Clan map of Scotland
(from
Scottish Gaelic clann, "children"), give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in
Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of
Clan Chiefs officially registered with the court of the
Lord Lyon, King of Arms which controls the
heraldry and
Coat of Arms. Each
clan has its own
tartan patterns, usually dating to the 19th century, and members of the clan may wear
kilts, skirts, sashes, ties, scarves, or other items of clothing made of the appropriate tartan as a badge of membership and as a uniform where appropriate.
Clans identify with geographical areas originally controlled by the Chiefs, usually with an ancestral
castle and clan gatherings form a regular part of the social scene.
Clan organisation
Clan membership
The word
clann in
Scottish Gaelic means "children". Each clan was a large group of related people, theoretically an extended family, supposedly descended from one progenitor and all owing allegiance to the patriarchal clan chief. It also included a large group of loosely-related
septs – related families - all of whom looked to the
clan chief as their head and their protector.
A clan is a community which is distinguished by
heraldry and recognised by the
Sovereign. A clan is a "noble incorporation" because a
clan chief is a title of honour in Scotland and the chief confers his or her noble status onto the clan. Clans with recognised chiefs are therefore recognised under
Scots law. A group without a chief recognised by the Sovereign, through the Lord Lyon, has no position under Scottish law. All claimants to the title of chief must be recognised by the Lord Lyon who determines if the claimant is entitled to the
undifferenced arms of the community of which the claimant wishes to be chief. A chief of a clan is the only person who is entitled to bear the undifferenced arms of that community. The clan as a "noble corporation" is the chief's heritable property and the chief's Seal of Arms is the seal of the corporation. Under law the chief owns the clan and is responsible for it.
Historically a clan was made up of everyone who lived on the chief's territory, or on territory of those who owed allegiance to the said chief. Through time, with the constant changes of "clan boundaries", migration or regime changes, clans would be made up of large numbers of members who were unrelated and who bore different
surnames. Often those living on a chief's lands would over time adopt the clan surname. A chief could add to his clan by adopting other families, and also had the legal right to outlaw anyone from his clan, including members of his own family. Today, anyone who has the chief's
surname is automatically considered to be a member of the chief's clan. Also, anyone who offers allegiance to a chief becomes a member of the chief's clan, unless the chief decides not to accept that person's allegiance.
The only rule is that it is up to the chief whom he may decide to accept as a member of his clan.
Clan membership goes through the surname.
It does
not pass through a married woman who has taken her husband's surname, and then on to her children. Children who take their father's surname are part of their father's clan and
not their mothers. However, today it is common for people to claim clan membership through their mother's side of the family, anyone who offers allegiance to a particular clan chief is part of his or her clan (unless refused by the chief).
Today clans may have lists of
septs. Septs are surnames, families or clans which historically, currently or for whatever reason the chief chooses, are associated with that clan. There is no official list of clan septs, and the decision of what septs a clan has is left up to the clan itself.
Confusingly sept names can be shared by more than one clan, and it may up to the individual to use his or her family history or genealogy to find the correct clan they are associated with.
Several clan societies have been granted coats of arms. In such cases, these arms are
differenced from the chief's, much like a clan
armiger. A former
Lord Lyon King of Arms,
Thomas Innes of Learney stated that such societies, according to the
Law of Arms, are considered an "indeterminate cadet".
[Innes of Learney (1971): pp. 55-57.]Inheritance and authority
The
Highland clan system incorporated the
Celtic/
Norse traditions of heritage as well as
Norman Feudal society. Chieftains and petty kings under the
suzerainty of a
High King (
ard rí) ruled
Gaelic Alba, with all such offices being filled through election by an assembly. Usually the candidate was nominated by the current office holder on the approach of death, and his heir-elect was known as the tanist, from the Gaelic
tànaiste, or second, with the system being known as
tanistry. This system combined a hereditary element with the consent of those ruled, and while the succession in clans later followed the
feudal rule of
primogeniture, the concept of authority coming from the clan continued.
Thus the collective heritage of the clan, the
dùthchas, gave the right to settle the land to which the chiefs and leading gentry provided protection and authority as trustees for the people. This was combined with the complementary concept of
òighreachd where the chieftain's authority came from charters granted by the feudal Scottish crown, where individual heritage was warranted. While
dùthchas held precedence in the
medieval period, the balance shifted as the mainly lowland
Scots law became increasingly important in shaping the structure of clanship.
Legal process
To settle criminal and civil disputes within clans both sides put their case to an
arbitration panel drawn from the leading gentry of the clan and presided over by the chief. Similarly, in disputes between clans the chiefs served as procurators (legal agents) for the disputants in their clan and put the case to an arbitration panel of equal numbers of gentry from each clan presided over by a neighbouring chief or landlord. There was no appeal from the decision which awarded reparations, called
assythment, to the wronged party and which was recorded in a convenient Royal or Burgh court. This compensation took account of the age, responsibilities and status of the victim as well as the nature of the crime, and once paid precluded any further action for redress against the perpetrator. To speed this process clans made standing provisions for arbitration and regularly contracted bands of friendship between the clans which had the force of law and were recorded in a convenient court.
Social ties
Fosterage and
manrent were the most important forms of social bonding in the clans. In fosterage, the chief's children were brought up by favoured members of the leading clan gentry (traditionally the mother's brother or similar, i.e. in another clan), whose children in turn were brought up by other favoured members of the clan (again the mother's brother or the like - i.e. in another clan). This brought about intense ties and reinforced inter-clan cohesion.
Manrent was a bond contracted by the heads of families looking to the chief for territorial protection, though not living on the estates of the clan elite. These bonds were reinforced by
calps, death duties paid to the chief as a mark of personal allegiance by the family when their head died, usually in the form of their best cow or horse. Although
calps were banned by
Parliament in 1617, manrent continued covertly to pay for protection.
Less durably, marriage alliances reinforced kinship between clans. These were contracts involving the exchange of livestock, money and rent,
tocher for the bride and
dowry for the groom.
Clan management
Payments of rents and
calps from those living on clan estates and
calps alone from families living elsewhere were channelled through
tacksmen. These lesser gentry acted as estate managers, allocating the
run-rig strips of land, lending seed-corn and tools and arranging droving of cattle to the
Lowlands for sale, taking a minor share of the payments made to the clan nobility, the
fine. They had the important military role of mobilising the
Clan Host, both when required for warfare and more commonly as a large turn out of followers for weddings and funerals, and traditionally in August for hunts which included sports for the followers, the predecessors of the modern
Highland games.
From the late 16th century the
Scottish Privy Council, recognising the need for co-operation, required clan leaders to provide bonds of surety for the conduct of anyone on their territory and to regularly attend at
Edinburgh, encouraging a tendency to become absentee landlords. With an increase in droving, tacksmen acquired the wealth to finance the gentry's debts secured against their estates, hence acquiring the land. By the 1680s this led to the land in ownership largely coinciding with the collective 'dutchas' for the first time. The tacksmen became responsible for the bonds of surety leading to a decline in banditry and feuding.
Disputes and disorder
Where the
oighreachd, land owned by the clan elite or
fine, did not match the common heritage of the
duthchas this led to territorial disputes and warfare. The
fine resented their clansmen paying rent to other landlords, while acquisitive clans used disputes to expand their territories. Ferocious feuds such as that between the
Clan Gordon and the
Clan Forbes lasted for centuries, causing heavy casualties on both sides. On the western seaboard clans became involved with the wars of the Irish Gaels against the Tudor English, and a military caste called the
buannachan developed, seasonally fighting in Ireland as mercenaries and living off their clans as minor gentry, but this was brought to an end with the
Irish Plantations of
James VI of Scotland and I of England. During that century law increasingly settled disputes, and the last feud leading to a battle was at
Mulroy in
Lochaber on August 4 1688.
Reiving had been a rite of passage, the
creach where young men took livestock from neighbouring clans. By the 17th century this had declined and most reiving was the
spreidh where up to 10 men raided the adjoining
Lowlands, the livestock taken usually being recoverable on payment of
tascal (information money) and guarantee of no prosecution. Some clans offered the Lowlanders protection against such raids, on terms not dissimilar to
blackmail.
Although by the late 17th century disorder declined, reiving persisted with the growth of
cateran bands of up to 50
bandits, usually led by a renegade of the gentry, who had thrown off the constraints of the clan system. As well as preying off the clans,
caterans acted as mercenaries for Lowland lairds pursuing disputes amongst themselves.
Lowland clans
It is quite acceptable to refer to the great Lowland families as clans also, since the Scots themselves appear to have used both terms interchangeably until the 19th century. Until the 19th century, the Lowland or Border clans did not identify themselves by specific tartans, nor did they wear the kilt or play the Great Highland Pipes (although they would be familiar with the widely used Lowland or Border Pipes) but afterwards they adopted these characteristics of Highland culture as a form of clan identification, which they are happy to use to the present day.
The
Lowlands south of the
river Forth had been
Brythonic Celtic, with the southeast becoming
Angles, and
Galloway and the western seaboard becoming
Norse-Gaelic, then by 1034 the
Kingdom of Alba had expanded to bring all but the last area under Gaelic Celtic rule. From the accession of King
David I (1124), the traditional social patterns of much of eastern Scotland began to be altered, particularly with the growth of
burghs and the settlement of French
feudal families on royal demesne lands. This process was, of course, very slow, but its cumulative effect over centuries was to undermine the integrity of Gaelic in the areas affected, areas which later became known collectively as the
Lowlands, though to a large extent Galloway and Carrick, where
Galwegian Gaelic survived into the 17th century, were not affected as much as elsewhere until very late.
However aristocratic Gaelic clans did survive, especially in Galloway (e.g.
MacDowall,
MacLellan,
MacCann ), Carrick (e.g.
Kennedy) and Fife (e.g.
MacDuff). The term
clan was still being used of Lowland families at the end of the 16th century and, while aristocrats may have been increasingly likely to use the word
family, the terms remained interchangeable until the 19th century.
An Act of the Scottish Parliament of 1597 talks of the "Chiftanis and chieffis of all clannis...duelland in the hielands or bordouris" - thus using the word clan and chief to describe both Highland and Border families. The act goes on to list the various Lowland clans including the Maxwells, Johnstons, Turnbulls and other famous
Border Reivers names. Further, Sir George MacKenzie of Rosehaugh, the Lord Advocate (Attorney General) writing in 1680 said "By the term 'chief' we call the representative of the family from the word chef or head and in the Irish (Gaelic) with us the chief of the family is called the head of the clan". So it can be seen that all along the words chief or head and clan or family are interchangeable. It is therefore quite correct to talk of the MacDonald family or the Stirling clan. The idea that Highlanders should be listed as clans while the Lowlanders should be termed as families is a 19th century convention.
By the late 18th century the Lowlands were integrated into the British system, with an uneasy relationship to the Highlanders. The total population of Lowlanders diminished drastically in some parts of the south as a direct result of the
Agricultural Revolution which resulted in the
Lowland Clearances, and the subsequent
emigration of large numbers of Lowland Scots.
However, with the revival of interest in Gaeldom and the visit of
King George IV to
Scotland in 1822, there was a new enthusiasm amongst Lowlanders for re-identification with their Gaelic culture. As a result Lowland families and aristocrats now appear on clan lists with their own tartans, in some cases with a claim to ancestry from the Highland area – encouraged, no doubt, by companies who market supposed
coats-of-arms and
heraldic devices, manufacturers of tartan cloth, and by the immense growth of
Internet genealogical research, beginning in the last few years of the twentieth century. As a result, Lowland/Border clans now have their own clan societies,
websites and annual reunions.
History
Origins
The
Senchus fer n-Alban lists three main kin groups in
Dál Riata in Scotland, with a fourth being added later:
The Senchus does not list any kindreds in Ireland. Among the Cenél Loairn it lists the
Airgíalla, although whether this should be understood as being Irish settlers or simply another tribe to whom the label was applied is unclear.
The meaning of Airgíalla 'hostage givers' adds to the uncertainty, although it must be observed that only one grouping in Ireland was apparenly given this name and it is therefore very rare, perhaps supporting the
Ui Macc Uais hypothesis. There is no reason to suppose that this is a complete or accurate list.
Some clans such as
Clan Campbell and
Clan Donald claim ancient
Celtic mythological progenitors mentioned in the
Fenian cycle, with another group including
Clan MacSween,
Clan Lamont,
Clan MacEwen of Otter,
Clan Maclachlan, and
Clan MacNeil tracing their ancestry back to the 5th century
Niall of the Nine Hostages, legendary
High King of Ireland, through the
O'Neill dynasty of
Cenél nEógain (
Kings of Ailech). Others such as
Clan MacAulay,
Clan Mackinnon and
Clan Gregor claim descent from the
Scots King
Kenneth Mac Alpin who made himself King of the
Picts in 843(debatable), founding the Kingdom called after the name of the land
Alba (modern-day Scotland). The
MacDonalds and
MacDougalls claim descent from
Somerled, the
half-Gael/Norse-Manx Lord of the Isles in the mid-11th century.
Though the clans had always been a feature of pre-Christian Scotland and Ireland, they first emerged into English consciousness from the turmoil of the 12th and 13th centuries when the Scottish crown pacified northern rebellions and re-conquered areas taken by the Norse, and after the fall of
Macbeth when the crown became increasingly
Anglo-Norman. This turmoil created opportunities for
Norse,
Scottish and
English warlords and their kin to dominate areas, and the instability of the
Wars of Scottish Independence brought in warlords with
Norman, and
Flemish ancestry, founding clans such as the
Chisholms and
Menzies.
Civil wars and Jacobitism
As the
civil wars of the Three Kingdoms broke out in the early 17th century the
Covenanters were supported by the territorially ambitious Argyll
Clan Campbell and the
Clan Sutherland, both powerful Highland clans, as well as some clans of the central Highlands opposed to the Royalist House of Huntly. While some clans remained neutral, others led by
Montrose supported the Royalist cause, projecting their feudal obligations to clan chiefs onto the Royal
House of Stuart, resisting the demands of the Covenanters for commitment and reacting to the ambitions of the larger clans. In the
Wars of 1644-47, the most prominent Royalist clan were
Clan Donald led by
Alasdair MacColla.
With the
Restoration of
Charles II,
Episcopalianism became widespread among clans as it suited the hierarchical clan structure and encouraged obedience to Royal authority, while some other clans were converted by
Catholic missions.
In 1682 James Duke of York, Charles' brother, instituted the Commission for Pacifying the Highlands which worked in co-operation with the clan chiefs in maintaining order as well as redressing Campbell acquisitiveness, and when he became King
James VII he retained popularity with Highlanders. All these factors contributed to continuing support for the Stuarts when James was deposed by
William of Orange in the "
Glorious Revolution".
Clan support, their remoteness from authority and the ready mobilisation of the clan hosts made the Highlands the starting point for the
Jacobite Risings. In Scottish
Jacobite ideology the Highlander symbolised patriotic purity as against the corruption of the Union, and as early as 1689 some Lowlanders wore "
Highland habit" in the Jacobite army.
Decline of the Clan system
Successive Scottish governments had portrayed the clans as bandits needing occasional military expeditions to keep them in check and extract taxes. As Highlanders became associated with
Jacobitism and rebellion the government made repeated efforts to curb the clans, culminating with brutal repression after the
battle of Culloden. This followed in 1746 with the
Act of Proscription, further measures making restrictions on their ability to bear arms, traditional dress, culture, and even music. The
Heritable Jurisdictions Act removed the
feudal authority the Clan Chieftains had once enjoyed.
With the failure of Jacobitism the clan chiefs and gentry increasingly became landlords, losing the traditional obligations of clanship. They were incorporated into the British aristocracy, looking to the clan lands mainly to provide them with a suitable income. From around 1725 clansmen had been emigrating to America; both clan gentry looking to re-establish their lifestyle, or as victims of raids on the
Hebrides looking for cheap labour. Increasing demand in Britain for cattle and sheep led to higher rents with surplus clan population leaving in the mass migration later known as the
Highland Clearances, finally undermining the traditional clan system.
Romantic revival
David Wilkie's 1829 flattering portrait of the
kilted
King George IV, with lighting chosen to tone down the brightness of his kilt and his knees shown bare, without the pink
tights he wore at the event.
The
Ossian poems of
James Macpherson in the 1760s suited the
Romantic enthusiasm for the
"sublime" "primitive" and achieved international success with a disguised elegy for the Jacobite clans, set in the remote past. They were presented as translations of ancient ballads, a fraud caustically dismissed by Dr.
Samuel Johnson. This damaged the reputation of the poems, but their artistic merit had widespread influence.
Shortly before or after the
Dress Act restricting kilt wearing was repealed in 1782, Highland aristocrats set up Highland Societies in
Edinburgh and other centres including
London and
Aberdeen, landowners' clubs with aims including "Improvements" (which others would later call the
Highland Clearances). Clubs like the Celtic Society of Edinburgh included Highland chieftains and Lowlanders taking an interest in the clans. The success of the
historical novels of
Sir Walter Scott as well as the pomp surrounding the
visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822 spurred 19th century interest in the clans and a reawakening of Scottish culture and pride.
Clan symbols
The revival of interest, and demand for clan ancestry, has led to the production of lists and maps covering the whole of Scotland giving clan names and showing territories, sometimes with the appropriate
tartans. While some lists and clan maps confine their area to the Highlands, others also show Lowland clans or families. Territorial areas and allegiances changed over time, and there are also differing decisions on which (smaller) clans and families should be omitted. Some alternative online sources are listed in the
External links section below.
This list of Clans contains clans registered with the
Lord Lyon Court.
The Lord Lyon Court defines a clan or family as a legally recognised group, but does not differentiate between Families and Clans as it recognises both terms as being interchangeable. Clans or families thought to have had a Chief in the past but not currently recognised by the Lord Lyon are listed at
Armigerous clans.
Tartan
Ever since the Victorian "tartan craze" tartans and "clan tartans" have been an important part of a Scottish clans. Almost all Scottish clans have more than one tartan attributed to their surname. Although there are no rules on who can or cannot wear a particular tartan, and it is possible for anyone to create a tartan and name it almost any name they wish, the only person with the authority to make a clan's tartan "official" is the chief. In some cases, following such recognition from the clan chief, the clan tartan is recorded and registered by the Lord Lyon. Once approved by the Lord Lyon, after recommendation by the Advisory Committee on Tartan, the clan tartan is then recorded in the Lyon Court Books.
[Campbell of Airds (2000): pp. 259-261.] In at least one instance a clan tartan appears in the heraldry of a clan chief and the Lord Lyon considers it to be the "proper" tartan of the clan.
Originally there appears to have been no association of tartans with specific clans; instead, highland tartans were produced to various designs by local weavers and any identification was purely regional, but the idea of a clan-specific tartan gained currency in the late 18th century and in 1815 the
Highland Society of London began the naming of clan-specific tartans. Many clan tartans derive from a 19th century hoax known as the
Vestiarium Scoticum. The
Vestiarium was composed by the "
Sobieski Stuarts" who passed it off as a reproduction of an ancient manuscript of clan tartans. It has since been proven a forgery, but despite this, the designs are still highly regarded and they continue to serve their purpose to identify the clan in question.
thumb|right|[[Scottish crest badge|Crest badge suitable for members of Clan Fleming.]]
Crest badge
A sign of allegiance to a certain clan chief is the wearing of a crest badge. The crest badge suitable for a clansman or clanswoman consists of the chief's
heraldic crest encircled with a strap and buckle and which contains the chief's heraldic
motto or
slogan. Although it is common to speak of "clan crests" there is no such thing.
In Scotland (and indeed all of UK) only individuals,
not clans, possess a heraldic
coat of arms.
Even though any clansmen and clanswomen may purchase crest badges and wear them to show their allegiance to his or her clan the heraldic crest and motto always belong to the chief alone.
In principle these badges should only be used with the permission of the clan chief and the Lyon Court has intervened in cases where permission has been withheld.
[Adam; Innes of Learney (1970)] Scottish crest badges, much like clan-specific
tartans, do not have a long history, and owe much to
Victorian era romanticism, having only been worn on the
bonnet since the 19th century.
[Campbell of Airds (2002): pp. 289-290.] The concept of a
clan badge or form of identification may have some validity, as it is commonly stated that the original markers were merely specific plants worn in bonnets or hung from a pole or spear.
[Moncreiffe of that Ilk (1967): p. 20.]thumb|left|Gunns,
Macleods,
Murrays,
Nicolsons (of Skye), and
Rosses./" class="wiki">Juniper is attributed as the clan badge of the
Gunns,
Macleods,
Murrays,
Nicolsons (of Skye), and
Rosses.
Clan badge
Clan badges, are another means of showing one's allegiance to a Scottish clan. These badges, sometimes called plant badges, consist of a sprig of a particular plant. They are usually worn in a bonnet behind the Scottish crest badge, they can also be attached at the shoulder of a lady's tartan
sash, or be tied to a pole and used as a
standard. Clans which are connected historically or that occupied lands in the same general area, may share the same clan badge. According to popular lore clan badges were used by Scottish clans as a form of identification in battle. However, the badges attributed to clans today can be completely unsuitable for even modern clan gatherings. Clan badges are commonly referred to as the original clan symbol, however
Thomas Innes of Learney claimed the
heraldic flags of clan chiefs would have been the earliest means of identifying Scottish clans in battle or at large gatherings.
List of clans
See also
