tartan register...

[macwilkin]

Thanks, Glenn -- I forgot about Matt's article. Good stuff which will hopefully clarify some points.

Cheers,

T.

[phil h]

maybe I'm a bit off topic with this, but the whole thing "burns my ****" just a bit.
I see your point, and what the tartan registar may do once in place. but this tends to strengthen the feeling that people need the right to wear a particular tartan, they do not.
one fellow Englishman posted how upset he was after ordering a tartan kilt and now was changing his mind incase he offended someone by wearing a tartan kilt.
who knows what people will do once they do have the authority, like the lord lyon does with arms.
will this restrict the wearing or the availability of tartan,what is wrong with things the way they are?
like I said before , who is going to pay for all this? what good will this do? how will it be different?

[Colin]

I don't see it as restricting who can wear what tartan, I see it as more of a chance for people to learn about which clans and tartans may be associated with their family history. This sounds like more of a tool to aid people looking to learn about a Scottish connection. All they are saying, is that it makes more sense that it should be in Scotland, rather than in any other counrty that make take the iniative to do this before Scotland does. It would be like having the official Lederhousen registry and authority in Ohio rather than Austria.

While the Lord Lyon can tell you that you can't wear that crest if their are restrictions on it (ie. Clan Chief personnal badge), I don't see how a tartan register would be able to tell people who can and cannot wear a tartan (especially given the multiple uses, questionable origins, and historic inaccuracy of so many tartans).

[macwilkin]

Phil,

Matt Newsome's last paragraph pretty much sums it up:

So why bother recording a tartan at all? Having your tartan recorded on a recognized index provides some safe guards. For instance, it can be compared to tartans already recorded to prevent you from inadvertently copying a pre-existing tartan. It also provides an official record of your tartan to prevent someone from later on proposing that same tartan for his own group. It’s also the best way to inform others about your new tartan. If you don’t record it anywhere, no one is going to know about it, whether it is “official” or not.

I don't think it promotes the idea that one must have the "right" to wear a particular tartan at all; the register is a like census of all "known" tartans. Just like some folks do not participate in the census, there will be tartans that don't make the list. But it's just a list. They're not talking lists of septs or names associated with them, just a list of tartans. This way the legacy of all of the tartans will be preserved. So much of Scottish culture was lost after the '45, the Clearances, etc.

like I said before , who is going to pay for all this? what good will this do? how will it be different?

They're asking the same questions as well -- give 'em a chance to work it out before closing your mind to the idea. There's nothing so contreversial that it can't be talked about! :mrgreen:

As far as your English friend, he shouldn't have given up -- he could have easily pointed to all of the Englishmen who have enlisted in Scottish regiments over the year as "precedent".

T.

[phil h]

Mr newsome does make a good point.
my point is like this.
take a regular t-shirt, that costs $10
slap a logo on it, toronto maple leafs, the rangers or the dallas cowboys, now that t-shirt will cost $110, because of licencing, my worry is , will the clans say gimmi some money or you can't use my tartan? coz now it's official,I'm not saying the new authority will make the trouble, but they may cause it.
as for a closed mind, quite the opposite my friend, I don't intend my posts as a personal attack on you or anyone else, I just like to stir things up a bit, play devil's advocate if you will. 8)

I thank you for bringing this post to our attention.
I have seen similar in other places, the banner being one.

also seems to me that what they are concered with is making money before the Americans get their hands on it and then it's too late for them to earn big money off it.

[Mike n NC]

Nodding in agreement with phil h. Just judging from experience with the American government, and a couple of other places I've lived, if the government wants into it they see a way to make money from it.

Mike

[macwilkin]

because of licencing, my worry is , will the clans say gimmi some money or you can't use my tartan? coz now it's official,I'm not saying the new authority will make the trouble, but they may cause it.
as for a closed mind, quite the opposite my friend, I don't intend my posts as a personal attack on you or anyone else, I just like to stir things up a bit, play devil's advocate if you will.

Phil -- I'm not taking offence personally at your comments, and I do appreciate a good "intellectual joust" now and again. I think we see each other's points, and that is good.

Some Clan societies do have "closed" tartans already, where you have to be a member of the society and some even require a true blood line, but they are few and far between -- most clan socities want people to wear their tartan because it gives their clan recognition.

I just don't see this as some government scheme to make money, though, although there certainly could be some who see it as this (and believe me, I work for the US government in the Park Service, so I know about the government's "operating procedures") -- I think that this will work as Colin has described, with a great chance to further educate folks about Scottish heritage and dress -- I can't be cynical about educating anyone, since that is my chosen trade! :mrgreen:

Cheers,

T.

[Kilted Kit]

Looks like the Scots may be trying what the French tried (and I think succeeded) in restricting the names 'Champagne' or 'Bordeaux' to wines produced in those regions.
Tartan: A fabric of a distinctive pattern woven in Scotland.
Nice try,we'll see. With the growth in the popularity of the kilt worldwide sounds like the penny has dropped at home.

[arrogcow]

I think that my making it an official government office, they are just trying to get some money other than from donations or thr regestering of tartans. I mean it's not like the tartan police can arrest you if you wear a tartan that you are not "entitled" to.

Adam

[Rob]

I mean it's not like the tartan police can arrest you if you wear a tartan that you are not "entitled" to.

Adam,

Do you get to wear a kilt on duty if you join the Tartan Police?

Rob (who is about to gen up on Tartan Law before applying to join the force)