Scottish Tartan

MacGregor tartan
Clan MacGrgor Tartan
The distinctive chequerboard style tartan is as much a symbol of Scotland as the bagpipes or the thistle. Most people know that particular tartan pattern is today associated with a particular clan or family. However it's less well known that whilst the tartan itself is ancient, the clan associatons are relatively new.

What Is A Tartan?

A tartan is a pattern of horizontal and vertical bands of colour that overlap to make a distinctive chequerboard style design. This criss-cross style was well suited to the weft and warp of hand weaving methods. Tartan patterns vary from subtle and understated to bright and almost garish.

Traditionally the tartan was used for highland dress such as the kilt. Today you can buy tartan designs - authentic or otherwise - printed on just about anything you want. You can even buy tartan-clad teddy bears and tartan dog collars!

The term "tartan" is today often used to describe anything Scottish. For example, the collective noun for supporters of Scotland's national football team is the tartan army.

History

The history of the tartan is lost in time. It certainly goes back many hundreds of years, possibly as far as the ancient celts. Initially it was mainly associated with the highlanders.

Originally tartan designs were not associated with clans so much as with geographical regions. Chooosing a tartan wasn't a statement of loyalty, rather it was a fashion choice from the limited range available to buy in the district. Local weavers would specialise in certain patterns that made use of dyes and colours that were plentiful in the local area, so the choice of which tartan to buy would be limited by this.

The association of tartans with clans probably began around the 17th or 18th century but only really took off in the 19th century. Writers such as Sir Walter Scott inspired an explosion of interest in Scots history and customs and suddenly everyone wanted to know "their" tartan. This began a process of clan tartan standardisation.

Today every clan has its own tartan, however the recognition of these has been largely informal. Whilst a few tartans are recognised by the heraldic King of Arms, most are collated by charity or commercial bodies. In October 2008 the Scottish Parliament agreed to the setting up of an official central tartan register. This will be based in Edinburgh and run by the National Archives of Scotland.

Wearing the wrong tartan in Scotland is not illegal but it is a social faux pas. If you want to wear tartan but don't have a family clan connection to Scotland then there are several "general tartans" such as the blue and green of the Black Watch