Scottish clans (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 heralddry 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. |
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 Clan Cameron crest. 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". |
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 
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. |
Your Ancestry Itinerary (download for free the pdf file below)
Homecoming Scotland 2009 Tartan  Homecoming Scotland 2009 tartan designed by Alasdair MacLeod of Geoffrey (Tailor). www.geoffreykilts.co.uk 
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![May 12, 1972: HMAS Stuart [II] and The Great Sembawang Basin Bagpipes War - Photo HMAS Cerberus Museum.](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4103/4966203604_094094a234.jpg)
