Tartan, "plaid" in North America, is a fabric of a twill structure, made from variously colored warp and weft yarns, woven in a pattern of crossed horizontal and vertical bands in different colors individual to Scottish clans.
The oldest known tartan design is the Falkirk tartan, which dates to around 245 AD and was discovered in a jar of coins near Falkirk.
The word tartan dates back to about 1500 and comes from the French "tartaine," with "tartan" referred to a certain fabric - a mixture of wool and linen. The French themselves had borrowed the term from the Spaniards, who called a silken material tiritaña, most likely because of the swishing sound it made, as the root of the word was the Spanish for "rustle."
The distinctive checked patterns worn by various Scottish Highland clans evolved in the 16th century. Different clans adopted varying colored designs mainly due to the varying availability of different dyes in separate locations. However the religious reformer John Knox frowned upon God fearing folk wearing such bright colored attire and the clergy were banned from wearing them. Meanwhile in Aberdeen a woman wearing a long tartan cloth was considered to be 'Wanton'.
Scotland's national dress, the kilt, was developed from the philamore, a massive piece of tartan worn with a belt and draped over the shoulder, by English industrialist Thomas Rawlinson. Rawlinson ran a foundry at Lochaber, Scotland in the early 1700s, and thought a detachable garment would make life more comfortable for his workers.
Tartan was banned after the 1745 Jacobite rebellion, as part of an attempt to bring warring tribes under government control. It wasn't legalized again until 1782.
Australia and some other countries celebrate Tartan Day on July 1, the anniversary of the repeal of the 1746 UK Act banning the wearing of tartan.
King George IV's 1822 visit to Edinburgh in full Highland rig was stage managed by Walter Scott to portray the English king as an overweight reincarnation of Bonnie Prince Charlie. The spectacular pageantry that took place led to the revival, if not the creation, of Scottish tartan dress as it is known today.
The world's first ever permanent color photograph, taken by Thomas Sutton for James Clerk Maxwell's pioneering 1861 demonstration of color photography, was of a tartan ribbon.
Scotty McTape, a kilt-wearing cartoon boy, was 3M's mascot for two decades, first appearing in 1944. The familiar tartan design, a take on the well-known Wallace tartan, was introduced the following year.
The only tartan to have been to the moon was a piece of MacBean tartan, taken there in 1969 by Alan Bean, the fourth man to walk on our lunar neighbor.
Every province and territory in Canada, except Nunavut in the north, has its own official tartan.
In the US in 2008, an annual April 6 Tartan Day was proclaimed by President George W Bush.
Sources Daily Express, Europress Family Encyclopedia
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| Three tartans, Wikipedia |
The oldest known tartan design is the Falkirk tartan, which dates to around 245 AD and was discovered in a jar of coins near Falkirk.
The word tartan dates back to about 1500 and comes from the French "tartaine," with "tartan" referred to a certain fabric - a mixture of wool and linen. The French themselves had borrowed the term from the Spaniards, who called a silken material tiritaña, most likely because of the swishing sound it made, as the root of the word was the Spanish for "rustle."
The distinctive checked patterns worn by various Scottish Highland clans evolved in the 16th century. Different clans adopted varying colored designs mainly due to the varying availability of different dyes in separate locations. However the religious reformer John Knox frowned upon God fearing folk wearing such bright colored attire and the clergy were banned from wearing them. Meanwhile in Aberdeen a woman wearing a long tartan cloth was considered to be 'Wanton'.
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| The earliest image of Scottish soldiers wearing tartan, from a woodcut c. 1631 |
Scotland's national dress, the kilt, was developed from the philamore, a massive piece of tartan worn with a belt and draped over the shoulder, by English industrialist Thomas Rawlinson. Rawlinson ran a foundry at Lochaber, Scotland in the early 1700s, and thought a detachable garment would make life more comfortable for his workers.
Tartan was banned after the 1745 Jacobite rebellion, as part of an attempt to bring warring tribes under government control. It wasn't legalized again until 1782.
Australia and some other countries celebrate Tartan Day on July 1, the anniversary of the repeal of the 1746 UK Act banning the wearing of tartan.
King George IV's 1822 visit to Edinburgh in full Highland rig was stage managed by Walter Scott to portray the English king as an overweight reincarnation of Bonnie Prince Charlie. The spectacular pageantry that took place led to the revival, if not the creation, of Scottish tartan dress as it is known today.
The world's first ever permanent color photograph, taken by Thomas Sutton for James Clerk Maxwell's pioneering 1861 demonstration of color photography, was of a tartan ribbon.
Scotty McTape, a kilt-wearing cartoon boy, was 3M's mascot for two decades, first appearing in 1944. The familiar tartan design, a take on the well-known Wallace tartan, was introduced the following year.
The only tartan to have been to the moon was a piece of MacBean tartan, taken there in 1969 by Alan Bean, the fourth man to walk on our lunar neighbor.
Every province and territory in Canada, except Nunavut in the north, has its own official tartan.
In the US in 2008, an annual April 6 Tartan Day was proclaimed by President George W Bush.
Sources Daily Express, Europress Family Encyclopedia
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