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As we saw in
the last section a lot of people did not even know what tartan was
linked to their clan or region. However a lot of tartans were
very quickly registered. This demand for naming of tartans was
given another major boost by the sudden decision of King George IV to
visit Scotland - the first reigning monarch to do so for 151 years.
One of the main proponents of the tartan was Sir Walter Scott who had
both the ear of the King and the main Clan chiefs in Scotland.
Clansmen were strongly urged to wear their tartan dress for the occasion
and several tartans were quickly registered so the leading gentry of the
time could meet with members of the royal family.
Most of the samples deposited with the Society,
however, were patterns woven and apparently designed by Wilson’s
in Bannockburn so probably would not have existed prior to 1765 when William
Wilson started his business.
For example Duncan MacPherson, the clan chief
of the MacPhersons, deposited “Number 43, Kidd or Caledonia”
as the MacPherson tartan. This tartan had originally been sold to Mr Kidd
on the east coast of Scotland but later also sold to a Mr MacPherson in
the West Indies. So when Duncan MacPherson visited Wilson’s he was
shown a tartan named the “MacPherson tartan” after one major
buyer and duly registered it as belonging to his clan.
This fashion continued under Queen Victoria who
was well known for her love of all things Scottish. The industry has since
flourished worldwide with Scots being urged to again wear their clan tartan
and it is now a multi-million pound industry.
Tartans for different occasions
Modern tradition and lifestyle has also produced
a number of extra tartans for each clan grouping.
For example most clans now have a “hunting”
tartan made up of much more subdued colours (e.g. blues and greens) so
as not to alert prey with the bright reds of their normal tartan.
A “dress” tartan worn for dancing
— not to be confused with the more formal evening wear — has
been developed by many of the clans by simply replacing one of the background
colours with white.
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