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A Short History

Although the origins of tartan extend far back into Scotland’s past, the meaning of the term has changed over the centuries. Initially it referred to the type of cloth that was worn by Highlanders, rather than to its pattern, or to any notions of kinship. The word probably stemmed from the French tiretaine or tertaine , which described a coarse blend of linen and wool that is also known as      linsey-woolsey.

The earliest information we have about the Celts is from their enemies, the Romans. The latter acknowledged that the Celts were skilled at weaving and dyeing, and they often commented on their love of colorful clothing. A fragment of a stone carving, discovered near the Antonine Wall in southern Scotland, shows Celtic warriors (either Picts or Caledonians) wearing something akin to the sagum , a type of military cloak. Like the plaid, which developed later, this was fastened at the shoulder with a pin or broach.

From Ireland, the Scoti, or Scots, brought a garment known as a leine croich–a saffron shirt or tunic, perhaps made of linen, which extend almost to the knee. This was probably the dress described in the Saga of Magnus Barefoot (1093), the earliest known reference to the Highlanders’ clothing. The saga describes
how the Norwegian king, Magnus III, led an expedition to the Western Isles to force the Scots king, Edgar, to acknowledge his claim to the Hebrides. The campaign proved so successful that Magnus and his followers decided to adopt the local style of dress–“a short tunic and upper garments.” This may well have been a precursor of the long woollen cloth known as a plaid. Either way, Magnus’s new attire won him the nickname Barfod (“barefoot” or “bare legs”).

This style of dress was slow to change and more than four centuries later the historian John Major described the garb of the Highlanders in similar terms. "From the middle of the thigh to the foot they have no covering for the leg, clothing themselves with a mantle instead of an upper garment, and a shirt dyed with saffron. . ."

By the 16th century, there was growing evidence of the adoption of the plaid. In 1582, George Buchanan noted how some Highlanders were selecting the colors of their attire for camouflage rather than tribal allegiances: "They delight in variegated garments, especially stripes, and their favourite colors are purple and blue. Their ancestors wore plaids of many colors, and numbers still retain this custom, but the majority now in their dress prefer a dark brown, imitating nearly the leaves of the heather, that when lying upon the heath in the day, they may not be discovered. . ."

The plaid was also worn by women, usually in the form of a long shawl. On a visit to Scotland in 1636, Sir William Brereton noted that these garments were draped over their heads, covering their faces, "and would reach almost to the ground, but that they pluck them up, and wear them cast under their arms." A century later, the traveler Martin Martin (sic) observed that these plaids were
predominantly white, with a few small colored stripes, and that they were often fastened at the breast with a buckle. In the Highlands, the garment was usually known as an arisaid or tanac. By the 18th century, tartan dresses had also become popular in some quarters. These were modeled on contemporary styles, with low-cut bodices and wide sleeves.

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