A Sporran is a pouch (the word is simply the Scottish Gaelic for 'purse'), now a decorative part of Highland dress but originally an everyday practical item, made of leather or fur, usually with more or less elaborate silver or other ornamentation, especially on the clasp or hanger. It is worn on a chain or belt around the waist, allowing the sporran to lie below the waist of the person wearing a kilt. Since the traditional kilt does not have pockets, the sporran serves as a wallet and container for any other necessary personal items (such as a hip-flask). It is essentially a survival of the common European medieval belt-pouch, superseded elsewhere as clothing came to have pockets, but continuing in the Scottish Highlands because of the lack of these accessories in traditional dress. The sporran also protects a person's decency. This was originally because the ancient 'great plaid' (Gaelic breacan an fhèilidh), formed of a long draped cloth, had a gap at the front, and in more modern times because the kilt is traditionally worn without undergarments. Historically, the sporran was used to carry a day's rations. Some believe it served as armour for a vulnerable area of the body.