Click the tartan to view its entry in The Scottish Registers of Tartans which includes registration details, restrictions, and registrant information.
Unregistered tartans may link to one of the web's online design environments for similar information.
For any questions about reproduction of designs or weaving of these tartans, please contact the registrant directly or via this website.
Dragon History Day
"Beware, there be dragons!"
St. George may have slain a dragon, but the Laird of Lariston, John de Somerville, triumphed over the Wicked Worm of Linton! Across cultures, serpents, dragons, wyverns, and other fearsome beasts have long terrorized communities, demanding bloody tributes or wreaking havoc on the land. Yet, only a fortunate few can lay claim to a dragon-slayer among their ancestors. If you have Somerville lineage, you may be connected to John Somerville (1150–1194) of Carnwath, Lanarkshire, Scotland, the knight of legend who vanquished the fearsome Linton Worm—also known as the Linton Dragon or the Wyrm of Wormistone.
This monstrous creature was said to inhabit a hollow on the northeast side of Linton Hill, a location still called the "Worm’s Den," in Linton, Roxburghshire, on the Scottish Borders. Emerging from its lair at dawn and dusk, the worm ravaged the countryside, devouring crops, livestock, and even people. It was impervious to all weapons and struck fear into the hearts of those who dared face it.
Enter John de Somerville, the Laird of Lariston, a man renowned for his reckless courage. While visiting the village of Jedburgh, he heard tales of the worm’s destruction and resolved to end its reign of terror. Turning to a local blacksmith, he commissioned a unique weapon: a spear tipped with a wheel designed to impale a chunk of peat soaked in tar and brimstone. At dawn, accompanied by his servant, Somerville approached the creature's den. As the worm emerged, he thrust his burning lance deep into its gaping maw, mortally wounding it. The beast's agonized death throes reportedly shaped the surrounding hills, giving the region the name "Wormington."
For his bravery, Somerville was honored as the Royal Falconer and knighted as the "First Barrone" of Linton. The Somerville family crest commemorates this legendary victory, featuring a wyvern (a heraldic dragon) perched upon a wheel.
Beware—there may yet be dragons lurking in the shadows! ❤️ 💚 🤍 💙 🐉 🔥 ⚔️
This tartan, for the Clan and Family of Somerville has no known designer.
The specimen in the Scottish Tartans Society's collection was obtained about 1930 from the firm J Johnston of Edinburgh. It was described at the time as a modern family tartan. The cloth archive also contains a sample from the Lochcarron weavers. Nomindex says 24/11/1980 Based on the MacDougall.
This name Somerville is believed to have been derived from a town in Normandy, near Caen. During the Norman invasion of England in 1066, Sir Gaulter de Somerville accompanied the Duke of Normandy, William the Conqueror.
William de Somerville, the second son of Sir Gaulter, came to Scotland with David I and was created Lord of Carnwath, receiving the lands near Carnwath in Clydesdale. He died around 1142 and was buried at Melrose Abbey. Another William de Somerville was said to have killed the last serpent in Scotland, and went on to obtain the lands of Linton from Malcolm IV, in or around 1174. He later became chief falconer to the king and sheriff of Roxburgh. At the Battle of Largs in 1263, a Sir William de Somerville, fifth of that name, fought for Alexander II, driving back the Norse invasion.
The William de Somerville who fought at Largs, his son, Sir Thomas, was amongst the many Scottish nobles who were pressured into signing the Ragman Roll, pledging allegiance to England’s Edward I in 1296. However, in 1297 he joined Sir William Wallace in Scotland’s fight for independence. The peerage of Lord Somerville was created for Sir Thomas, and probably in 1435, though this is uncertain.
For more on the Linton Worm, said to have been killed by the Somerville, click the fearsome battle in an illustration by P. Niblet.