STORY OF TARTAN

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 389, 25 June 1928, Page 12

STORY OF TARTAN

WORN IN ROMAN TIMES ANCIENT SCOTTISH DRESS The word “tartan” is taken from tin French word “tiretaine,” meaning li* sey-woolsey, according to Mrs. S. I MacDonald, who gave an address oi “Tartan” to the Edinburgh SoroptimiS Club recently. The Gaelic word for check or parti colour was breacon, she said. Tartat was of very ancient date, an account being given by Livy and Virgil of the Gauls appearing before the walls of Rome in dresses of flaming tartan, it the time of the Roman invasion tin ancient Aryan style of dress was won generally in Scotland. Later then were different types of dress. El® tually the kilt emerged from a fusion of types. The Celts, be the? Scottish, Irish, Welsh or French, wen very similar in their dress, and were fond of brilliant colours, blues and purples. The colours most cost monly used by the British Celts were saffron, yellow, brown, heather or ub dyed wool. These colours were wotm in a chequered pattern, but not tarta as it is known to-day. Native dy were used, and the cloth was wot one yard wide, on hand looms. By the time the eleventh century was reached, the clans had gr°*? multiplied, and each clan had badge, slogan and tartan to dis guish them. That was the beginof the clan tartan. After the K. lion in 1715, the wearing of the »cw tish dress was prohibited for « s period. In 1746, after the disaster Culloden, the wearing of •Scow“ dress and the carrying of “ nn ~ a j prohibited by law. In L' 4 !, ;„r» was passed to abolish heritable 1 diction. . . For 36 years the wearing 01 Jj in the Highlands entirely ceaseo. was a forbidden dress, and ® the old sets of tartans were forgotten, but in the south, P® larly in Edinburgh, in spite ol tn tartan was worn. It was v® l ?. due to the ladies of Edmburg tartan became a most tas dress—plaids, gowns, win dow t * , all were made of tartan. 1 ob a great many old tartans livion. make tW What had done much to w earing of tbe tartan and t ular to-day was the raisi g Highland regiments. 1“ reyears after the Disarming geo* pealed, the Highland Society , lnd was formed. Now tart , bir t symbol, not only of the High ! of Scotland.