MARCH IS “MAD FOR PLAID” MONTH
I Googled the observance day and found that it's a month for celebrating everything plaid. That’s about it. Not much to write a blog about.
But then I remembered when I was in Scotland, a guide told us the Clan plaids were really the product of the 19th mercantile industry; an advertising ploy. What a buzz kill. I assumed most people don’t know that, so I suddenly had something to write about. Something short and sweet.
Never gonna happen! Digging up the origins of traditions and languages is never short and sweet. And never believe what a tour guide tells you.
IF YOU’RE SCOTTISH …
“Plaid” Means A Blanket
Let’s be clear about what I’m talking about. In North America we often – mistakenly, according to some -- use the term plaid to mean tartan. The word plaid -- derived from the Scottish Gaelic word plaide, which means blanket – is a tartan cloth worn over the shoulder as a kilt accessory or a plain blanket such as one would put on a bed.
Wearing the Plaide
I Googled the observance day and found that it's a month for celebrating everything plaid. That’s about it. Not much to write a blog about.
But then I remembered when I was in Scotland, a guide told us the Clan plaids were really the product of the 19th mercantile industry; an advertising ploy. What a buzz kill. I assumed most people don’t know that, so I suddenly had something to write about. Something short and sweet.
Never gonna happen! Digging up the origins of traditions and languages is never short and sweet. And never believe what a tour guide tells you.
IF YOU’RE SCOTTISH …
“Plaid” Means A Blanket
Let’s be clear about what I’m talking about. In North America we often – mistakenly, according to some -- use the term plaid to mean tartan. The word plaid -- derived from the Scottish Gaelic word plaide, which means blanket – is a tartan cloth worn over the shoulder as a kilt accessory or a plain blanket such as one would put on a bed.
Wearing the Plaide
The earliest written use of plaid is in a 1510 entry in the account of the diocese of Dunkeld, referring to an expense of two shilling for dying four ells of “pladis”. An ell was a length of 37.2 inches.
According to Danny Lewis, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/, the word “Plaid only replaced tartan once the patterns became popular with British and American textile manufacturers who would recreate fabrics resembling tartans, but without centuries of symbolic meaning embedded in their clothing.”
“Tartan” Means A Weaving Pattern
The word tartan means a woven fabric made of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colors; alternating bands pre-dyed threads woven with warp and weft at right angles to each other. This creates a distinctive pattern of squares called a sett.
According to Danny Lewis, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/, the word “Plaid only replaced tartan once the patterns became popular with British and American textile manufacturers who would recreate fabrics resembling tartans, but without centuries of symbolic meaning embedded in their clothing.”
“Tartan” Means A Weaving Pattern
The word tartan means a woven fabric made of criss-crossed horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colors; alternating bands pre-dyed threads woven with warp and weft at right angles to each other. This creates a distinctive pattern of squares called a sett.
In North American we not only use the word plaid instead of tartan, but it no longer applies only to woven cloth, only the pattern of colors.
EARLIEST ORIGINS
Even though evidence of the Celtic tartan dates back to the 3th century, the oldest example of a tartan fabric goes back at least 3,000 years. It was found buried with the remains of “Cherchen Man,” a 6 foot tall mummy of Caucasian descent found in Turkestan in the western Chinese desert. The man was found buried wearing a red twill tunic and tartan leggings, the earliest example of tartan ever discovered.
EARLIEST ORIGINS
Even though evidence of the Celtic tartan dates back to the 3th century, the oldest example of a tartan fabric goes back at least 3,000 years. It was found buried with the remains of “Cherchen Man,” a 6 foot tall mummy of Caucasian descent found in Turkestan in the western Chinese desert. The man was found buried wearing a red twill tunic and tartan leggings, the earliest example of tartan ever discovered.
 According to the textile historian E. J. W. Barber, the Hallstatt culture of Central Europe, which is linked with ancient Celtic populations and flourished between the 8th and 6th centuries BC, produced tartan-like textiles. Other finds have been made in Europe and Northwestern China. |  |
SCOTTISH TARTANS
The earliest documented tartan in Britain, known as the "Falkirk" tartan, dates from the 3rd century AD. It was uncovered at Falkirk, Scotland, near the Antonine Wall. The fragment of tartan cloth was stuffed into an earthenware pot containing almost 2,000 Roman coins.
So this pattern of weaving has existed in Scotland since the third century, and I assume it was used, along with others, through the centuries. The original goat-like sheep of ancient Scotland provided the fibers from which wool fabrics were made. The sheep were black, brown, or white. Thus, the early tartans were made of combinations of these colors.
Presumably, weaving skills were passed down from mother to daughter, and over time a particular design came to be associated with a specific district and possibly with an individual clan. Eventually, these local patterns became synonymous with the regional clans scattered throughout Scotland. At some point, weavers began to dye yarn, which resulted in new or at least brighter patterns. Even then, the dyes, which come from local and accessible plants and minerals, likely determined the colors and still identified the wearer of a tartan to the district.
This picture, derived from a 1631 wood cut, shows Scottish soldiers wearing tartans
Unknown Scottish soldiers in service of Gustavus Adolphus, 1631, jpeg: Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5042497 ▼
The earliest documented tartan in Britain, known as the "Falkirk" tartan, dates from the 3rd century AD. It was uncovered at Falkirk, Scotland, near the Antonine Wall. The fragment of tartan cloth was stuffed into an earthenware pot containing almost 2,000 Roman coins.
So this pattern of weaving has existed in Scotland since the third century, and I assume it was used, along with others, through the centuries. The original goat-like sheep of ancient Scotland provided the fibers from which wool fabrics were made. The sheep were black, brown, or white. Thus, the early tartans were made of combinations of these colors.
Presumably, weaving skills were passed down from mother to daughter, and over time a particular design came to be associated with a specific district and possibly with an individual clan. Eventually, these local patterns became synonymous with the regional clans scattered throughout Scotland. At some point, weavers began to dye yarn, which resulted in new or at least brighter patterns. Even then, the dyes, which come from local and accessible plants and minerals, likely determined the colors and still identified the wearer of a tartan to the district.
This picture, derived from a 1631 wood cut, shows Scottish soldiers wearing tartans
Unknown Scottish soldiers in service of Gustavus Adolphus, 1631, jpeg: Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5042497 ▼
SCOTTISH CLAN TARTANS
IT’S ALL POLITICS
Like everything, it’s all politics. Clan tartans as we know them today are thought not to have existed in Scotland before 16th century. In 1703, Martin Martin wrote A Description of the Western Islands of Scotland, in which he noted the tartans could be used to distinguish inhabitants of different regions.
That was the beginning of a more formal recognition of a clan association with a particular tartan.
At that time, tartan designs were produced by local weavers for local tastes using the dye materials of the local area. The patterns and colors were the choice of the weaver and people picked and wore those based on personal preference.
▼ Black Watch Plaid
During the Scottish Rebellion of 1745, tartan was used in the uniforms of the leading Scottish military troop, The Royal Highland Regiment, or the Black Watch. The green and dark blue patterns became strongly associated with rebellion. However, depictions of the Battle of Culloden in 1746 show the monarchy’s forces battling against the clans-men, all wearing different tartans.
David Morier's An incident in the rebellion of 1745.
David Morier's An incident in the rebellion of 1745.
After Scottish forces were defeated at the Battle of Culloden in 1746, the monarchy adopted the Dress Act of 1746, banning tartans (except for British military uniforms) for nearly a century. By the time the law was repealed, tartan kilts and plaides were no longer the ordinary dress of the highlands. The tartan kilt was, however, adopted as the symbolic national dress of Scotland, which revived interest in tartans and one’s Scottish heritage.
Below is the Logan Plaid, my heritage on my mother's side of the family. Older version to the right, new plaid to the left.
Below is the Logan Plaid, my heritage on my mother's side of the family. Older version to the right, new plaid to the left.
 |  THE BOTTOM LINE According to Wikipedia – who agrees with my tour guide after all – the clan tartans date no earlier than the beginning of the 19th century. They are an invented tradition. |
And speaking of “bottoms”, the topic of “underwear beneath the kilt” -- so often a cause for humor -- is a relatively modern development. In the past men wore nothing. This is still true of several Scottish regiments, apart from some sentries and dancers, on whom the kilt might fly up. [I supposed the men in the photograph didn't care.] Most other people wear shorts or pants, according to personal taste.” http://www.kinnaird.net/tartan.htm
Sources
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/brief-history-plaid-180957342/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartan
https://psmag.com/social-justice/that-plaid-tho
https://startupfashion.com/fashion-archives-history-plaid/
http://www.kinnaird.net/tartan.htm
http://www.scotclans.com/scottish-clans/tartan-pattern-book/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaid
http://www.ancient-wisdom.com/chinacherchen.htm
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/plaid
https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2015/10/plaid-tartan.html
Sources
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/brief-history-plaid-180957342/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartan
https://psmag.com/social-justice/that-plaid-tho
https://startupfashion.com/fashion-archives-history-plaid/
http://www.kinnaird.net/tartan.htm
http://www.scotclans.com/scottish-clans/tartan-pattern-book/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plaid
http://www.ancient-wisdom.com/chinacherchen.htm
https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/plaid
https://www.grammarphobia.com/blog/2015/10/plaid-tartan.html
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