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The
Scottish Gaelic
Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...
word means children. In early times, and possibly even today,
Scottish clan
A Scottish clan (from Goidelic languages, Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared identity and descent to members, and in modern times have an official ...
members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the clan, after whom the clan is named. The clan chief (''ceannard cinnidh'') is the representative of this founder, and represents the clan. In the Scottish clan system, a chief is greater than a chieftain (''ceann-cinnidh''), a designation applied to heads of branches of a clan.
[Adam; Innes of Learney (1970), pp. 154–155.] Scottish clans that no longer have a clan chief are referred to as
armigerous clan
An armigerous clan (from armiger) is a Scottish clan, family or name which is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon and once had a chief who bore undifferenced arms, but does not have a chief currently recognised as such by Lyon Court. Befor ...
s.
Functions of the clan chief
Historically the principal function of the chief was to lead the clan in battle on land and sea. The chief and the chieftain were at one time in the
Scottish Highlands
The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...
influential political characters, who wielded a large and often arbitrary authority.
[''Maclean of Ardgour v. Maclean'', p. 636] However, none of this authority now remains.
Highland chiefship or chieftainship in the modern sense is no more than a high social dignity.
The existence of chiefship and chieftainship has been recognized by
Scottish law
Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland ...
;
however, the disarming of the Highland clans after the
1745 Jacobite rising effectively eliminated clanship from ordinary civil or statutory law. Most notable was the
''Heritable Jurisdictions (Scotland) Act'', of 1746 that abolished traditional rights of jurisdiction afforded to Scottish clan chiefs.
Recognition of chiefs in Scots law
"Clan chiefs" and "clan chieftains"
While Scottish law recognizes the existence of clans, chiefs and chieftains,
[The Records of the Parliaments of Scotland to 1707 (RPS)](_blank)
this recognition is only one of social dignity or precedence via the
Lyon Court
The Court of the Lord Lyon (the Lyon Court) is a standing Courts of Scotland, court of law, based in New Register House in Edinburgh, which regulates heraldry in Scotland. The Lyon Court maintains the register of grants of coat of arms, arms, kno ...
, and does not involve any interest for which the law has jurisdiction. According to former Lord Lyon Sir Thomas Innes of Learney, a clan is a community that is distinguished by heraldry and recognised by the sovereign. Without that recognition, a clan chief, and therefore the clan, would have no official recognition. Innes further considered clans to be a "noble incorporation" because the arms borne by a clan chief are granted or otherwise recognised by the Lord Lyon as an officer of the Crown, thus conferring royal recognition of and on the entire clan. Clans with recognised chiefs are therefore considered a noble community under Scots law. A group without a chief recognised by the sovereign through the Lord Lyon has no official standing under Scottish law. Claimants to the title of chief are expected to be recognised by the Lord Lyon as the rightful heir to the undifferenced arms of the ancestor of the clan of which the claimant seeks to be recognized as chief. A chief of a clan is the only person who is entitled to bear the undifferenced arms of the ancestral founder of the clan. The clan is considered to be the chief's heritable estate and the chief's Seal of Arms is the seal of the clan as a "noble corporation". Therefore, under Scots law, the chief is recognised as the head of the clan and therefore, once recognised, serves as the lawful representative of the clan community worldwide.
The Lyon Court remains the only authority which can make a recording of the dignity of a chiefship acknowledged by attestation, although it is suggested it cannot declare judicially a chiefship. Further, although no Scottish court can exercise a jurisdiction to determine disputes of competing claimants to a chiefship or chieftainship,
[Gloag and Candlish Henderson, p. 25] to quote
Lord Aitchinson in the
Court of Session it is presumed that "Historically the idea of a chief or chieftain submitting his dignity to the arbitrament of its Court of law is really grotesque. The chief was the law, and his authority was derived from his own people".
A number of constitutional changes took place with the ''
Scotland Act 1998
The Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legislated for the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers and the Scottish Government (then Scottish Executive). It was o ...
''. Schedule 5 of the Act makes clear that certain matters are reserved, among others "honours and dignities or the functions of the Lord Lyon King of Arms so far as relating to the granting of arms"; but that is not the case for "Lord Lyon King of Arms in his judicial capacity", which is therefore subject to the powers of the Scottish Parliament. However, ''The
Abolition of Feudal Tenure Act of 2000'' (2000 asp 5) explicitly states (sec. 62) that "Nothing in this Act shall be taken to supersede or impair the jurisdiction or prerogative of the Lord Lyon King of Arms," which suggests that the legal authority of the Lyon Court remains intact in all matters heraldic.
To summarise, it is protocol and a preference for any Scottish clan to have their chief recognised by the Lord Lyon and therefore have legal status for the clan as a whole in Scotland and beyond, allowing their head to take their rightful place in the
Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs
The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs (SCSC) is the organisation that represents the Chiefs of many prominent Scottish Clans and Families. It describes itself as "the definitive and authoritative body for information on the Scottish Clan System ...
.
Chief of the Name and Arms
The Lyon Court, whose jurisdiction is
heraldic
Heraldry is a discipline relating to the design, display and study of armorial bearings (known as armory), as well as related disciplines, such as vexillology, together with the study of ceremony, rank and pedigree. Armory, the best-known branc ...
,
can confirm an application for the Chief of the Name and Arms of a Scottish family. However, the "Chief of the Name and Arms" is a heraldic term, originating from the French ''chef du nom et des armes'' and refers to the head of a heraldic
armigerous
In heraldry, an armiger is a person entitled to use a heraldic achievement (e.g., bear arms, an "armour-bearer") either by hereditary right, grant, matriculation, or assumption of arms. Such a person is said to be armigerous. A family or a cl ...
family. There is no evidence of any practice that would point to the use of ''chief of clan'', or ''chieftain of branch of clan'', as correct heraldic descriptions of headship of an armigerous family.
[''Maclean of Ardgour v. Maclean'', p. 635] The term ''chief of clan'' and ''principals of branches'' is not to persons bearing coats of arms; chiefship and chieftainship have no armorial significance.
[An exception to this armorial insignificance being the chief's right to supporters if the chief has a ]coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
, see paragraph " Clan Chief prerogatives: supporters" hereto. Although the ''chief of clan'' and ''Chief of the Name and Arms'' may concur in the same person they are not the same term.
See ''
Chiefs of Clan Fraser
The following is a list of the chiefs of the Clan Fraser of Lovat, in chronological order. The Chiefs of Clan Fraser often use the Gaelic patronym MacShimidh, meaning Son of Simon. Simon is the favoured family name for the Chiefs of Clan Fraser ...
'' for an example of ''chief of clan'' and ''Chief of the Name and Arms'' not being held by the same person.
Clan commander
In cases where a clan has no chief, or a family wishes to have recognition as a clan, clan or family members can formally get together, witnessed by a representative of the Lord Lyon, in a ''
derbhfine
The derbfine ( ; ga, dearbhfhine , from ''derb'' 'real' + ''fine'' 'group of persons of the same family or kindred', thus literally 'true kin'electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language s.vderbḟine/ref>) was a term for patrilineal groups and po ...
'', and appoint either a clan chief if the evidence of links to a chiefly line exists or otherwise a clan commander.
The Lyon Court can recognise the appointment of a clan commander, for an interim period of up to ten years, whereupon a further ''derbhfine'' will be required. It is at this point that the clan chief is recognised by the Lyon Court. Clans with clan commanders are still referred to as
armigerous clan
An armigerous clan (from armiger) is a Scottish clan, family or name which is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon and once had a chief who bore undifferenced arms, but does not have a chief currently recognised as such by Lyon Court. Befor ...
s.
Clan chief prerogatives
Supporters
Clan chiefs are entitled to
supporters on their
coat of arms
A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
to specify a very high dignity. A requirement of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs for membership, is that an applicant chief must demonstrate a right to hereditary supporters. A chief without supporters could only be allowed to serve on the council for their lifetime; each successive heir would have to be re-elected in the same manner.
Eagle feathers
Elements of the chief's
arms
Arms or ARMS may refer to:
*Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body
Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to:
People
* Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader
Coat of arms or weapons
*Armaments or weapons
**Fi ...
are often found in the
crest badge
A Scottish crest badge is a heraldic badge worn to show allegiance to an individual or membership in a specific Scottish clan. Crest badges are commonly called "clan crests", but this is a misnomer; there is no such thing as a collective ''clan' ...
worn, usually on a
bonnet
A Bonnet is a variety of headgear, hat or cap
Specific types of headgear referred to as "bonnets" may include
Scottish
* Blue bonnet, a distinctive woollen cap worn by men in Scotland from the 15th-18th centuries And its derivations:
** Fea ...
, by members of Scottish clans. These crest badges contain, in most cases, the chief's
heraldic crest
A crest is a component of a heraldic display, consisting of the device borne on top of the helm. Originating in the decorative sculptures worn by knights in tournaments and, to a lesser extent, battles, crests became solely pictorial after th ...
, and
heraldic motto
A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organisation. Mot ...
(or sometimes the chief's secondary motto or
slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a clan, political slogan, political, Advertising slogan, commercial, religious, and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose, with the goal of persuading members of the publi ...
). Clan chiefs are entitled to wear three eagle feathers behind their crest badge. Clan chieftains are entitled to two eagle feathers. A clan member is not entitled to any feathers unless they have been granted arms by the Lord Lyon King of Arms, in which case they are an
armiger
In heraldry, an armiger is a person entitled to use a heraldic achievement (e.g., bear arms, an "armour-bearer") either by hereditary right, grant, matriculation, or assumption of arms. Such a person is said to be armigerous. A family or a cl ...
and can wear a crest badge containing elements from their ''own'' arms.
Sashes
The
sash
A sash is a large and usually colorful ribbon or band of material worn around the body, either draping from one shoulder to the opposing hip and back up, or else running around the waist. The sash around the waist may be worn in daily attire, bu ...
, as worn by Scottish women as part of the
national dress
A folk costume (also regional costume, national costume, traditional garment, or traditional regalia) expresses an identity through costume, which is usually associated with a geographic area or a period of time in history. It can also indicat ...
, is normally worn over the right shoulder; only the wives of chiefs and chieftains, and women who are chiefs or chieftains in their own right, wear it over the left shoulder.
[''The Scottish Clans and Their Tartans'' (1958), W. & A. K. Johnson, p. 14.]
Form of address
For the correct way to address a Scottish clan chief, see .
See also
*
Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs
The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs (SCSC) is the organisation that represents the Chiefs of many prominent Scottish Clans and Families. It describes itself as "the definitive and authoritative body for information on the Scottish Clan System ...
*
Clan seat
A family seat or sometimes just called seat is the principal house, residence of the landed gentry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. The residence usually denotes the social, economic, political, or historic connection of the family within a ...
*
Statutes of Iona
*
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship
and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clans may claim descent from founding member or apical ancestor. Clans, in indigenous societies, tend to be endogamous, meaning ...
*
Chief of the name
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
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*
{{Scottish clans
Titles of national or ethnic leadership