Identification

• Scottish tartan is a particular type of plaid, identified both by the color in the background and the color and width of overlapping stripes in the foreground. These very specific patterns, or "setts," each represent a Scottish clan. Historically, only members of the clan, as well as those under a clan's protection, were entitled to wear that clan's tartan.
  
  

History

• Scottish historian John A. Duncan believes that tartans are as old as the Celtic people themselves, predating the Roman conquest of Britain. Tartans begin to be mentioned in the historical record during the late Renaissance period; King James V is described wearing tartan in 1538. According to Geddes MacGregor in "Scotland: An Intimate Portrait," tartan's popularity exploded in the early nineteenth century when King George IV of England visited Edinburgh and dressed in a kilt. The immense interest in tartan prompted an official list of tartans, published in 1819; at the time, only 55 were catalogued.
  
  

Significance

• The tartan became so intertwined with the identity of Highland Scots that, immediately following the disastrous Jacobean Revolt of 1745, the victorious British army used that connection to utterly destroy the Scottish rebels' morale. When the Scots lost the decisive Battle of Culloden, the British struck back by prohibiting the wearing of tartan plaid in 1746's Act of Proscription. It was meant to demoralize the Highlanders, to strip away one of their sources of pride and keep them humble. A tremendous blow, this proscription caused many clans to lose track of their tartans, and some historic patterns were never seen again. Even though the act was repealed in 1782, the practice of tartan wearing never regained its former popularity. According to Nigel Tranter in "The Story of Scotland," this is the reason so few kilts are seen in the Scottish Highlands even today.
  
  

Types

• A kilt in tartan plaid, as part of traditional Scottish dress.
  
  Both historically and in modern times, tartans are far more common in northern Scotland (the Highlands) than in southern Scotland (the Lowlands). Modern Scots wear tartans in knee-length wool kilts (a pleated skirt fastened with buckles). In earlier times, clansmen wore a single length of wool wrapped around the waist to form a primitive kilt, then thrown over one shoulder like a toga, and belted to stay in place. Women wore an arisaid, a long tartan cloak that hung to the heels, belted and worn over a soft linen chemise. Although mainly used for clothing, tartan plaids were also woven into tapestries and linens, and used in home decor and heraldry.
  
  

Misconceptions

• The phrases "tartan plaid" and "plaid" are not interchangeable. Although many retailers and fashion designers mistakenly refer to all plaid as tartan, this isn't the case. Tartans may be registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans; however, there is no historical documentation required to register a tartan. To see the original Scottish clan tartans, you can view a PDF copy online of an anonymous 1886 book titled "The Scottish Clans and Their Tartans."