DVD
Tartan
- Cloth of a Nation
Running Time: 45 mins.
No
other country is so readily identified with its national dress as Scotland is
with Tartan. Now for the first time on film, its history and Industries are placed
on record.
This meticulously researched presentation features two of the
most respected figures in the Industry. Jamie Scarlett, held as Scotland's, and
indeed the worlds, greatest living scholar and historian of tartan, tells how
the Highlanders of old made the cloth. He unlocks the truth behind the many myths
that exist surrounding tartan's development In Scotland, and the clan system.
Brian
Wilton is Director of Operations of the Scottish Tartans Authority in Scotland,
which seeks to foster and promote a deeper knowledge of Scottish Tartans. Brian
looks at the importance of tartan to the country, past and present, and predictions
for its future.
The film examines the ancient wool dyeing processes using
locally available plants and lichens on the Isle of Skye, which are stilt used
to this day. From a cottage industry to the massive commercial production tines
of today, the spinning and weaving of the cloth is shown in detail.
The
connection between the contemporary wearing of tartan and man's desire to be associated
with groups of like minded people demonstrates that tartan truly is the Cloth
of a Nation.
Narrated by Jim McColl