How Highlanders Lit Their Homes- 3 Lighting Methods Used From The Stone Age to 20th Century Scotland
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#history #scotland #lighting
In the Canadian north, the Inuit used a soapstone or clay dish which burned whale or seal oil. There was very little wood in the far north, so wood fires were unheard of as any wood (or bone) would be used for construction, not burning. In these oil lamps the wick was made from woven grass and instead of a thin string-like wick, the wick in these soapstone lamps was quite wide, enabling the flame to be maintained as a sheet of flame rather than a single point of flame. By constantly tending to this flame, the Inuit were able to illuminate their shelters, heat and cook over the oil stove, and also dry their clothing. Some of these lamps/stoves allowed a flame of several inches long in an elongated dish. Often a female member of the family was designated as " the keeper of the flame" and it takes no imagination to understand the importance of maintaining this flame in their shelters during the winter months.
Appreciate very much you sharing the Inuit Eskimos way of lighting Etcetera. Very interesting ! Greetings from beautiful Mighty Chicago !! ☝️☺️
Same with the vikings of Iceland and Greenland.
I believe i saw a documentary that highlighted that whale oil burns very sooty, and that the inuits suffered to a degree with the smoke inhalation even passively. Once modern oil lamps and torches were invented it was an imediate swap
@@SweetChicagoGator jsyk the inuit dont really use the label eskimo, its considered to be improper and insulting. Greetings from canada
@@everythingsalright1121 pedantic liberal
Also in Finland, wood shavings have been used to light houses because of their cheapness and easy availability. And for those shavings there were holders and racks called pärepihti, or the burning shavings was placed in a gap between two wall logs. The use of shavings for lighting decreased in Finland when the use of electricity became common in the middle of the 20th century, but their tradition has remained alive in the idiomatic saying "polttaa päreensä" (to burn someone's shavings), i.e. to get nervous, to get irritated, to get angry or loose one's temper about something.
Interesting. I wonder how long they lasted as light sources given the large surface area. I'd assume not long.
Would love to see a sample of this if you have a link
Interesting how the name for the holder is basically "parapet".
@@scottmacgregor3444 depends on the lenght of the päre but I have heard that one lasts about 10 minutes.
@@DragonSlayer6398 I get "a pair of pliers" or "pincers" from the word. Parapet is a false cognate.
As a boy in the Carolinas I used to look for stumps of recently cut pine trees that would contain what we called “fat pine” wood with heavy concentrations of resin. We’d use a hand ax to cut it to small pieces and then shave it with a knife so it had smaller curled bits on it and use them for kindling. Would burn well even if wet.
Wow, that is something I never knew before, interesting. I'm a Native American from the USA, of the Navajo tribe, I've been a big fan of your channel for a year now. It's very interesting to me to learn some of the people of how they survive in their own land by making tools, building homes, making foods, gathering herbal medicine etc. Good video by the way.
Survive the Jive is a good channel if you want to deepen your understanding about the spiritual past/ present and migrations of the pre medieval/ pre Christian European peoples before they came to America.
❤🍄❤
Kane why would anyone want to learn the religions of a bunch of pagans when they can have Christianity?
@@308dad8 I hope you're being sarcastic or joking.
@@308dad8 or Islam! Really, any of the patriarchal Abrhamic religions, they've done so much for the world, another hundred years or less and the human race will be extinct thanks to the idea that we humans have dominion over all of the earth, its plants, animals, and resources. Even now in the later portion of the 11th hour we cling to these backward ways, the written words of men given the throne of god, whilst gods word is in truth written on every leaf of every tree.
The term.. BURNING THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS is actually thought to be a reference to rush lamps. It's also a cool bit of trivia. I have a few differently designed antique Rush Lamps and based on my research and own experimentations you have to harvest your rush in the fall when they are at their tallest and fattest. When you gathered your rush you had to harvest enough to get you through to the following fall so it was a major endeavor. There were people who earned their keep processing the rush so if you didn't have enough money to by candles you could buy small bundles of finished wicks. Any fat will do but mutton was preferred. I've gotten as much as 45 minutes of light (beef fat) from a single stem which is my record. Of course as others have mentioned you don't need a thousand lumens to see in the dark once your eyes have acclimated. Once acclimated it's surprisingly easy to read in dim light and a few people could huddle together to sew, read or what have you. If it was too dark to thread the needle you could always " BURN THE CANDLE/RUSH AT BOTH ENDS".
That was fascinating! Here on Prince Edward Island in Canada, Hurricane Fiona brought down our powerlines in September and a lot of us (like me) went without heat or light for weeks. I had laid in a stock of huge fat candles from the Dollar Store and at night I would light one and then place about three big wine glasses filled with water between it and me and the book I was reading on the table. These magnified the light from one candle enormously. I know that in Colonial times these were known as 'cobblers lamps' - to allow people like cobblers to work on past sunset at 4:00 or so in the winter. I would prop up a mirror behind the candle for even more light. About the equivalent of a 25+ watt bulb. I used three supposedly 'smokeless' oil lamps as well but, when power was restored I realized that come this Spring I will be re-painting all the ceilings.
Don't reply, it's a scam.
@@spikemcnock8310 Yea, I figured as much. It's a shame it's happening on his posts.
@@cerberus6654 so many of them these days :(
Ya gotta keep trimming the wick down to prevent that smoke 💯
@@justinreid2422 Yea, for sure. Kinda hard to do when you're cooking on your propane camping stove or when you step out to have a pee off the back porch :)
Once your eyes have adjusted to the dark, these forms of lighting are much more effective than you might guess. Most people think they need bright flashlights at night because they are constantly blowing out their night vision with said bright flashlights. If you get used to exercising good light discipline, and preserving your night vision, these little lights will fill the room. (just make sure to have strong words with your mate who likes to bring along a 10,000 lumen flood lamp and blinds everyone every ten minutes. There always seems to be one person doing this every time I go camping .....)
The reply above mine is a bot by the way
The million-lumen flashlight keeps the scary monsters away
@@Constantine_Cvl8 Thank you mate
The way typical lights kill night vision is also why dimmed red lighting gets used in a variety of night applications (plane cockpits, military, submarines during night observation, stargazing, etc.) since it greatly preserves your natural night vision compared to white light. It makes sense when thinking of the kind of lighting we'd be adapted to getting from sunset/dusk and fires as it gets dark. Interestingly green light also preserves natural night vision to a lesser extent, though it keeps a decent amount and will take a fairly short time for vision to restore at 100% compared to white lighting. It can be chosen instead of red lighting due to green allowing much better depth perception and ability to see detail, which then allows darker lights to be used than with a red light.
@@user-qj9ye1uv8g thank you mate. Thats very helpful information.
As an Irishman and a Gael i always find myself envious of the way in which the Gaelic Order developed in the Highlands and the Isles after the Gaelic Order was destroyed in Ireland in the early 17th Century. I had a history teacher who was from Scotland who pointed out that the Gaelic Order which originated in Ireland survived an extra 150 years in Scotland and during that time it developed and advanced into the forms we associate with it today.
Here in Oklahoma in the U.S. the Cherokee mainly used Fatwood but they started using whitetail deer tallow to make candles on account of how waxy and the high solidification temp, it will literally solidify in your mouth, you could just keep dipping a piece straw into it or just dip a cattail in it for a very bright torch
My home village in Southwestern Germany has it's nickname "Kienholz" from the trade with pine wood and especially fatwood. When I was a kid they built a new community centre and in front of it they put a bronze statue of a man cutting kindling and fir candles. I asked my grandad then what that depicted man's work was and he explained me that this job was older than the origin of the village's name. Because in very early days fir candles were used in the iron mines in the forest east of the village. And he also said that it was the kids' job to hold them and make sure they didn't go out.
So that literally means: no wood?
@@harleyd9857 No, "no wood" is in German "kein Holz". Kienholz means "resinous chips (used in ancient times as a source of light)" 😎
@@nicku1 thanks
i know this as "Kienspan" (literally: pine-kindling)
Very interesting. I found "kienholz" interesting, as there is some similarly to the low German word "scheitholt" - which also basically meant a chip of wood, firewood, kindling, etc. It is the name of an old instrument that would later become the Appalachian dulcimer in America.
For the oil lamp, the American equal (of which no doubt came from elsewhere) was also called a "Betty Lamp". Townsend's channel has a video about them. I made one from a tuna can and burn hamburger and other grease in it with a cotton wick.
Being able to connect with others around the world about basic or old school skills is one of the grandest joys of my life. I come from a multi generational farming family of very modest means. Life was hard and took A LOT of planning to get through each season. I knew so much more about survival than all the city kids. I know more about getting by, making do and resourcing than most adults now!
These videos are top-class, so well-made and interesting. The way you reference, language, primary sources, and combine it with real-life experiments - it's amazing! Very few creators on KZhead take it to your level, so thank you for taking the time. It feels like watching a special on public television, the quality is that good
Thank you for this informative video. Here in Texas we just went through an ice storm without electricity for 7 days. FEBRUARY 2023, Fortunately I had several lanterns on hand that burn lamp oil, an alcohol back packing stove and propane heat. So many of my neighbors had to abandon their homes because they were 100% electric. I also made candles from Crisco shortening. It works best with 3 wicks. I also want to try pure Hog Lard to see if it is more effective than the Crisco. Your videos are very good. I have Scottish blood in my DNA. Blessings to you.
also in the Netherlands we used woodsplinters with a high terpentine content to make fir candles. Nice details, where I live, up north in Drenthe there was a lot of harvesting of turf in the 1800 right into the 1900ths. In this turf they found petrified wood which when dried burned very long and bright just a the fir candle. They called it Kienhout or Kienholz in German.
We have a few Betty Lamps - It is somewhat similar to the one that you have demonstrated. The Betty lamp is a lamp thought to be of German, Austrian, or Hungarian origin. It came into use in the 18th century. They were commonly made of iron or brass and were most often used in the home or workshop. These lamps burned fish oil or fat trimmings and had wicks of twisted cloth. Thank you for the great informative video!
You are right. Not only did people grow food. They had to make clothes and shoes by hand, building their house by hand, gather water, and gather supplies for light. Nobody had time to waste on many of the activities that people participate in today.
That specialty anvil, used for forging the lanterns is something else!
In Finland a very common lighting method still in use in the 19th century was burning päre. Päre is a narrow and very thin slice pulled lengthwise from the trunk of a pine tree. These were used for making baskets and roofs as well, though those used for roofing were usually made with a planer instead of pulling. The difference is that when you pull a päre, the fibres of the wood stay whole from one end to the other.
As an aside about what you said about "pulling" wood fibres, I remember reading about making wooden shingles, and that modern machine-sawn shingles aren't considered as good as ones split by a froe because the fibres on the sawn ones were cut, which made them rot faster.
That's progress, @@hoilst265! Just think how many more shingles you'll sell when they rot faster! (Which is also why your LED bulbs don't last anything like as long as they should. They're built to overheat and burn up.)
@@MyName-tb9oz Stop buying cheap chinese LEDs. Some of ours have reached their lifespan without fail; and are still working.
@@MyName-tb9oz Capitalists don't make stuff to last, if they can help it. Whereas in the USSR and Eastern Europe, cars were not designed to rust away after a few years: instead your Volga or Tatra would go back to the factory to be refurbished and updated after a few years. That may not have applied to the cheaper models that were basically Fiats made under licence. Fiats were built to fail.
@@faithlesshound5621: Tell me you're a kid who knows nothing but, "the new normal," without telling me you're a kid who knows nothing but, "the new normal." As all adults know, the problem is not capitalism. The problem is sociopathic corporations. kzhead.info/sun/e6hxiZiwimmcgI0/bejne.html
In the US, we call those fir candles "fatwood." It is commonly use as a firestarter, and works very well. Two or three the size of the one you have on the chain will start a fire with decent sized logs.
This was illuminating
My son this weekend is taking a course on primitive firestarting to learn more about these things with his local 4h class and for Christmas I got him a Colonial era candlemaking kit which when the weather finally warms up we will get started in using. Something I want to try out more is my candle trekking lantern and to keep that with me. Too many are relying on flashlights, even the solar powered/hand crank ones eventually wear out.
This video is lit
Fir Candles 7:16 - conifer "resin wood" split into thin pieces Rush Lights 9:49 - the inner piths of Soft Rush soaked in fat working like a wick Oil Lamp 11:54 - (aka Cruisie, Kollie, or Cruisean) most often burning fish oil via a rush pith wick
This is useful for References for my art, planning on doing a story set in the Dark ages, and understanding lighting is very important for setting scenes.
In the United States Colonial period, those were called grease lamps. Semi-hard animal fat was used to fuel them. Thank You for your video. I have been looking for the connection between the Roman oil lamp and the common grease lamp.
Nice one! Along with that metal fish oil device there was this fellow who said to his friend : ‘now let’s invent the card game’!
Another great video! The explanation of the oil lamp was really fantastic. After seeing background unlit prop oil lamps in movies and games, it’s great to see how the darn thing actually functions.
The pilgrims found out about pine pitch torches and lamps from Native Americans. We always collect pine knots and pine limbs when gathering downfall for our woodstoves, even in modern times. The pine knots and centers have a lot of pine pitch for creating a long-lasting light.
I have read that when peeling the rushes to make rushlights, they would leave a thin strip of the skin intact, to stiffen and help support it.
My grandmother described burning dried smelt (Thaleichthys pacificus) wrapped around a wick as candles in her childhood in Oregon. She called them candle fish.
Fascinating! I grew up with both flat wick and Aladdin mantle lamps (and gas lights). Collected lamps for a while. It is amazing how oil lamps stayed simple for many centuries, then there was an explosion of creativity that lasted less than a century, before gas and electric lighting ended the heyday of oil lamps. BTW oil lamps can be run on jet fuel or even ultra low sulfur road diesel.
I’m trying to research oil lamps and chandeliers from the 18th and early 19th centuries. I can hardly find anything, do you any recommendations?
Wow, outside my area of expertise. Stopping at early 19th means pretty simple lamps, no highly developed burners or chimneys. Lighting is something we use daily but seldom write about. Movies set in that time will usually be incorrect. Even museums concentrate on other things. I wonder if there are writings on residential architecture that include lighting. Good luck.@@ScotchIrishHoundsman
I'm from Canada. It's not my culture, but I believe the Inuit people used to use a seal oil lamp, which I think was called a qulliq. It had a more horizontal light effect, but I would guess it burned up fuel quite a bit faster, as a result. Of course, one seal has a heck of a lot more oil in it than one fish, so I suppose there would have been a fair bit of oil available from any one catch.
Seal oil was used as well in the Outer Hebrides.
There is about 100 comments saying this - it's fairly common knowledge amongst this community
People would make good use of the fur as well.
That resin wood is just called "pine knot" in Ozark mountains. Found and used the same and also still used today
My late Father was raised in Texas USA during the 1920's and 30's. He remembers not having electricity in their house that was typical for the area. Kerosene lamps were used as oil was local and cheap. Fire was primary illumination until very recently would wide.
I have a “Betty” lamp from Williamsburg, SC. It is almost identical to your lamp without the dual lamps and adjustments notches. Used in the US over 200 years ago. Love your video, I have to hit subscribe!
Great video. Here's a bit of information for those who collect Whale oil lamps. Mineral oil is the closest modern equivalent to the now obsolete whale oil. I have a few lamps that I use it in and if you keep the flame around 3/4 inch high, it works extremely well without noticable smoking.
Always fun, not to mention greatly educational. 👍👍
Very interesting and useful info , Being a Canadian of Scottish decent i love hearing about the way people lived there in the past and i find it helps me appreciate how easy life is today with electricity. As a kid years ago we would spend 2 wks every summer in the laurentian mountains north of Montreal at my uncles cottage on a quiet lake where no electricity has ever been used . its amazing how much shorter the days are when you no longer have the conveniences of today . thanks very much for a great video, i really enjoyed it .take care
Heck yes. I love flashlights, torches, and lanterns.
As a blacksmith spending my summers working at a historical site in Canada. I wonder If you have a pattern for the cruiser lamp. Would be a interesting build project
This is a great channel. Greetings from Tunisia. Here in the Mediterranean, most of life happened outside, be it in Carthage, Greece, or Rome, obviously because of the climate. At night, most of the time oil lamps were used, sometimes tallow too.
In 17C and 18C America, a black betty oil lamp was often used. They are single decker but often had a lid and a small metal pick on a tiny chain. For fuel, anything from bacon or bear grease to any variety of oil could be used. I have never heard of it but given the large Scotch influence in colonial America and the importance of fishing in coastal economies, I imagine that fish oil was also used. Together with the black betty, rush lights and the main fire were the main sources of illumination for the "lower sorts" and the frontier. Candles were for the rich and special occasions. From the early 19C, whale oil and later kerosene would be burnt in the new hurricane lamps.
In the Midwest US (and maybe other places but I'm from the Ohio Valley) you can make candles from equal parts pine pitch and birch oil, with a wick made from any number of natural cordage sources here like nettles and grasses. It's a viscous liquid though and not waxy, so keep it in a vessel that screws closed when you're not using it.
That's possibly the most interesting thing I've ever heard about Ohio. For context, I'm from Michigan.
Oh wait, the UP!
Have you thought about making a video on the process of making fish oil?
I've tried what I can do with a 19th-century oil lamp. The answer is: not much! It's certainly brighter than a candle, but it's barely enough to be able to read a book right next to it. Even a small room won't be illuminated by a single oil lamp, but it pollutes the air pretty fast and covers everything in soot... On the bright side, I did notice one thing: reading with natural light helps you get ready to sleep. It's a huge difference compared to the bright white light that illuminates every last corner of the flat, brighter than the sun would do through the windows... I really don't understand why we don't use warmer light colors and dimmable room lights. BTW: the hurricane lantern burns for 20h straight without having to do much about it. That's a huge step from previous oil lanterns and also in terms of safety. However, if you want a lantern for camping or emergencies, better get one of the electrical lanterns, that are collapsible and double up as a regular flashlight. Many of them can charge themselves in the sun, or be charged via USB ports. They are a LOT brighter and obviously safer.
I live in the southern United States. I figured I was of Scottish heritage but was surprised that I am 38 percent Scottish according to the DNA sample. Such a nice surprise. I already liked you videos but now I like them even more.
Going out in the Scottish weather.and especially in winter is why we sing,"Scotland, the brave." Love your outfit.
Very interesting video. I don't know what we've used in central Europe, but I've seen similar devices of unknown origin (without the second leaf). Another design, which probably everyone knows is the Arab *oil lamp.* I know that it was used throughout the Mediterranean and was often made of clay and not metals. I bet that they used fish oil as well, as olive oil was too expensive. Speaking of *fish oil,* I've heard that it was used for the paper lanterns and stone lanterns you can find throughout China and Japan. Unfortunately, I've never seen how the lamp looks on the inside. Thus, I can't say anything about how it works. For those that are wondering why *beeswax* was so expensive: it was one of the materials that were used to make things watertight. You can use pitch for a ship, but if you want to drink from a water bladder (made of leather, though in other countries they used pumpkins), you want it to be coated in nice smelling and neutral-tasting beeswax... Wax was obviously also used for leather in general, but also for making slates where you can scribble on notes and then erase them again (Parchment wasn't cheap!). Lastly, one remark on the *roof:* the smoke keeps mold and pests out. Thus, adding a chimney actually reduces the lifetime of such a roof! Chimneys were expensive and notoriously unsafe, as it took them a long time to figure out how to build them safely (they can cause explosions, can collapse, or suffocate you!). Smoking the ceiling helped also for drying food, your clothes, etc. The roofs may have had one or two (opposing windows), to regulate the airflow and ventilation. Traditional Japanese homes still have such a design including the hook above the hearth and the roof with the two windows. This window form was probably the first one we ever had in Europe as well! Making roofs is easier and cheaper than making walls and without glass, we couldn't afford to install windows (paper windows would have been too cold, and we didn't have paper).
as an addition to the beeswax, it's also hard to come by as you need many many hives to produce an amount of wax for commercial uses, and that alone would cause it to be expensive on top of everything else (very useful substance).
Beeswax was also the main ingredient for church candles limiting its use in households
@@Marcus-ki1en I have heard that even in the church priority was given to their book makers and illuminators when it came to beeswax candles.
About 20yrs ago I got an small clay arab oil lamp and I absolutely love it! The quality of the light is great and there is something soothing about using it. Then again maybe it's just me.
@@kitsunelee007 What are you using for operating it? Petroleum smells quite bad and will evaporate quite fast when stored. Also, what are you using as a wick? I do agree though that candlelight has something soothing as long as it is bright enough so that you can read, or do whatever else you need to do. This brings me to my last point: how bright is it compared to a regular candle?
Thanks for sharing this knowledge 🙏
That’s very good to know about how people in Scotland lived. My family originated in Scotland in the Scottish highlands I’ve been told anyway. There were 2 branches of us one English and one Scottish but both Scottish originally. The Robson branch being Scottish and the Robinson branch being British. It has been told that during the Scottish wars our 2 families sat up on a hill overlooking the battlefield and watched the battle once over the losing side had to surrender to the winning side. I guess that’s why our families are still around we didn’t kill each other fighting against family. Instead we worked together and compromised
Last thing I knew I was watching cats meow into an echo-mic and now im here. That almost ornate one at the end was ingenious. I don't regret a minute of any of this. Thanks for learning me sumfin
Hi from northern Canada. Thanks! Such fascinating historical info. In the Canadian arctic during long winter nights, the Inuits used oil lamps too. They were carved from soapstone. The wick was made from twisted fibers of 'arctic cotton', which is a plant whose flowers mature into fluffy cotton looking balls. The Inuit used rendered fat from seals, which they poured into the soapstone dish. Same principle as these Scottish iron oil lamps.
Wonderful content. It reminds me to be grateful for modern lighting. Enlightenment is great.
I find plenty old stuff during my work, as a Drystane dyker, and found one of these crusie lamps, a decade ago. I discovered it was a lamp, but never really got it to work. I stumbled on your video, and have brought it inside to clean it and try again, though I may use a sweeter smelling oil than cod liver! Well presented and clear production, thanks. Bruce.
This is one of the best uses of you tube and the internet in general. I not only learned something fascinating (bordering astonishing, when you consider the ancient ingenuity) that I NEVER would have learned in (an American) school; but it's also quite usable information someone can employ when camping, roughing it, learning bushcraft skills or in an emergency or survival situation. I love this kind of stuff.
That kind of oil lamps was also used in Spain. They are called "candil de aceite" (oil "candil"). They used pretty much the same mechanism, although ours used olive oil.
Thank you, Tom. I have seen candles in various coils, I think it too somehow makes them more efficient. I have tried an olive oil lamp which is some sort of wicking material over the lip of a seashell and olive oil for the fuel. this is a good way to use up any oil that have gone rancid or damaged, compromised containers of oil. (name the natural disaster) The seashell was set on a saucer and I had a hurricane lamp glass-extra safety precautions.
Greetings! I'm of Scottish ancestry living here in southern Texas of the USA. 🙋🏼♀️
What a wonderful video, I'm half Scottish and half Welsh and love to learn new things about my ancestors . You sir are a Blessing . Keep up the great job .😁 I just subscribed.
Fascinating, TY. We often picture medieval illumination as largely out of torches but it seems that was only for big castles, I guess. Greetings from the Basque Country. As for what kind of illumination they used over here, I really don't know for sure, but I'll adventure that a lot was from whale fat, which my people was among the first to exploit in Europe for what is known: c. 600 documents show that they already got large purchases from French monasteries and it seems they also exported the whale meat to the French, which was not much appreciated over here. The whaling history continued all the way to the earliest exploitation of Canadian fisheries (also for cod but whaling was a big deal) and later on with lesser prominence.
Great video on a subject that has held my fascination for some time. My sources make a distinction between a single pan lamp and a double pan. The single pans are called crusies while the double pan is called a phoebe lamp. I'm sure different regions had different common names for them as well. I have forged iron crusies myself, and I use twisted towflax for a wick. Single pan lamps do make a mess with the dripping, which the phoebe lamp took care of. I have some pottery pan lamps, and they have a base that is wider than the pan to catch the drippings. Our ancestors were so much more ingenious than modern folks give them credit for.
Wonderful, very cool! Beards looking good btw 💪
It's wonderful that you've been sponsored by Wondrium Tom! Shows how high-calibre your content is. The Great Courses Plus were amazing back almost ten years ago, sooo glad to hear they're still at it! Love you, love your content, and LOVE SCOTLAND
Ah, so interesting. I have wondered about the lighting issues. Am now looking forward to being enlightened👍😉🌷!
In Italy they also used oil lamps for lighting. I don't think they had the double leaf tilting method though. The fancy ones were made of silver (lucerne) some having multiple spouts & hanging utensils. The commoners used open shallow dishes placed on shelves & tables.
Thanks for this ! it is SOOO amazing to ponder the things we take for granted in modern homes
ikr
I love my Highland Campbell Family history! Very interesting to see anything of how these Highlanders lived throughout history! Thanks for sharing!
Love your new kilt!
We used the same double dish oil lamps here in Spain. I have two in my home in fact!
*FASCINATING LAMP DESIGN* I believe Scotland has the highest ratio of patents to population size of any country
So cool! Love your content as ever, Tom. Been using vegetable oil lamps and experimenting with different designs for years but this cruisie takes the cake- now it's time to forge one for myself!
Some of my ancestors came from the Highlands, so your video was interesting to watch as it gave me a sense of how they might have lived before they made their way to Canada sometime around 1867. Back then, they would have lit their homes using candles, or lanterns that burned coal or oils such as whale oil, or bitumen and other raw forms of petroleum. Thirty years after that, electric power gradually made its way into the cities, but in rural areas, traditional methods of lighting were still common.
I saw the little bit at the beginning where you were showing a flintlock pistol, is there a video on that? I am a huge sucker for flintlocks and other old firearms, I even started my channel from my small collection of historical firearms and clothing! Also I love your channel! Your a huge inspiration to make me start sewing my own historical clothing!- I also noticed you had a flintlock rifle in the background!
It's a quite obvious reproduction.
@@edwardfletcher7790 ah, sorry I hadn’t seen it proper, thanks!
With soo much going on in the world... your content is a warmly valued reprieve from the encroaching Shite-nado. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to watch this again.
Great and fascinating video! Watching you brings back memories of my early years, where we romped in the woods, taught ourselves how to start fires without matches, cooking over fires, making homemade bows and arrows and fishing gear. I love how you share the history of ancient Scotland. Keep up the great work!
Absolutely fascinating! I got a glass oil lamp a couple years ago that can run on any household cooking oil and it totally blows my mind how efficient and bright it is. Your videos are always a delight!
When using flint and steel, you can get a flame to light a wick of a candle or an oil lamp using a sulfur match, just make some little sticks with point ends and inmerse the point in molten sulfur and let it cool. To get a flame just put the sulfur point over a char cloth ember or a fricción fire ember, and you'll get the stick point with sulfur in flame like a lit match.
This comments section is almost as informative as the video! Love it all!
Wow! Thank you, Tom. This was so informative and entertaining. I can tell how much work you put into it, and I really appreciate it. You are always such a pleasure to listen to! Great work.
Very cool, thanks for sharing. I appreciate your inclusion of the diagrams for lamp design. What a neat replica that was forged!
Thank you for the information.So glad we have electricity for lighting today.
The last lamp you displayed, reminded me of an 'emergency' lamp that we use to use, here in the Ozark mountains. However we used a jar lid instead of a proper oil lamp, but it still works.
This is fantastic, thank you so much for posting this video.
Thanks again for a wonderful learning experience!
Tom, thank you for an amazing video!!! It was really nice to see how they kept their homes lighted!!
This channel is gold!
You can burn peat too.
Another wonderful video...!!!...and so many methods to share that I have seen just like these from other cultures. I think it is grand that your generation is learning, sharing, and keeping these skill sets alive...
Also the best description I've heard about Fat Wood. Thanks
The kitchen photo of Josephine is just the ghost of Christmas past 😂 (or the grim reaper taking a break!) Years ago, my brother and I used to take our dad out on a chartered fishing trip just off Block island. During one of the last trips, there were three spherical lights bobbing up and down as if they were riding the waves hitting the boat. They were relatively far from the boat, and I pointed them out... my brother insisted on thinking it was another boats lights. However, they were in a triangle formation, and rocking up and down in a more severe fashion than we were as the waves raised our chartered boat.
Fir candles? Do you mean handles for fircs?
First
Well done ;)
Well done tutorial on flame light. I'm fond of my fatwood and really dig flint and steel. Worthy sponsor~Wondrium. I've been through hundreds of hours of their lectures.
Its always fascinating to think about how they came up with all this stuff. Great video Tom. Nate
Love reading all the posts too about different lighting methods used in the different countries
I enjoy your presentation.Having Scotch/Irish ancestory learning a bit of old country history pleases me very much.
I like to see people who can produce entertaining content on a subjects that they have an in. Well Done!
Loving your channel. Was really happy to find it when I was searching information on the Great Kilt. Keep up the amazing work.
This is a really good entertaining educational video on history that can also be used practically when camping or in survival mode. Cheers!