This chapter examines the phenomenon's historical context and some of the broad cultural currents which inspire and shape it. The Scots of Europe are agents in the memory boom, a time of heightened public interest in the past and its commemoration. The Scots of Europe uphold musical, athletic, and sartorial traditions which they believe are rooted in distant Scottish history. The Scots of Europe dress up in colourful costumes and march down the high street, play the drums and pipes, make bystanders stop and marvel. The self-professed Highlanders engage in a Scottish masquerade. Like the play-acting Scots, the knights and princesses often hold views of their period which are not fully congruent with historical scholarship. Much more than a similarity of historical experience, the proximity of the Scottish and Indian mythologies indicates the Romantic preoccupation with archaic warrior societies and their colourful costumes and symbols.