Tartans

Tartans have a long and fascinating history, with patterns specific to a particular region dating back to the 16th century. The wearing of tartans became widespread in Scotland during the 18th century, when clan warriors would choose a particular pattern of colours to show allegiance to a particular leader. Some of the earliest records of whole Scots regiments wearing the same tartan date back to the Seven Years War in Canada (1756– 63). In the early 19th century, the novels of Sir Walter Scott captured the public imagination with romanticized accounts of dashing Highlanders, starting a trend for all things Scottish. This gave rise to attempts to catalogue the patterns, or setts, worn by each of the traditional clans, and to revive the wearing of these tartans. Featuring more than 250 sets, Tartans is a comprehensive guide to the ancient tartans of Scotland and Ireland, along with many other tartans adopted by organizations and regions around the world in more recent times.