TARTAN: THE HISTORY OF A PEOPLE IN CLOTH
There are few textiles that carry as much meaning & mystery woven through their threads as the TARTAN. If you look closely, you will see the whole history of a people written in the weft of a piece of tartan - and that history is full of ancient magic, victories and defeats, sorrows and perseverance. And by “people”, I mean the Scots. Though all the Celtic peoples had versions of plaid fabrics, only the Scots made it such an integral part of their identity. The tartan, as the cultural symbol of this proud, fierce, hardheaded, brave, and independent people, has spread throughout the world becoming an enduring symbol of winter cheer. So how did tartan go from being such a personal symbol of identity to the Scots, to being slapped onto holiday cookie tins?
The answer, like with most questions related to the Scots, is: IT’S COMPLICATED.
But I believe (as a member of the diaspora) that the Scots are due the consideration and understanding of the origins and complicated history of this beloved textile.
where tartan started: clan identity & political protest
The definition of TARTAN is a “a plaid fabric, with special significance to a particular Scottish clan.”
Though this is definitely the modern interpretation (post-the abolition of the clans in 1746 and the restitution in 1782), the historical definition of tartan is much more fluid. Historically, the exact design of clan tartans were rarely set in stone but rather more loose design guidelines, with each individual piece of tartan’s exact specifications being subject to dye availability and the skill of the weaver. It made a big difference if the tartan was being woven for the laird of the clan by the women of his house, or if it was being woven by a poor farmer up in the highlands using whatever came to hand - though both tartans, despite varying degrees of quality, would be considered to represent that individual belonging to the clan. As a result of local natural dyes being used in clan tartans, the clan tartan colors are actually very distinct to their particular region - making the clan tartan an even more personal symbol of the land your people come from. This general design “fluidity” also resulted in tartan being woven for lesser uses in whatever color or pattern the individual desired - in fact, historians believe that most Scots wore a variety of tartan plaids at any given time in various garment pieces, that had no particular significance, though only the tartan of the kilt represented your clan membership. The best modern equivalents today would be something like a school jersey or sports team merchandise - but one where wearing the garment could get you killed or save your life depending on the circumstances. Despite any variation in design or coloration, clan tartans were treasured garments to those that could claim affiliation - like a national flag or family crest. Your clan tartan represented you membership to your wider family of kin, and the fierce loyalty that kinship commanded.
In the years leading up to 1746, wearing tartan became more than just a sign of clan loyalty & affiliation, but took on a fundamental Scottish nationalistic tone. During the Jacobite risings, wearing the royal Stuart tartan or an iteration on it became a symbol of political support for the Jacobite cause and all that the movement symbolized. Many Catholics in England, Ireland, as well as Scotland wore the Stuart tartan as a sign of affiliation with the Jacobite movement that sought to reinstate the Catholic Stuarts to the throne. Even beyond religious affiliation, many believed that the Hanoverian kings of England were usurpers, and the rightful king was the heir to the Scottish royal Stuart bloodline, Bonny Prince Charlie.
why it all changed: The destruction of a nation
As I mentioned previously, the historical understanding & use of the tartan in Scottish culture ended in the aftermath of the Battle of Colloden in 1746, where the Jacobite uprising was finally crushed and all hope of reinstating the Scottish royal Stuart bloodline was ended. The English Parliament passed The Dress Act of 1746 declaring tartan, clan insignia, the Gaelic language, and all trappings of highland culture illegal.
SIDE NOTE: For those of us in America, this was one of the key events in the British Empire that set the tone for the American Revolution starting in 1776. For many, events like these turned many loyal Englishmen into revolutionaries, and started the movement for the fundamental Rights of Man. Many Jacobites fled to the colonies to escape the occupation in Scotland during this time, further fanning the flames of revolution and contributing in major ways to the American fight for freedom.
This defeat and the subsequent abolition of Scottish culture that followed shook Scotland to it’s core. During the period of English occupation in Scotland, the stipulations of The Dress Act were brutally enforced - if even a scrap of tartan was found in your home you could be be killed on sight, and many were (there are many accounts of tartan fragments being “planted” on suspected members of the resistance, justifying murdering them without trial), making the population all the more terrified. After the Act was repealed in 1782, it took a very long time for Scotland to recover it’s national identity - traditions were lost, the flower of Scotland had been cut down or dispersed throughout the world. It was a very dark time for the Scots, even after the Act was repealed Scotland was still very much a defeated nation under occupation by the conquerer. As with most nations when faced with an uncertain future, the Scots either turned on each other (as was the case with the highland clearances) or became impassioned about ideology (through the philosophical & scientific gains made during the Scottish enlightenment), setting the stage for the Victorian romanticization of Scotland to come.
the victorians: when highland culture became a trend
I will admit, I struggle trying to rationalize the behavior of the Victorians - the history of their era feels riddled with bad decisions and thoughtless progress. Am I being too harsh? Maybe. But all of us can think of a time in history that just sounds unappealing to us, and for me, it is the Victorian era. This was the time of the harshest treatment of the commonwealth countries throughout the empire, widespread industrialization & abuses, shoddy historical research, class system abuse & structural breakdown, and generally just really bad fashion & interior design. But, no era is without its luminaries! The Victorians gave us Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, J.M. Barrie who wrote Peter Pan, John Keats, and Lord Byron - pure geniuses of the romantic movement that still inspire us to this day. Alongside the Victorians (or shall we say, in contrast to it) you find the Arts and Crafts movement in architecture & interior design - a movement that fought to preserve the ancient techniques and bring tradition & the simplicity of the natural world back into everyday life. And of course, we can not forget the indomitable woman for which this era of civilization is named; Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Victoria was a complicated woman, who inherited a mess of a nation, but had the good fortune to marry a good man and raise a dynasty with him. She made many mistakes in her reign, but learned from some of them, and ruled the kingdom she loved with a steady and benevolent hand and saw Great Britain safely into the 20th century.
The Victorians became fascinated with Scotland thanks to the writings of Sir Walter Scott, the Scottish writer that brought old romantic legends of the past to life for his 19th century readers. Queen Victoria fell hard for his romantic retellings of old highland life in Scotland, and she and her Germanic prince, Albert, took to vacationing in Scotland and later bought their gothic castle in Aberdeen, Balmoral. Prince Albert loved Scotland as it reminded him of his homeland, and completely rebuilt Balmoral in the image of grand German castles. Victoria and Albert decorated the interior of Balmoral entirely in tartan, and started the trend of Scottish romanticism through Victorian society as well. It is the Victorians that first started using tartan in furniture upholstery, curtains, and ordinary household items to communicate their interest in the romantic new trend.
the modern tartans: a quick fix for a lost identity
After the Dress Act of 1746 abolished the use of clan tartan, many clans completely lost any remnant of their traditional clan tartans. However during the Victorian surge of Scottish romanticism, Scottish wool mills “reinvented” many of the lost or unknown clan tartans. This resulted in what is now known as the “Modern Clan Tartans”. Most were similar to their ancient predecessors, but some Modern clan tartans are entirely different from the the Ancient tartans of the clan.
My maternal clan, Ferguson, is one clan whose dark modern tartan is completely different from the beautiful blues of the ancient tartan. It was only after historians had time to examine old effigies, exhume clan tombs, and consult old records that many of the old ancient tartans were rediscovered. This time of modern tartan making in the 1900s also launched the widespread use of tartan as a decorative textile & motif, with less connection to the clans they originally belonged to.
my thoughts on respecting tradition in the 21st century
I know that was a lot of history to get through, but I truly believe that the best way to respect a people is to understand their story - and the story of the tartan is also the story of Scotland. As a member of the Scottish diaspora myself, the tartan has a different meaning for me than for most people. Each tartan carries a piece of Scottish history with it, and when I see or wear a particular tartan I am reminded of the clan it belonged to, and it’s contribution to the story of the Scottish people. Today the royal Stuart tartan, with it’s perfect shade of bright red, is the most popular Christmas plaid, seen on everything from holiday clothing to cookie tins. To think, only a couple hundred years ago, that same red tartan could get you jailed or worse for political protest! You all likely know the Blackwatch plaid as well, otherwise known as the tartan of clan Campbell, as it is the most widely used tartan throughout fashion & interior design due to it’s original popularity with the Victorians. But does tartan, or clan affiliation mean anything in the 21st century? As a complete romantic, I say without hesitation, yes!
However, all meaning only exists to the degree we choose to apply it.
Something as rare & magnificent as clan loyalty only exists if we collectively choose to honor it. The 20th century saw a real breakdown in the belief in the value of family, kinship, and national identity - 2 world wars, multiple cultural & political revolutions, the invention of the atomic bomb and the internet will do that to a civilization. Alongside extreme human progress, always comes intense trauma to humanity as a whole - it is a tradeoff that civilization has experienced before (Dark Ages, anyone? Also the 1600s were pretty rough too) and we will experience again. However, because of this modern breakdown in trust, I believe the concept of family and wider cultural kinship is all the more important than it was before.
I am also, as I mentioned, part of the diaspora, a descendent of those that left the homeland. The colonial territories around the world became home to millions of ethnic diaspora over the last 300 years due to famine, persecution, or just a desire for a better life. These intrepid people, the ones that left, are idealized for their strength & determination to start a new life despite the unknowns - as they should be! However, roughly 300 years later, we realize the challenges that come with removing large portions of a population from the land of their ancestors - the gradual loss of tradition and belonging, and more importantly, the loss of national soul, little by little over each generation. I am lucky enough to have had fairly recent family born in the old countries, but even I can feel that sense of familiarity & belonging slipping away - and for what? The great American experiment wasn’t so much a political one, as a sociological one.
An experiment to see if you could actually get people from their different homelands all over the world to start their lives over, together, in a new land. It was a beautiful idea, but a flawed one - because it didn’t allow for the critical importance of heritage.
In a modern era full of distrust in broken institutions, ideological divides, and a fundamentally unstable world, I do believe that remembering and honoring our heritage MATTERS more than ever. Because our heritage reminds us that we are not the first to face an uncertain future, but rather the latest link in a long chain of humans who faced the challenges of their day bravely, and passed that legacy on to us.
