This was originally in the "Ethics" thread, but since it's turned into a discussion of the Campbell tartans, i thought I would move it here.

Jame wrote:
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So very true Matt.....I believe that previous Dukes have said the same thing.

However, I am somewhat 'confused' about the American perceived difference between 'Black Watch' and the plain (or Ancient) 'Campbell' tartans.

Very often descriptions or illustrations of these two tartans seem to be misnamed and or reversed.

i.e. the Ancient Campbell being referred to as Ancient Black Watch or just Black Watch and vice versa.

The two tartans have separate identities and histories and are inextricably linked. The history being well documented. Ancient Campbell is not Black Watch.

The setts are the same but in the case of Black Watch, the colours are much darker

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James,

You might want to take a look at an article I recently put together about tartan colors here:
http://albanach.org/colors.html

I even use the Black Watch/Campbell tartan as an example. Also, an article I had publsihed recently in The Scottish Banner (not yet on my web site) dealt with the fact that in many cases the same tartan goes by different names.

In the case of the Black Watch, it is also called Campbell, Hunting Grant, Hunting Munro, Sutherland District, 42nd, and Government sett. All of these names refer to the exact same tartan with no real difference.

In short, the modern Black Watch is the exact same as the modern Campbell. The ancient Campbell is the exact same as the ancient Black Watch.

The proper names of this tartan (Black Watch, Campbell, etc), refer to the general pattern. Any kind of qualifying term like "ancient" or "modern" or "weathered," "muted," etc., refer to the specific shades of colors that particular cloth is produced in.

Saying that this tartan in the ancient colors is Campbell, but in the modern colors is Black Watch, simply is not accurate. They are both Campbell and Black Watch (and Hunting Grant, Hunting Munro, Sutherland District, et al).

M