Welsh
Wynn Tartans & Clan
The Wynn family are said to be descendants of the great kingdom of Gwyneed. This was a Welsh kingdom and a roman empire successor state that emerged in post-Roman Britain in the 5th century. This great Kingdoms’ history goes back to Ireland however in later history their prominence stayed in North Wales. Maredudd ap Ieuan founded the Wynn dynasty as we know it, with his purchase of Gwydir castle. Maredudd went on to have 30 children and his son John succeeded him and became Sir John Wynn, the 1st Baronet. Sir John went on to become the MP for his county and even produced a book that goes down as one of the most important books in Welsh history. The “History of the Gwydir Family” is still used today to illustrate the state of society in Wales in the 15th century.
Who Wears Wynn 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.
- Elwin
- Gywn
- Guinn
- Gwinn
- Gwinnett
- Gwynedd
- Gwynett
- Gwynfor
- Gwynn
- Gwynne
- Gwynns
- Gynne
- Whyn
- Winn
- Wines
- Winnie
- Wink
- Wyn
- Wynne
- Whynney
- Win
- Gwinne
Wynn Tartans
1 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
Wynn Clan Origins & History
explore the history
How it all started
The Wynn family are said to be descendants of the great kingdom of Gwyneed. This was a Welsh kingdom and a roman empire successor state that emerged in post-Roman Britain in the 5th century. This great kingdoms’ history goes back to Ireland but in later history their prominence stayed in North Wales. Maredudd ap Ieuan founded the Wynn dynasty as we know it, with his purchase of Gwydir castle. Maredudd went on to have 30 children and his son John succeeded him and became Sir John Wynn, the 1st Baronet. Sir John went on to become the MP for his county and even produced a book which goes down as one of the most important books in Welsh history. His book “History of the Gwydir Family” which is still used today to illustrate the state of society in Wales in the 15th century.
What is the tartan?
This Beautiful tartan is mainly red and blue with stripes of white throughout.
Gwydir castle
Gwydir castle was built in the 14th century near the Conway Valley in North Wales. The castle was built by the Welsh knight Hywel Coetmor who was a longbow commander in the 100-year war, playing a pivotal part in the Battle of Poitiers. By the 16th century the Wynn family had bought the castle and began to rebuild it to what it is today. This castle has also hosted many kings and queens with King Charles visiting in the 17th century. Sadly in the 20th century the castle suffered a fire and left the castle without a roof until private owners bought it and restored it to its previous beauty.
Welsh name Wynn is derived from the Welsh word "gwyn," which means "fair" or "white."
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