[Image: Norske Leksikon]
Scottish Tartan is more than just patterned cloth, it acts as a “living memory” with designs that carry symbolic meaning for clans and regions. But the newest entry is rather unique.
Inspired by the persecution of witches falsely accused under Scotland’s Witchcraft Act – which was in place between 1563 and 1736 – the new tartan is part of a campaign to bring attention to these unjustified executions across Scotland and to remind people of “historical injustices that stemmed from the desire to subjugate women, stigmatize folk medicine and persecute those who practised midwifery”.
Modern tartans are registered for organisations, individuals, and commemorative purposes in the official Scottish Register of Tartans. According to The Wild Hunt, the newest tartan added to the Register was designed by Clare Campbell, founder of the Prickly Thistle tartan mill.
“This design was created to memorialise those who suffered as a result of The Witchcraft Act 1563 to 1736 in Scotland. This tartan will be woven to make products to help create a ‘living memorial’.”
The Witches of Scotland tartan is predominantly black, grey and red – colours which represent the dark chapter of history, as well as its bloody outcome. Grey symbolises ash, pink stands for the legal tapes binding trial documents, and red stands for bloodshed.
The thread count encodes the years 1563 and 1736 (1+5+6+3 = 15 and 1+7+3+6 = 17), with these numbers woven into black and grey bands surrounding a white check of three threads, symbolising the campaign’s three objectives, namely: a legal pardon, a formal apology, and a national memorial for those convicted and executed.
The 173 threads in the tartan’s squares symbolise the number of years the Witchcraft Act was enforced.
