Click the tartan to view its entry in The Scottish Registers of Tartans which includes registration details, restrictions, and registrant information.
Unregistered tartans may link to one of the web's online design environments for similar information.
For any questions about reproduction of designs or weaving of these tartans, please contact the registrant directly or via this website.
the Declaration of Arbroath 1320
"For we fight not for glory, nor riches, nor honours, but for Freedom alone, which no good man gives up except with his life."
~ The Declaration of Arbroath, April 6, 1320
For those celebrating Tartan Day, the date chosen for this modern holiday based on the 'Declaration of Arbroath' dated 6th April 1320. This letter (submitted to Pope John XXII in 1320) was written on behalf of the earls, barons and nobles, and community of the whole Kingdom of Scotland in support of King Robert the Bruce and his battle for Scottish independence! Designed by Steven Patrick Sim to celebrate the 7th centennial in 2020, this tartan embodies through symbolic colours, thread counts, and geometry the significance of this date and event. This seven colour tartan visibly portrays the artifact itself; light tan with the narrow black stripes representing the document and the literary work; green and red representing the seals and signatories; the white pivot representing the recipient of the letter Pope John XXII; the scarlet pivot representing the Scots of old who died fighting for freedom; and the broad black stripe a memorial of remembrance for those who fell on the Scottish battlefields. Along with other significant threadcounts, 100 threads span the complete width of the light tan field, representing the famous excerpt from the Declaration of Arbroath “for, as long as a hundred of us remain alive…” 🏴
Designed by Steven Patrick Sim to commemorate the 7th centennial of 'Declaration of Arbroath' dated 6th April 1320, a letter from the Scottish earls and barons in support of King Robert the Bruce and his battle for Scottish independence, this tartan is designed to embody through symbolic colourways, threadcounts, and geometry the significance of this date and event.
Register notes from the designer:
The tartan commemorates the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath - 6th April 2020 - a letter in Latin submitted to Pope John XXII in 1320, written on behalf of the earls, barons and nobles, and community of the whole Kingdom of Scotland.
The letter asks the Pope to recognise Scotland's independence and acknowledge Robert the Bruce as the country's lawful king. The 7 colour tartan visibly portrays the artefact itself; light tan with the narrow black stripes represents the document and the literary work; green and red represents the seals and signatories; the white pivot represents the recipient of the letter Pope John XXII; the scarlet pivot represents the Scots of old who died fighting for freedom; the broad black stripe becomes a memorial of remembrance for those who fell on the Scottish battlefields.
The thread counts in the two opposing pivots are created from the two relevant dates: 6th April 1320 and 6th April 2020 - thus the numeracy in the tartan spans seven centuries. 32 threads in the dark red pays tribute to Robert the Bruce who was crowned king at the age of 32; 100 threads span the complete width of the light tan field, representing the famous excerpt from the Declaration of Arbroath “for, as long as a hundred of us remain alive…”
And for a translation of this historic document, click the actual artifact, held by the National Archives of Scotland, Edinburgh.