Quote Originally Posted by longhuntr74 View Post
Agreed...fun thread. I read a very enlightening piece from a well-known Tartan Scholar (I think it was Matt Newsome) on the origins of tartans and the "falsity" (my word, not his) of the notion that all of these tartans are deeply rooted in family and clan connections...in fact they were imposed by the Monarchy in the 1800s and then commercialized by the tartan weavers...post Culloden. I wish I could remember what site it was on now. Anyways...agreed on the interest in conducting more geneaological research on the family roots...but in the meantime, I'm not going to feel guilty about wearing a tartan that I like either.
I don't know if I would use the word "imposed"...the State visit of George IV to Edinburgh certainly helped fuel the tartan mania, but there were other factors, such as the weaving firms like Wilson's of Bannockburn, that helped create it as well, and before 1822 when George wore his pink tights under the kilt. :mrgreen:

Regards,

Todd