Varieties

Along with the kilt and bagpipes the tartan is the most recognized Scottish symbol and the most popular. 
As can be seen everyday it is used and worn by people all over the world.  Many people believe that all
tartans are associated with clans, but that is not true.  Beside clan and family tartans there are tartans for
organizations, geographical areas, nations, historic events, individuals, sports teams, corporations,
universities, and a host of others.  For example, many U.S. states and Canadian provinces have their own
tartans.  The U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard each has a tartan.  There are
tartans for the United States, Wales, Ireland, Ulster, Australia, New Zealand and even the Netherlands
and Germany.  There is a tartan to commemorate Princess Diana, another for the Battle of Culloden and
one for the American Bicentennial.  Notre Dame and the Virginia Military Institute are two of a number
of American colleges and universities with their own tartans.  Then there are several universal or Scottish
tartans such as the Black Watch (or "Government"), the Caledonia, the Hunting Stewart (which is not a
Clan Stewart tartan), the Flower of Scotland, and the Scottish National.

There are over 3,700 tartans recorded with the Scottish Tartans Authority with more being created and
recorded all the time.  It's almost certain that even if you are not of Scottish ancestry you will be able to
find a tartan that you can identify with.

The Scottish Tartans Authority was formed in 1996 by leading Scottish weavers and tartan retailers. 
It is a registered Scottish charity with the major objective of promoting a deeper knowledge of Scottish
Tartans, their origins, manufacture, use, history and development.  Scotland has no official government
agency that registers tartans.  The Scottish Tartans Authority's web site is a great place for Scottish
information, with a search engine for finding tartans, although the tartan display is somewhat small.  The
web site's address is: http://www.tartansauthority.com/Web/Site/home/home.asp 


    
“Hunting” or “Dress”

    Clans (and families) frequently have more than one 
official tartan, some of which are described according 

              
          to the purpose for which they are named:
    
             Clan tartans are patterns (or "setts") for general use by
             clans people.    
			 


			 Continued . . . 

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