Caledonianly speaking, who ami I?

[xman]

... I actually like the "McDonald Flora Plaid" a great deal and indeed, ...

There are a couple of 'Flora MacDonald' plaids, but the only one stock woven is the early 19th C. 'Commemorative' plaid by House of Edgar. It's classed 'Old and Rare' by them so it'll be a bit costlier.

If you've got Ulster Scots/Irish heritage, the obvious choice might be an Ulster tartan. The very handsome setts are woven in various colours by D. C. Dalgleish and House of Edgar at least.

It seems that, 'Caledonianly speaking', you are much like many of us, mutts in the breeding.

[creagdhubh]

If your ancestors hail from Scotland, aka, the north of Britian, then your ancestry is either Pictish, Gaelic, Norse (Viking), Briton, or Angle - or perhaps a mixture of some the "tribes" - that is if you go way back before Scotland officially became know as "Scotland." The Gaels naturally came from Ireland - hence the western coast of Scotland know as "Argyll," or the land of the Gael. Pictish areas where generally located in central and northeastern parts of present day Scotland, the Norse (Vikings) to the northwest and far north, and the Angles and Britons further south towards the borders and into northern, present day England.

Of course, I could go on and on and speak of this topic for a great deal of time, but I think I shall save you from that. BBC Scotland's, "A History of Scotland," hosted and narrated by Neil Oliver, does a pretty good job of further describing and explaining all of this in detail.

Slainte mhath,

[Geoff Withnell]

If your ancestors hail from Scotland, aka, the north of Britian, then your ancestry is either Pictish, Gaelic, Norse (Viking), Briton, or Angle - or perhaps a mixture of some the "tribes" - that is if you go way back before Scotland officially became know as "Scotland." The Gaels naturally came from Ireland - hence the western coast of Scotland know as "Argyll," or the land of the Gael. Pictish areas where generally located in central and northeastern parts of present day Scotland, the Norse (Vikings) to the northwest and far north, and the Angles and Britons further south towards the borders and into northern, present day England.

Of course, I could go on and on and speak of this topic for a great deal of time, but I think I shall save you from that. BBC Scotland's, "A History of Scotland," hosted and narrated by Neil Oliver, does a pretty good job of further describing and explaining all of this in detail.

Slainte mhath,

My brother had a genetic study done on both his mitochrondrial DNA (female line) and y chromosome DNA (male line). The female is almost pure Celtic, and the male line straight Nordic. So the family joke has become that we are descended from fast Viking men and slow Celtic women!

[O'Searcaigh]

Ah yes, if it (McDonald Flora) is way expensive then it is not a good choice perhaps. I have thought about the Ulster Red, which is the one that keeps coming up for my surname "Sharkey," but I've not found it easily available at a "standard" price either, even though I've seen a lot of very similar sets readily available.

[xman]

Ah yes, if it (McDonald Flora) is way expensive then it is not a good choice perhaps. I have thought about the Ulster Red, which is the one that keeps coming up for my surname "Sharkey," but I've not found it easily available at a "standard" price either, even though I've seen a lot of very similar sets readily available.

Scroll to the bottom of the page.
http://www.dcdalgliesh.co.uk/popular_heavy.rpy
Your kiltmaker will be able to procure these cloths at wholesale prices from any mill.

There is a tartan listed as MacDonald of PEI that is attributed to a Flora MacDonald. This is a real "beauty". However, if you decide to go with the Flora MacDonald tartan and want to order a "run", just let me know as I would be interested in having a kilt made as well.

Be aware also that this is a 12" sett and will need to be pleated to the half stripe or half sett.

[KenB]

Like many folks, I am a "mutt" as well". MacDonald, MacDougall, Lumsden, MacMillan. I wear the MacDonald of Glenaladale tartan as it is my mothers side of the family. Being a Canadian I have a number of great choices in tartans should I wish to have something made. There is a tartan listed as MacDonald of PEI that is attributed to a Flora MacDonald. This is a real "beauty". However, if you decide to go with the Flora MacDonald tartan and want to order a "run", just let me know as I would be interested in having a kilt made as well.

[Riverkilt]

If Sir Sean Connery can choose his mother's clan tartan to wear kilted then I suspect most anyone can....

[O'Callaghan]

If Sir Sean Connery can choose his mother's clan tartan to wear kilted then I suspect most anyone can....

His paternal line is Irish, and whilst there are Irish family tartans, nearly all of them are special weave, and there is no Connery tartan, although a man of his standing could always commission one.

[AN COIGREACH ALBANNACH]

Kilts,belted plaids and such like basicly were not being worn any more as a society based,national norm for common Scottish gaels by the mid to late 1700's.The odd rich family on special occasions or highland regiments excepted.

What the kilt and tartan became after that time is unfotunately heavily influenced by textile merchants avid imaginations, and people grasping at highly unrealistic,romantic,popularly acceptable grains of half truths.These they heavily sugar coated and presented to a population south of the highland line that knew little and cared less about real highland families.Real folk who,d had their old tartan garb forcibly removed from them,who wept as their thatched roofs were burned over their heads and the bailiffs forced them aboard over crowded transport ships for an uncertain and generaly unwanted new existance in america,canada,new zealand,australia.

If you do actually have family stock that is highland and you want to keep some sort of representation of the old highland gaelic society alive from those days,fine.But be ready to UNLEARN a lot of the pish that is still swilling around from the days when sir Walter Scott laid on the equivalent of a corny touristy hawiian tribal floorshow,only a highland version, for an overwieght king goerge IV in Edinburgh in 1822, who wore pink tights beneath the kilt he had been presented with for the occassion.

It is also your freedom of choice to open a book and read up on reams of tartans with thier clan identities that simply did not exist back when tartan was really worn as a national every day thing for gaels.Along with all the daft rules associated with how to wear it correctly that just aped the rules of swanky ettiqute that wafted up from places like london.Stuffy rules still in evidence on this forum, snapped up by rich highlanders,chiefs too,eager to distance themselves from what had become for them an embarrassing connection to an old,uncivilized warrior/bandit society.Those that still wore it for every day,the soldiers,were straightened up,boxed into square measurements and sanitized into something acceptable to the strict conformity beloved of the brittish army.

So my dear O.P, read up on the REAL history of highland dress,enjoy learning a history that,no matter what amount of highland blood you do have,will sing with joy and pride but will also boil as you learn of the betrayal of a brave,hardy and down to earth folk and their dress,betrayed and ambushed both by enemies and those who they thought they could trust.

And after you have read,then decide,will you try to pick up the tattered but still proud pieces of peat bog,blood stained highland dress PRE 1745,or will you go for the tourist freindly clan this clan that fairy stories dished up in the flahy shops on the royal mile from aprox 1800 onward?Believe what you want to believe.

[O'Searcaigh]

@ AN COIGREACH ALBANNACH

Thank you and alas, all too true and I appreciate the reminder not only for myself but also for all those who might read this thread. As far as one's "Scottish blood lines" are concerned, at least for all those of us who are mutts, I find it interesting that because my surname isn't Scottish, some say I cannot consider myself so despite the fact that by breeding, I am at least 1/2 of Scots ancestry (maternal grandfather and paternal grandmother); 1/4 Irish (paternal grandfather (who had a Scottish mother)) and 1/4 German (maternal grandmother). My Yorkshire Terrier-Poodle mix puppy (which looks just like any Yorkie) even has a pedigree acknowledging his Yorkshire dominance. If I were a dog, I guess I might be considered a Scottish tarrier??? (yes, I know about how I spelled tarrier!)