From: billp@pcsbst.pcs.com (Bill Potter)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.textiles,soc.culture.celtic,soc.roots
Subject: Re: Clans & Tartans
Date: 8 Apr 92 10:35:08 GMT
Reply-To: billp@pcsbst.pcs.com (Bill Potter)
Organization: PCS Computer Systeme GmbH

In article <92097.104314TACON019@ysub.ysu.edu>, TACON019@ysub.ysu.edu
(Fred Ullom) writes:
> In Robert Bain's book, "Clans and Tartans of Scotland", he lists on page 290
> an association of family names with clans. He states:
> 
> Clan septs were of two classes: clansmen of the clan who were related
by blood
> and formed separate branches and individuals and groups who sought and
> obtained the protection of the clan. This resulted in a clan having septs of
> different surnames, also persons with the same surname might be attached to
> different clans. Many septs now have tartans of their own.

I'm sorry but this is pure poppycock. It's part of a continuing fiction
started in the early 19th century and continued, mainly in expatriate
Scots societies until today. That the fictional belief is economically 
important to the tourist industry and the many "Tartan Shops" in and around 
Princes Street partly explains why it's been allowed to continue.
In the following I'm borrowing heavily from "John Prebble's Scotland",
John Prebble, Penguin 1984, ISBN 0-14-008239-5. The typos are mine.

The first recorded use of a uniform tartan pattern was in the military
with the dark blue and green sett of the Government Tartan, first worn 
in 1740 by the 43rd Regiment, the Black Watch.  This came about only 
because an early commanding officer made a passing remark that it would 
be pleasing to the eye if the sett were uniform.

When the 74th Regiment, the Argyll Highlanders, was raised in 1778
they wore the Government Sett crossed with yellow and white stripes
and lo and behold we have the "traditional" Campbell tartan. Also in 1778
the 78th Regiment, the Seaforth Highlanders, was raised and they crossed
the Government Taratan with read and white stripes and thus Clan
MacKenzie aquired its "traditional" tartan. Similar stories are attached
to the "traditional" tartans of Clan Gordon and Clan Mhoraidh (Murray).

By 1830, following the destruction and peversion of Scottish history
untertaken by Scott in his novels, somehow the order of happening
had been reversed and it was commonly believed in aristocratic
circles that the cheifs, who had raised these regiments, had clothed 
them in traditional clan tartans.

Now one could take the standpoint that the "tradition" of family tartans
is about 150 years old and that is long enough to make it a real
tradition. But it should be sold as such and not as one going back 
into misty history along with the noble highlander and other such rot.
Most of the "noble highlanders" were being cleared off the land
and forced into emmigration by the same people who were propagating 
the lie.

> I'm assuming that this implies that it is acceptable and appropriate for
> people with these surnames to wear the associated clan tartan. Is that
> correct? Also, if the surname has developed a tartan of their own, are they
> still permitted to wear the tartan of their previous association?

It is acceptable and appropriate to wear whatever you want. If you
want to be traditional then avoid using wool dyed with chemical
dyes. If you use natural dyed wool then you'll be getting back
to the real tradition of the tartan. This is really the proof of 
the pudding because many of the psuedo-traditional tartans can
only be made with chemical dyes invented or discovered in the 
last century.

> This list is quite a few pages long and I would like it in clan order. Does
> anybody have this type of list in machine-readable form they could send me?
> 
> As a weaver, I'm in need of current information about the weaving setts of
> various Tartans. My best reference source is a book by Scarlett - I think
> its called a Tartan Weaver's Guide or something like that. This book is fine
> but obviously not complete. Does anybody know of any other sources for
> weaving setts?  The Bain book mentions that Tartans are registered and
> regulated by the Registers at Lyons Court. Is this still the case? Is there
> a way to inquire at the Lyons Court about a particular Tartan sett?

I think it's great that you're doing your weaving but at the 
moment it seems to me that you've got your ideas in a fictional
historical context. I'll leave it to someone else to suggest books
on tartans patterns. I would just suggest weave what you want,
be creative, that's what the real tradition is.

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Bill Potter    : unido!pcsbst!billp       : 1992 - 500th Anniv. of a lost
PCS GmbH       : billp@pcsbst.pcs.com     : Italian sailor and 200th Anniv.
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