Vestiarium Scoticum

The Vestiarium Scoticum (full title, Vestiarium Scoticum: from the Manuscript formerly in the Library of the Scots College at Douay. With an Introduction and Notes, by John Sobieski Stuart) was first published by William Tait of Edinburgh in a limited edition in 1842. John Telfer Dunbar, in his seminal work History of Highland Dress referred to it as "probably the most controversial costume book ever written."

The book itself purported to be a reproduction, with color illustrations, of an ancient manuscript on the clan tartans of Scottish families. Shortly after its publication, it was denounced as a forgery and the "Stuart" brothers who brought it forth, and who claimed to be the grandsons of Bonnie Prince Charlie himself, were likewise denounced as imposters. It is generally accepted today that both the brothers and the Vestiarium are indeed inauthentic.

Nevertheless, the role of the book in the history of Scottish tartans is immense, with many of the designs and patterns contained therein passing into the realm of official clan tartans.

Background

The 1842 edition of the Vestiarium had its beginnings in the late 1820s when the Sobieski Stuart brothers, then resident in Moray, Scotland, produced a copy of a document containing tartan patterns and showed it to their host, Sir Thomas Dick Lauder. This manuscript, however, was not the one which the brothers claimed to be the basis for the later publication of the Vestiarium.

As explained in the Preface to the 1842 edition (which is extensively excerpted in Dunbar's History of Highland Dress) the copy which Sir Thomas saw, dated to 1721 (or earlier) and with the title Liber Vestiarium Scotia, was said by its possessors to have been obtained from a certain John Ross, and was said also by them to be an inferior copy of an earlier manuscript.

In this same Preface, it is claimed that the 1842 edition is based on an original manuscript dated to 1571 (or earlier) which was at that time in the possession of John Lesley, Bishop of Ross. This 1571 MS is said by the author of the Preface to be the "oldest and most perfect" copy of the Vestiarium. Having once been in the possession of Bishop Ross, subsequently it had found its way into the library of the Scots College at Douay. From there, it was supposed to have come into the possession of Bonnie Prince Charlie himself who took over the MS when on a visit to the Scots College in the early 1750s.

The Lauder - Scott Correspondence

Soon after Sir Thomas saw the book, he wrote of it to Sir Walter Scott (in a letter dated June 1, 1829). In this letter, Lauder highly commended the book, stating that several clan chiefs, such as Cluny MacPherson and McLeod, had derived their "true and authentic" (verify) tartans therefrom. Lauder described the manuscript in detail, stating that he had obtained drawings, in color, of all the tartans contained therein (about 66 in number) and sent some of these (of the Scott tartan) to Walter Scott himself. In addition to material on tartans, the book also contained Appendices on women's plaids (arisaids) and on hose and trews. In the end, Lauder urged the brothers to have the book published and made inquiries concerning costs and procedures to that end. A plan was adopted to publish it, illustrated by swatches of silk in the tartan colors and patterns.

In his reply of June 5, 1829, Scott expressed skepticism over the claims of both the brothers Sobieski and the manuscript itself, at the same time requesting that a copy of the MS be sent for investigation by competent authorities in antiquities. Among other things, he disputed the assertion that Lowlanders had ever worn tartans or plaids; questioned the lack of any corroborating evidence, including any in Bishop Lesley's writings even though Lesley was said to have been in possession at one time of the original upon which the present MS was based; and called into question the authenticity of the brothers. He also noted that the title - Vestiarium Scotia - was, in his words, "false Latin".

On July 20, 1829, Sir Thomas replied to Sir Walter. In this letter, he describes the (alleged) 1571 original from which the 1721 copy which he saw is said to be derived and which was in the possession of the brothers' father in London. Sir Thomas then goes on to discuss the brothers' character, credibility, and society's opinion of them, admitting that the "Quixotism of the two brothers must render these very unfortunate individuals for the introduction of a piece of antiquarian matter to the world. . .". He nevertheless reasserts his belief in the authenticity of the MS and goes on to discuss the "false Latin" and the presumed use of tartans in the Lowlands.

In a final letter in this exchange from Scott to Lauder, dated 19 November 1829, Scott rejected again the authenticity of the Vestiarium and further rejected the notion that Lowlanders ever wore clan tartans. He went further and rejected the entire notion of clan tartans altogether, stating that the "idea of distinguishing the clans by their tartans is but a fashion of modern date . . .".

Publication of the Vestiarium Scoticum

The Vestiarium was finally published in 1842. A summary of its contents follows.

• Preface, in which is described the origin of the manuscripts, together with observations on the supposed author and date
• Rolls of the Clans
• Introduction
• Text of the Vestiarium
• The setts, stripes, and colors of the tartans, together with a listing of clans and families whose tartans are described
• Color plates - seventy five plates (in color) illustrating the tartans of the clans and families mentioned in the previous section

The Tartans

The tartans presented in the Vestiarium were divided into two sections. First came the "Highland clans" and this was followed by "Lowland Houses and Border Clans". In the listing below, the clan name (with original spelling as it appeared in the VS, is followed by the Tartan Society number (TS#) and the (modern) thread count.

Highland Clans

Clan Name	TS Number	Thread Count
Buchanan	TS1261	K4 W56 C26 W4 C26 W4
Cameron	TS1538	R4 G12 R4 G12 R32 Y2
Campbell
Chyssal, or Chisholm	TS1475	R2 G24 K2 G4 K2 G4 B12 R48 W2 R12
Clan Anrias, or Ross
Clan Donacha, or Robertson
Clan Dougall of Lorn
Clan Fhionnlaidh, or Farquharson
Clan Gillean, or MacLean
Clan Morgan, or MacKay
Clan Ranald
Farquharson, or Clan Fhionnlaidh	TS1957	B42 K2 B2 K2 B2 K20 G44 R4 G44 K20 B32 K2 B4 K2 B32 K20 G44 Y4 G44 K20 B2 K2 B2 K2 B14
Fryzzelis, or Fraser	TS14224	R4 DB24 R4 DG24 R48 W2
Grant	TS1399	R8 B4 R4 B4 R112 B32 R8 G2 R8 G72 R6 G2 R8
Gun	TS795	G4 K24 G2 K24 G24 R4
Lamont
MacArthur	TS1100	K32 G6 K12 G30 Y3
MacDonald of the Isles	TS1366	R6 B20 K24 G6 K2 G2 K2 G60 W8
MacDougall	TS1471	R8 G16 K12 C16 R12 G4 R4 G4 R48 G2 R6
MacDuff	TS1453	R6 G32 B12 K12 R48 K4 R8
MacFarlane	TS1251	K28 W24 K4 W24
MacGrigor	TS866	G16 R4 G18 R32 G2
MacIntosh	TS1476	R6 G32 K24 R56 W4 R10
MacIntyre
MacKay, or Clan Morgan	TS264	B4 K12 B4 K12 B32 R2
MacKenzie	TS1959	B4 K4 B4 K4 B36 K4 B4 K4 B4 K12 G36 R4 G36 K12 B36 K2 B8 K2 B36 K12 G36 W4 G36 K12
MacKinnon	TS1165	K2 R36 G24 R4 G24 R36 W2
MacLauchlan
MacLean	TS824	K2 G32 K4 G4 K12 W2 K12 G6
MacLeod	TS1272	K32 Y4 K32 Y48 R4
MacNab	TS1010	K2 R24 C4 G8 C4 R4 G12
MacNeill	TS468	P12 R2 P40 G12 P12 G48 K2 G4 W8
MacPherson	TS1872	W6 R2 W60 K40 W6 K18 Y2
MacQueen	TS1209	K4 R12 K4 R12 K24 Y2
Menzies
Monro	TS1204	K36 R8 K36 R64 W6
Robertson, or Clan Donacha	TS841	G4 R72 B16 R4 G40 R4
Ross	TS901	G10 R10 G4 R124 B12 R4 B12 R16 G4 R4 G4 R10 G50 R10
Rothesay, The Prince of	TS1533	W4 R64 DG4 R6 DG4 R8 DG34 R8 DG32 R8 DG4 R6 DG4 R64 W2 R2 W4
Royal Stuart	TS1689	R6 W56 K4 W4 K4 W4 G24 R16 K2 R2 W2
Sutherland	TS930	G12 W4 G48 K24 B6 K4 B4 K4 B24 R2 B2 R6

Lowland Houses and Border Clans

Clan Name	TS Number	Thread Count
Armstrong	TS793	G4 K2 G60 K24 B4 K2 B2 K2 B24 R6
Barclay	TS705	G2 DB32 G32 R2
Brodie
Bruce	TS1848	Y4 R32 G8 R8 G24 R4 G24 R8 G8 R32 W4
Colquhoun	TS270	B8 K4 B32 W2 K16 G48 R8
Comyn	TS1158	K4 R48 G8 R4 G8 R8 G16 W2 G16 R8
Cunningham	TS1200	K6 R2 K60 R56 B2 R2 W6
Cranstoun	TS706	LG28 B2 LG2 B2 LG6 B12 G24 R4
Crawford	TS1515	C6 G24 C6 G24 C60 W4 C12
Douglas	TS1127	K32 N2 K2 N2 K16 N32 K2 N4
Drummond	TS897	G8 R2 G2 R56 G16 K2 G2 K2 G36 R2 G2 R8
Dunbar	TS1472	R12 G42 K16 R56 K2 R8
Dundas	TS1041	K8 B32 K24 G48 R2 G4 K4
Erskine	TS891	R8 G2 R56 G48 R2 G12
Forbes	TS1490	R2 G32 K16 G8 K8 Y2
Gordon	TS215	B56 K2 B2 K2 B6 K24 G48 Y2 G2 Y4 G2 Y2 G48 K24 B36 K2 B8
Graham	TS786	G24 K8 G2 K8
Hamilton	TS477	B12 R2 B12 R18 W2
Hay	TS1555	R9 G6 Y4 G54 R4 G4 R4 G18 R72 G6 R4 K2 R4 W9
Home	TS127	B6 G4 B48 K16 R2 K4 R2 K56
Johnston	TS1063	K4 B4 K4 B48 G60 K2 G4 Y6
Kerr	TS791	G40 K2 G4 K2 G6 K28 R56 K2 R4 K8
Lauder	TS709	G6 B16 G6 K8 G30 R4
Leslie	TS1142	K2 R64 B32 R8 K12 Y2 K12 R8
Lindsay	TS704	DG40 DB4 DG4 DB4 DG4 DB16 DR48 DB4 DR6
Maxwell	TS1500	R6 G2 R56 K12 R8 G32 R6
Montgomery	TS114	B6 G2 B6 G24
Murray
Ogilvie	TS666	B56 Y2 B4 K52 G48 K2 G4 R6
Oliphant
Ramsay	TS1238	K8 W4 K56 R60 DP2 R6
Rose	TS845	G8 R64 B18 R12 B4 R6 B4 R24 W6
Ruthven	TS1521	R4 G2 R60 B36 G30 W6
Scott	TS1005	G8 R6 K2 R56 G28 R8 G8 W6 G8 R8
Seton	TS932	G12 W2 G24 R8 B8 R4 K8 R64 G2 R4
Sinclair	TS889	G4 R2 G60 K32 W2 B32 R4
Urquhart	TS623	B4 W2 B24 K3 B3 K3 B8 K24 G48 K3 G3 R2
Wallace	TS1208	K4 R32 K32 Y4
Wemyss	TS1512	R8 G2 R48 K8 R8 K24 W2 K24 R8

The Quarterly Review

In June of 1847, a highly critical review of the Vestiarium Scoticum was published in the Quarterly Review. Originally published anonymously, the authors are now known to have been Professor George Skene of Glasgow University and the Rev. Dr. Mackay, the editor of the Highland Society's Gaelic Dictionary.

The Quarterly Review article was occasioned by the appearance of a a book by John Sobieski and Charles Edward Stuart entitled The Tales of theCentury. These stories, although presented in fictional terms, lay out the authors' claims to be direct descendents of Prince Charles Edward, the Young Pretender. The Quarterly Review article, while nominally a response to these claims, in fact mainly consisted of an examination of the authenticity of the Vestiarium Scoticum.

In 1848, John Sobieski Stuart replied to the Quarterly Review article with a treatise of his own entitled The Genuineness of the Vestiarium Scoticum. In this reply, Stuart offered the 1721 edition for inspection. For his part, Skene expressed a desire that the original manuscript, that said to have once belonged to Bishop Ross, be exhibited. In the end, no record of anyone examining the 1721 copy at that time exists and no one other than the Sobieski Stuart brothers ever saw the Ross copy.

In 1895, the Glasow Herald published a series of artilces entitled "The Vestiarium Scoticum, is it a forgery?" authored by Andrew Ross. Ross was able to locate the 1721 copy, but not any earlier manuscripts. He gave a detailed description of the 1721 copy, and had it subjected to chemical testing by Stevenson Macadam, a chemist. Macadam reported that the "document [bore] evidence of having been treated with chemical agents in order to give the writing a more aged appearance than it is entitled to". He concluded that "the manuscript cannot be depended upon as an ancient document".

This 1721 copy was also presented for examination to a Mr. Robert Irvine, the director of a chemical firm who reported that it was "impossible to arrive at any accurate conclusion pointing to the age of the writing".

In earlier years, there was some discussion of publishing a second edition of the Vestiarium Scoticum (the first edition had a press run of only several dozen copies), but nothing came of these discussions.

References

• John Telfer Dunbar, History of highland dress: A definitive study of the history of Scottish costume and tartan, both civil and military, including weapons, ISBN 071341894X
• Hugh Trevor-Roper, "The Invention of Tradition: The Highland Tradition of Scotland." in The Invention of Tradition ed. Eric Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1983, ISBN 0521246458

External links

• Scottish Tartans Society
• On-line tartan generator (UK Boy Scouts)