The History of Tartan
Researched & Written by Peter Eslea MacDonald OBE TD
Tartan is synonymous with Scotland where it is inextricably associated with the kilt and highland dress. As a textile, it is not unique to the country – early specimens have been recorded in China, Egypt and Europe - but only in Scotland did tartan reach the status of a cultural icon.
Tartan fragment c.1200 B.C. found at Qizilchoqa, China
In Scotland, surviving pre-18th century specimens are extremely rare. The so-called Falkirk tartan is often cited as the oldest example of a Scottish tartan but its Romano-British associations means that the claim must be treated with some caution. By contrast, the Glen Affric tartan, named after the glen in which was found has been C14 dated to the 16th century. It is recognised as Scotland’s oldest surviving specimen of a true tartan, one that is woven in a typical pattern of stripes of different proportions and colours.
Tartan fragment c.230 at Falkirk
Tartan fragment c.1500-1600 found in Glen Affric, Inverness-shire
Until the early 19th century people wore tartan based on what they liked, could afford, or was available. The naming of civilian tartans began in the late 18th century with the weaving firm Wilsons of Bannockburn naming some of their tartans after towns, regions and notable people. In 1815 the Highland Society of London established the concept of clan tartans. This concept quickly developed to form the basis of the clan and family tartans so familiar today. Since the 1970s Scottish tartan has become a world-wide phenomenon with designs for many non-traditional groups and organisations. Today there are over 13,000 records on The STA’s database and the number grows every week.
Chapter One
Tartan in Scotland before 1700
Other than the two specimens discussed earlier, there are few surviving records of tartan in Scotland before 1600. The early records are fragmentary and often translations of Latin text with descriptions such as striatis (striped) and veriedatae (variegated) often being inferred to as meaning checkered. Interpretation of older texts is further complicated by the fact that ‘tartan’ was also used to refer to a type of material commonly called linsey-woolsey. Thus, the mention in 1538 in the Lord High Treasurer's accounts for James V of ‘iii elnis of Heland tartane to be hoiss to the Kingis Grace’ could have been a reference to the pattern or the type/quality of the cloth. It would be another century before reliable reference to tartan can be identified. The print of Scottish soldiers in service of Gustavus Adolphus in the Low Countries, 1631 shows what is clearly meant to represent Highland Dress and tartan but this was probably produced from a second-hand account rather than from life.
Scottish soldiers in service of Gustavus Adolphus, Stettin Print, 1631 – British Museum
A more reliable 17th century source is John Speed’s 1662 map of Scotland which includes the figure of a Highland man and woman wearing garments that are obviously tartan.
A Highland Man and Woman - John Speed 1662
A few years later the artist Michael Wright’s c.1680 painting of Lord Mungo Murray was the first known portrait showing tartan and Highland Dress. Writing of the dress of the inhabitant of the Isle of Mull in 1688 William Sacheverell wrote that ‘The usual outward habit of both sexes is the pladd; the women's much finer, the colours more lively, and the squares larger than the men's, and put me in mind of the ancient Picts.’ How Sacheverell knew what the ancient Picts wore is not explained.
Lord Mungo Murray by Michael Wright c.1680 - Glasgow Museum
Writing of the dress of the inhabitant of the Isle of Mull in 1688 William Sacheverell wrote that ‘The usual outward habit of both sexes is the pladd; the women's much finer, the colours more lively, and the squares larger than the men's, and put me in mind of the ancient Picts.’ How Sacheverell knew what the ancient Picts wore is not explained.
Chapter Two
The rise of tartan, the Jacobites and Proscription
Jacobite agitation began in the later part of the 17th century and gained momentum in the early 18th century following the Union of the Parliaments in 1707. This period coincided with socio-economic improvements that saw increased references to, and depictions of, tartan and Highland Dress. In addition to a number of early 18th century portraits and specimens, there are also written references that describe tartan in a way that can be readily identified. For example, writing in 1730 Edmund Burt states that ‘they wear a plaid, which is usually three yards long and two breadths wide, and the whole garb is made of chequered tartain’. Helpfully, Burt also included some pen and ink drawings showing the dress of the period.
Highlanders in Belted Plaids by Edmund Burt, 1754
At the time of the ’45, the last Jacobite Rising, Prince Charles Edward Stuart adopted tartan as a unifying symbol (in addition to the White Cockade) and encouraged his supporters to wear it. This is captured in the iconic painting of the Battle of Culloden in which members of the Atholl Brigade are shown wearing a variety of tartan.
An Incident in the Rebellion of 1745 by David Morier
The failure of the Rising lead resulted in the government introducing the Act of Proscription which was described as ‘An act for the more effectual disarming the highlands of Scotland; and for the more effectual securing the peace of the said highlands; and for restraining the use of the highland dress.’ Commonly called the ‘Dress Act’, it was the source of perhaps the grateest myth about tartan – that it was banned after Culloden. The myth arose due to a misinterpretation of the wording of the dress section, specifically ‘That, in addition to forbidding various items of male Highland clothing name, ‘no Tartan, or Party-coloured Plaid or Stuff, should be, used for Great Coats or for Upper Coats’. This was possibly an attempt to include Jacobite supporters that were not Highlanders.
The fact that the Act only applied to the clothing of men and boys in the Highlands but excluded landowners, those in army and by omission, women, shows that tartan was not banned outright. Several protectant individuals were painted wearing tartan during the early years of the ban. The ban lasted for 35 years but enforced differentially across the country was generally obsolete by about 1770.
Examples of portraits painted during the Proscription of Highland Dress
Chapter Three
The Highland Revival, 1822 and the Victorian era
The Highland Revival is a term that covered the period approximately 1780-1840. It was a time that saw the rapid development of Highland dress and tartan that was bookended by the Repeal of the Dress Act, through the visit of George IV to Scotland to the dawn of the Victorian era. This was followed by the growth in popularity of tartan as pan-Scottish symbol of identity and the commercialisation of tartan.
Shortly after the Repeal of the Dress Act in 1782, Wilsons of Bannockburn began producing a number of tartans named after towns and places, such as: Aberdeen, Crieff, Fort William and Galawater. They also gave names to some of their fancy patterns; others were named after individuals: No.43 became Kidd or Caledonia.
In 1815, Andrew Robertson, the miniature painter and Secretary of the Highland Society of London, promoted the idea that they should set about preserving the different Tartans, Plaids, and Banners of the clans. Accordingly, they wrote to the Highland clan chiefs urging them to submit a specimen of their traditional tartan. This caused a considerable amount of confusion. In response, Alexander Robertson, Chief of Clan Donnachaidh, wrote that ‘more than twenty years ago I wished to ascertain what the pattern of the Clandonachy Tartan was, and applied to different old men of the Clan for information, most of whom pretended to know what the pattern was but as no two of the descriptions I received were exactly similar, and as they were all very vulgar and Gaudy, I did not think proper to adopt any of them.’
Notwithstanding the fact that there had never been clan tartans before this initative, the concept was readily adopted. Fifty-five specimens were submitted between 1815-22 and included in the Society’s volume of Certified Tartans.
The Highland Society of London Certified Tartans 1815-22 and the certified Colquhoun tartan Photo: PAE MacDonald
The visit of George IV to Edinburgh in 1822 (the first British monarch to visit Scotland for over 170 years) was orchestrated by Sir Walter Scott who encouraged people to turn out ‘plaided and plumed’ to greet the King. Wilsons of Bannockburn provided majority of the tartans worn, including some of their latest patterns: Cameron (of Erracht), MacPherson and Royal Stewart being three popular ones.
Denis Deighton – The Honours of Scotland, 1822
Towards the end of the Highland Revival the fashion moved away from full tartan outfits to plain jackets and tartan might have fallen out of favour again but for two events which turbo charged its popularity and set the stage for the multitude of patterns and international interest that we see today.
The first of these events was the marriage of Queen Victoria (crowned 1837) to Prince Albert in 1840 and their falling in love with the Highlands and all things tartan. This was exemplified by their purchase of the Balmoral Estate in 1847 from which time the Royal Family became the fashion leaders helping to promote tartan far beyond its traditional usage.
A calling card retainer with Mauchline Wear cover – Photo: The Scottish Tartans Authority
The second, and arguably more influential, influence that affected the growth of tartan was the self-styled Sobieski-Stuart brothers whose real names were John Carter and Charles Manning Allen. Claiming illegitimate descent from Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie) they had moved to Scotland by 1822 and set about inculcating themselves into society. Beginning by composing a volume of poems dedicated to the Duke of Argyll, by the mid-1820s the brothers had turned their attention to tartan. They began work on the Vestiarium Scoticum, a book that introduced a number of hitherto unknown tartans said to have been preserved in a 16th century manuscript that they had discovered in Paris. In addition to tartans for the major Highland Clans (most of which already had one), they included some royal tartans and also, tartans for Lowland families which until then had not had one. Leaving aside the false antiquity of their designs, the Vestiarium is noteworthy for being the first book published with tartan plates. With only 50 copies printed, it is a rare book that forms an important part of the story of tartan. It started a trend that continues today with new tartan books published every few years.
The Vestiarium Scoticum, 1842.
The second half of the 19th century was characterised by the royal family’s use of tartan which had a huge influence on the civilian and fashion market for tartan.
Queen Victoria landing at Loch Muick, 1850 by Sir Edwin Landseer - Image @ Royal Collection Trust
Silk Day Dress c.1865 - Kobe Museum, Japan
Royal support for tartan and Highland Dress led to the development of specialist retail shops supplying tartan, Highland Dress and other Scottish paraphernalia. At this time Wilsons of Bannockburn’s market superiority had been overtaken by mills operating throughout the United Kingdom, not just in Scotland.
Tartan advert by John Murdoch of Inverness c.1880
Chapter Four
Tartan today – Developments since 1900
The dawning of the 20th century saw the beginning of what would develop into the Highland outfitters and kilt hire trade of today. Firms like Andersons (now Kinloch Andersons), RW Forsyth and Romanes and Paterson provided an increased range of tartans and stock clothing rather than the bespoke outfits of the previous century.
Kilting tartans in RW Forsyth's Catalogue, 1907 - Photo@ PAE MacDonald
In 1963 the Scottish Tartans Society (STS) was founded to study and preserve the history of tartan and related Highland dress. At the same time, the then Lord Lyon undertook to record some tartans but heraldry and tartan are different and idea was short lived. In 1995 the STS was reconstituted as The Scottish Tartans Authority (STA). which remains the authority on all things tartan. It is the principal partner with the Scottish Register of Tartans which was founded in 2008 to provide a single, independent Scottish register of tartans which promotes and preserves information about historic and contemporary tartans from Scotland and throughout the world.
Since the beginning of the 20th century the number of tartans increased from the 500 or so pre-1900 patterns to well over 10,000 today. Until the late 1990s new tartans were principally designed by the commercial weavers and a handful of researchers using techniques that essentially followed the practise of James Logan and others designing in the early 19th century. The development of computer design packages made the process easier and the availability of online versions means that the number of new designs has grown exponentially. There are now over 500 new tartans registered annually. Many of these are for individuals and organisations that have little or no traditional Scottish connections. From its humble rural beginnings in the Highlands, Scottish tartan, the Fabric of the Nation, has become the gift that Scotland gave the world.
A plethora of tartans – Photo: Lochcarron of Scotland
