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Scottish World Tartan Register No. 3058

The historical association between Norway and Scotland extends over 900 years to the age of the Vikings. Their influence can be traced through some of the Festivals still celebrated to this day in the North and East of Scotland, in the numerous Norse place-names around our coastline, and in the original language of Scotland – Gaelic. And perhaps most importantly, many of the Norse invaders married and settled in Scotland, so that we share a common blood-line to this day.

Although tartan is associated with Scotland it has been known to, and has been used by Norwegians for almost 400 years. History tells us that during the Kalmar Wars between Sweden and Denmark a band of 550 Scots mercenaries were en-route to Sweden by way of the valley of Gudbrand. At Hogkringom, south of Otta, they were ambushed and slaughtered by 450 untrained peasants. The Battle of Kringom on 26th. August 1612, became a model for the defence of Norway, celebrated in literature and legend, and monuments at Hogkringom and Pillarguri bear testimony to this event. The corpses of the Scots were stripped of their plaid cloth by the locals for their own use, and to this day tartan forms the top part of the ‘Rondastakk’, the traditional local costume.

In more modern times the bonds between Norway and Scotland were furtherstrengthened by their close association throughout the dark days of the Second World War, something that is recognised to this day in the annual Christmas tree which appears each year on the mound in Edinburgh – a gift from the people of Norway.

These bonds are reflected too in the fact that the late King Olaf of Norway is one of only two non-Scots to be made a Knight of the Order of the Thistle, the highest Order of Chivalry in Scotland – a sign of the mutual respect and affection between these two small, but influential nations on the northern edge of Europe.

To celebrate the centenary of the creation of the independent sovereign State of Norway in 1905, the Norwegian Centennial tartan has been designed and woven as a gift to the people of Norway. The colours of the tartan combine the colours in the flags of Norway and Scotland.

Norway celebrated the centenary of their independence as a nation state in 2005 and the Norwegian Centennial tartan formed a significant part of the celebrations for Norwegians from all over the world with orders from Australian, USA and even Cote d’Ivoire.

Several kilts were made for weddings in 2005. Using the tartan as the background for the label the Norwegian Centennial Malt Whisky eclipsed the traditional aquavit for celebrations in 2005.

The range of Norwegian Centennial tartan products is used by the Norwegian Embassy in London and the Consulate in Edinburgh as gifts for visitors.

Thank you very much for the Norwegian Centennial Tartan supplies. They are very beautiful and will come in handy as gifts for people with Scottish-Norwegian relations.

The Defence Attache,
Royal Norwegian Embassy

I am thrilled that Norwegians now have such a beautiful tartan.

Arne Silvertsin,
Consulate General of Norway

Associated Links

Norway - The Official Site in the UK
Tartans Scotland Online Tartan Guide (external link)
The Caledonian Society of Norway

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Tartan Facts & Snippets

Australia and New Zealand hold Tartan Days on 1 July to mark the date the law banning tartan and kilts was repealed.