Tartans

Tartans are one of the most important symbols of Scotland and Scottish heritage. For thousands of years the Celts have been known to wear these woven wool, plaid cloths. First recorded mention of Tartan was by King James V in 1538 in reference to the fabric that he bought for his wife.

Illustration of Birch Family Tartan Illustration of Campell of Argyll Family Tartan Illustration of Macfie Family Tartan Illustration of a Purple Tartan

The images above are of illustrations of various tartans.

What is a tartan?

In many countries today, the pattern of interlocking stripes called a tartan is often refered to as "plaid." Plaid (plaide) comes from the Gaelic word for a blanket, and is specifically used in the context of Highland dress to refer to a large length of material. The original kilt was known as the "belted plaid", or great kilt, and consisted of a length of cloth that was gathered and belted at the waist. The plaids were most often made from a tartan cloth, so the confusion between the two terms is understandable.

Tartan refers to the pattern of interlocking stripes, running in both the warp and weft in the cloth. Originally, tartan designs had no names, and no symbolic meaning. All tartan cloth was hand woven, and usually supplied locally. Tartan came to be extremely popular in Scottish Highland culture, and by the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, tartan clothing is seen to be characteristic of Highland dress. By the end of the eighteenth century when large scale commercial weavers had begun to produce tartans, color standards and patterns were developed, names were representative of nothing more than a means to identify one tartan pattern from another.Top

The Lore

The development of the tale of how the "clan tartans" is just that, a tale. Though clan tartans are the most well known, tartans can represent many different things. Some tartans represent families, towns, district, corporations, individuals, or events. What makes a tartan "official" is not age or antiquity, but whether it has the approval of the governing body of what that tartan represents. If a clan chief, or a state's legislature, or the CEO of a company says this is the official tartan, it is so, whether the tartan is two or two hundred years old.

A clan tartan is one that represents your clan, but is not necessarily the tartan that your ancestors would have worn hundreds of years ago. Highlanders traditionally would have selected any tartan they like from the available sources. However, it is a fact that tartans today have meaning, and when you wear a tartan you are identifying yourself with what that tartan represents. Most people today select a tartan that they feel identifies with some part of their heritage. If there is a tartan for your surname, that would be an obvious choice, but there is nothing wrong with wearing a tartan for another branch of your family.Top