TARTAN DIRECTORY
A B C D E F G H I J K L M Mac/Mc
A Checkered History
Tartan is a well-known symbol of Scotland. The rough cloth was originally a biproduct of whatever material was closest to hand. The wool of the sheep or goat was processed and then coloured with dyes made from local plants. Because each areas dyes were specialised, differing colours were associated with certain districts. A visitor to travelling to out-lying areas could recognise individual clans from the shade and texture of their cloth.
The after effects of The Battle of Culloden caused the old tradition of tartan to die. Plaid cloth was banned along with other symbols of Highland warfare including the ownership of a dirk and targe, the playing of bagpipes and the drinking of claret.
During the years that followed the last Jacobite uprising, industrial methods made both the colouring and weaving of cloth a simpler task. The growing popularity for all things Highland coincided with the realisation that traditional patterns of clan tartan were being lost. Great efforts were made to search portraits, weaver's notes and for old samples of tartan. Over time, a log of traditional tartan was compiled.
Tartan received a boost in 1822 when George IV visited Edinburgh. Sir Walter Scott proclaimed that every Scotsman 'should wear his Clan Tartan.' Despite the fact that very few Scots actually had their own tartan, let alone a plaid in their possession. Tartans were hurriedly searched for and invented and became the backdrop to the Victorian romanticization of Scotland.
During the late Industrial Revolution, it was found that the plaid, the traditional sari-like cloth was a danger to men and women who cared for machinery. The lower half of the plaid was cut in half for safety's sake and fastened with straps to create the 'kilt' or skirt. The top half of the plaid that was worn over the shoulders was removed, but can still be seen in its replacement, the Sash.
The main part of the tartan is the under check. This is the largest band of colour that goes below the over check and the bands of lines. Depending on the person wearing the tartan, the over checks will vary in complexity. 'Clan Tartans' tend to be the plainest examples, using sometimes no more than three colours. The 'Family Tartan' is expected to be worn by those of the chief's family. This tartan may have the same under check as the Clan tartan but will have additional over checks, often horizontal and vertical white lines. The under check is affected by the use of a tartan. A Hunting Tartan will use muted colours to camouflage wearers in long grass and under-growth. A Dress Tartan, used for celebrations and functions is often created by removing the darkest or ground colour and replacing it with a pale colour, usually white.
Many unusual colours and patterns can be made by using varying lines, under checks and over checks such as this example, Old Clan Bruce.
As well as the Clan Tartan, the Family, Dress and Hunting there may be other variants. Some tartans can be described as 'Old' or 'Ancient'. Some tartans were made redundant by the last Jacobite uprising. These old, pre-war tartans were either lost or rejected by Clans, or over-hauled and up-dated.
A tartan described as 'artifact' or 'portrait' means that the pattern was found either on a piece of material (a rug, a shawl) or was copied from a painting.
A Regimental tartan is for military use. Scottish regiments such as 'Black Watch' often use the basic colours of their creator (Black watch was created by the Duke of Argyll so uses Campbell Colours) but positions within the regiment are further defined by the kilts they wear, such as a piper or a drummer's pattern.
Tartans that are 'variant' means that a family of a clan has made a new design. This may be very close to the root tartan (for example, the Campbell pattern has many designs but each sept tends to use the same colour scheme.) Or the variant may be the colour but not the pattern (in the case of The Gunn, the colour change links each sept of the clan to differing parts of the Island. The Northern Gunns have used a regional colour similar to The Morrison and The MacKay.
Modern Tartans are continuously invented. They are created for septs of clans that have hitherto not had use of their own tartan. Patterns are also made for non-indiginous surnames, corporations (ie Balmoral Estate), counties and countries - even individuals.
Tartan Facts
- The oldest piece of tartan was discovered in Falkirk in a pot filled with Roman Coins and is thought to be about 1700 years old.
- The word 'Tartan' describes the original weaving method, each thread passing under two threads and then over two threads.
- The oldest and original tartan was a very fine, thin material.
- A checked pattern uses solid colour, whereas tartan always uses lines of other colours within the squares that cross-band each other.
- A tartan keeps to a carefully designed code or 'thread count' from which the pattern emerges.