Allowed tartans

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Was there a point to you posting those links ?
Saying the same thing twice does not make it correct , especially when it trots out tired old stuff , and shows no sign of recent scholarly research .

(added )

Todd ,

The connection between Cummings the piper , and Grant , was not a clan one , so much as a marriage one

Ian

Ian,

There are some serious problems in the article on the Clan Grant web site. For one, it states: "The Black Watch sett in the Ancient Colors is known as the Grant Hunting tartan."

The truth is that the Black Watch tartan is the same as the Grant Hunting tartan, period. It makes no difference if the tartan is produced in the ancient colors, modern colors, weathered colors, muted colors, or what have you. All of these color variations in the tartans only came about in the twentieth century. One hundred years ago, no one would have spoken of "modern colors" vs. "ancient colors." It just was not a consideration.

Varying the hues of a tartan does not change what the tartan is. The MacDonald tartan in the "ancient" colors is still the MacDonald tartan. The Grant Hunting tartan in the "modern" colors is still the Grant Hunting tartan. You might want to read my article on tartan colors here:
http://albanach.org/colors.html

However, the article on the Clan Grant site reads as if the Grant Hunting tartan must always be in the ancient colors. Otherwise it is not the Grant Hunting. This is patently false. I know several Grants today who would balk at anyone telling them they are not wearing the Hunting Grant tartan because their kilt is not in the proper shade. And I suppose any Grant who wanted to wear the tartan prior to the introduction of so-called "ancient" colors by the industry post-WWII would just have been out of luck! And what about someone wearing the tartan in the "muted" colors? What is he to think of all this?

(You'll note that beneath that article they show images of tartans, including one labelled "Grant Hunting (Black Watch) - Ancient colors," and a "Grant Hunting (Black Watch) - Modern colors," which correctly illustrates that the tartan retains the same identification regardless of color scheme).

Another major problem with the article is this statement: "it is said that this tartan was originally a Grant tartan before being adopted as the official tartan of the regiment."

Now, it may vert well "be said," but whoever is saying this is wrong. Some Campbells make the exact same claim regarding their use of the Black Watch tartan. It's a classic case of "we had it first."

Now, Todd has already posted a link to my article on the Black Watch tartan but I'll post it again:
http://albanach.org/blackwatch.htm

This is the article that you say trots out "tired old stuff" with "no signs of recent research."

Sir, if you know of any "recent research" that suggests that the Clan Grant was using this tartan as a clan tartan prior to the formation of the Regiment in 1739, I'd dearly love to know. Whomever has done this "research" has managed to keep it quite secret from those of us in the tartan world.

My article was written for The Scottish Banner newspaper, a popular rather than a scholarly periodical. So my apologies if my writing is not "academic" enough for you. However, I can say that my primary source of information for that particular column was The Origins and Development of Military Tartans: A Re-Appraisal, by James D. Scarlett, published in 2003 by Partizan Press, with a forward by Stuart Reid.

Scarlett has studied tartan for over 40 years, and can claim to know about as much as anyone alive on the subject. He's the author of numerous other books on tartan, including The Tartan Weaver's Guide, and Tartan: The Highland Textile.

Scarlett's book in fact represents the most recent research into the subject of military tartans. He is able to make quite a good case that the military tartans were the origins of the clan tartans, and not the other way around. In any case, there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that the Grants, or any other clan, were using a "clan tartan" at all prior to 1739, which would have to be proven if one is to serioulsy suggest that the Black Watch tartan was first used by that clan and only later adopted by the regiment.

Regardless, the thing to be realized today is that the 42nd tartan or "government sett", commonly referred to as the Black Watch tartan, is the exact same tartan as the Clan Campbell tartan, and the Hunting tartans of the Grants and Munros, as well as being the Sutherland district tartan. Color scheme, sett size, and other incidental factors notwithstanding.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.....