Clan regalia with National tartan

[freddie]

I'm a Hume (Home is the same) and have kilts in my clan colours (blue) as well as a Royal Stewart variant (red) and MacDonald of The Isles (green). The Royal Stewart is of course a 'universal' tartan, just as Cornish is a 'district' tartan, and I would still wear my clan crest (bonnet badge and belt buckle) with this kilt. However I wear my MacDonald kilt for my mother's side of the family, but would never dream of wearing Hume clan badges with it (not least of all because the Humes of Polworth were allied to the Campbells ! ). I also wouldn't wear a MacDonald badge as I would be wearing my kilt for sentimental reasons and not because I claim to be a member of the MacDonald clan. However the MacDonald of The Isles tartan is an old military one (very similar to MacKenzie) and according to 'The Register of all Publically known Tartans' has never been considered a clan tartan. Historically clan crests seem to be more important than tartan anyway, as prior to the 19th century clansmen seemed to wear what ever tartan they fancied. There is the story of the wounded Campbell about to be bayoneted by a Hanovarian trooper on the field of Culloden who didn't recognise him as friendly because his bonnet had fallen off (he was wearing a plant badge rather than (or as well as) a clan crest). It is argued that if he was wearing a kilt in the Campbell clan tartan then the trooper wouldn't have made the mistake. Of course shortly after this date most Highland British soldiers wore the old Campbell 'Black Watch' tartan as uniform anyway.
Posted by Cajunscot: 'By the way, the Rutherfords and the Homes were Borders families. Many a border family has adopted kilts and tartan, although the original border reivers did not wear them -- I'm not saying there's anything wrong with it, just that it's relatively new for Borderers and Lowlanders to wear the kilt.'
Although it is true to say that the Humes were Borderers, there was a branch in the Highlands, the Humes of Argaty, who took their lands near Dunblane when a son of the Laird of Wedderburn married the daughter of Schaw of Sauchie. In his book 'A system of Heraldry' written during the mid 18th century Alexander Nisbet lists the lowland Humes as 'Hume of this' or Home of that' - but refers to the 'Humes' of Argaty:indicating to me that they lived as a true Highland clan, with their chief being 'a first among equals' rather than a feudal lord.