"Rules" for wearing family tartan

[Corden]

My family name (up through the male line) originates from Northern England - right along the border of Scotland. As far as I can tell, there is no tartan associated with the name. However, throughout my family tree, there are a few scottish families/clans I am related to, though not through the direct male line.

Is there any rule (of thumb, I guess) prohibiting me from wearing any tartans that I may be related to, though not directly (i.e. blood relation)?

Cheers!

[piperdbh]

Unless the tartan is restricted, you can wear pretty much any one of them. If you want a kilt made from one of the tartans associated with your heritage, I'd advise you to check the Scottish Tartans Authority website to see if any of them are restricted, then choose one and get kilted!

[ForresterModern]

First of all, what is the patrilineal (family) name that you believe has no tartan associated with it, as there may be alternative or gaelic spellings of it which do have a tartan. Alternatively, that name may be listed as a sept of one or more of the larger clans, in which case, you could wear that clan tartan (if you could verify that relation, or if you are just willing to accept it as likley involving your lineage).

Failing that I think most folks would feel that you could wear just about any tartan you wanted, except for restricted ones, but would likely want to stick to either "universal" tartans or ones to which there is at least some form of family relationship, even if it is not in the direct patrilineal heritage that most highland scots would tend to follow.

jeff

[Corden]

My family name is Callbeck. Common variants include: Calbeck, Caldbeck, Colbeck, Caudebeck. There is in fact a town in Cumberland, England, called "Caldbeck"..

Thanks for the info!

[ccga3359]

Wear what you want. I have no clan ties but tartan wise I have several to fall back on, Maple Leaf, various Ontario tartans, Black Watch if it did bother me.

[Micric]

May I ask which tartans are "Restricted"?

As in, I thought only the Balmoral was... any enlightenment would be appreciated.

J C Thompson in his wee book; "So you're going to wear the kilt!"

..... says there is no such thing as a 'right' to wear any tartan;
That there there are three kinds of rights, Legal, Moral, and divine.
(as in, the divine right of Kings)
...and goes on to say that since it has never been suggested that any use of tartan is illegal, immoral, or ungodly, it is meaningless to talk of anybody's right to any tartan.

As a proviso though, I would say any tartan should be worn with respect, and worn well.

Just got mi first kilt, and I'm from N of Engalnd as well, Corden!
Mine's a Mackenzie, or you could say Seaforth or HLI I suppose.

I took the advice of the old (Inverness??) kiltmaker;
"Wear what you like! After all, there are no tartan police!"

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Don't worry over much about accadentally wearing a "restricted" tartan. Those tartans will be few and far between, and you will not normally find them available for general consumption in any case. Taking a look at the above posted list, when it the last time you saw "Crookdrak-Cheng" listed as available on a retailer's stock tartan list?

Tartans which are truly restricted are going to require custom weaving for the simple reason that the demand for these tartans will be very limited.

So the chances of you "accadentally" wearing a restricted tartan are very slim, indeed.

[Tobus]

Is there any rule (of thumb, I guess) prohibiting me from wearing any tartans that I may be related to, though not directly (i.e. blood relation)?

The short answer is "no". There is no rule against you wearing the tartan of a family whose blood runs in your veins, regardless of whether you carry the surname or not.

There are some people (and thankfully they are few and far between) who insist that one is only entitled to wear the tartan for a clan whose name they carry, but this view is historically incorrect and is nothing more than a lame attempt at snobbery and elitism.

It's generally considered good form to wear only one clan tartan (such as they do in Scotland) that you are connected to most strongly. But still, there's no rule against it.

[English Bloke]

... There are some people (and thankfully they are few and far between) who insist that one is only entitled to wear the tartan for a clan whose name they carry, but this view is historically incorrect and is nothing more than a lame attempt at snobbery and elitism...

Tobus, I think that's a bit strong me ol' mate. I think it is less elitism and snobbery and more personal choice. As one who wears a number of different tartans, some of which I have no connection to, I wear what I like but I don't decry those who choose not to go with this and only wear a single tartan. If an individual is only comfortable in the one sett they have as much right as any to wear only that. It's a choice. Why wear something that makes you feel uncomfortable?

Everyone is free to express an opinion and the reasons why it was arrived at. It's not about policing, it's about the freedom to choose. There are no laws governing the vast majority of tartans and if we don't agree with another man's conclusions we don't have to pay any heed. Surely?

[Tobus]

I think you may have misunderstood what I said.

I'm talking about the people who act as "tartan police", asking people if they're entitled to wear a certain clan's tartan, and insisting that you're not allowed to wear a tartan unless you carry that clan's surname. That, to me, is snobbery.

There's nothing snobbish about wearing only one tartan (which I do), of course. But the insistence that one must be entitled by surname to wear it is the difference.