THE DECLARATION TARTAN
The DECLARATION OF ARBROATH TARTAN, also known as the 'Declaration of Scottish Independence' (or Independence tartan) ...was created in 2014 after I was inspired by the vast sea of Scottish flags, both the Saltire and the Lion Rampant, in the run up to the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum.
A unique tartan, inspired by a simple concept ...the amalgamation of these two flags - the Ancient Saltire, and the Royal Standard of Scotland - and the DECLARATION OF ARBROATH, Scotland’s most treasured artefact ...an ancient and impassioned cry for a nation’s right to freedom.
The Declaration of Scottish Independence tartan brings three of Scotland’s most treasured icons together in a woven tale of Scottish history, intrigue …and myth.
THE STORY WITHIN THE WEAVE...
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THE PAST...
13 red threads ...and 20 yellow threads ...represent 1320 the year the Declaration of Arbroath was sealed. The colours and geometry also portraying the Royal Standard of Scotland historically known as the Banner of King Robert the Bruce ...the King of Scots. The red pivot thus represent the courageous Lion Rampant and Scotland's ongoing fight for freedom.
7 yellow threads and 7 black threads represents the famous legend of Bruce and the Spider, an ancient tale of triumph over adversity through self belief and perseverance. “If at first you don’t succeed, try and try again".
The size of the sett (329 threads) acts as a memorial for the life and death of King Robert the Bruce 'Scotland's Hero King', who died in 1329.
The green and purple shades in the tartan (with the red stripe) represent the ancient battlefields and blood stained heather moorlands of Scotland ...the free land that the Scots of old fought for, and paid for with their lives. The green khaki shades also alluding to the Declaration of Arbroath parchment itself.
AN ANCIENT SALTIRE... The white pivot in the tartan as combined with the azure blue creates a visual representation of the ancient Scottish Saltire. The official flag of Scotland, thought to be the oldest continuously used sovereign flag in the world having been in use since AD 832. Also known as Saint Andrew's Cross the Saltire, as represented in the tartan, also pays tribute to the ancient legend of a white cloud miraculously appearing in the shape of a cross in a bright blue sky. The Saltire thus became a hopeful symbol of a bright future for Scotland.
The white and blue together are designed to accurately represent the proportions of the Saltire, the white bar being one-fifth of the width of the blue field.
THE PRESENT...
20 dark red threads ...with 14, 6 and 4 dark blue threads represent the date 2014 6th April, the date the tartan was first inspired. This date also being significant as Tartan Day in the year of Homecoming Scotland 2014.
The tartan's year of creation and registration also marks a pivotal moment in Scotland's history, the date of the Scottish Referendum on Independence 2014. The tartan acknowledges this historic moment in time ...and notes the nation's democratic right to choose independence, or remain united with the Kingdom of Great Britain. The tartan also pays tribute to the 700th anniversary year of the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314.
The dark red then acts as a present day remembrance for the thousands of Scots who died in their fight for freedom during the ancient Wars of Scottish Independence, the colour representing their shed blood.
The Declaration tartan was ratified as an official tartan, with consent given from the Scottish Government, on the 1st December 2014
...the Observance of St. Andrew's Day.
THE FUTURE...
4 and 6 blue threads ...with 20 dark red and 20 white threads represents the future date of April 6th 2020. The tartan then contemplates Scotland's future, anticipating the forthcoming 700th anniversary of the sealing of the Declaration of Arbroath, taking place on April 6th 2020.
The seven colour Declaration tartan will thus then in time celebrate 7 centuries of Scotland's ongoing evolution towards greater freedoms and independence.
THE MYTHICAL UNICORN... The solid white square becomes the balancing point within the weave, representing the powerful & mythical Unicorn of Scotland ...our nation's national animal. Chained (as being a fierce and dangerous beast if ever freed) the heraldic unicorn represents everything that is noble, innocent, joyful and pure.