My last name is Stewart, and, yes, I have a Scottish connection, both by marriage and by heredity. Thanks to my good fortune at the young age of 23, I married a Scot I met during my Master’s year at the University of Edinburgh. We’ve remained fast friends for 45 years. This photo shows Adrian wearing his grandfather’s kilt, a Regimental Highlander’s tartan from WWI. Thus, when I heard of the recent discovery of a 16th century kilt, I felt, as they say in Britain, GOB SMACKED. I needed to write to all of us in Santa Barbara with Scots heritage.
Our son Laughlin Cameron Guthrie Stewart wears one of the authorized versions of the Stewart tartan. This week the Scottish Tartan Authority assisted the Victoria and Albert Museum in Dundee, Scotland, with a recent discovery, a fragment of an ancient tartan textile.
The mustard colored fragment of wool with a recognizable plaid pattern dates to 1500-1600. Evidence of the tartan as a symbol of Scottish pride exists in literature well before this discovery. However nobody discovered material in terms of an actual TARTAN, until now.
The Glen Affric Tartan
Peter MacDonald, head of research for the Scottish Tartan Authority, claims this is a magnificent piece of Scottish history. A utility worker discovered the fragment in a peat bog in 1995. After fourteen weeks of testing for age and dye quality, and removal of peak bog stains with acid and alkali baths, the fifty-five by forty-three centimeters fragment dated to the 16th century.
I find it amazing that a Scottish Tartan Authority Board actually exists. Before the 19th century scholars considered tartans not all that notable, only working garments, not clan based. But when writers such as Robbie Burns and Sir Walter Scott shone a spotlight on Scottish heritage, even Queen Victoria wore a tartan at Balmoral Castle in Scotland with her trusted Scottish servant. Then Scottish clan history, including the tartans, become important.
The utility worker found the fragment in Glen Affric, a traditional crossing between two major oceans. Scarcity of oxygen in the dense peat bog preserved the fragment. The selvedge indicates the piece came from a cloak.
A Fashion for the Working Man and for Kings
Experts say an average working man wore 16th century cloak and it didn’t indicate a CLAN. However, kings and rulers showed allegiance to Scotland by wearing certain tartans as far back as the 1400s. In 1471 King James III wore a tartan sash, in 1538 King James V wore a tartan piece, and in 1662 King Charles II wore a tartan rosette.
In 1594 writings pertaining to the wars of an Irish Gaelic King mentioned that the King recruited fierce warriors from the Hebrides, Northwest Scottish Coast Islands. They wore tartan and the Irish recognized as speaking Scots.
Those of Scottish heritage might find a book by the archaeologist Elizabeth Barber of interest. She researched gravesites for years for her book The Mummies of Urumchi. She found warriors wearing tartan in graves all over the known ancient world, including non-Asians in Urumchi, China.
The tradition of weaving wool yarn into distinctive patterns originated by certain clans became a symbol of Scottish pride. This month the Victoria and Albert Museum, at their adjunct location in Dundee, Scotland, will mount a show about the history of the tartans, including this ancient 15th century fragment.
Luxuo reported that in the light of the great discoveries around Scots Tartans, a woolen mill, Holland and Sherry, in the city of Peebles, created a fine tartan of one-hundred percent pure Mongolian cashmere. It sell for $6,000 a kilt. The mill’s director said, “We are creating a champagne fabric rather than a beer fabric.” That’s what the tartan is about; it’s meant to be worn while drinking.