The McCulloh Tartan
by Rodney McCulloh
Have you seen the ancient McCulloh tartan? Hmmm..., neither have I. The tartan shown below was created by Donald McCullough and registered with the Scottish Tartan Authority in 2000. To understand why the McCullough tartan is so new we have to understand a little of the history of tartan.
Close-up view of new McCullogh Tartan
It is not really known when tartan first came into existence. Originally the word 'tartan' indicated a type of cloth, not the plaid pattern we understand the term to mean today. Even into the 19th century the term 'tartan' had a dual meaning; referring to either the type of cloth or to the pattern woven into the cloth. A small piece of woven plaid known as the 'Falkirk sett' and used as a bottle stopper in the 3rd century A.D. has been discovered during an excavation in Scotland. For this article, suffice it to say that tartan is first clearly documented as being worn by the highland Scots in the 16th century though it had certainly been worn by many preceding generations of Scots by this time. James V was the first member of the royal family to order a Highland outfit back in 1538. (Although we correlate tartan to kilts today, James V ordered his tartan for a coat and trousers.)
Most Scottish tartans are relatively new with the oldest going back less than 300 years. Historically Scottish Tartan belonged to the Highland Scotts. However, the unpopularity of the Act of Union in 1707 brought tartan to the Lowlands where Lowland ladies adopted it as a sign of their disapproval. Between the Scottish uprisings of 1715 and 1745 kilts of tartan seem to have become established as the chief item of Highland dress. (Though the kilt is now worn by all Scots it was not that long ago that the Lowland Scots were disgusted by the kilt and considered
