MacDonald of Clanranald (1914)

[figheadair]

Well found Nathan. That brings it all back and on the face of things this is one of the few truly old tartans that can be associated with a particular clan/individual. But hang on... all is not quite right with this.

"For the pattern, which we have no hesitation in giving as the Clan Ranald full-dress, we are indebted to Mr. Allan R. MacDonald of Water- nish, Skye. It is taken from a plaid spun and dyed by an ancestress of Mr. MacDonald's, a daughter of Lachlan MacKinnon of Corry, the entertainer of Dr. Johnson and Pennant, and worn by her husband, Allan MacDonald of Baile-Fhionnlaigh, Benbecula, a cadet of the Clan Ranald family, as a captain in the Clan regiment of the 45, and who was severely wounded at Culloden, whose portrait, dressed in the tartan, is shown on page 166. The plaid is a beautiful specimen of the old Highland hard tartan, and made of the wool of the aboriginal Highland sheep—the colours are still quite fresh and bright. According to John MacCodrum, the bard, c. 1715, the colours of the Clan Ranald tartan were crimson with carnation in the waft."

Let me deal firstly with the portrait in which, as you rightly point out, the tartan differs. If it were in colour I would expect it to show the so called Rob Roy, that simple two coloured check widely worn in the early to mid18th century. Allan MacDonald may not have even had such a tartan coat and the colouration may simply have be the artist's addition to re-enforce the Highland connection. This simple tartan is shown by various artists at about the same time being worn by Pr Ch Ed, Lord Ogilvie and Norman MacLeod, 22nd Chief to name but three other non-MacGregors.

Turning to the Waternish plaid my first question is where is it now? Without seeing it it's impossible to know whether it is/was actually as old as claimed. I have come across many examples of tartan artifacts that the owners believed to be much older than they actually were. In this case we are dealing with a period of nearly 170 years which is probably 3-4 generations and facts often get conflated over such a period. I think MacKay or his correspondent did just this with individuals, dates and the portrait.

If the portrait is original then is must be c1745-6. Allan MacDonald and Jean MacKinnon were married in 1761 and so this plaid that she spun and wove must be post 1761. So, if the Culloden link for the plaid is wrong how can we be sure exactly how old it is/was or indeed that was even produced by Jean? If only MacKay had thought photograph the plaid.

Here's my sample in Wilsons' shades.

[Nathan]

I haven't been able to track down many portraits of Clanranald chiefs actually. Alexander Ranaldson MacDonell of Glengarry always comes up with his fine portrait but it seems the Clanranald line wasn't much for staying still for long periods to be painted.

[Nathan]

Also, any idea what the bard meant by "The colours of the Clan Ranald tartan were crimson with carnation in the waft."

I get the crimson part, but since carnations come in many colours, what the heck does he mean here?

[figheadair]

Also, any idea what the bard meant by "The colours of the Clan Ranald tartan were crimson with carnation in the waft."

I get the crimson part, but since carnations come in many colours, what the heck does he mean here?

I always think of carnations as pink but I don't think one can tell too much from this description beyond the indication that that Clanranald's tartan (individual not clan) had a different shade of red in the warp and weft (waft). However, John MacCodrum would have been a Gaelic speaker in which case he would probably have used a combination of dearg/rudh/carnaid/flane/corcair that someone has later translated as crimson (deep red) and carnation (pink). Whether that was the case or MacCodrum spoke English too (unlikely) one still has to factor in the individual's subjective use of colour terms for particular shades. Wiki describes crimson as a deep, red colour noting that it was originally produced with the insect dye Kermes Vermilio whch is where we get the colour term vermillion from. Others might call this shade the less technical 'claret' or 'wine'. Now think about the Lindsay tartan in which the red is often described as claret or wine but which is (now) quite different from crimson.

We also have no idea how familiar MacCodrum (who lived in N. Uist) was with the Clanranald plaid, what he knew about weaving (if anything) and how the warp and weft can appear to differ under certain light conditions and perhaps most importantly, the fact that MacCodrum was a peasant bard and probably illiterate so one may have to factor in an intermediary scribe and thus the translation may be even more remote that MacCodrum's original meaning.

[Nathan]

So I'm not sure how a bardic quote about a crimson and pink tartan would be supportive evidence for this orange-red, green and black tartan. Mackay cites a portrait of a man in a Rob Roy MacGregor tartan and a reference to a crimson tartan as evidence of the age of this pattern. Is it any wonder I'm scratching my head? What am I missing here?

[Domehead]

This is why deconstructionists stick strictly within the confines of text exposing trace.
Down with Historic, Autobiographic, Biographic or Agro-Martial Sociolinguistic context muckin' up the works! (he said, slowly withdrawing the tongue from his cheek).
I'm returning to the back of the room, now.

Seriously, I am of the opinion that the deconstructive research approach dovetails nicely with text based tartanology, for this very reason. Certain individuals, such as Mr. MacDonald, M.A.C. Newsome, James D. Scarlett, Donald W. Stewart & Progeny, can use different research methods due to proximity and access to material many of us can only dream of.

However, these circumstances should only change the nature of "education" one can achieve. It is possible to arrive at very similar conclusions so long as one is comfortable "peeling back layers of onion, finding no core". This is the nature of tartanology. Everything is based on a preponderance of evidence, revealed most linearly & logically, achieving much greater understanding, but ultimately ensuring a new bank of inquiry.

Just my thoughts on how I approach this field and this brilliant conversation you've been having.
Thanks to you both, by the way.
Ryan

[Nathan]

Thanks to you as well, Domehead. There are so many strands to examine including military and noble procurement bills of sale, portraits, fragments, letters, poems etc...

Add to this the fact that I've never encountered a field of study more riddled with misinformation and romantic invention than the Romantic history of Highland garb.

I'm far from an expert on tartans but I am a student of Highland history in the broader sense. I had someone insist to me that prior to the '45, only the great kilt existed and that the little kilt was an invention by either an English tailor or Sir Walter Scott.

I found it curious, therefore, that the filleadh beag is specifically named and prohibited as an item of Highland attire in the Act of Proscription. There are also letters from Highland soldiers fighting in Lower Canada in 1755 complaining that the filleadh beag was not really designed for Canadian winters.

Fun times indeed.

[figheadair]

So I'm not sure how a bardic quote about a crimson and pink tartan would be supportive evidence for this orange-red, green and black tartan. Mackay cites a portrait of a man in a Rob Roy MacGregor tartan and a reference to a crimson tartan as evidence of the age of this pattern. Is it any wonder I'm scratching my head? What am I missing here?

Nathan, you've got to the heart of the problem. Without evidence of the supposed actually plaid then it's a case of of poor deduction or wishful thinking on MacKay's part.

[Nathan]

This is why deconstructionists stick strictly within the confines of text exposing trace.

Hey Ryan,

Can you provide more details about what this means exactly?

Cheers,

N

[creagdhubh]

A most intriguing and excellent conversation/thread to follow!