Some interesting tartan info

[flyv65]

As Todd already informed us, this notion of the number of colors somehow equating to rank comes not from the world of Scottish tartans, but from the old Brehon Laws of Ireland -- I cannot remember when these Laws were composed, but I beleive they were from the early medieval period. Someone else can let us know. But these laws referred specifically to ceremonial cloaks, and the number of stripes they could contain. They were not an attempt to regulate daily clothing.

Peter Berrisford Ellis is a well known scholar and has written several books on the Celts, the source of most Gaelic tradition including the Brehon Laws. I'd have to pour back through my tomes, but I "thought" that chiefs were allowed a cloak of up to 5 colors, and that Druids. Bards, and Brehons were permitted a cloak of 6 colors. In the 4th century in Ireland Christianity began to exert a much greater sway with the populace, and the people began to "blend" the old and the new, with little heard of Druids after the 11th century, Brehon law untill the 16th century, and the Bardic arts into the 17th century. These are simply rough numbers based on my readings and I sure could be off a 100 years or so in any direction (IIRC, Boru held Druidic Advisors as well as Churchmen, Grania Ni Maille was married according to Brehon Law [the second time], and the O'Sullivan's march to Ulster was rumoured to have had a Bard).

It seems that the greatest threats to the traditional Gaelic way of life were not the English (although they were not without some blame), but the irreconcileable differences with the Roman or Latin interpretation of Christianity in the Isles folllowing the Synod of Whitby.

Bryan...hopelessly Pelagian...