Scottish Clans
Melville Tartans & Clan
Who Wears Melville 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.
- Melvill
- Malleville
- Leslie-Melville
Melville 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
- 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
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.
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 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.
Dès le début
Melville Clan Histoire & Origines
Découvrir l'histoire de Clan Melville
L'Écosse ne manque pas d'histoires à raconter
Territories
Midlothian
Clan Chief
Clan Melville is an armigerous clan which means that the clan, family or name is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon, but does not currently have a chief recognised by the Lyon Court.
D'où vient le nom Melville?
The name Melville originated during a time when families would gain their surnames from the area in which they lived, therefore the name Melville originates from the village of Melville in Midlothian.
Melville Castle
The historic seat of Clan Melville is Melville Castle, it is located just outside of Dalkeith in the county of Midlothian and sits upon lands formerly owned by the Melville family. The state in which the Castle stands today is not how it was when it was originally built, as it was re-constructed in the 18th Century and this is the build that stands today. The first structure just consisted of a Tower House that was built by the Melville family, it is unknown when this was built but it was before the 14th Century as this was the time when the tower was passed over to the Ross family.Galfrid de Maleville
Galfrid de Maleville was ‘vicecomes’ of Edinburgh Castle for Malcolm IV. He served as Justiciary of Scotland under William the Lion, the first record of such an appointment.
Clan Motto: Denique Coelum (Heaven at Last)
Guillaume de Malleville
The barony of Maleville lay in the Pays de Ceux in Normandy. Guillaume de Malleville was one of the companions of William, Duke of Normandy, at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. de Mallevilles settled in Scotland during the reign of David I, who granted them lands in Midlothian.
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