Most Scottish clan tartans accepted as such today are no older than the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Many are much younger. The Johnstone tartan first made its appearance in the apocryphal Vestiarium Scoticum, which was published in 1842 by two brothers who claimed to be grandsons of Bonnie Prince Charlie. The Vestiarium Scoticum purported to be a copy of an ancient manuscript detailing the tartans of the various clans, but it was almost certainly a forgery. Nonetheless, many tartans revered today had their origins in this work.
In spite of the doubtful source of many of them, clan tartans have remained very popular and and have come to symbolyze Scottish culture to most of the world. By now, clan tartans have become standarized and have developed a tradition of their own. I am proud to wear the Johnstone tartan, even though I know it had nothing to do with the Johnstones when they were a functioning clan.
People sometimes mistake the Johnstone tartan for the Gordon tartan. Actually, the only thing they have in common is the green, blue and yellow colors. There are a number of tartans with these colors, but it is the pattern, or sett, which really distingishes one tartan from another. The Johnstone tartan is fairly simple, and is composed of alternating broad stipes of blue and green. The blue stripe has three narrow black stipes running through the middle. The green stripe also has three narrow stripes in the middle, but the center narrow stripe is yellow. The alternating pattern is woven in both directions (warp and weft), forming a symetrical check. Usually it is made in a twill weave, which means the weaving is done "over two, under two."
When the Johnstone tartan is woven in deep, dark colors, it is termed "modern," which simply means that modern chemical dyes have been used. When woven in soft, muted colors, simulating vegitable dyes, the tartan is termed "ancient." A third version, usually termed "weathered" or "reproduction," has colors which are supposed to look like tartan which has aged a long time.
The Johnstone Clan crest badge consists of the Chief's
crest (a winged spur) enclosed in a conventional representation of a "strap
and backle," upon which is inscribed the Chief's motto. Here is
one version of the origin of the winged spur crest of the Johnstones.
