Scottish Clans
MacFie Tartans & Clan
Who Wears MacFie Tartan? - Associated Names
First of all to explain why there are so many tartans, way over 2000 in fact. There are an awful lot of Scottish clans to start with and on top of this each clan can have many different tartans and names associated with it.
- ATHEY
- ATHIE
- CATHEY
- Cathie
- COFFEE
- COFFEY
- DUFFEE
- DUFFIE
- DUFFEY
- DUFFY
- FEE
- GUFFEY
- GUFFIE
- HAFFEY
- HAFFIE
- MacAFEE
- MacAFIE
- MacCAFFER
- MacCAFFREY
- MacCAFFIE
- MacCATHEY
- MacCATHIE
- MacCooish
- MacCUISH
- MacDUFFEE
- MacDUFFIE
- MacDUFFEY
- MacDUFFY
- MacDUFFIN
- MacFEE
- MacFIE
- MacGUFFEY
- MacGUFFIE
- MacGUFFIN
- MacHAFFIE
- MacHAFFY
- MacPHEE
- MacPHIE
- MacVEE
- MacVIE
- MAHAFFEY
- MEHAFFEY
- MacNicol
- PHEE
- PHIE
Macfie Tartans
3 variationsEach tartan can have multiple variations, the most common of which are Ancient, Modern, Weathered, Hunting and Dress
About tartan variations
- Ancient
- Modern
- Weathered
- Hunting
- Dress
Ancient Tartan
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans, mossy greens and sky blues, a more orangey red and some would say showing off the pattern to much greater effect as as the contrasts are much brighter than the Modern tartans. The pattern or sett remains the same across all variations of a single tartan, and only the shades or tones vary.
Helpful Advice
Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.
Modern Tartan
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer colours typical of the Ancient tartans. Post 1860 chemical dyes replaced the natural animal and vegetable dyes and the Modern Tartans were born with their stronger and bolder colours. The soft greens and blues become bottle green and navy blue, reds are scarlet.
Helpful Advice
The Modern tartans are often the more subtle combinations such as the classic Black Watch Modern
Weathered Tartan
Before 1860 fabrics were coloured using animal and vegetable dyes. This produced the softer, more earthy colours typical of the Weathered tartans, reminiscent of bolder colours subjected to wind, rain and sunshine producing beautiful faded tones, olive greens and browns, and very light blues with reds that are more pink than red.
Helpful Advice
Some mills refer to the Weathered tartans as Muted.
Hunting Tartan
The Hunting Tartans are the camouflage tartans and some clans don't have these variations because they are already predominantly green or brown and don't need amendment to blend in with nature's colours. The Black Watch or Gunn tartans are examples of these, whereas a tartan such as the Fraser is predominantly red and would not provide much cover for men out hunting.
Helpful Advice
One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.
Dress Tartan
The Dress Tartans were designed as the name suggests for celebrations and highland dance. The sett or pattern of the tartan remains the same and the main colour is changed to white, or extra white is added to the pattern to give it a brighter, more "fancy" appearance. The Scots do like to bend the rules and occasionally instead of white thread, yellow is used and this is where the rather wild MacLeod Dress Modern and Barclay Dress Modern came from.
Helpful Advice
One thing to remember if you are ordering your tartan to match an existing kilt or accessory is that although the sett and colours are the same, there can be a slight difference in colour from one mill to the next. This is purely down to yarn dying so if you need an exact match we suggest you order a swatch to double check.
Desde el principio
MacFie Clan Historia y Orígenes
Explorar la historia de Clan MacFie
Cómo empezó todo
Territories
The Island of Colonsay
Clan Chief
In 1968 Dr. Earle Douglas MacPhee initiated a worldwide movement to have Clan Macfie recognised once again as an active clan and to have a new Chief appointed. His efforts were highly successful with Clan Macfie being formally recognised by the Lord Lyon as an active clan on 27th May 1981.
Que hay en el nombre MacFie?
The name MacFie is from the Gaelic Mac Dhuibhshíthe, which means "son of Duibhshíth".
Dùn Eibhinn
The historic seat of Clan MacFie is Dùn Eibhinn, also referred to as Dun Evan, Dun Eivan or Fort of Eyvind. It was first built in the 11th century, but Clan MacFie did not own the land until the 13th Century. However, in 1623 the Clan MacFie Chief died during a feud with the MacDonalds, therefore the lands of Dùn Eibhinn were left unoccupied. The site has since become ruinous. The Clan MacFie Society erected a Cairn within the site of the ruins in 1977, dedicated to the Clan MacFie and the last Clan Chief.The story of MacPhee
Ewan MacPhee was a 19th century army deserter who went on to become Scotland's last outlaw. MacPhee fled the army and went to live on a small island in Loch Quoich where he married a fourteen year-old girl. As the years passed, MacPhee began to gain a reputation as an oracle of sorts and he believed himself to have supernatural powers. All this time, MacPhee was stealing cattle from his neighbours who got fed up and sent the sheriff after him. MacPhee's wife saw the Sheriff coming and so started shooting at him, prompting the Sheriff to turn and flee. Later an armed mob came and took MacPhee away to prison where he would eventually die.
Clan Motto: Pro Rege (For the King)
Happy Clan Macfie Day!
Every year on the 27th May we celebrate Clan Macfie Day to mark the date in 1981 when the clan was reactivated and formally recognised as an "active" Clan by the Lord Lyon. Tell us what you did to celebrate your favourite clan this year!
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