Quote Originally Posted by Tartan Hiker View Post
Very nice tartan. Congratulations to the fine citizens of West Virginia.

Interesting article, but odd that the writer is still under the mistaken impression that the Lord Lyon has anything to do with tartans. Mayhaps we should send this article (http://albanach.org/official.htm) to them to relieve their distress as to the "official" status of the WV tartan.
I was going to make the same comment, Bill. The article states that the tartan is "almost official," for while it has been approved by the WV State government, it has not been approved by the Lord Lyon, whose court the article correctly points out is the authority over all things heraldic in Scotland. The problem is that tartan is not heraldry, and therefore Lyon has no authority over it.

If the tartan has the approval of the WV government, then it is the official WV tartan -- period. No more needs to be done.

Having the tartan recorded with some recording body in Scotland -- such as the STA -- is an exceptionally good idea. In this way people looking for information on tartan will have access to it. And this is the proper place to also record such information as the face that the WV government has granted its approval and adopted it as the official state tartan. But whether or not that taran is recorded with the STA has no bearing on its status vis a vis the state itself.

Now the new National Tartan Register that is underway will be organized under the auspices of the Lord Lyon, though I doubt the Lyon Court itself will have much to actually do with the running of it. It will be maintained by the National Archives and most likely rely upon the STA as major advisors/consultants/work-horses, etc. The details are still being worked out. But in the end, the facts will be the same. A state tartan being recognized by the state government is what makes it official (just as a clan tartan is made so by recognition of the clan chief). The new National Register will still be simply a recording body, only a recording body with government backing, as opposed to the privately organized ones we have currently.

~M