Monday, April 6, 2020 marks the 700th anniversary of the signing of Scotland’s Declaration of Independence. About that time in 1320 the Abbott of Arbroath Abbey, Bernard de Linton, drafted the Declaration of Arbroath. This declaration was in the form of a letter to Pope John XXII. It was subsequently sealed by 50 Scots nobles.

Scotland’s independence from England had recently been secured. In 1296 William Wallace had defeated the English at the Battle of Stirling Bridge. In 1314 Robert the Bruce had routed King Edward II’s army at Bannockburn. King Edward, however, was reluctant to give up his claim to the Scottish throne.

The Catholic Church was very influential in those days and so the Scots decided to appeal to Pope John. Abbott de Linton was skilled in Latin, had extensive knowledge of the Bible and was a seasoned diplomat. His letter explained how Scotland had been independent long before England. It detailed the journey of the Scots into the land that would become Scotland and described their early history there.

The document continued with the request to the Pope that King Edward should mind his own business and the Scots would tend to theirs.

The Declaration of Arbroath did not end the rivalry and eventually the English defeated the Scots and their Jacobite leader Bonnie Prince Charlie at Culloden in 1745. This led to sharp reprisals against the Scots. The English broke up the clans and banned their culture. They prohibited the Scots from speaking the Gaelic language, playing the pipes and wearing the tartan.

Not long after Culloden, on the other side of the Atlantic, another Declaration of Independence was drafted. Many of the leaders of this new country would be Scots. Much of the energy and wisdom of the Declaration of Arbroath would find its way into this new declaration of American independence.

In addition to being the 700th anniversary of the Declaration of Arbroath, April 6 is recognized as National Tartan Day. It was decreed by a resolution of the U.S. Senate in 1997 and ratified by the House of Representatives in 2005. Much of the credit for its national recognition goes to Martha’s Vineyard’s own Duncan MacDonald.

Ms. MacDonald, at the age of 104, is the sole surviving member of the founders of the Scottish Society of Martha’s Vineyard. Recognized as Scotland’s First Lady in America, active on many national and international boards, she helped spearhead the recognition of Tartan Day in the Senate.

Ms. Duncan was also instrumental in getting a tartan designed for the Vineyard. She invited Dr. Phillip Smith, a world famous expert on tartan and a distant relative of Thomas Mayhew, to Martha’s Vineyard. Dr. Smith was so taken by the Island, he designed the Martha’s Vineyard District Tartan. He subsequently gave exclusive rights for the use of the attractive pattern to our own Scottish Society of Martha’s Vineyard under the provision that articles of apparel were to be woven and produced for sale.

If you go to the Scottish Society of Martha’s Vineyard website, mvscots.org, you will see our Tartan Store where we proudly display these wares.

Steve Ewing is the treasurer of the Scottish Society of Martha’s Vineyard.