottish men and boys.
(Curious about the plaid skirt that girls wear nowadays evolved from kilt?)
plaid a long piece of tartan cloth worn over the shoulder as part of traditional Scottish dress
(According to the description in the book, tartan with different colors symbolizes different families. Machenzie seems to be green and white, and Fraser seems to be red.)
tartan a pattern of different coloured straight lines crossing each other at 90 degree angles, or a cloth with this pattern
In summary, kilt is a skirt, plaid is an analogue of a blanket draped over the body, and tartan is the fabric from which they are made.
For a long time, I have always thought that Scottish men wearing skirts are strange and funny. This drama has completely changed my opinion.
Scottish men in skirts are not only not funny, they are also handsome, and tartan skirts are a symbol of the traditional culture and way of life they are proud of .
The history in which traditional dress was banned by the British authorities must have been very humiliating for them.
I finally understand why the actor who played Jon Snow in Quan Youli married Rose Leslie from Scotland, why the woman’s family wears a plaid skirt.
In the play, there is a scene where a Scottish woman handles wool. It seems to use fresh urine?
sporrana small bag, usually made of fur, worn in front of the kilt (= a type of skirt) by a person wearing traditional Scottish clothes
bicorne a historical form of hat widely adopted in the 1790s as an item of uniform by European and American military and naval officers. Europeans still wear it on some formal occasions.
Targe Old English middle finger shield
Claymore Scottish variant of the late medieval two-handed sword or the Scottish variant of the basket-hilted sword
Chemise a loose piece of clothing for women that covers the top part of the body and is worn under other clothes (women's) sleeveless loose underwear Shift a simple dress that hangs straight from the shoulders These two words appear in the novel Quite a lot, they should all refer to the white loose long skirt underwear worn by ancient women. They were worn directly when they slept, but they were usually worn in other clothes.
food food
As a foodie, I feel very sorry that I have not been able to find any tempting food in the play or in the novel.
bannock a flat Scottish cake made of oatmeal
parritch porridge (porridge) Scotland spelling
Jamie seems to have suggested that the French king with constipation only drink porridge every morning?
Haggis A DISH from Scotland consisting of Different Sheep's Organs Cut up with Onions and Spices and cooked Inside A Sheep's stomach (Scottish food) offal Yang Du (Haggis will be chopped onion and spices cooked together in sheep stomach)
When Duncun and Briana were participating in the Scottish festivals in the United States in the fourth season, there was a live broadcast saying: The offal contest is about to begin...
tankard
a large drinking cup, usually made of metal, with sloping sides, a handle, and sometimes a lid, mainly used for drinking beer
(Mainly used to drink beer) large cup (usually made of metal, with slanted sides and handles)
Decanter a decorative glass container for wine and other alcoholic drinks, with a part that fits into the top for closing it
This thing has often appeared in various movies and TV dramas so far. It turned out that there was a special name. The middle and upper class people would put it in the office or at home, and they usually pretended to be spirits.
Daily Languages
lad a boy or young man
lass a girl or young woman
bonny beautiful and healthy
kirk scottish english a church In the original church novel, one of the three requirements that Jamie and Claire made when they got married was that the ceremony should take place in the church (kirk) instead of just signing a marriage contract (by contract).
ken to know someone or something
wee small; little
bairn a child
braw is equivalent to fine in English
Once you have mastered these vocabularies, you can combine them with each other and use them flexibly.
For example, Jamie often praises Claire as a bonny lass (beautiful girl); Claire returns to Scotland 20 years later and sees Jenny’s children have grown up, and will say that when I saw you last time, you were still a wee bairn (child ).
topography
loch in Scotland, a lake or inlet of the sea or ocean
glen a deep, narrow valley, especially among mountains
croft (especially in Scotland) a very small farm around a house, or the house itself
Superstition
When sailing, women and red hair will bring bad luck. A bare-breasted woman can calm the anger of the sea, and greet the redhead first to avoid bad luck.
When the heroes and heroines boarded the ship to Jamaica in the third season, Jamie mentioned that women and red hair can bring bad luck, and I searched it and found that there is such a superstition. There is a saying that this is because women will distract the crew and anger the sea.
In the play, many people greet Jamie on the boat. This is because people with red hair will also bring bad luck to the boat, so you can avoid bad luck by talking to him in the front.
Later, the captain told Claire that you should show your chest right now, which shocked Claire. This kind of superstition is also present in reality. Many ships, like the ship in the play, have statues of women without shirts on their heads. In addition to calming the anger of the sea, the opened eyes will also lead the ships.
The last stitch has to go through the nose
In the third season, Claire saw the sea burial ceremony on the warship where the plague was epidemic. After putting the body into the cloth bag, the cloth bag was closed with a needle and thread. The last stitch was used to ensure that the person who was going to sea burial had died, through the body’s nose. There is indeed such a custom in reality.
History
Bonnie Prince Charlie
The portrayal of this character in the play is respected by the Scots as a hero, but in fact, his ability is limited. To quote Jamie, he is not relieved to give him a vegetable plot in his hometown.
After the defeat of Colladon Moor, he escaped successfully.
Jacobite
The explanation of "the supporter after King James II abdicated" should be the clearest. I have always wondered where the word Jacobite came from. After all, James’ English is James, which seems to have nothing to do with Jacobite.
After checking the information, I found out that Jacobite comes from James’ Latin writing Jacobus.
Update Log 7.30 Update Chemistry/shift and decanter
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