Tartan has powerful connections with often-romanticised notions of Scottish identity and history. It has also been widely used as a fashion textile owing to the appealing and distinctive nature of its various patterns, which are known as setts.

Origins and Development
The precise origins of tartan are not known, however a fragment found in Falkirk, dating from the third century AD, suggests that simple woollen checked cloths existed in Scotland at an early period. However, complex patterning of the type now associated with tartan did not exist in Scotland until the sixteenth century. Hugh Cheape discusses the origins of the name tartan as follows:
"The word 'tartan', probably French (from the word tiretaine), was in use early in the sixteenth century . . . The French tiretaine described a half wool, half linen cloth, sometimes described in English as 'linsey-woolsey' "(Cheape, p3).

Contrary to contemporary popular belief, tartan patterns have no traceable historical links with specific Scottish families or clans. These associations developed from the early nineteenth century, when they were actively promoted by historians and writers, as well as woollen manufacturers and tailors. Tartan, however, was by 1600 established as part of the culture of the Highlands of Scotland. It was widely worn by all levels of that society and it formed a distinctive element of Highland dress, which was largely based around the plaid or breacan. Up until the late eighteenth century the setts worn were largely determined by the tastes of the purchaser (Scarlett 1987, pp67-72).

Culloden and After
The battle of Culloden in 1745 was the last stand in the campaign by supporters of the Catholic Prince Charles Edward Stuart to form a challenge to the ruling Hanoverian King, George II (Morgan, p423). The 'Young Pretender' promoted Highland dress as the uniform of his Jacobite army. This led to tartan being associated with political rebellion and sedition and to its proscription under the Disarming Act of 1746. Under this Act, which lasted until 1782, the wearing of tartan was forbidden, with the penalty of possible transportation for seven years (Cheape, pp32-38).

From the early nineteenth century tartan began to be internationally recognised as representative of Scottish, rather than merely Highland Scottish identity. Its popularity was linked to romanticised notions of Scottish history put forward by writers such as the poet James MacPherson and Sir Walter Scott. The latter played a significant role in orchestrating the well publicised visit of King George IV to Edinburgh in 1822, during which the monarch appeared in a version of full Highland dress. This royal endorsement of tartan was continued from the 1840s by Queen Victoria, which was a great stimulus to its fashionability in Britain, France, and elsewhere (Scarlett 1990, pp35-37).

Throughout the twentieth century tartan retained its role as both an internationally recognised symbol of 'Scottishness' and as an attractive fashion textile. Since the 1970s tartan has featured in the collections of international designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Alexander McQueen.

Manufacture and Design
From the mid eighteenth century tartan design and manufacture began to be carried out within large-scale commercial enterprises, rather than primarily being the concern of local weavers. The firm Wilson's of Bannockburn was the most prominent tartan manufacturer from the mid eighteenth to the mid nineteenth century. In addition to their innovation in tartan design they also contributed to the modernisation of tartan manufacture by 'regularising the sett, colours and thread count' involved with each design (Rawson, Burnett, Quye, p20).

Books and Articles
Cheape, Hugh, Tartan the Highland Habit (Edinburgh: National Museums of Scotland, 1995)

Morgan, K O, The Oxford History of Britain (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1993)

Rawson, Helen, Burnett, John and Quye, Anita, 'The Import of Textile Dyes to Scotland: the Case of William Wilson and Son, Tartan Weavers of Bannockburn 1780-1820.' Review of Scottish Culture , No 13, 2000-2001: 18-29

Scarlett, James D, Tartan: The Highland Textile (London: Shepheard-Walwyn, 1990)

'Tartan: the Highland Cloth and Highland Art Form' in Butt, John and Ponting, Kenneth (eds) Scottish Textile History (Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1987)

Websites
National Museums of Scotland
www.nms.ac.uk

Scottish Tartans Authority
www.tartansauthority.com

Scottish Tartan Museum, Keith
www.keithcommunity.co.uk/site/museum.htm