Scottish Clans
Lamont Tartans & Clan
Clan Lamont ruled almost all of the Cowal peninsula in Argyll for centuries. Their standing was however damaged by the Dunoon Massacre in 1646, when the rival Campbells killed 200 Lamont clansmen. After this many Lamonts moved to the Scottish Lowlands.
Who Wears Lamont 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.
- Black
- Blackie
- Blaik
- Blaikie
- Blake
- Broun
- Brown
- Burden
- Burdon
- Clement
- Douglas
- Forsyth
- Lamb
- Lambie
- Lammie
- Lamond
- Lamondson
- Lemmon
- Lemond
- Limond
- Limont
- Lucas
- Luck
- Luckie
- Luke
- MacAldowie
- MacAlduie
- MacClement
- MacClymont
- MacEaracher
- MacErchar
- MacErracher
- MacFarquhar
- MacGilledow
- MacGorrie
- MacIldowie
- MacIlwhom
- MacKerchar
- MacKerracher
- MacLamond
- MacLemon
- MacLucas
- MacLuckie
- MacLuke
- MacLymont
- MacManus
- MacMunn
- MacPatrick
- MacPhun
- MacSorley
- Meikleham
- Meiklem
- Munn
- Paterson
- Patrick
- Sorley
- Toward
- Towart
- Turner
- White
- Whyte
- Kilduff
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:
- Argyll Highlanders (Old 74th)
LamontTartans
4 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.
From the start
Lamont Clan Origins & History
Explore the history
How it all started
Territories
Argyl and Cowal
Clan Chief
The current chief is The Rev. Father Peter Lamont of that Ilk. Father Lamont is Parish Priest of Holy Name Mary Roman Catholic Church, Rydalmere a suburb of Sydney, Australia.
What's in the name?
The name Lamont derives from a medieval name Lagman which in turn derived from an ancient Norse name which meant Law Man
Toward Castle
The original Toward Castle was built in the 15th Century by the Lamont family and is the historic seat of Clan Lamont. The Lamonts held the Castle until 1809, but since then the lands have been owned by a few different families including the Finlays and the Coats of Paisley. When the Lamonts held the land they had to abandon the castle due to an attack from Clan Campbell, in which hundreds of Lamonts were massacred by Campbell men. The present castle that stands today sits about 500 metres away from where the original castle was built, the present castle was designed by David Hamilton for Kirkman Finlay.The Lamont clan plant badge is Crab-apple tree, Trefoil, or Dryas.
The Clan Lamont Society was formed in 1865 to "foster friendship across the world and to preserve and promote the written history of Clan Lamont. You can join them here on their website. Augusta Lamont, the last of the McGorrie Lamonts, bequested the Inverchaolain Manse on the east shore of Loch Strive, to the Society and this is now their HQ. You can arrange to view the archives and items donated such as a Lamont sword all the way from America and a first edition of McKechnie's History of Clan Lamont. Visit in August and you can take in the Cowal Highland Games held at nearby Dunoon at the same time.
Clan Motto: Ne Parcus Nec Spernas (Neither Spare Nor Spurn)
