<BACK All weavers depended very much on local plants for their dyes so the locality of the weaver might well have some bearing on the colours of the tartan that he produced. If he lived on the west coast of Scotland, Gipsywort would give him lettuce green, seaweeds would give him flesh colour and seashore whelks might provide purple. If he lived inland, then he would undoubtedly look to the moors for his colours: heather treated in different ways would give him yellow, deep green and brownish orange; blaeberries (the favourite food of the grouse) would provide purples, browns and blues; over 20 different lichens would give him a wide range of subtle shades. If he was affluent or dyeing and weaving for a customer of some substance, then he would seek more exotic imported colours of madder, cochineal, woad and indigo.
If the concept of clan tartans was born at Culloden it wasn't universally known - in that battle there was frequently no way of differentiating friend from foe by the tartan he wore. The only reliable method was to see with what colour ribbon - sprig – a bit of plant - each combatant had adorned his bonnet, which would differ to show the affiliation to his Clan. This represented in Scottish Heraldry today as a ‘Plant Badge’ that would be worn by a follower to show loyalty to ones Chief. There is a contrary view that this was caused, not by the lack of clan tartans, but by the Highlander's propensity for discarding his cumbersome philamhor (belted plaid) before charging into the fray.
Following the defeat of the Highland army at Culloden, and with the following genocide that occurred throughout the Highlands, the Government was determined to destroy the Clan System. An Act of Parliament was instituted known as the “The Disarming Act,” one of the consequences of which was to make the wearing of tartan a penal offence for the following 36 years. This proscription however applied only to common Highland men - not to the upper echelons of Highland society, nor apparently to Lowland Scots or to women. But most importantly, it did not apply to the Highland regiments that were being formed in the Government army.
Clan Identity and Tartan
William Wilson and Sons of Bannockburn, near Stirling (established in 1760) was relatively unaffected by the ban on tartan (1746 – 1782) and continued to mass produce Setts of tartan for the Military and the Upper classes. The Wilson’s "Key Pattern Book" of 1819, documents weaving instructions for more than 200 Tartans produced at their Bannockburn dye works and weaving sheds - many of them tentatively ascribed Clan names.
In 1782, when the laws were finally repealed following this lengthy period of repression, there was a resurgence of Scottish nationalism and much effort was made to restore the spirit and culture of the Highlands. A great deal was achieved through the encouragment of the newly formed Highland Societies in London (1778) and Edinburgh (1780).
Thanks to the personal planning of Sir Water Scott, the 1822 visit of King George IV to Edinburgh was to see Highland Chiefs being persuaded to attend the levee and other functions, all attired in their Clan tartans (although some did not attend). Almost overnight tartan became popular and families, who probably had never before worn tartan (and hated the Highlanders) became the proud possessors of family Tartans. This, along with Sir Walter’s romanticism of Tartan in his novels, was to promote the idea that Clan and Tartan were effectively synonymous.
Another great boost to tartan came from Queen Victoria and her Consort, Prince Albert. They fell in love with Balmoral - the Royal residence on Deeside in Scotland - and with tartan and all things Highland. Prince Albert designed the now world famous Balmoral tartan and they bedecked room after room with it, further consolidating the Victorians' romanticised view of the 'noble' Highlander.
GENTLEMEN - THE TARTAN
Here's to it!
The fighting sheen of it,
The yellow, the green of it,
The white, the blue of it,
The swing, the hue of it,
The dark, the red of it,
Every thread of it.
The fair have sighed for it,
The brave have died for it,
Foemen sought for it,
Heroes fought for it.
Honour the name of it,
Drink to the fame of it -
THE TARTAN.
(Murdoch Maclean)
Over the last fifty years or so tartan has developed into a multi-million pound industry. Today tartan holds a unique place in the annuals of textile history and has come to symbolise, along with the kilt and bagpipes, the cultural identity of the whole Scottish nation.
One thing Murdoch Maclean forgot in his poem was –‘Be Proud of It’
