Or not, as the headline implies, so new after all.
At its last meeting, the council made the decision, as part of our long delayed 200th birthday activity, that the society should have its own tartan. After all, we were founded in 1820 with the single, specific objective of promoting the wearing of Highland dress, which had fallen out of fashion during the proscription period that followed the Jacobite rising of 1745.
Lt. Col. Peter MacDonald, society member, leading tartan historian, handloom weaver and tartan designer, was consulted and he recommended not having a new tartan designed, but to “adopt” an old pattern that hasn’t been previously claimed. We would not be able to claim such an old pattern as our own, but it would be recorded in the Tartan Register as being “used by” the Royal Celtic Society.
Peter advises that there are a number of such ancient patterns discovered in the Highlands that are not recorded as belonging to any family, organisation or district, which are entirely unknown to anybody except a handful of experts, and which are in danger of being forgotten. He therefore encouraged the society to identify one such design which we could adopt for our own use.
With Peter’s advice and encouragement, the pattern pictured has been chosen and registered accordingly. It was collected by Alexander Carmichael early last century, Peter believes in the Western Isles where Carmichael conducted much of his research. It dates, we believe, from the middle of the 18th century. Carmichael’s sample is now preserved by the Scottish Tartans Authority, who have themselves adopted an old, previously unrecorded pattern for their own use.
It will be available to society members soon. Details of how to order will appear in the next newsletter in the spring.