Scottish Clans
Nicolson or MacNicol Tartans & Clan
Who Wears Nicolson or MacNicol 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.
- Nicholson
- MacNicol
- McNicol
- MacNichol
- McNichol
- MacNeacail
- Nuckle
Nicolson Or Macnicol Tartans
8 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
Nicolson or MacNicol Clan Histoire & Origines
Découvrir l'histoire de Clan MacNicol et Nicolson
L'Écosse ne manque pas d'histoires à raconter
Territories
Tradition gives one branch of the family an extremely ancient origin in the lands between Assynt and Durness on the north coast of Scotland. Another tradition gives an equally ancient past in the Hebrides, where the Nicolsons held the lands of Scorrybreac, in Skye, as the principal tenants.
Clan Chief
Highland Clan MacNeacail:
The MacNicols and Nicolsons, Nicholsons around the world are tied to the ancient line from the house of Scorrybreac, located on the Isle of Skye, and their chief is John MacNeacail of MacNeacail and Scorrybreac.
Lowland Clan Nicolson:
The role of chief is currently vacant, although Adam Nicolson, 5th Lord Carnock, could legitimately claim it.
L'histoire de Clan MacNicol et Nicolson
The Highland Clan MacNicol
Clan MacNicol has a long and proud history of over 800 years in the Hebrides and Western Highlands. The Chief of the Clan, MacNeacail (MacNicol or Nicholson) of Scorrybreac, took his designation from his land near Portree on the Isle of Skye. The islands of Lewis and Skye where the MacNicols lived remained part of the Scandinavian kingdom of Mann (the Isle of Man) and the Isles, under the suzerainty of Norway, until 1266. According to George Eyre-Todd, the MacNicol race was the earliest Celtic clan to inhabit the northern Hebrides. The common ancestor of the Clan is thought to be Nicail or Nicholas, a name popular in Scandinavia, who lived in the mid-13th century. Clan MacNicol of Lewis was well established by the time the MacLeods began a rise to power. The MacLeods of Lewis appear to have inherited their considerable possessions through marriage with a MacNicol heiress in the 14th century. The ancestral Nicail, therefore, probably lived in Lewis, where he and his ancestors would have served the kings of Mann and the Isles in a mixed Norse and Gaelic environment. After the loss of the Clan lands on the Isle of Lewis, the male line of the MacNeacails continued and lived on the Isle of Skye at the house of Scorrybreac. During the 16th century MacNicol of Portree was identified as one of the 16 members of the Council of the Isles, which met at Finlaggan in Islay to advise The Lord of the Isles.
The Lowland Clan Nicolson
The Nicolson Clan descends from a lawyer who lived in Edinburgh in the 16th Century. In the mid-1980s Clan Nicolson were appointed a chief, David Nicolson, 4th Baron Carnock. The area of Carnock has been connected with the Nicolson Clan since 1636 when Thomas Nicolson became the first Baronet of Carnock, the title was then passed down through the family for generations, the title eventually passed down to Arthur Nicolson (Grandfather to David Nicolson), 11th Baronet and was also granted the title of 1st Baron Carnock. Carnock is a village in the Scottish county of Fife, it is said that the name derived from the word 'caer' which means fort or castle and from the word 'cnoc' which means isolate hill.
D'où vient le nom Clan MacNicol et Nicolson?
In modern Gaelic the name of this clan takes the form MacNeacail, the English version of the name taking the form MacNicol or Nicolson, depending on location. Clan MacNicol has about 85 spelling variations, which include Nicol, Nichols, Nicolson and Nicholson. Clan MacNicol has one Sept: Nimmo.Clan Motto:
Highland Clan MacNeacail - Meminisse Sed Providere (Remember but Look Ahead)
Lowland Clan Nicolson - Generositate (By Generosity)
The Hawks Head
Clan MacNicol crest is the Hawks head (Kite) with the word “Scorrybreac”. Some older versions of the clan badge use SGORRA BHREAC OR SGORR-A-BHREAC, but the previous Clan Chief decided to use Scorrybreac.Bringing home the Gold
Commonwealth Games gold medal winner Skye Nicholson may be Australian but here family originates from the Kyle of Lochalsh and Glasgow.
