7. Clans and Tartans

Song of Clan Donald
Alba is the Ancient Name of Scotland

We are Clan Donald, and our chief was once Lord of the Isles, a title now held by Prince Charles. But when his birlinn pulled into the port of Rodil on an inspection visit, what tartan would he have been wearing?



Rodil



I regret to say that most of the clan tartans were only concocted in Victorian times.

However, when respected historian, Patrick Allitt asserted in his otherwise brilliant series of lectures on British history that tartan was invented in Northwest England in the 19th Century, I thought he'd got it wrong. And he had, to a certain extent. Of course some textile factories in the north of England made millions out of the tartan craze which swept Britain after George IV donned full Highland regalia on a visit to Edinburgh. His kit, including corsets, as His Majesty was direly overweight, cost over a thousand pounds, several years' wages for your normal peasant.





George IV in Edinburgh, 1822



The checked cloth we know as tartan has been found on mummies in Western China, in parts of Eastern Europe. So maybe it was once very common, but has survived, like the bagpipes, only in certain areas.

The word 'tartan' comes from the French 'tiretain' which in this context means 'woven cloth'. The Gaelic word is 'breacan'. The various combinations of checks were originally dictated by the availability of the natural dyes used in the old days, so you could tell where someone came from by his 'sett'.                    

Word of warning! Americans call tartan 'plaid'. Winston Churchill once said that the British and Americans were divided by a common language.

The Falkirk Tartan

In 1934, a clay pot was dug up near Falkirk. In it were about 2000 Roman silver coins, dated up to 250C.E. In the mouth of the pot was a piece of plaid, light and dark brown and cream.  It's now known as the 'Falkirk tartan'. Cry your eyes out, Patrick Allitt!

Now for the kilt. Forget the endless pleats. The original 'feilidh-mhor' or belted plaid was a 5 metre length of cloth wrapped round the body, held up by a belt, with the end thrown over the shoulder. The 'feilidh-beag' was the garment which developed into the kilt we wear today. Don't forget the trousers, or trews. JamesV ordered a pair in 'heland tartane' in 1538.



Scottish Soldiers in the Service of Gustavus Adolphus, 1631

 Note the bare feet of No 3. Another footnote to history is that in the Hebrides the kilt was worn not knee length, but halfway down the calf- probably because of the B@#*** awful weather.


Highlanders


After the 45 Jacobite Rebellion, tartan was proscribed, unless you were in the army, and did not come back into use until our fat monarch took a fancy to it. But it was Queen Victoria who really put it on the map, covering any available surface at Balmoral with it.

In my youth, no self-respecting Hebridean owned a kilt, but it gradually came back. My father,  who was a trained tailor,  could make a kilt. For weddings, there is no handsomer outfit than full Highland dress.



Neil Macdonald at Culloden with Three Clan Chiefs and Assorted Americans

 The photograph above is historic. The figure in the middle is Neil Macdonald,son of Donald Macdonald and Chirsty Maclean. The chiefs are recognisable by their eagle feathers. Neil MacDonald was the first Warden of Culloden Moor, and noted figure of the Celtic Renaissance, together with two other Drinishader MacDonalds, Finlay J Macdonald and Murdo Ewen MacDonald. More about them anon. Must be something in the air. Have fun figuring out which tartan is which. Then let me know. I don't want enraged MacDonalds lining up to get me with their 'sgian dhu's'.

Now here, without apology, is a family wedding, in Australia. My nephew, Donald MacDonald Butler!

Donald MacDonald Butler's Wedding, Australia

Top Left: Brendan Tully, from Ireland, keeps Flora's car on the road when he isn't doing weddings.
Top Right: Donald MacLean MacDonald Butler, Flora's son, Stephanie Joy Butler, nee Turner.
Bottom Left: Flora, Ian Angus(Flora's brother), Kala-Jayne Butler (Donald's daughter), Stephanie Butler.
Bottom Right: Donald and Flora.

This is also an historic document. First, Donnie is wearing Uncle Neil's kilt. Keep it safe, Donnie. Secondly, it is the only family wedding I was ever invited to. Note the formidable sister Flora, bottom left with brother Ian on her left.

Macivor Wedding
The Barvas Connection

Alastair MacIvor, Donald MacIvor, parents Ina and Iain MacIvor, Ruaridh Macivor. Aunt Effie's son Iain, with his wife and sons. She was the daughter of Donald Macdonald, of 37 Northton, and my beloved and kindly aunt.

Another family wedding, this time in Lewis.

By the way, the sporran was originally used to keep food in, and the sgian dhu was not only used as an assassination instrument, but to cut food into bite sized chunks. Folks ate with their fingers in those far off days, and your plate was usually a chunk of bread.

6. A Spot of Culture:More on Birlinns

Here we have an old poem of the Clan Ranald Birlinn. Clan Ranald was one of the better chiefs, as time went on. He lived in South Uist, and the heroine, Flora Macdonald was related to him. There is a monument to her in Kilmartin, South Uist. On the second page, we have a mention of MacCormick. Nice to see the family. MacIan was the sept of the Macdonalds otherwise known as the MacDonalds of Glencoe, who are, by the way, all descended from a single Viking.

5. After the Norwegians

When I was a teenager, visiting my friend Morag in Strond, I heard a haunting song, a Gaelic tune, but sung in English: Birlinn of the White Shoulders.

Out to Lewis and out to Barra,
Out, far out to Rodil in Harris,
Fareth she, out to sea.....
No, I'm not going to sing it to you, but Kenneth MacKellar does! I remembered the tume so accurately.

As you know, our coat of arms has a birlinn on it. Clinker built, with one square sail, they could be any size, and the number of oars was decided by the size. They appear on many tombs and on many monuments, and the finest is on Alastair Crotach's tomb in St Clement's church in Rodil

Is it not wonderful that this beautiful church and tomb were left untouched by the ravages of the Reformation?

When the bureaucrats went back to Norway, their half-Celtic relatives remained behind. There were no roads in the North until the 18th century, and for centuries the sea was the road. Scattered round the northern and western coats of Scotland are the remains of the "brochs" which some researchers speculate might have been lookout posts. The best preserved is Dun Carloway in Lewis, about which more anon.

Here's one at Dunmore, in the Inner Hebrides. One can imagine the excitement when the forerunners of the Viking ships came inshore. Were they friends or enemies, raiders or traders?

After the Vikings disappeared, warfare was endemic throughout the area, as clan fought clan, and sometimes even the king, who had a tough time trying to bring his truculent subjects to book. Not until James IV sent a navy northwards, were the pretensions of the Macdonald Lords of the Isles limited to fighting with the locals, and exacting tribute from the unfortunate captains of the birlinns belonging to other clans.

The rough forts had, by this time, been replaced  by stone castles, such as Duart Castle, home of the Chief of the MacLeans. The castle came with a MacDonald bride, daughter of the Lord of the Isles, and is a great place to visit. Built right on the edge of the sea, it was a good place to keep an eye on passing traffic.
Nice dungeons, too!

There is a special Visitors' Book for MacLeans and their relatives. My name is there.



Model of Birlinn


The Clan lands, in the eyes of the clansmen, were the property of the clan, protected by the chief. As time went on, rents were charged, and some of the chiefs ceased to be "fathers of their people", and regarded themselves as the owners of their lands.

It seems, from the writings of those who visited the Hebrides, that there was acute poverty  among the ordinary people. For reasons no one quite understands, the population of the planet had begun to rise, and the shortage of agricultural land was to have profound effects on the unfortunate Hebrideans. By the 18th Century, there was an effort to get rid of the surplus population to the Americas, usually as indentured servants, one step up from slavery. There are sad cemeteries in the Carolinas.

And the Cheviot sheep had now made its appearance.