
Originally Posted by
figheadair
The Lord of the Isles tartan (back line on the red) is so-called because it appeared in the c1750 portrait of the MacDonald Boys where is shown being worn by the younger, Alexander...



This painting goes to show, in my opinion, that tartans had no significance at that time, due to the two boys wearing five different tartans. (You can just make out the bottom edge of the left-hand boy's waistcoat which does not match his jacket.)
The tartan of the jacket on the left, which has the black line, and a version missing the black line, were both worn by the Isle Of Skye Pipe Band, one for their kilts, the other for their plaids. I loved this tartan-mixing, just what one sees in old portraits.
Another 18th century portrait shows a suit of this quite different "MacDonald tartan." Prince Charles (the modern one) was often seen wearing a kilt in this tartan in his younger days.

About the Allan Brothers' creations, their fake "ancient manuscript" says
MakDonald of ye Ylis... he heth ane blue set, and ane greine sett, quaroff ye blew hathe twa greit panes of blak, and vpon ye ylk borure yroff, and yrby twa gross sprangis of ye samen, and in ye myduard of ye ylk gren sett ane stryp quhite, the maist pairt of half ane fynger breid, ad yn ye mydward of ye blew ane gross spraing reidd.
As with any verbal descriptions of tartan this is open to a wide variety of interpretations. Of course the same men who wrote this fake ancient description also did the admittedly modern illustrations- what's funny is when the two don't match up.
In any case the "ancient manuscript" doesn't say it's a hunting tartan; it's evidently considered the ordinary clan tartan.
Last edited by OC Richard; 19th March 18 at 08:16 PM.
Proud Mountaineer from the Highlands of West Virginia; son of the Revolution and Civil War; first Europeans on the Guyandotte
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