Clan Primary Image Duncan

Scottish Clans

Duncan Tartans & Clan

The personal name Duncan can be found on Scotland’s oldest records in its Gaelic form Donnchadh. Among these records is a reference to the death in 717 of Dunchad, the eleventh Abbot of Iona. In 965 the killing of the Abbot of Dunkeld is recorded, showing his name to be Duchad. When Duncan I took the Scottish throne, his grandfather had the blood of several relatives on his hands, having murdered the way clear for Duncan.

Clan Motto Disce Pati (Learn to Endure)

Who Wears Duncan 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.

  • Duncin

店舗検索 Duncan Tartans & Clan From Curtains to Clothing, use the filters below to navigate through everything we offer in Duncan Tartans

DuncanTartans

2 variations

Each 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.

Clan Origin Primary Image Duncan

From the start

Duncan Clan Origins & History

Clan Origin History Image Duncan

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How it all started

Territories

Angus

Clan Chief

Clan Duncan 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.

What's in the name?

The Gaelic word "donn" means brown and "cath" means warrior.

Clan Origin Location Image Duncan

Camperdown House

Built in 1828 for the 1st Earl of Camperdown, Robert Haldane-Duncan, the house was designed by William Burn and built in a Neo-Classical style, with a very grand east-facing portico with massive fluted Ionic columns. Duncan was the son of naval hero Admiral Adam Duncan who defeated the Dutch at the Battle of Camperdown in 1797, saving Britain from invasion, and the house was named after this battle. Now owned by Dundee City Council and the largest public park in Dundee you can visit today and enjoy displays relating to Dundee's maritime history, Admiral Duncan and the Battle of Camperdown.

Two kings of Scotland in the 11th century bore the name Duncan; Duncan I and Duncan II, and the name was initially a forename rather than a surname. The surnames Duncan and Robertson or Clann Donnachaidh have similar origins, being descended from the ancient earls of Atholl and took their name from Donnachaidh Reamhar who led the clan at the Battle of Bannockburn (June 24, 1314)

Clan Motto: Disce Pati (It is not)


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