Clan Primary Image Bisset

Scottish Clans

Bisset Tartans & Clan

The Bisset family can trace their ancestors back to the ancient territories of Scotland between the 11th and 12th centuries.

Clan Motto Abscissa Virescit (That torn down re-grows)

Who Wears Bisset 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.

  • Biset
  • Bissett
  • Bisett
  • Byset

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Bisset Tartans

1 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 Bissett

From the start

Bisset Clan Origins & History

Clan Origin History Image Bisset

Explore the history of Clan Bisset

How it all started

Territories

The Bisset family traces their ancestral roots back to Norman origin, and first appeared in ancient medieval records in Rosshire. From very early on they not only held lands and estates in Scotland but were also actively allied with other influential families.

Clan Chief

Clan Bissett 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.

Where does the name Bisset come from?

The early form of the Bisset name is Byset and one Henricus Byset who returned to Scotland with William the Lion in 1174.

Clan Origin Location Image Bissett

Aboyne Castle

Dating back to the 13th century it is uncertain whether Aboyne Castle was built adjacent to or on the site of the original castle of the Bissets. The Bisset family were exiled in the mid 13th century following accusations of involvement in the murder of the heir to the Earldom of Atholl, and it is likely that the castle was rebuilt in the 17th century, and again in the 19th century. Now home to the Gordon family and not open to visitors, the original castle is largely in accessible, with only the hall-block and round tower remaining to the north-west, with a five story tower to the rear.

The ruins of a priory and the Bisset stronghold founded by John Bisset in 1230 at Beauly in Inverness-shire were at the original site of Beauly Castle, the current seat of the Frasers of Lovat.

Clan Motto: Abscissa Virescit (That torn down re-grows)


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