

There are many ancient legends and stories about bagpipes which were passed down through minstrels and oral tradition, whose origins are now lost.

One clan still owns a remnant of a set of bagpipes said to have been carried at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, though the veracity of this claim is debated. Though popular belief sets varying dates for the introduction of bagpipes to Scotland, concrete evidence is limited until approximately the 15th century. Though widely famous for its role in military and civilian pipe bands, the Great Highland bagpipe is also used for a solo virtuosic style called pìobaireachd, ceòl mòr, or simply pibroch. The earliest references to bagpipes in Scotland are in a military context, and it is in that context that the Great Highland bagpipe became established in the British military and achieved the widespread prominence it enjoys today, whereas other bagpipe traditions throughout Europe, ranging from Portugal to Russia, almost universally went into decline by the late 19th and early 20th century. The bagpipe is first attested in Scotland around 1400, having previously appeared in European artwork in Spain in the 13th century. It has acquired widespread recognition through its usage in the British military and in pipe bands throughout the world. "the great pipe") is a type of bagpipe native to Scotland, and the Scottish analogue to the Great Irish Warpipes. The Great Highland bagpipe ( Scottish Gaelic: a' phìob mhòr pronounced lit. Led by their piper, men of the 7th Seaforth Highlanders, 15th (Scottish) Division advance during Operation Epsom, 26 June 1944.
