About Scotland

Tartan and Tradition

Tartan, the pride and glory of Scotland encompassed in the National Dress, was known in Gaelic as 'Breacan', meaning chequered or variegated and was reputed to be characteristic of the Celtic peoples even in Roman times. The word itself actually derives from the French word 'tartaine' which referred to a particular kind of checked cloth.

Tartan is formed by offsetting lines and checks into various patterns and can be woven in unlimited colour combinations. The original colours came from natural dyes derived from local vegetation and these colours are now called the 'Ancient Colours'.

The Ancient hues are softer than the modern colourings, for example the Ancient Blue is cornflower blue compared to the modern navy- blue. The 'Modern Colours' as they are called today result from chemical dyes. The third colour category is 'Reproduction, Muted or Weathered Colours' and these have literally been reproduced from pieces of cloth found in homesteads or on battlefields weathered by time and the elements into muted shades.

Tartans were born as a symbol of belonging and the pattern or sett related to a particular clan or family. Clanship was the social system of Scotland whereby the essential link was kinship between the Chief and the people of the Clan. The 'Clan Tartan' therefore, came to be associated with the dominant clan or family. Other Tartan setts were 'District Setts' and related to a particular geographical district, irrespective of name, which was usually an area of about 50 miles.

Tartans originated in the Highlands and Islands - hence Highland Dress - and go back possibly to the 7th Century AD. However, the first written mention of tartan was probably in an account to James III in 1471, listing 'blue tartan'. The writer George Buchanan refers to tartan in 1582.

Tartan was first produced on a commercial basis in the 18th Century by Wilson of Bannockburn. Unfortunately early records had largely been lost and patterns had been woven on wooden 'setts' which had rotted away. However, some tartan patterns were recovered through old paintings and in more recent years, many scraps of older clan and district designs have been found and accurately copied.

After the Jacobite uprising of 1745 and the disastrous Battle of Culloden in 1746, all use of tartan and Highland Dress was suppressed by an Act of Parliament, which was not repealed until 1782. It was therefore not until after this time that Highlanders, moving south in search of work, brought their tartans to the Lowlands.

In 1822, largely through the efforts of the famous novelist, Sir Walter Scott, King George IV visited Edinburgh, the first reigning monarch to visit Scotland in 150 years. The king, his retinue and the clan chieftains who came to meet him, donned tartan outfits and made it a magnificent and colourful occasion. This event instigated the revival of interest in tartan.

The next royal visitor was Queen Victoria in 1842, who fell in love with Scotland and bought Balmoral Castle. At her request, Prince Albert, her Consort, designed a personal tartan for her which was called 'Balmoral' and remains today the Queen's own private tartan: she alone has the right to wear it and others may only do so when given permission by her. Kinloch Anderson, as Tailors and Kiltmakers by appointment to HRH the Queen, HRH the Duke of Edinburgh and HRH the Prince of Wales, produce and hold this cloth for the exclusive use of the Royal Family.

Today true tartans are recorded at the Court of the Lord Lyon in Edinburgh. Here records are kept to protect the thread count of individual patterns.

However, this is not in order to ensure that the manufacture is exclusive or controlled for some elitist purpose but to preserve the individuality of each clan or family tartan.

Tartan is without doubt a remarkable decorative fabric with an enduring role to play, even without its traditional Scottish associations. High fashion in Europe and America has always been eager to exploit its appeal regardless of Scottish clan and family connections.

In an age when international travel has shrunk the world and blurred many of the cultural demarcations, the tartan kilt remains a strong, universal symbol of one nation - Scotland.

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