The Vestiarium Scoticum (full title, Vestiarium Scoticum: from the Manuscript formerly in the Library of the Scots College at Douay. With an Introduction and Notes, by John Sobieski Stuart) is a book which was first published in 1842 by William Tait of Edinburgh in a limited edition. John Telfer Dunbar, in his seminal work History of Highland Dress, referred to it as "probably the most controversial costume book ever written".
The book itself is purported to be a reproduction, with colour illustrations, of a 15th-century manuscript on the clan tartans of Scottish families. Shortly after its publication it was denounced as a forgery, and the "Stuart" brothers who brought it forth were also denounced as impostors for claiming to be the grandsons of Bonnie Prince Charlie. It is generally accepted today that neither the brothers themselves nor the Vestiarium are what they were purported to be.
Nevertheless, the role of the book in the history of Scottish tartans is immense, with many of the designs and patterns contained therein passing into the realm of "official" clan tartans.
Background
The 1842 edition of the Vestiarium had its beginnings in the late 1820s, when the Sobieski Stuart brothers, then residents of Moray, Scotland, produced a copy of a document containing tartan patterns and showed it to their host, Sir Thomas Dick Lauder. This manuscript, however, was not the one that the brothers claimed to be the basis for the later publication of the Vestiarium.
As explained in the Preface to the 1842 edition (which is extensively excerpted in Dunbar's History of Highland Dress), the copy which Sir Thomas saw, now known as the Cromarty MS, which bore the date 1721 on the first page and with the title Liber Vestiarium Scotia, was said by its possessors to have been obtained from a certain John Ross of Cromarty, and was said also by them to be an inferior copy of an earlier manuscript.
In this same Preface, it is claimed that the 1842 edition is based on an original manuscript, now known as the Douay MS, whose date was claimed to be 1571 (or earlier), which was at that time in the possession of John Lesley, Bishop of Ross. This Douay MS is said by the author of the Preface to be the "oldest and most perfect" copy of the Vestiarium. Having once been in the possession of Bishop Ross, it had found its way subsequently into the library of the Scots College at Douay. From there, it was supposed to have come into the possession of Bonnie Prince Charlie himself, who took over the MS when on a visit to the Scots College in the early 1750s.
The Lauder–Scott correspondence
Soon after Sir Thomas saw the book, he wrote of it to Sir Walter Scott, in a letter dated 1 June 1829. In this letter, Lauder highly commended the book, stating that several clan chiefs, such as Cluny MacPherson and McLeod, had derived their "true and authentic" tartans therefrom. Lauder described the manuscript in detail, stating that he had obtained drawings, in colour, of all of the tartans contained therein (about 66 in number) and sent some of these to Sir Walter Scott himself. In addition to material on tartans, the book also contained appendices on women's tartans (arisaids) and on hose and trews. In the end, Lauder urged the brothers to have the book published and made inquiries concerning costs and procedures to that end. A plan was adopted to publish it, illustrated by swatches of silk in the tartan colours and patterns.
In his reply of 5 June 1829 Scott expressed scepticism over the claims of both the brothers Sobieski and the manuscript itself, at the same time requesting that a copy of the MS be sent for investigation by competent authorities in antiquities. Among other things, he disputed the assertion that Lowlanders had ever worn tartans or plaids, questioned the lack of any corroborating evidence (including any in Bishop Lesley's writings even though Lesley was said to have been in possession at one time of the original upon which the present MS was based), and called into question the authenticity of the brothers. He also noted that the title – Vestiarium Scoticum – was, in his words, "false Latin".
On 20 July 1829 Sir Thomas replied to Sir Walter. In this letter, he describes the (alleged) 1571 original from which the 1721 copy, which he saw, is said to be derived and which was in the possession of the brothers' father in London. Sir Thomas then goes on to discuss the brothers' character, credibility, and society's opinion of them, admitting that the "Quixotism of the two brothers must render these very unfortunate individuals for the introduction of a piece of antiquarian matter to the world…". He nevertheless reasserts his belief in the authenticity of the MS and goes on to discuss the "false Latin" and the presumed use of tartans in the Lowlands.
In a final letter in this exchange from Scott to Lauder, dated 19 November 1829, Scott rejected again the authenticity of the Vestiarium Scoticum and further rejected the notion that Lowlanders ever wore clan tartans. He went further and rejected the entire notion of clan tartans, stating that the "idea of distinguishing the clans by their tartans is but a fashion of modern date…".
Publication of the Vestiarium Scoticum
The Vestiarium was finally published in 1842. A summary of its contents follows.
Preface, in which is described the origin of the manuscripts, together with observations on the supposed author and date Rolls of the Clans Introduction Text of the Vestiarium The setts, stripes, and colours of the tartans, together with a listing of clans and families whose tartans are described Colour plates - seventy five plates (in colour) illustrating the tartans of the clans and families mentioned in the previous section
Tartans
The tartans presented in the Vestiarium were divided into two sections. First came the "Highland clans" and this was followed by "Lowland Houses and Border Clans". In the listing below, the clan name (with original spelling as it appeared in the VS) is followed by the Scottish Tartans Society number (TS#) and the (modern) thread count. Please note that these may not be the official clan tartans. For example, the tartan shown for Clan Campbell, known as "Campbell of Argyll", was only worn by the Sixth Duke of Argyll. The standard Campbell tartan is the Black Watch tartan.
Hieland clannes (Highland Clans)
Plate #Clan/Tartan NamePlateModern thread count derived from plateTartan derived from textModern thread count derived from textScottish Tartans Society # 1 The Clan Stewart G4 R60 B8 R8 Bk12 Y2 Bk2 W2 Bk2 G20 R8 Bk2 R2 W2Forged Tartans, p.21-22 same as plate 2 Prince of RothsayForged Tartans, p.22-23 W4 R64 G4 R6 G4 R8 G32 R8 G32 R8 G4 R6 G4 R64 W2 R2 W4 N/A N/A (impossible to accurately derive thread count from text) TS1533 3 Clanne StewartForged Tartans, p.26-27 R6 W56 Bk6 W6 Bk6 W6 G26 R16 Bk2 R2 W2 same as plate 4 MakDonnald of ye YlisForged Tartans, p.28 R6 B20 Bk24 G6 Bk2 G2 Bk2 G60 W8 N/A N/A (fine black lines could be in the blue portion, they are in the green portion in the text) TS1366 5 Clan RaynaldForged Tartans, p.29 B10 R4 B30 R4 Bk16 G52 R6 G2 R4 G6 W6 same as plate 6 Clann Gregour R128 G36 R10 G16 W4Forged Tartans, p.30 same as plate TS866 7 Clan MakduffeForged Tartans, p.31 R6 G32 B12 Bk12 R48 Bk4 R8 same as plate TS1453 8 MakanphersonisForged Tartans, p.32 W6 R2 W60 Bk30 W6 Bk18 Y2 same as plate 9 Clann Grant, or clann GrauntackeForged Tartans, p.32-33 R8 B4 R4 B4 R112 B32 R8 G2 R8 G72 R6 G2 R8 same as plate 10 MonroisForged Tartans, p.33 Bk36 R8 Bk36 R64 W6 same as plate 11 Clann-Lewid Bk16 Y2 Bk16 Y24 R2Forged Tartans, p.33-34 same as plate TS1272 12 Clan CampbellForged Tartans, p.34-35 B132 Bk2 B2 Bk2 B6 Bk24 G52 W/Y6 G52 Bk24 B42 Bk2 B8 same as plate 13 SvtherlandeForged Tartans, p.35-36 G12 W4 G48 Bk24 B6 Bk4 B4 Bk4 B24 R2 B2 R6 same as plate 14 ClanchamronForged Tartans, p.36 R8 G24 R8 G24 R64 Y4 same as plate 15 ClanneilForged Tartans, p.36-37 B12 R2 B40 G12 B12 G48 Bk2 G4 W8 same as plate 16 MackfarlanForged Tartans, p.37 Bk54 W48 Bk8W48 same as plate 17 ClanlavchlanForged Tartans, p.37-38 Bk12 Y4 Bk42 Y4 Bk12 Y48 Bk4 Y12 same as plate 18 Clan-gillean G12 Bk20 W4 Bk20 G6 Bk8 G60 Bk4Forged Tartans, p.38 same as plate 19 ClankenjieForged Tartans, p.40 B56 Bk6 B6 Bk6 B6 Bk20 G54 W/R6 G54 Bk20 B56 Bk2 B12 same as plate 20 Fryjjelis in ye AyrdForged Tartans, p.41 R4 B12 R4 G12 R24 W4 same as plate 21 MenghesForged Tartans, p.41-42 W4 R40 Cr2 R2 Cr2 R6 Cr10 W48 R6 W4 R2 W8 same as plate 22 ChyssalForged Tartans, p.42 R2 G28 Bk2 G4 Bk2 G4 B14 R56 W2 R12 same as plate 23 BuchananisForged Tartans, p.4243 Bk2 W18 Cr8 W4 Cr8 W4 same as plate 24 Clan LawmondForged Tartans, p.43 B50 Bk2 B2 Bk2 B4 Bk28 G60 W8 G60 Bk28 B32 Bk2 B6 same as plate 25 Clann Dowgall of LorneForged Tartans, p.43-44 R8 G18 Bk12 Cr16 R10 G4 R4 G4 R52 G2 R6 P8 G16 B12 P16 R12 G4 R4 G4 R48 G2 R6The Setts, p.73 (plate colour differs from that listed in text) 26 MakyntryrisForged Tartans, p.44 G10 B26 R6 B26 G64 W10 same as plate 27 ClandonoquhayForged Tartans, p.45 G2 R68 B16 R4 G40 R4 same as plate TS889 28 MaknabbisForged Tartans, p.45-46 G14 R4 Cr4 G8 Cr4 R24 Bk2 same as plate 29 ClannkynnonForged Tartans, p.46 Bk2 R36 G24 R4 G24 R36 W2 same as plate 30 MakyntoscheForged Tartans, p.46-47 R6 G32 Bk24 R56 W4 R10 same as plate 31 Clanhiunla, or FarquharsonnesForged Tartans, p.47 B56 Bk6 B6 Bk6 B6 G54 R/Y6 G54 Bk20 B56 Bk2 B12 same as plate 32 ClanngvnForged Tartans, p.48 G4 Bk32 G4 Bk32 G60 R4 same as plate 33 Clan-mak-Arthovr Bk64 G12 Bk24 G60 Y6 same as plate 34 Clanmorgan B8 Bk24 B8 Bk24 B64 R4 same as plate 35 Makqwhenis Bk4 R14 Bk4 R14 Bk28 Y2Forged Tartans, p.49 same as plate TS1209
Low country parties (Lowland Clans)