Tartan
When King George III repealed the Act of Proscription of the
Highland Garb in 1782 and made it legal to wear tartan again
in the Scottish Highlands, little could he have guessed at the
cultural gift that he was bestowing upon future generations of
Scots the world over.
A Scottish humorist once said that when the émigré left
Scotland's territorial waters, 
his skin immediately
turned tartan. In a way he was right, because to that huge
international family of Scots and their descendants - estimated at
40 to 60 million around the globe - tartan represents everything
that is admirable and wholesome about the land of their
fathers. Tartan is the only textile design in the world of
which a tiny scrap can evoke such feelings of pride, such
identification with the historical struggles of Scots and
identification with those desirable traits associated with
being Scottish - honesty, industriousness and bravery in
battle.
But what of tartan itself? It's so much more than shortbread
tins and garishly clothed plastic dolls. Much of Scotland's
turbulent past is bedecked in tartan and represents generations of
family history and stirring derring-do.
We trace tartan from its fascinating discovery on the Mummies of
Ürümchi - 3,000 year old Caucasian bodies found in the desert sands
of southern China - through its recognition by the Greeks and
Romans to its appearance in Scotland, its banning and then its
unstoppable resurgence that brings us and it into the 21st
century.
We look through the eyes of historians ancient and modern and
delve into the truths, the myths and the ballyhoo of this great
international icon. Our expanding archives are a valuable and
unique repository for the wisdom and wit of many of those
historians.
We hope you enjoy our offerings.