Clan Primary Image dundas

Scottish Clans

Dundas Tartans & Clan

Serle de Dundas is recorded in the reign of William the Lion. The lands of Dundas were obtained by charter from Waldeve, son of Gospatric, most probably in the reign of Malcolm IV.
Clan Motto Essayez (Try)

Who Wears Dundas 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.

  • Dunndas

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

DundasTartans

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 Dundas

From the start

Dundas Clan Origins & History

Clan Origin History Image Dundas

Explore the history

How it all started

Territories

The Dundas' were undoubtably a great Lowland family who played a prominent part in the legal affairs of the nation from the time of Sir James, 1st Lord Arniston, who lived in the 17th century.

Clan Chief

The current chief is David Dundas of Dundas

What's in the name?

Dundas in Gaelic is Dun deas meaning ‘south fort’

Clan Origin Location Image Dundas

Dundas Castle

The stunning location of one of our recent photoshoots and dating back to the 12th century, Dundas Castle is part of the large land masses south of the Forth owned and controlled by the Dundas Clan by the 15th century. Recent refurbishments have restored the Auld Keep which had not been inhabited for over 300 years and the parapet is fully functional once again thanks to huge investment and love from current owners Sir Jack and his wife Lady Lydia.

Dundas Castle, home to our recent Spring Summer photoshoot, is a 15th century Castle near South Queensferry, home to the Dundas family since the Middle ages but now owned by politican and businessman Sir Jack Stewart-Clark. During the second world war Dundas Castle was the HQ for protecting the Forth Bridge.

Clan Motto: Essayez (Try).


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