The Scottish Tartans Authority (STA) is a

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

-based organisation dedicated to preserving and promoting knowledge of Scottish

tartan Tartan ( gd, breacan ) is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Sc ...

s and

Highland dress Highland dress is the traditional, regional dress of the Highlands and Isles of Scotland. It is often characterised by tartan (''plaid'' in North America). Specific designs of shirt, jacket, bodice and headwear may also be worn along with cla ...

. It was formed in 1996 by former members of the

Scottish Tartans Society The Scottish Tartans Society (STS) was a society committed to the recording and preservation of woven tartan designs from around the world; it maintained the ''Register of All Publicly Known Tartans''. The society was first formed in 1963 and ex ...

(STS). The organisation is dedicated to informing and educating the public about tartan, to facilitating research into tartan and Scottish heritage, to representing and supporting the businesses involved in the tartan sector and to maintaining the collection and library of tartan related artefacts, manuscripts and books. Membership of the Scottish Tartans Authority is made up of organisations involved in the tartan and Highland-wear industry, such as weavers and retailers, as well as members of the public, with an interest in Scottish history and heritage. The Scottish Tartans Authority is a registered charity in Scotland and the only non governmental organisation dedicated to preserving, promoting and protecting tartan, but they no longer act as a registry. Their large ''International Tartan Index'' (''ITI'') database of over 7,000 tartans (which already subsumed databases from STS and IATS-TECA) was merged into that of the Scottish government's official

Scottish Register of Tartans The Scottish Register of Tartans (SRT) is Scotland's official non-ministerial department for the recording and registration of tartan designs, operating since 5 February 2009. As a governmental body, SRT is headquartered at HM General Register H ...

in early 2009.

National Tartan Centre

The organisation has the aim of establishing a National Tartan Centre (NTC). The proposed centre would be a home and showcase for tartan – presenting the iconic cloth to the world. The NTC will be: * An educational resource for formal and informal audiences, and learners of all ages * A showcase for Scottish history and contemporary culture * A showcase for the tartan industry * A gateway to other sites of relevance and interest * A forum for debate and discourse on issues of identity and culture the STA is working with a range of partners to find a permanent home for the centre.

Membership

Membership in the STA is open to anyone, with fees ranging from £20 yearly for private membership, to £50 for business membership, and £500 for lifetime membership, as of 2016. The Scottish Tartans Authority maintains a website which lists about 3,500 different tartans, though detailed information of each design is only available to members. There are a range of membership benefits, according to the website but perhaps most importantly membership directly contributes to ensuring that one of Scotland's most treasured icons is maintained for future generations of Scots, both home and abroad.

Background

The Scottish Tartans Authority effectively subsumed most of the operations of the

(STS, defunct since 2000) and its offshoot the

Scottish Tartans World Register The Scottish Tartans Society (STS) was a society committed to the recording and preservation of woven tartan designs from around the world; it maintained the ''Register of All Publicly Known Tartans''. The society was first formed in 1963 and ex ...

(STWR, moribund as of the mid-2010s, though its website still operates as of 2020), as well as International Association of Tartan Studies and Tartan Educational & Cultural Association (IATS–TECA, originally two organisations, which merged in the 1990s, then folded in the 2000s). However, STA's tartan registration processes (and thus those inherited from STA, STWR, and IATS-TECA) have been transferred to the Scottish government's official

(SRT), leaving STA primarily in an educational and preservation role. STA, like the Scottish Tartans Society, was granted a coat of arms by the

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants ...

. The arms, granted in 2004, contain a shuttle, an ell measure, and a book. Also included upon the arms is a white fret on a blue background. This symbolises the weaving process in making a tartan, and alludes to St Andrew's cross which appears in Scotland's national flag, the Saltire. The heraldic motto, "Weave truth with trust", is borrowed from the

Worshipful Company of Weavers The Worshipful Company of Weavers is the most ancient of the Livery Companies in the City of London. It existed in the year 1130, and was perhaps formed earlier. The company received a Royal Charter in 1155. At present, the Company retains a conn ...

, a London livery company first awarded a royal charter in 1155.

''International Tartan Index''

The database of the Scottish Tartans Authority, the ''International Tartan Index'' (''ITI''), is a record of all known tartan designs up to early 2009. This database is very similar to, and was originally based on, the ''Register of All Publicly Known Tartans'' (''RAPKT'') of the Scottish Tartans Society, but contains more than twice as many entries – about 7,000, including variations, although the STA's website organizes them into around 3,500 entries. The ''ITI'' absorbed entries from ''International Registry of Tartans'' (''IRT''), also known as ''TartanArt'', the database of IATS/TECA. ''ITI'' entries have subsequently been included in the database of the

, which launched in February 2009.

Website

The Scottish Tartans Authority's website includes information on how to wear Highland dress, the history of

and the kilt (with many period illustrations), and the links between

Scottish surnames Scottish surnames are surnames currently found in Scotland, or surnames that have a historical connection with the country. History The earliest surnames found in Scotland occur during the reign of David I, King of Scots (1124–53). These wer ...

and

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure recognised ...

s. They deal with a wide variety of enquries about tartan. The STA's website no longer accepts tartan registration requests, and directs interested parties to the

References

{{reflist

External links

Scottish Tartans Authority
1996 establishments in Scotland Organisations based in Perth and Kinross Tartan organisations