Tartan evolving into plaid

[figheadair]

Tartan: Any of numerous textile patterns consisting of stripes of varying widths and colors crossed at right angles against a solid background, each forming a distinctive design worn by the members of a Scottish clan.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tartan

To add further confusion, as if it were needed, there are C19th letters ordering ain coloured tertaine i.e one coloured material of a tartan type which probably meant a linsey-woolsey cloth.

Plaid: A rectangular woolen scarf of a tartan pattern worn over the left shoulder by Scottish Highlanders.
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/plaid

Or the rght shoulder if one is left handed.

There was also the fact that many Clan tartans were proscribed and not available for a time. This led to the popularity of such approved and commisioned tartans for the newly formed Highland regements and the Black Watch tartan gaining in popularity at the time.

I've discussed this in another thread. Tartans per se were not proscribed. The wearing of highland clothes and great coats of parti-coloured cloth were proscribed. Clan tartans did not exist at that time either.

[Slowburn]

THE ACT "That from and after the First Day of August 1747, no man or boy within th Scotland, other than such as shall be employed as Officers and Soldiers of any pretext whatsoever, wear or put on the clothes, commonly called Highl Plaid, Philabeg, or little kilt, Trowes, Shoulder-Belts, or any part whatever of the Highland Garb; and that no tartan or party-coloured plaid or stuff shall upper coats, and if any such person shall presume after the first said day of the aforesaid garments or any part of them, every person so offending.... s transported to any of His Majesty's plantations beyond the seas, there to re years." The Act of Ab

[Slowburn]

The source of my last post for those who care to read on.
http://highlandnet.com/info/culture/prosact.html

[Slowburn]

http://www.electricscotland.com/hist...land_dress.htm
Another interesting read and at the bottom a link to the actual wording.

[ThistleDown]

Slowburn, you may want to use the forum's search feature for the Act of Proscription and, in particular, the thread on whether or not tartan was, per se, ever banned. Figheadair, by the way, is the principal historian for the Scottish Tartans Authority; he and Matt Newsome, the curator of the Scottish Tartans Museum, are two of several exceptionally knowledgeable tartan historians we are fortunate to have on XMarks.

[Bugbear]

I just happen to have a link, ThistleDown, because I was slightly involved with the discussion.
http://www.xmarksthescot.com/forum/f...-banned-60734/

Hope that makes things a little easier.

[ThistleDown]

Thanks, Ted

[Slowburn]

Getting caught up and caught up fun to say two things at once. Starting to connect the dots, thanks for the link to the previous discusion very informative. It mostly seems a game of linguistics and lexicon of the era and simple mistakes of translation or just assuming things to be there that are just not supportable with better source material.
Could it be that in haste to ban highland dress they wrongly lumped things to gether and purpousely left it ambiguous to allow for greater persicusion of the highland man. This to include plaids (refering to the cloth) and coloured cloths such as tartan patterns.

[Morris at Heathfield]

Neither "tartan" nor "plaid" originally meant the thing they have come to mean on opposite sides of the Atlantic. "Plaid", as already mentioned, originally referred to an article of clothing, while "tartan" originally referred to a type of cloth, not the design woven into it. Another word, once commonly used in English to refer to the type of pattern, was "check". And then there's a whole host of near-synonyms, such as "striped", "variegated", and "parti-coloured".

My general impression is that, as late as the mid-18th century, there was still no standard English term to refer to the type of pattern we now call "tartan". All of the other words were used interchangeably, including "plaid". I wish I could give the reference off the top of my head, but I'm quite certain I've read a late 17th-century British source that used the word "plaid" unambiguously in reference to the woven pattern.

[figheadair]

I've read a late 17th-century British source that used the word "plaid" unambiguously in reference to the woven pattern.

Can't lay my hands on that although I think I know the one you mean. McClintock's Old Irish and Highland Dress is a good reference source, but here's a section from the Act of Proscription:

'... and that no tartan, or partly-coloured plaid or stuff shall be used for great coats, or for upper coats; ...' Of course the writers might have been referring to the re-use of the garment rather than the pattern.