tartan, cross-checkered repeating pattern (or “sett”) of different coloured bands, stripes, or lines of definite width and sequence, woven into woolen cloth (sometimes with silk added). Although such patterns have existed for centuries in many cultures, they have come to be regarded as peculiarly Scottish and a quasi-heraldic Scottish family or clan emblem. Most clans have had but one tartan. When it was bright, a second, muted pattern called a hunting sett (often gray-based) was used for everyday wear on the moors and in the mountains.
Great significance and antiquity were long claimed for many Scottish family or clan tartans, but the meagre references to “tartan” that can be gleaned from 15th- and 16th-century writings are somewhat dubious. Tartans are better dated from the 17th and 18th centuries. From the earliest known painted representation of the Highland dress, John Michael Wright’s Highland Chieftain, all that can be learned is that a small cross-check, or “tartan,” pattern was adapted to use in kilt, plaid, and hose about 1660. The chieftain is believed to be a Campbell, but the pattern that he wears bears no resemblance to that of any Campbell tartan (or any other established tartan) of today. The 18th century does provide a substantial number of portraits forming a reliable pictorial record of some tartans, but there is still little consistency; and portraits dating from the latter half of the 18th century show the Highland gentleman wearing such tartans as pleased him in colour and design, including different garments of unrelated tartans.
Highland dress and the tartan were proscribed after the Jacobite uprising of 1745 (i.e., 1746–82). However, the Highland regiments of the late 18th century wore tartan; therefore, uniform military tartans came to be designed. The largely military revival of the tartan seems to have reached a peak during the state visit of George IV to Edinburgh in 1822. The following three decades saw undiminished interest and produced an imaginative and systematic recording of “clan tartans.” Intermittent efforts to denigrate this systematization as mere myth-making have been futile: 200 years of the combined efforts of artists, writers, publishers, manufacturers, and tailors have created a tradition and firmly established the tartan as a Scottish badge.
The Scottish Tartans Authority, headquartered in Crieff, Perthshire, Scot., was founded in 1996 to advance and promote the education of the public about Scottish tartans. The organization maintains the International Tartan Index with a database of more than 4,000 tartans. Within the United States, the Scottish Tartans Museum in Franklin, N.C., offers visitors a unique look at tartan and Highland dress. Its collection includes displays that showcase the evolution of the kilt, as well as Scottish history and culture. The variety of tartans now established include the clan and family tartans; the district tartans of Scotland; the royal tartans; national tartans from communities with strong Celtic connections (Cornwall, Wales, Isle of Man); tartans from countries with Scottish connections (Australia, Bermuda, Northern Ireland); provincial tartans from Canada (Nova Scotia, Alberta); state tartans from the United States (Georgia); military tartans (Black Watch, Royal Canadian Air Force); corporate tartans (Encyclopædia Britannica, Scottish Tourist Board); and commemorative tartans (American Bicentennial).