Post by rex362 on Feb 24, 2013 15:44:41 GMT -5
The fustanella, or white kilt, of the traditional Albanian is as common in the
streets of Athens as the private soldier's uniform in London
(The classic and the beautiful from the literature of three thousand years - Page 395
by Henry Coppée - Juvenile Nonfiction - 1895 page 395)
"the Albanian fustanella, which was adopted by the Greeks
after their liberation in 1821 as their national costume.."
( The Nomads of the Balkans - Page 60)
streets of Athens as the private soldier's uniform in London
(The classic and the beautiful from the literature of three thousand years - Page 395
by Henry Coppée - Juvenile Nonfiction - 1895 page 395)
"the Albanian fustanella, which was adopted by the Greeks
after their liberation in 1821 as their national costume.."
( The Nomads of the Balkans - Page 60)
Famous Albanian Fustanella
The famous Albanian kilt (or fustanella as it is known in the Albanian language) was
common dress for men in the 13th century where it was regularly worn by
a tribe of the Dalmatians, one of the Illyrian progenitors of the
Albanians. At that time, the kilt was called Dalmatica, however,
theories exist that the kilt really had its origin during much earlier
times as a long shirt called linja which, when gathered at the waist by a
sash, gave the appearance of a knee- or calf-length kilt. Depending on
the social status of the wearer, materials used in fabricating the
fustanella (thereby defining the number of pleats) ranged fromcoarse
linen or woolen cloth for villagers to luxurious silks for the more
affluent. Although
the kilt was once worn by men throughout Albania, today it is seen only
on special occasions in southern Albania, especially in the Gjirokaster
area, and in the Albanian regions of Montenegro, Kosova, Serbia,
Macedonia, and Greece.
The
Hungarian sociologist, Baron Nopcsa, believed that the Albanian, or
Illyrian, kilt became the original pattern for the Roman military dress,
and, because of its similarity to the Celtic kilt, he also theorized
that the Roman legions in Britain, through the presence of its Illyrian
element, probably started the fashion among the Celts (it may also be
interesting to note that the Celtic word for Scotland is Alban).
Lord
Byron, in Childe Harolds Pilgrimage, observed the ...Albanian kirtled
to the knee, and T.S. Finlay in his Travels through Greece and Albania
states, unequivocally, that It was the fame of the Albanians which
induced the modern Greeks to adopt the Albanian kilt as their national
costume.
See The Albanians and Their Territories, Pages 164-166, 8
Nentori Publishing House, Tirana, 1985, and Faik Konitzas Albania: Rock
Garden of Southeastern Europe , Pages 81-90
From at least the 14th
century, a strong cotton cloth called fustan was produced - hence the
name of the garment fustan and later the diminutive fustanella. But
archeological evidence points to the fustanella as being a more ancient
form of clothing. Among the more important (archeological) finds are 1. a
small ceramic statue from the 4th century C.E.(AD) found in Durres
which depicts a man wearing a long fustanella fastened with two bands
across the chest; 2. a gravestone from the 3rd to 4th century C.E.(AD)
found in Smokthine, near Vlora, which shows a man dressed in a
fustanella; and 3. a much more ancient figurine found in Maribor,
Slovenia, which dates from the 5th century B.C.E. (BC) which also shows a
fustanella worn with the two bands across the chest.
The famous Albanian kilt (or fustanella as it is known in the Albanian language) was
common dress for men in the 13th century where it was regularly worn by
a tribe of the Dalmatians, one of the Illyrian progenitors of the
Albanians. At that time, the kilt was called Dalmatica, however,
theories exist that the kilt really had its origin during much earlier
times as a long shirt called linja which, when gathered at the waist by a
sash, gave the appearance of a knee- or calf-length kilt. Depending on
the social status of the wearer, materials used in fabricating the
fustanella (thereby defining the number of pleats) ranged fromcoarse
linen or woolen cloth for villagers to luxurious silks for the more
affluent. Although
the kilt was once worn by men throughout Albania, today it is seen only
on special occasions in southern Albania, especially in the Gjirokaster
area, and in the Albanian regions of Montenegro, Kosova, Serbia,
Macedonia, and Greece.
The
Hungarian sociologist, Baron Nopcsa, believed that the Albanian, or
Illyrian, kilt became the original pattern for the Roman military dress,
and, because of its similarity to the Celtic kilt, he also theorized
that the Roman legions in Britain, through the presence of its Illyrian
element, probably started the fashion among the Celts (it may also be
interesting to note that the Celtic word for Scotland is Alban).
Lord
Byron, in Childe Harolds Pilgrimage, observed the ...Albanian kirtled
to the knee, and T.S. Finlay in his Travels through Greece and Albania
states, unequivocally, that It was the fame of the Albanians which
induced the modern Greeks to adopt the Albanian kilt as their national
costume.
See The Albanians and Their Territories, Pages 164-166, 8
Nentori Publishing House, Tirana, 1985, and Faik Konitzas Albania: Rock
Garden of Southeastern Europe , Pages 81-90
From at least the 14th
century, a strong cotton cloth called fustan was produced - hence the
name of the garment fustan and later the diminutive fustanella. But
archeological evidence points to the fustanella as being a more ancient
form of clothing. Among the more important (archeological) finds are 1. a
small ceramic statue from the 4th century C.E.(AD) found in Durres
which depicts a man wearing a long fustanella fastened with two bands
across the chest; 2. a gravestone from the 3rd to 4th century C.E.(AD)
found in Smokthine, near Vlora, which shows a man dressed in a
fustanella; and 3. a much more ancient figurine found in Maribor,
Slovenia, which dates from the 5th century B.C.E. (BC) which also shows a
fustanella worn with the two bands across the chest.
