Clan Macqueen is a Highland

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from 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 structure recognised ...

and a member of the

Chattan Confederation Clan Chattan ( gd, Na Catanaich or gd, Clann Chatain) is a unique confederation of Highland clans. The clan is distinctive in highland clan history in that it was acknowledged to be a community or confederation, of twelve separate Scottish cla ...

.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, 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 ...

). Published in 1994. Page 426. The clan does not currently have a

chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the bo ...

and is therefore considered an

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 ...

History

Origins

The name MacQueen is sometimes also given as ''MacSween'' which means ''son of Sweyn''. The MacQueens are allegedly of the same descent as the

Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald ( gd, Clann Dòmhnaill; Mac Dòmhnaill ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry ...

, having kinship with the High Kings of Ireland. The MacQueens are said to have provided a guard for a daughter of the chief of Clan MacDonald of Clan Ranald, who married a chief of the

Clan Mackintosh Clan Mackintosh (''Clann Mhic an Tòisich'') is a Scottish clan from Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The chiefs of the clan are the Mackintoshes of Mackintosh. Another branch of the clan, the Mackintoshes of Torcastle, are the chiefs of Cl ...

. The Mackintosh clan were also chiefs of the

and so the MacQueens settled around

Findhorn Findhorn ( gd, Inbhir Èir or ''Inbhir Èireann'') is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is located on the eastern shore of Findhorn Bay and immediately south of the Moray Firth. Findhorn is 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Kinloss, and about 5 ...

and became part of the confederation of Clan Chattan. The Clan MacQueen was then known as the ''Clan Revan''. The chiefs became the Lairds of Corrieborough and were highly regarded amongst the supporters of the MacDonalds.

18th century

The chief of the

Clan MacDonald of Sleat 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 ...

said in 1778: "it does me great honour to have the sons of the Chieftains in the Regiment and as the MacQueens have been invariably attached to our family, to whom we believe we owe our existence, I am proud of the nomination". The MacQueens or MacSweens were numerous in the

Hebrides The Hebrides (; gd, Innse Gall, ; non, Suðreyjar, "southern isles") are an archipelago off the west coast of the Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner and Outer Hebri ...

. The Reverend of

Snizort Snizort is an area of the Isle of Skye comprising the head of Loch Snizort and the western coast of Trotternish Trotternish or Tròndairnis (Scottish Gaelic) is the northernmost peninsula of the Isle of Skye, in Scotland. Its most northerly po ...

, Donald MacQueen was of such intellect that he even impressed the doctor

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson (18 September 1709 – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, critic, biographer, editor and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

when he visited the Hebrides. The name MacQueen was not always highly regarded as

Robert McQueen, Lord Braxfield Robert McQueen, Lord Braxfield (4 May 1722 – 30 May 1799) was a Scottish advocate and judge. Life McQueen was born at Braxfield House near Lanark on 4 May 1722, son of John McQueen. He studied law at Edinburgh University and was admitted to ...

, a notorious 18th-century judge was feared for his savage sentences and use of the death penalty. The chief's family is believed to have moved to

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

and the clan became scattered throughout Scotland and the rest of the English-speaking world.

Modern clan symbolism

Today members of Scottish clans show their clan allegiance by wearing Scottish crest badges,

clan tartan Tartan ( gd, breacan ) is a patterned cloth consisting of criss-crossed, horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours. Tartans originated in woven wool, but now they are made in other materials. Tartan is particularly associated with Sc ...

s and sometimes clan badges (plant badges). The crest badge suitable for members of Clan MacQueen contains the

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 ...

of ''an heraldic tyger rampant Ermine holding an arrow, point downwards

Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to ...

pheoned

Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). In engraving, it is sometimes depict ...

''. The heraldic motto that appears upon the crest badge is CONSTANT AND FAITHFUL. Another badge sometimes used by clan members is a clan badge (or plant badge). Several different clan badges have been attributed to various MacQueens. The MacQueens associated with Clan Chattan are attributed

boxwood ''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box or boxwood. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost South ...

and red whortleberry as a clan badge. Many other Scottish clans which are closely associated with Clan Chattan have been attributed the same plants. The MacQueen’s of

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

, on the other hand, have common heath attributed as their clan badge. Common heath is the clan badge of many of the clans associated with

. The MacQueen tartan was first published in 1842, in the ''

Vestiarium Scoticum The ''Vestiarium Scoticum'' (full title, ''Vestiarium Scoticum: from the Manuscript formerly in the Library of the Scots College at Douay. With an Introduction and Notes, by John Sobieski Stuart'') was a book which was first published in 1842 by ...

''. The ''Vestiarium'' was the work of the dubious "

Sobieski Stuarts In the 1820s, two English brothers, John Carter Allen (1795–1872) and Charles Manning Allen (1802–1880) adopted the names John Sobieski Stuart and Charles Edward Stuart, moved to Scotland, became Roman Catholics, and about 1839 began to claim ...

" and is today considered a Victorian era hoax. The tartan is supposedly that of Clan Revan, being named after Revan MacMulmor MacAngus MacQueen who led a MacDonald bride to be married to a chief of Clan Mackintosh. The Scottish Tartans World Register (STWR) notes that the MacQueen tartan is similar to the Fraser and Gunn tartans, which both have four bold stripes. However, the STWR considers it to be a combination of the MacDonald and Mackintosh tartans.cottish-tartans-world-register.com1209]"> The tartan scholar D. C. Stewart noted that the MacQueen tartan is the reverse of the MacKeane tartan, possibly because of the two similar-sounding names, even though both names have a different history.Stewart (1974), p. 49.

Associated Names and Septs

The following Scottish and Irish names are spelling variants of the Clan name MacQueen: * Mhic Suibne * Mhic Cuithein * Mhic Cuithain * M'Quain * McQuain * McSwain * MacShuain * MacQuien * MacSuain * MacCunn * MacCuinn * MacSwan * MacSwen * MacSween * McSweeney * MacSwyde * QueenKenny, Hamill (1960)

945 Year 945 ( CMXLV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 27 – The co-emperors Stephen and Constantine are overthrown barel ...

West Virginia place names: their origin and meaning, including the nomenclature of the streams and mountains. West Virginia University. p. 514. OCLC 233593610. * Sween * Sweeney * Swann * Swan * Swyne * Swain * McQueen

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:MacQueen Scottish clans Armigerous clans