Part 11
The traditions, songs, and records of the Mac Leans contain references of a much earlier date to this tartan than do any authenticated collection of, or published work on, particular designs. In a charter of 1587-8 granting Hector Mac Lean, heir of Duart, certain lands in Islay, the feu-duty is made payable in the form of sixty ells of cloth of white, black, and green colours. On the suppression of the religious houses the impost is again mentioned in connection with the assets of the churches. This very curious feu-duty exigible in tartan is dealt with, and the references contained in the charters printed in full, in the Introduction. The old Gaelic song, “Moladh rann do Shir Eachainn Mac Gillian Trath Dhubhairt,” has the following verse:—
Bu mhian leam am breacan tlàth, Breacan uain’ ’us dubh ’us geal: Datha sar Mhich-Ghillian am flath— Sud an laoch a fhuair mo ghaol.
Dear to me the tartan plaid, The plaid of green and black and white: The colours of the brave Mac Lean— The hero of my love.
The pattern is universally acknowledged by the clan.
MAC LEOD.
Diversity of opinion prevails concerning the tartan of the Mac Leods; and, unfortunately, nothing was done to settle the dispute when the Clan Mac Leod Society recently discussed the claims of rival patterns. The inspection of important collections from 1785, the date of the repeal of the statute against tartans, till the present day, proves that the design here given invariably occurs under the family designation. Certain Mac Leods claim and wear the Mackenzie tartan as their own, though the appearance of both, under their respective names, in old collections proves this to be an impropriety. The mistake doubtless arose from the fact that when the 73rd Regiment was raised in 1777 it was commanded by a son of the Earl of Cromarty, whose courtesy title was Lord Mac Leod, though his family name was Mackenzie, and whose tartan was the dress of the corps. Of comparatively recent date, the assumption has yet taken considerable hold, in consequence of its adoption in several works relating to clan patterns. The Mac Leods of Raasay wore a design in brilliant yellow whose authority is the _Vestiarium Scoticum_. An examination of the portraits and relics at Dunvegan Castle in Skye, the seat of Mac Leod of Mac Leod, has been made in search of records of the tartan of the clan. It has revealed the singular circumstance that in the only early portrait in tartan dress, that of the chief painted by Allan Ramsay in 1768, red is the predominant colour of the tartan plaid, while coat and trews are in “Rob Roy” check. Logan has stated, from recollection, that the plaid is in the Fraser pattern; but here he is in error. It is to be hoped further investigation will elucidate the history of the tartan in the painting referred to.
MAC NEILL.
To establish the antiquity of this pattern of the Mac Neill it is but necessary to mention that it occurs in many old collections, including those of Craignish, Moy Hall, the Highland Society of London, and Messrs Romanes and Paterson. Several branches of the clan have other designs, but none is found in the ancient repositories either so early or so often as that now illustrated. A hitherto unnoticed reference to what is possibly the distinctive tartan of the Mac Neills appears in _The Grameid: an Historic Poem descriptive of the Campaign of Viscount Dundee in 1689, by James Philip of Almerieclose, 1691_, translated by the Rev. Alexander D. Murdoch, F.S.A. Scot., for the Scottish History Society, 1888. It reads: “The illustrious son of warlike Mac Neill comes from the winding shore of Barra’s isle, around whom, as their chief, a great company of the youth of his name presses on the right hand and on the left. Carrying his battle-axe, he advances on foot, panting as he goes, leading his tall clansmen, himself the tallest, and his shoulders covered with a Tyrian mantle. He displays as many colours woven into his plaid as the rainbow in the clouds shows in the sunlight.” Whether or not the tartan here presented was that worn by the chief in Dundee’s campaign cannot be determined, but, at least, it is the sole pattern associated with the name having any trace of red. The writer of the poem was a close observer, and many of his descriptions of dress and arms are highly valuable; while the allusion to “the winding shore of Barra’s isle” evinces an intimate knowledge of the peculiarly indented character of that island.
MACPHERSON.
The Macpherson tartans present unwonted difficulty in consequence of the multiplicity of setts, each having claims of its own. These are (1) the Chief’s, (2) the Cluny, or full dress, (3) the Hunting, and (4) the Clan tartans. The first, though one of the oldest designs, has often been wrongly presented. Of the second, which was illustrated in the _Vestiarium Scoticum_, the Cluny Macpherson of 1850 wrote to Messrs Smith, then compiling a book of tartans, that:-
The design was known as the Breacan Glas’ long before John [Sobieski] Stuart was heard of in this country, although I rather think the addition of the yellow stripe was introduced by him, or rather taken from his MS., but, at all events, the tartan is an old Macpherson.
The _Vestiarium_ had only been published eight years before (1842), though strenuous efforts had been made to issue it in 1829. It is evident from an unpublished correspondence between Sir Walter Scott and Sir Thomas Dick Lauder that the chief of Cluny received his first drawing of the tartan from the brothers Stuart—a fact obviously unknown to his successor of 1850. Sir Thomas, writing to Sir Walter on 1st June 1829, observes:—
The Messrs Hay [the name at first borne by the brothers] have already instructed several of the chiefs of clans who have had webs of the true tartans made, and, as an instance of this, I may mention that Cluny Macpherson appeared at the late fancy ball at Edinburgh in his beautiful and genuine tartan as taken from the MS. ... which excited universal admiration. Mac Leod has got a sketch of his splendid tartan.
There is no evidence of this second pattern having been in actual use prior to 1829, the only authority of earlier date being the MS. above referred to. The third design is identical with that illustrated here, except that the ground is grey instead of white. In use for many years, the fourth appears in some of the early collections. The only Macpherson (other than that peculiar to the chief) found in the earliest collections is that here given, and there is every reason to believe it the pattern worn by the clan from the repeal of the prohibitory statute to the middle of the present century, when the white ground was exchanged for grey. It is not known why the alteration was made.
MAC RAE: HUNTING.
The present illustration reproduces the pattern of a piece of old hard tartan from a kilt believed to have been worn by a member of Clan Mac Rae at the battle of Sheriffmuir in 1715. The fragment, now in the author’s possession, bears internal evidence of great age, the style of manufacture attesting its connection with the period to which it has been assigned. A tartan somewhat akin to this, and having the same name, is supposed to have been founded on an imperfect acquaintance with the pattern here given. The design is poorly represented in the _Clans of Scotland_, by Mac Ian and Logan. It has been styled Hunting to distinguish it from a red Mac Rae, which agrees exactly with the Prince’s Own (Plate XLII.) The Editor was unable to account for the connection between the two latter till he discovered a plaid preserved in a carefully authenticated collection in Inverness-shire, with the description: “Mac Rae tartan plaid worn by Prince Charles Edward in 1745.” The plaid being a complicated sett, a large specimen is required to show the complete design, and, either through inadequate patterns or insistent copying, the portion containing the yellow lines has been omitted from all representations of the tartan hitherto published. Captain John Mac Rae of Kames Castle has furnished the following note regarding a sett of tartan which has been worn in his family:—“When my great-great-grandfather, John Mac Ra of Conchra, Lochalsh, was on his way to Sheriffmuir from Kintail, some of his followers being without stockings, the occupants of a shieling in which some of them lodged spent the night in cutting out stockings for them from a web of cloth which they had in the place. A piece of this web was in the possession of my grand-aunt, Miss Flora Mac Ra of Ardintoul, from which she knitted the accompanying hose when a girl at the end of last century. Unfortunately, the original piece of cloth has been lost.” The tartan may be described as consisting of squares of sapphire-blue and white, a line of yellow passing through the former and one of red through the latter.
MENZIES: HUNTING.
From early times the war-cry and motto of the Menzies clan has been “Geal ’us dearg a suas,” “Up with the red and white,” and this has been held to refer to the tartan; but, as other hues are found in old specimens, it is at least probable that both phrase and design may be traced to the heraldic shield of the chief, which is argent, a chief gules, the colours of the tartan as commonly known. In the hunting pattern here reproduced the only change is the substitution of green for red in the ground, and red for white in the stripes. The pattern of Menzies tartan, signed and sealed by the chief of that day, in the collection formed by the Highland Society of London in 1816-17, is an arrangement of red, green, blue, and white, and an example of last century date in the Editor’s collection is identical in sett. The use of the red and white Menzies tartan as a design for hose was common throughout the Highlands, as the ancient portraits of various families prove, and this use of the sett is probably of earlier date than its special adoption as the Clan Menzies wear.
MONTGOMERIE.
The frequent use of tartans by non-Highland families during a long period—certainly throughout the eighteenth century—has been noted elsewhere. It is not suggested that these wore the dress to the same extent as the inhabitants of the Western Highlands and Islands, but, nevertheless, the use of tartans was popular in the South of Scotland at the time of the Union of the Kingdoms, and for long afterwards. About this period, probably, the design here illustrated came to be adopted by the Montgomeries of Ayrshire. A fine example in old hard tartan, from Dr. Skene’s collection, has been employed as a guide in the reproduction of the sett. An examination of the historical relics in the possession of the Earl of Eglinton, the head of the Montgomerie family, at Eglinton Castle has furnished ample evidence of the early use of the tartan as here illustrated. In 1757 the Honourable Archibald Montgomerie, son of the Earl of Eglinton, received letters of service to raise a regiment in the North. It was known as Montgomerie’s Highlanders. The uniform, as appears from the Eglinton portraits examined by the author, consisted of the Highland dress, but the tartan worn was the Government or Black Watch sett, and not the Montgomerie pattern.
An interesting record of the encouragement by this family of the manufacture of tartans in Ireland about the year 1600 will be found in the Introduction.
OGILVY.
As has been indicated in the notes on Drummond of Strathallan, that pattern has been generally worn by the Ogilvys since the families became connected through marriage in 1812. The present illustration shows what was known as the Ogilvy (see Drummond of Strathallan, Plate VII.) before that date, though it has gradually sunk into abeyance. Of its origin nothing is known. It was revived as late as 1850 in _The Clans of Scotland_, by Thomas Smibert, but it was then imperfectly represented. The collection of Mr and Mrs Nisbet-Hamilton-Ogilvy at Biel contains, as has been said, a fine portrait of David, the Lord Ogilvy of the ’45, who commanded Ogilvy’s Horse. It is a half-length figure, and, while the coat is in simple red and blue check, the plaid is more elaborate in design. Clearly limned is an effective arrangement of red and blue, which are the only colours either in coat or plaid. Mrs Nisbet-Hamilton-Ogilvy suggests that this tartan may have been a special variety provided by Lord Ogilvy for his regiment. Careful investigation of old collections, however, reveals no earlier pattern attributed to the family than the one here given.
OGILVY: HUNTING.
Generally styled the hunting Ogilvy, though sometimes merely the Ogilvy, this example is found in all early collections. That of the Highland Society of London (1822) contains an especially fine example. In the Moy Hall collection the specimen is labelled Ogilvy of Inverquharitie—its only appearance under that name. Nothing authentic has been ascertained as to its first introduction, but traditions of its long use are plentiful among the families entitled to wear it. An ancient legend of the Ogilvys concerning their tartan has been deemed to apply to this pattern, and to prove its antiquity. It is averred that the fairies, displeased at the appropriation of so much of their favourite colour (green) in the design, cast their influence against the clan in one of its feuds, and brought about its overthrow. Hence, according to the legend, the adoption of the pattern shown in the preceding illustration. The tale has likewise been attributed to the tartan commonly known as the Ogilvy, but restored to its proper designation in this volume as Strathallan Drummond, where the same hue is also predominant. But as that design was not adopted by the Ogilvys till 1812—long after the date of the legend—this application is obviously recent.
ROBERTSON.
Careful and extended examination of the various authorities establishes that the example here represented illustrates the earliest tartan worn by members of the Clan Donnachie having red as the dominant colour. The qualifying clause as to colour is introduced because, since the plates for this work were prepared, the author has been indebted to Mr Charles Robertson of Kindeace for a specimen of the recognised sett worn by his family and other Robertsons in the North, wherein the colours are mainly green and blue, with red and white lines. Familiar enough to connoisseurs, this design was not generally esteemed ancient; but Kindeace mentions that his family and others have long regarded it as their oldest clan pattern, and he adds: “The late Strowan told me the red was made in Atholl, and presented to his father, who never used it. In those days it had a white line, which is never seen now.” And this confirms the view that the illustration given is the earliest form of the red tartan. That it is an early clan pattern there can be no doubt, for it is duly recorded as such in the Craignish and Moy Hall collections, and in others formed from ninety to one hundred years ago by manufacturers and dealers in high repute.
STEWART.
The use of this design as Stewart tartan for a period extending back to 1745, at least, is vouched by the records of manufacturers and collectors alike. Specimens gathered about 1790, now in the author’s possession, include an undated example, whose manufacture indicates great age. It is titled Clan Stewart, and in many collections the design appears as Old Stewart, so that it was obviously recognised as the clan pattern. Probably it was employed, for the most part, as a hunting tartan, by way of relief from the brilliancy of other designs of the same name. The strong resemblance between this scheme and that of the Atholl district tartan (popularly styled the Atholl-Murray), suggests that at one time they were identical. It is known that the pattern was much worn by the Stewarts of the Western Highlands, and as these, with the Stewarts of Atholl, formed the clan, there is, at any rate, a presumption in favour of a community of tartan at an early date. A remarkable example of the old belted plaid, of a design differing from the above in certain particulars but having the same dominant features, has been shown to the Editor by Mrs Stuart of Dalness. It is reported to be two centuries old, and to represent the original sett of the tartan.
STEWART OF APPIN.
For the source of the present illustration reference must be made to the notes on the Stewart of Atholl tartan (Plate XXXIV.) The pattern is identical with the Royal Stewart as now worn, except that the present sett has four narrow green lines running through the large red squares. In the _Grameid_ (pp. 142-3) it is stated, in connection with Dundee’s gathering at Lochaber in 1689, that “brave Stewart of Appin, ... with the whole body of his clansmen, leaves the shores bordering Leven, ... carrying blue banners charged with yellow figures, ... and wearing on their lofty heads fur bonnets.” The passage, unlike portions dealing with other clans, contains no mention of the tartan colours. During the ’45 the Appin Regiment bore itself gallantly for the Prince. The roll of the killed and wounded in the campaign supplies interesting evidence of the variety of minor septs often included in the larger clans. It is compiled from memoranda made by Charles Stewart, nephew of Fasnacloich, Captain in the Highland Army, and sometime Quartermaster-General and Secretary to Prince Charles Edward. The list is as follows:—
ABSTRACT OF NAMES IN THE APPIN REGIMENT, WITH KILLED AND WOUNDED, IN 1745-46.
KILLED. WOUNDED.
Camerons, 0 0 Carmichaels, 6 2 Hendersons, 1 1 Macarthurs, 1 0 Maccananichs, 5 1 Maccolls, 18 15 Maccombichs, 5 3 Maccorcadills, 1 0 Macdonalds, 0 1 Macilduies, 1 0 Macinishes, 4 2 Macintyres, 5 5 Mackenzies, 2 3 Maclachlans, 2 0 Maclarens, 13 14 Macleas, 4 1 Macrankens, 1 0 Macuchkaders, 0 1 Stewarts, 22 25 —— —— 91 74
STEWART OF ATHOLL.
Five tartans described in the MS. whence the _Vestiarium Scoticum_ was derived are omitted from that work. The illuminated transcript of the document by Sir Thomas Dick Lauder and the drawings of designs by Charles Edward Stuart, brother of the editor of the _Vestiarium_, were kindly placed at the disposal of the Editor by Miss Dick Lauder. In the Introduction will be found a lengthened reference to this work, while some notes regarding it also appear in the list of works hitherto published on the subject of tartans. It is believed that the reproduction of these patterns will prove of interest; and, accordingly, they are illustrated in Plates XXII. and XXXIV. to XXXVII. of the present volume. The _Vestiarium_ is enough of a bibliographical rarity to be known to comparatively few, while the original MS. is meanwhile quite unavailable. The scheme here represented bears considerable resemblance to certain early setts of Royal Stewart, but no record yet discovered indicates the period of its general use in Atholl. There is reason to believe, however, that it constituted the basis of the red tartan of Clan Donnachie or the Robertsons. The well-nigh universal adoption of the Atholl district pattern (commonly styled the Atholl-Murray) by the various septs in this part of Perthshire precluded the extensive wear of any other. Hence this design has remained almost unknown to the present generation.
STEWART OF GALLOWAY.
Like the preceding design, this is one of the five tartans omitted from the published _Vestiarium Scoticum_; and it differs from the Stewart of Appin merely in the number and the tint of the lines intersecting the red squares. In the same respects it differs also from the Royal Stewart, the evolution of which is somewhat remarkable. When the Royal Company of Archers adopted the Royal Stewart as their uniform early last century, the tartan presented an aspect not easily reconciled with its present setting—as the relics of the old dress show—but the change has been very gradual. The wedding coat of Charles II., preserved in the collection of the Duke of St Albans at Bestwood, is said to be adorned with ribbons of Royal Stewart. This example the author has not yet had an opportunity of verifying. The Stewart of Galloway is a family tartan, restricted in use to the house whose name it bears, and its more immediate connections. It was in considerable favour in the early years of the present century among families allied to the Galloway Stewarts; but of its earlier use available records afford no trace, though there is reason to regard its wear soon after the Union of the Kingdoms as highly probable.
STUART OF BUTE.
Of the early use of the various setts of the Stewarts little can be gleaned, unfortunately, even from painstaking investigation at the most likely sources. The pattern now submitted of the Stuart of Bute is a reproduction of another of the drawings omitted from the published _Vestiarium Scoticum_. It is clear from the correspondence between Sir Walter Scott and Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, already mentioned, that Charles Edward Stuart executed all the water-colours about 1829 (although the work edited by his brother was not published till thirteen years later) for the transcript of the MS. whereon the book is founded. The records of this, as of the previous design, point to its use having been confined almost entirely to the family from whom it derives its title, though others, more or less closely related, have likewise claimed an interest in the wear. Whether or not the pattern was employed by the Stuarts of Bute prior to the production of the MS. by the father of the Stuart brothers has not been ascertained.
WALLACE.
For this design there are records extending over a hundred years; and it is credibly asserted that the tartan is of much greater antiquity. Be this as it may, the pattern is placed under its proper name in many collections formed early in the century. Somewhat inexplicable is the fact that the tartan usually styled Mac Lean of Duart was greatly worn by certain Wallaces down to about twenty years ago. It is, indeed, frequently designated in old books of tartan relics as Mac Lean and Wallace. Yet no record of either family furnishes any explanation of this singular conjunction. The accumulation of evidence as to early use by the Wallaces of the example here illustrated has now led to its adoption by all bearing that name. It is a family tartan, for the Wallaces were in no sense a clan; but its antiquity, and its authenticity, entitle it to a place in this work.
FROM A PORTRAIT OF THE COUNTESS OF LENNOX.