Scottish Blog

Throughout the world there are many Scottish symbolic objects, but none are as common as the Scottish Tartan. The patterns and designs of a Scottish Tartan can be found abundantly throughout everyday life. While many take the cultural and historical significance of the Scottish Tartan for granted, there are others who understand and appreciate its heritage.

Like Scottish Bagpipes or Scottish Haggis, the Scottish Tartan has a rich and long history that is often unknown by many. And as we like to do at Scottish Heirloom Jewelry Company , we will try and tell you a little bit about the Scottish tartan, and with the knowledge make yours and ours understanding of our ancestry stronger.

Just like Scottish clan jewelry the tartan is a perfect way to celebrate your heritage, as it is unique to your clan. So just like the Stewart clan jewelry will be different from the MacKintosh clan jewelry, so will their clan tartans.

The common idea of a Scottish Tartan is a thick woolen blanket or cloak with its distinct “checkered” pattern. While the original Scottish Tartan was similar, it had some distinct differences. Originally the term “Tartan” was used to describe the weaving technique used to obtain the unique pattern, in which each thread passed over two other threads and under the next two. Another difference was that, the Scottish Tartan itself was not as thick as it is today, and was used as much for decoration as heat.

The oldest Scottish Tartan is believed to be more than one thousand seven hundred years old, and was found in a pot of Roman coins, by Falkirk. With evidence like this and other historic artifacts and accounts, it is widely accepted that the modern Scottish tartan has roots in the ancient Celts and Scoti. There is also much evidence throughout historic accounts of Scottish battles that show the widespread popularity of the Scottish tartan.

The popularity of the Scottish Tartan grew and became a strong symbol for the Highlands. After the battle of Culloden in 1746, the Scottish Tartan was banned from wear by the common Highland man, until 1782. However this law did not apply to the Highland upper class or Government military. When new government regiments were formed, they revolved mostly around one family, and had to wear a tartan as part of their uniform. And while the first regiments and the “Black Watch” wore government tartans, the family based regiments began to adopt their own unique designs. The regimental Scottish tartans were then adopted by their respective septs and clans, giving birth to the modern Scottish Tartan.
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Read our previous publications about Scottish Tartan: Tartan; Tartan Tales; More Tartan.