|
Generally one would wear the tartan of the Clan that
you belong to. For those without a Clan there are a number of District
Tartans that can be used or the "Hunting Stewart", a green tartan with black,
yellow and red overstripes which has served as the "universal" Scottish
tartan. Individuals with no clan or family tartan should be encouraged to
wear a district tartan appropriate to a locale of origin, residence or
affection. The accompanying cap badge can be any with a Scottish theme,
perhaps the cross of St. Andrew, a thistle or the badge of a particular county
or city.
The history of tartan is as old as the Scots people
themselves dating back to the 5th century when they arrived from Ireland with
their "woollen cloth of different colours", and it remains as it began as a
symbol of clan and national identity.
However, in its original form, a rough woollen
cloth worn as a plaid, tartan had a highly practical function of providing
warmth and shelter from the harsh Scottish weather. Over the years, the plaid
became modified into the kilt which was in fairly common use along side the
plaid by 1795.
Tartan has fallen in and out of favour as the
popularity of the Scots and all things Scottish has grown and waned. In 1747,
shortly after the Jacobite rebellion, the Dress Act forbade the wearing of
tartan with offenders receiving a punishment of six months imprisonment or
transportation. Scotsmen were made to swear an oath pledging their compliance
with the law:
Once
the law had been repealed, tartan reappeared slowly, mainly as a military
uniform, and it was not until George IV's visit to Scotland in 1822 that it was
in vogue once more. In Queen Victoria's day, fashion added new checks,
decorative sporrans, and skean dhu's, and these were formally incorporated into
our present idea of highland dress.
Over the years, each clan or family has developed its own
distinctive "sett" distinguished by the number of threads of each colour in the
pattern. Nowadays, tartan has virtually lost its function as a hardwearing cloth
for hunting and working purposes, and the more traditional and sombre colours,
based on vegetable dyes, have been replaced by dress tartans with their brighter
overchecks. To many Scotsmen and women tartan is emblematic of something heroic
and indefinable, and they continue to wear it with pride.
"I do swear... as I shall swear to God at the great day of
judgement, that I have not, nor shall l have in my possession, any gun, sword,
pistol, or arm whatsoever, and never use any tartan, plaid, or any piece of
highland garb."
|
|
