Quote Originally Posted by Moski View Post
Question. Who OWNS the tartans. A much different matter than "recognizing" or claiming one as "official". Were these designed by a Clan Chief or by a mill/weaver and claimed by a Chief/Clan.

Unwritten rules are really worth the paper they're written on in most cases. Actual ownership, heck, even a somewhat legitimate claim of ownership would be an acceptable authority and end this discussion. Name association, for however long and however ingrained, still does not grant "ownership" and the rights that go with it.
You fail to understand the concept of the Clan Chief, my friend. If the Chief recognizes the tartan, then it is a legitimate clan tartan. A quote from a member of the Court of Session, Lord Aitchinson, seems appropriate:

Historically the idea of a chief or chieftain submitting his dignity to the arbitrament of it Court of law is really grotesque. The chief was the law, and his authority was derived from his own people.

-- http://www.heraldica.org/topics/brit...cs.htm#Maclean of Ardgour

If you want to be pedantic, there are tartans that were designed by clan members and chiefs, as well as those that were named by mills and others for clans. But in Highland tradition, the Chief decides which tartan is a "bona fide" tartan.

T.