Sgian Dubhs and Dirks

The history of Scotland is riddled with times of war with small moments of peace for contrast. With constant threat from invaders the average highlander could not afford to go unharmed. The sgian dubh, Gaelic for "black knife",  was a small knife usually kept hidden in the folds of the great kilt, like the ones in the movie Braveheart. 
So why do we keep in the top of our sock now? The tradition was that when you entered a friendly place, a home, or church as a sign of friendship you would take your concealed weapon out of it's hiding spot and place it where everybody could see it. The sock was a convenient spot. We have kept it there ever since. The dirk is kept at your side for close combat, where the large claymore sword became ineffective.

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Last modified: August 20, 2011 09:33:13 PM -0500