Was Tartan ever actually banned?

[macwilkin]

I think that the plaid proscribed would also include what we have now come to call the "Laird's Plaid"- i.e. an untailored amount of fabric that could be used in multiple ways (e.g. Belted Plaid, mantle, cloak, etc.). Also, the proscription seems to outlaw the little kilt by definition, without reference to whether it was tartan or not.

All that being said, I think that Peter's point is a good one. The romantic notion that "scraps of tartan" were safeguarded away by poor clanspeople in defiance of the Proscription are probably just romantic myths.

David

Unfortunately, the myth of "scraps of tartan" is still being perpetuated today by many unsuspecting folks who organize "Kirkin' of the Tartan" services. Some of us have tried to introduce the real story of the service (which is a much better story involving aid to displaced Edinburgh & Glasgow children in WWII), but it's still an uphill battle. <sigh>

T.