Restriction on wearing tartan "the Devil's oath"

[Mike1]

What is the source for this?

The actual tartan proscription act read as follows -

"That from and after the First Day of August 1747, no man or boy within that part of Great Britain called Scotland, other than such as shall be employed as Officers and Soldiers of His Majesty's Forces, shall on any pretext whatsoever, wear or put on the clothes, commonly called Highland clothes (that is to say) the Plaid, Philabeg, or little kilt, Trowes, Shoulder-Belts, or any part whatever of what peculiarly belongs to the Highland Garb; and that no tartan or party-coloured plaid or stuff shall be used for Great coats or upper coats, and if any such person shall presume after the first said day of August, to wear or put on the aforesaid garments or any part of them, every person so offending.... shall be liable to be transported to any of His Majesty's plantations beyond the seas, there to remain for the space of seven years."

What Foxgun Tom has quoted is what is commonly known as the 'Highlander's oath'.

[Foxgun Tom]

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[ian]

I, _______________, do swear, as I shall answer to God at the great day of Judgement, that I have shall have in my possession a gun, sword, pistol or arm, and use a tartan plaid, and parts of the Highland Garb; and if I fail to do so -- may I be cursed in my undertakings, family and property, may I be killed in battle as a coward, and lie without burial in a strange land, far from the graves of my forefathers and kindred; may all this come across me if I break my oath."

Now would you take the "New Highlander Oath?"

[MacTavishOfJapan]

Why would I ever need to swear to keep a gun?

[Colin]

Let's get this back on topic right quick, or it's gone. We have played the gun game to many times.

[Foxgun Tom]

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[switchblade5984]

As some of you are aware, the wearing of tartan and highland dress was banned in Scotland, after the 45 rebellion but!! are you aware that some had to take an oath supporting a ban??? The worst fate for a Highlander was to die or be killed in a foriegn land and lie buried for eternity, away fom the land of his clan and the burial place of his forefathers
Below is a copy of the oath!!!

Tom

I, _______________, do swear, as I shall answer to God at the great day of Judgement, I have not, nor shall have in my possession any gun, sword, pistol or arm whatsoever, and never to use tartan plaid, or any part of the Highland Garb; and if I do so -- may I be cursed in my undertakings, family and property, may I be killed in battle as a coward, and lie without burial in a strange land, far from the graves of my forefathers and kindred; may all this come across me if I break my oath."

ummmm wheres a pic of the tartan?

[Mike1]

ummmm wheres a pic of the tartan?

Huh?!? A pic of what tartan?

[davezero]

That is a terrible oath indeed. And a down-right rotten thing to do to a Scottsman....... Well at least they didn't ban drinking......

[ian]

Ian, you should never change history to suit yourself!!!!
Tom

I don't, but it reminds me of the quote by Churchill, "History is written by the victors.” Personally, I've only known one Victor, Victor Sanchez, whereabouts unknown.

The originators of the oath attempted to rewrite history and destroy a culture as old, if not older than their own. This effectively was a compulsory oath to make them abandon their culture. So, the repeal came (Repeal of the Act of Proscription, 1 July 1782) and then the Highland/Lowland Clearances started about a year later. The only good thing that came from this travesty was Scotsmen being almost everywhere in the world today.

Which is worse, being stripped of your culture and ancestral home or both? Was the repeal an act of mercy to Scotsmen which unknown to them would be scattered in the four winds a year later?

If this outrageous oath had never surfaced in the past how common would the kilt be today? One can only wonder.

An unfufilled prophecy of the Clearances? Maybe not.

The ancient proprietors of the soil shall give place to strange merchant proprietors, and the whole Highlands will become one huge deer forest; the whole country will be so utterly desolated and depopulated that the crow of a cock shall not be heard north of Druim-Uachdair; the people will emigrate to Islands now unknown, but which shall yet be discovered in the boundless oceans, after which the deer and other wild animals in the huge wilderness shall be exterminated and drowned by horrid black rains (siantan dubha). The people will then return and take undisturbed possession of the lands of their ancestors."

--The Brahan Seer (Kennoth Odhar)