Tartan proliferation -- good or bad?

**Andy Proffitt** · 20th May 10, 09:00 AM

I am of two minds on the subject. I love that there is enough interest in tartan and in Scottish culture that people would go to the trouble to design a tartan from scratch. I would love to have a tartan registered for my bank or other companies.

I am also aware that most of our set tartans come from Wilson's of Bannockburn, so tartans were, in some instances, made up and lent credibility by clan chiefs some of whom knew as much about their traditional tatans (if any) as a fat Hanoverian.

I think it stretches credulity to think the rules that are so often espoused here and by other "authorities" on highland dress, would have mattered to the Highland clansman whom we are emulating in our dress. These tough fierce individuals, who lived in a hard, desolate land, fending for themselves against man and beast,this Highlander,if he didn't like a particular color or line in a tartan, I doubt that he would have let rules of tartan or dress codes bind him, he might have even worn a fur sporran in the day. If he was a MacDonald highlander liked yellow better than red, you can bet he would get what he wanted and laugh at anyone who told him he broke the tartan rules.
So if someone wants their own unique tartan or customized traditional tartan, how does it hurt us?
However
The people who wear a one off, Tony Hawk tartan will never be "in a clan." They will walk around a games and may look great and have fun, but there will be no one else with their tartan, no camaraderie with the their other clansmen. They won't have the thrill of their clan tartan jumping out at them from someone in the crowd. They will be participating in a thing which today is about connecting, forging bonds, enjoying the company of an extended family....and they will be alone. They may have the enjoyment of the tartan itself, but not what it embodies. They are, metaphorically, bodies without souls...we should feel sorry.

**Andy Proffitt** · 20th May 10, 09:02 AM

But I m spoiled as I already have the greatest tartan in the known universe, MacLean hunting. Having attained perfection, why would I try my own designs.

**OC Richard** · 23rd May 10, 05:51 AM

The More the Merrier, I say.

I'll admit that I'm baised, in that I have a kilt in a tartan I devised. (I rarely wear it...it's 9 yards of heavyweight stuff.)

We have a long way to go to get back to the "tartan proliferation" of the old days, when each piece of cloth that came off the loom was unique, there being no concept of fixed designs.

Cool... I followed the link to the tartan designer site and did a version of the Cornish tartan I've tinkered with for a while.

The two symbols of Cornwall are the St Pirin flag (a white cross on a black flag) and the black shield bearing a number of gold "bezants" (discs, circles).

You can't do a shield so it has to become a square, and the number of bezants has to increase to twelve due to the nature of tartan.

But if that's all you use you end up with a black tartan with one wide white stripe and four narrow yellow stripes, an ugly result.

So I put these elements on a pretty periwinkle blue background (Cornwall is surrounded by the sea etc) to seperate them, and I like the result.

To try to get the "bezants" looking gold rather than yellow, each is one narrow yellow stripe flanked by two "old gold" stripes.

Here it is:

**macwilkin** · 23rd May 10, 07:38 AM

I rather like that Cornish design, Richard...I like the Hunting Cornish national as well.

T.

**Brian K** · 23rd May 10, 09:42 AM

Originally Posted by OC Richard

The More the Merrier, I say.

I'll admit that I'm baised, in that I have a kilt in a tartan I devised. (I rarely wear it...it's 9 yards of heavyweight stuff.)

We have a long way to go to get back to the "tartan proliferation" of the old days, when each piece of cloth that came off the loom was unique, there being no concept of fixed designs.

Cool... I followed the link to the tartan designer site and did a version of the Cornish tartan I've tinkered with for a while.

The two symbols of Cornwall are the St Pirin flag (a white cross on a black flag) and the black shield bearing a number of gold "bezants" (discs, circles).

You can't do a shield so it has to become a square, and the number of bezants has to increase to twelve due to the nature of tartan.

But if that's all you use you end up with a black tartan with one wide white stripe and four narrow yellow stripes, an ugly result.

So I put these elements on a pretty periwinkle blue background (Cornwall is surrounded by the sea etc) to seperate them, and I like the result.

To try to get the "bezants" looking gold rather than yellow, each is one narrow yellow stripe flanked by two "old gold" stripes.

I like that, Richard, and would be have been quite pleased with if I had designed it myself. It's a bold, forthright design that would be hard to miss in a crowd.

BTW, if I recall correctly, the heraldic bezant derives from gold coins minted by the Byzantine Empire which circulated throughout Europe, even in places not under the sway of the Emperor. Presumably they entered heraldry as signs of wealth and trade.

Regards,

Brian

**Bugbear** · 23rd May 10, 04:28 PM

I'm not a Scot; it's not my tradition and heritage. I would personally feel very wrong about coming up with a tartan and registering it at this point.

I have no idea if this proliferation is good or bad for the future of tartan and kilt wearing; though I do have a feeling in the back of my mind that several Scots might feel their tradition is being degraded.

unfortunately, that is not one of the voting options.

**Jock Scot** · 24th May 10, 03:47 AM

Originally Posted by Bugbear

I'm not a Scot; it's not my tradition and heritage. I would personally feel very wrong about coming up with a tartan and registering it at this point.

I have no idea if this proliferation is good or bad for the future of tartan and kilt wearing; though I do have a feeling in the back of my mind that several Scots might feel their tradition is being degraded.

unfortunately, that is not one of the voting options.

Interesting reply of yours there Ted. I will not even dare reply on behalf of any other Scot on this, but with the greatest respect to all, this Scot does not mind anyone inventing their own tartan for themselves,their state, their club, their country, their whatever. That way they can leave the Clan tartans to be worn as they should(I would like to hope) by those that care about them.