Figure 1.-- Here a Scottish boy on the Isle of Mull plays his bag pipe. Mull is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides which lies off the western coast of Scotland. His kilt is done in a bright red tartan.

Tartan is a cross-checkered pattern repeated repeated continously. The various destincive patterns are referred to as "setts". The patterns consist of different colored bands, stripes, or lines of definite with and sequence. They are woven into wool cloth, sometimes with silk added. Tartan patterns have existed for centuries and in various cultures, but have come to be assocaited with Scotland where they have become a quasi-heraldic emblem of families or clans. Tartan has come to be widely associated with Sottish kilts. The ancient Celts had no written language, but descriptions of their clothing exist from the writtn records of the people they came into contact with, epecially he Greeks and Romans. The Celts from the erliest times were noted for the use of color in their clothing. Early historical desciptions indicate that the Celts wore multi-colored woven cloth. Tartan patterns have existed for centuries and in various cultures, but have come to be assocaited with Scotland. We also note Irish tartans. Tartans are known for other areas on the Celtic fring of Europe: Cornwall, the Isle of Man, Wales, and others. Tartans also exist from countries with Scottish connections, primarily to which the Scotts and Irish have mmigrated: Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Ulster, the United States, and others.

Definition

Both kilts and plaids are normally made of tartan cloth. Tartan is woolen cloth wovem in a a cross-checked pattern repeating continously. The various destinctive patterns are referred to as 'setts'. The patterns consist of different colored bands, stripes, or lines of definite width and sequence. The different pattens are associated wiyh particulkar Scottish clans.

Tartan Origins: The Ancient Celts

The ancient Celts had no written language, but descriptions of their clothing exist from the writtn records of the people they came into contact with, epecially he Greeks and Romans. The Celts from the erliest times were noted for the use of color in their clothing. Early historical desciptions indicate that the Celts wore multi-colored woven cloth. This included pants-loke garments called "breacan". (The Celtic word breacan is the root word for breaches or pants in the English language. At the time the Celts did not wear kilts.) Weaving colored patterns is more complicated than solid color pattern. Thus the more colors involved the great the difficulty and thus cost of weving. Thus the number of colors in breacan or other garments reflected the rank or status. Ancient kings might wear garments with seven colors, the druids (priests) six, and nobles four. One account by a Martin indicates that tartans appear to have been used to identify people on a regional basis. There is no sourse which indicates that tartans were adopted by families. One source maintains that the inhabitants of the various Irish islands did not dress identically and that the setts (patterns) and colors of tartans varied among islands. Gradually the tartans most common in any island or district became accepted as a regional tartan. [Dwelly] Another source describes a multi-colored dress worn by the ancient celts. He reports that "Breacan an fhe/ilidh", a belted plaid, consisted of 12 yards of tartan, worn round the waist, obliquely across the breast and over the left shoulder, and partly descending backwards. Keating like other authors reports that the number od colors refected status. Slaves wore clothes made on only one color, peasants two, soldiers or young novels three, a brughaidh (land-owner) four, a district chief five, and an ollamh and King and Queen six. [MacLennan]

Countries

Tartan patterns have existed for centuries and in various cultures, but have come to be assocaited with Scotland. We also note Irish tartans. Tartans are known for other areas on the Celtic fring of Europe: Cornwall, the Isle of Man, Wales, and others. Tartans also exist from countries with Scottish connections, primarily to which the Scotts and Irish have mmigrated: Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Ulster, the United States, and others.

Irish tartans

Tartans are normally associated with Scotland. We note that boys who do Irish dancing normally wore solid kilts, although a few boys wore tartans. (Girls ding Irish dance never wear tartan.) There are in fact Irish tartans. Unlike Scotland where there are family tartans, Irish tartans are more commonly county and district tartans. Experts report that the Irish tartans are thortically inspired by each individual County with soft warm colors. There are also a few Irish family tatterns. It is difficult at this time to dertermin when Irish tartans first appeared. We do know that the Celts had a well developed weaving technology. This continued even when the Celts were pushed to the fringes of Europe, places like Scotlands, Wales, and Ireland. The oldest known Irish tartans were discovered in an Irish peat bog during the 1960s. Textiles do not preserve well in the wet Irish climate. Thus few textiles survive from the medieval era. An exception is textiles preserved in bog remains. The earliest is known as the "Ulster District Tartan" which may date the early to mid 1600s. Some believe that it may have been worn by the O�Cahans of Antrim. A reconstruction of this tartan in displayed in the Ulster Museum in Belfast. Despite the stong asssocition of tartans with Scotland, some experts believe that in the late middle ages, �tartans� or �proto-tartans� appeared in Ireland before Scotland. The Irish belted plaid (an early kilt-like garment) was a solid saffron-yellow garment accoring to most historians. This is why saffron kilts are often worn by Irish pipe bands and Itish dancers. The ancient Celts had no written language, but descriptions of their clothing exist from the writtn records of the people they came into contact with, epecially he Greeks and Romans. There are in modern Ireland very few Irish family tartans. This contrasts sharply with Scotland where there are hundreds of established family patterns. As a result, most Irish people who wear tartan clothing, commonly wear the tartan of the Irish county with which they are associated. A few of these Irish family tartans are believed to be of of ancient origin. Many others are of modern origins. Here it is difficult to determin just when many tartans originated. The earliest study assessing Irish along with the better studied Scottish tartans was published in 1880.

Scottish tartans

Tartan is a cross-checkered pattern repeated repeated continously. The various destincive patterns are referred to as "setts". The patterns consist of different colored bands, stripes, or lines of definite with and sequence. They are woven into wool cloth, sometimes with silk added. Tartan patterns have existed for centuries and in various cultures, but have come to be associated with Scotland where they have become a quasi-heraldic emblem of families or clans. Tartan has come to be widely associated with Scotland and especilly the Scottish kilt. Some Scottish clans have claimed great significance and antiquity for their tartan. There are, however, very limited historical references to Scottish tartans. Much cottish ethnic literature dealing with tartan and Highland Dress tend to focus mainly on clan tartans. Often they suggest that these are the actual patterns worn by the Scottish clans throughout history up to the fateful Battle of Culloden in 1746. Many scholars now think that this is not the case. As Highland regiments wore the kilt, standard tartans were developed for them. The exploits of Highland regimebts in the Napoleonic Wars played a major role in the revivalmof the kilt and popularity of tartan patterns. There are different types of tartan patterns. Best known or perhaps the Scottish clan or family tartans.

Chronology

Some Scottish clans have claimed great significance and antiquity for their tartan. There are, however, very limited historical references to Scottish tartans. Much cottish ethnic literature dealing with tartan and Highland Dress tend to focus mainly on clan tartans. Often they suggest that these are the actual patterns worn by the Scottish clans throughout history up to the fateful Battle of Culloden in 1746. Many scholars now think that this is not the case. The majority of the pre-1850 patterns bearing clan names can actually only be traced back to the early 19th century and the Scottish revival. Many tartan patterns can only be traced back to the famous weaving firm of William Wilson & Sons of Bannockburn, near Stirling.

Material

They are woven into wool cloth, sometimes with silk added.

Types

There are different types of tartan patterns. Best known or perhaps the clan or family tartans. There are also national tartans for communities with strong Celtic connections such as Cornwall, the Isle of Man, Wales, and others. Tartans also exist from countries with Scottish connections, including Australia, Bermuda, Canada, Ulster, the United States, and others. Canada had privincial patterns, such as Nova Scotia and Alberta. The United States has some state patterns. Military tartans are also well known, such as the famed Black Watch and the Royal Canadian Air Force. There are also corporate tartans. Commerorative tartans are sometines issued for special historical or other celebrations

Clothing

Tartan is most associated with Sottish kilts. Tartan material is, however, used in many other garments, including jackets, scarves, skirts, tams, ties, trousers, and other garments.

Sources

Dwelly. "Breacan," Gaelic Dictionary (1901).

MacLennan "Breacan," Gaelic Dictionary (1925).

Clan Originaux (J. Claude Fres et Cie.: Paris, France, 1880).

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Created: November 12, 2000
Last updated: April 18, 2003