Scottish Clans
MacTavish Tartans & Clan
During the period known as the Jacobite uprisings, the MacTavish were, as many Highland Clans, sympathetic to placing the Stuarts back on the throne, as was their right. When Charles Edward Stuart, better known as Bonnie Prince Charlie, landed on Scottish soil in July of 1745, some Highland Clans were preparing to join Prince Charles in his quest to put the Stuarts once again on the throne of Scotland.
Who Wears MacTavish 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.
- McTavish
- MacTamhais
Mactavish Tartans
3 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
MacTavish Clan Origins & History
Explore the history of Clan MacTavish
How it all started
Territories
The Clan was seated in their Charter lands of Dunardarie where they were one of the clans known as "the Children of Colla" or "the children of the mist".
Clan Chief
The current chief is Steven MacTavish of Dunardry
Where does the name MacTavish come from?
The surname MacTamhais is the Gaelic for the more modern spelling of MacTavish and means Son of Thomas.
Sween Castle
Sween Castle is thought to have been built by the Sween family during the 12th Century, which would make it one of the oldest stone castles in Scotland.. The man who founded Clan MacTavish, Taus, was the son of a woman who was a descendant of the Sweyne family and therefore connected to Sween Castle. The castle is located on the West Coast of Scotland on the edge of Loch Sween.Let's talk about tartan...
The MacTavish Modern tartan is the same as the Thompson Red Modern. While Thompson is a Clan in its own right, it is also a sept of Clan MacTavish, which is why they share a tartan.
Clan Motto: Non Oblitus (Not forgetful)
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