Reason most sporrans have a center tassel?

[Damocles]

it has three because the number three stand for the Trinity Father Son And holy Ghost its religious

[Paul Henry]

it has three because the number three stand for the Trinity Father Son And holy Ghost its religious

Very unlikely,the number three is very important to many peoples around the world,but most importantly the number three is a very satisfying grouping.

[nagod]

damocles, unless you can prove this,politics and/or religion should be left out of this (and most ) threads.

[Damocles]

damocles, unless you can prove this,politics and/or religion should be left out of this (and most ) threads.

my grandmother told me that. i'm not trying to be religious. its an academic question and a academic answer. if one thinks in turns of 19th century cultures religion played a big role in every day life. Celtic people relish symbolism surely you can concede to that? i'm not sure how any one could have a coherent discussion of historic practices with out recognizing the cultural practices of a people with in that contexts.
my assertions in neither a professing of personal beliefs nor is it an attempt to proselytes any person.

[Paul Henry]

my grandmother told me that. i'm not trying to be religious. its an academic question and a academic answer. if one thinks in turns of 19th century cultures religion played a big role in every day life. Celtic people relish symbolism surely you can concede to that? i'm not sure how any one could have a coherent discussion of historic practices with out recognizing the cultural practices of a people with in that contexts.
my assertions in neither a professing of personal beliefs nor is it an attempt to proselytes any person.

The thing is unless you can cite some sources, it's not really an academic answer,and I'm sorry, but family stories are often just that, nothing wrong with them, but so often they prove to be largely imaginative. I don't think anyone is trying to be difficult but simply you you need to offer more references to make your point about the religious symbolism. As someone said earlier on thsi thread , an odd number simply looks much better visibly, and perahps it's not much more of a reason than the original maker liked the look of three!

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Paul is correct. Unless there is some other evidence to back it up, something your grandmother told you may or may not be historically accurate. Working in the field that I do, I hear no end of family stories and traditions that have no basis in fact. I've heard that having red in your tartan meant there was a bastard in the family. I've heard that "true Scotsmen" always wear ghillie brogues with their kilt and no other type shoe. I've heard that diced bands on your bonnet mean you are a Hanovarian. None of the above is actually true, however. Your family story, unless there is other evidence to support it, likely falls into the same category.

The fact is that some sporrans in the 19th century had three tassels. Others had two. Some had five, or six. And some had none at all. It is a decorative feature, and I would not assume any sort of numeric symbolism unless there was evidence to suggest so.

[nagod]

as usual,someone said it better than me.if my post offended i apologize.

[Damocles]

Fair enough i certainly did not intend by my statement to cause such a raucous
but now i feel publicly humiliated was it worth that
Paul

[Chas]

it has three because the number three stand for the Trinity Father Son And holy Ghost its religious

Paul, your opinion is just as valid as anyone else's in this thread. I personally, do not agree with it, but that does not stop it being quite plausible.

damocles, unless you can prove this,politics and/or religion should be left out of this (and most ) threads.

I disagree 100%. If you take religion and politics out of Scottish history, one is left with precious little left. Rule 5 (in part) states : "Posts which quote historical facts or historical events are acceptable."

To get back on topic, my opinion is that the number of tassels is dictated by the shape of the sporran. A round bottom bag, will have only one lowest point and it is in the centre. To fill up the face of the sporran, two more tassels are added. Whereas my horsehair sporran is ex-army and the hair forms a straight bottom - two tassels fill the face adequately.

Regards

Chas