Scottish Clans
Fraser Tartans & Clan
Benvenuto alla pagina del tartan scozzese Fraser. Il Fraser tartan è principalmente il color aranclone, verde e bianca.
Who Wears Fraser 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.
- Abernethy
- Bisset
- Bissett
- Brewster
- Cowie
- Frazer
- Freser
- Frezel
- Frisell
- Frizelle
- Gilruth
- Grewar
- Gruar
- Gruer
- MacGrewar
- MacGruer
- MacIllrick
- MacIlriach
- MacImmey
- MacKim
- MacKimmie
- MacSimon
- MacSymon
- MacTavish
- Oliver
- Sim
- Sime
- Simon
- Simons
- Simpson
- Sims
- Simson
- Sym
- Syme
- Symon
- Symons
- Twaddle
- Tweeddale
- Tweedie
Associated Regiments
Over the last 300 years, tartans have been a part of official dress for some of the most famous regiments throughout the military world! Their respective regimental tartans became undisputedly tied to the very core identity of the soldiers who wear it. Explore the associated regiments below:
- Black Watch
- Lovat Scouts
- Scottish Horse
FraserTartans
20 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.
Dall’inizio
Fraser Clan Storia e Origini
Esplorare la storia di Clan Fraser
Come tutto è cominciato
Territories
The first Fraser recorded in Scotland was Simon Fraser, who arrived in Scotland around 1160 and held lands at Keith in East Lothian. From East Lothian, the Frasers moved into Tweeddale in the 12th and 13th centuries before heading north to Stirling, Angus, Inverness and Aberdeen. Historically, the Frasers of Lovat have been extremely prominent in the local politics and military of Inverness-shire. The name Fraser is still common in the area. Overall, it’s the 23rd most common surname in Scotland, but the 6th most common in the Inverness region.
Clan Chief
The current Fraser Chief is Flora Fraser, 21st Lady Saltoun and for Fraser of Lovat is Simon Fraser, 18th Lord of Lovat.
Cosa c'è nel nome Fraser?
There is a theory that the Frasers are descendants of a Roman Gaul tribe whose badge was a strawberry plant, the French for strawberry is fraise which evolved, possibly, into Fraser. You can read the full story on the blog, but today today, the Fraser coat of arms still features three strawberry flowers. The name could also come from the French surname Fresel, which meant ‘ribbon’ or ‘braid’ in Old French. The earliest spellings of the name in France are ‘de Fresel’, ‘de Friselle’ and ‘de Freseliere’, and the name ‘Frézelière’ is still common in what was once the Anjou region.
Georgina Fraser Newhall
Georgina Fraser Newhall, a proud Fraser clanswoman was very keen to call herself a "black" Fraser, as she was blessed with the dark hair and eyebrows said to be the mark of a "True Fraser". She was a Canadian writer, teacher and stenographer as well as the bardess of the Fraser Society of Canada. She wrote "Fraser's Drinking Song" which become the society's welcomeClan Fraser
Join Monja & Anna live on the sofa from the comfort of your home as they talk all things Clan Fraser. From the Clan origins to its tartans, seats and societies, we explore it all.
Great reading for Frasers
From Clan Fraser member Terry Lovat
Did you know you had an author amongst you? Terry Lovat wrote the historical fiction "Son of a Jacobite" in 2019 and recently recently released "The Jacobite Grandson”. If you love Outlander you will love this story which traces the later life of Thomas Lovat and the transition from childhood into adulthood of his son, Edward.
Castle Fraser
Castle Fraser in Aberdeenshire was home to the Fraser family for over 400 years and it is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland after being gifted in 1976 and is now open to the public. The castle was begun all the way back in 1455 by Thomas Fraser, who called his fortified house the Castle of Muchil-in-Mar. Over 100 years later, in 1575, Michael Fraser of Stoneywood rebuilt the castle as a much larger Z-plan house. The rebuild was so ambitious that it was not finished until 1636! A few centuries later and Col Charles Mackenzie Fraser decided the tower house complex was in need of a transformation, as he remodelled almost all of the interior rooms. However, in the 20th century, the castle returned to its historic roots as new owners removed the Colonel’s “improvements”. Unlike many similar Castles over the centuries, Castle Fraser has never had to use its defensive features. The castle is filled with family portraits, ornaments, and mementos – all of which have their own colourful stories to tell about the lairds. Later additions made the castle into a huge fortified structure, one of the largest tower houses in the country. With hidden doors, secret staircases, and spy holes, it is a fascinating piece of Clan Fraser history to explore!
Clan Fraser
Tartan Poll
With 14 tartan variants to choose from, the Clan Fraser is truly spoilt for choice. But what is your favourite Fraser Clan Tartan?
Cherry Island
Did you know that Loch Ness’ only island, Cherry Island, was once the site of a Fraser castle and was apparently home to a spirit called brownie, which came out at night to help with household and farming chores! The island is about 140 metres from the shore near the southern end of the loch and is now smaller than it once was due to it becoming part of the Caledonian Canal.
Fraser Clan
Quiz
How much do you think you know about Clan Fraser? Enough to get all 12 questions correct? Test your Fraser Clan Knowledge now!
Clan Motto: All My Hope Is In God.
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