Customer Reviews

Clans and Tartans

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

James MacKay provides you with a brief history of the tartan, and then goes on to include several of these tartans, ranging from very early tartans of the highlands to newer commemorative tartans.

My personal problem was that my family is not a clan and falls under one or more clans, and I'm not sure which would be the appropriate tartan to wear. You can't hold the author responsible, but if you are doing some family history research you may encounter the same problem. So you may have to do some independent study to find out which clan you belong to.

But even with my personal problem aside, it is an excellent resource and has something to teach about Scottish history.

If you are seeking either a comprehensive list of tartans or an in-depth history of tartan you will be disappointed. If you are seeking a quick overview you will be left breathless by it's brevity. I purchased this book as a beginning guide as I was just getting involved in the Scottish community. I was immediately disappointed by it's limited usefulness even to a newbie.

The 14 pages of introduction attempts to cover both Scottish national history and a description of the clan system. Either of these topics is worthy of an extensive work and is given extremely short shrift here. The treatment is so brief as to be almost useless.

Only a few hundred of the over 4000 tartans currently registered are included. Unless you are a member of a prominent clan or attached to a major historical figure you will not find your tartan or clan here. No current text covers all registered tartans, but most try to be at least a little more complete. If you just want an introduction to the idea of tartan and you are looking for one of the more well known tartans you may find your tartan here.

I wish I had returned this to Amazon when I purchased it.

Another great tartan resource. It is a great addition to your library and for taking with you to Highland Games. If you run an information table items like this are a must have.