Tartan is a wool material (= tessuto di lana), with stripes (= strisce) of different colours and sizes (= grandezza) . Tartan patterns (= modelli) are called “setts”; the sett is repeated over and over again tyo complete the pattern. The tartan has Celtic origins: the Celts wove (= tessevano) chequered (= a scacchi) or striped cloth (= tessuto).
The first Tartan was found in Scotalnd. It dates back (= risale) to the 3rd century AD and is called Falkirk Tartan. Its pattern is in two colours, dyed (= tinto) brown and white.
Later the colours were determined by local plants used as colorants .
The origins of the name are not certain: it can derive from the Irish tarsna meaning (= che significa) crosswise (= incrociato), from the Scottish Gaelic tarsuinn meaning across (= di traverse) or from the French tiretain meaning wool and linen mixture (= insieme di lino e lana).
The distinction among the tartans is due (= è dovuta) to the weavers: each area had a different artisan that produced a tartan different from the tartans of the other areas. At first they were called District Tartans and were worn (=indossati) by the people and families living in the same district. The colours of the tartans depended on the local plants used to dye (= per tingere). On the west coast weavers used lettuce green (= verde lattuga), seaweeds (= alghe) , purple derived from seashore whelks (= molluschi che si trovano a riva). Inland (= nell’interno) weavers used heather (= erica) which gave yellow, deep green and brownish organge (= arancio-marrone) and the blueberries (= mirtilli) which gave purples (=viola), blue and browns. If the weavers or his customers were rich they could look for imported colours of madder (= robbia, per ottenere un viola rossa lacca), cochineal (= cocciniglia, per ottenere il rosso), woad (= tintura di guado, blu) and indigo (= indaco).
Sir Water Scott planned (=organizzò) that during his visit to Edinburgh in 1822, King George IV could see all the Highland Chiefs (= capi degli Highlands) wearing their different Clan Tartans. In Sir Walter Scott’s novels in fact the Clan and the Tartan became synonymous.
Falkirk Tartan
Also Queen Victoria and her Consort, Prince Albert were supporters (= sostenitori) of the tartans: they fell in love Balmoral in Scotland – and Prince Albert