Clan Schaw is a Lowland

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 ...

. Clan Schaw does not 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 boa ...

recognised by the

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grant ...

, therefore the clan has no standing under

Scots 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 l ...

. Clan Schaw is 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 ...

, meaning that it had at one time a chief who possessed the chiefly arms, however no one at present is in possession of such arms. The clan has no connection with the similarly named

Clan Shaw of Tordarroch Clan Shaw is a Highland Scottish clan and is a member of the Chattan Confederation.Way, George and Squire, Romily. (1994). ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Cou ...

(commonly known as ''Clan Shaw'') which is one of the Highland clans of the Clan Chattan Confederation.

Uncertain origins

George Crawfurd George Crawford (also Crawfurd) (1681-1748) was a Scottish genealogist and historian. Life He was the third son of Thomas Crawfurd of Cartsburn. When Simon Fraser laid claim to the barony of Lovat, he employed Crawfurd to investigate the case ...

's 18th century publication, ''History of Renfrewshire'', he stated that the

antiquary An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...

Sir George Mackenzie claimed the clan descended from "Shiach, a son of MacDuff

Earl of Fife The Earl of Fife or Mormaer of Fife was the ruler of the province of Fife in medieval Scotland, which encompassed the modern counties of Fife and Kinross. Due to their royal ancestry, the earls of Fife were the highest ranking nobles in the re ...

" from whom the clan took its name. It has also been said the clan descends from a second son of Duncan, Earl of Fife, who was

cup bearer A cup-bearer was historically an officer of high rank in royal courts, whose duty was to pour and serve the drinks at the royal table. On account of the constant fear of plots and intrigues (such as poisoning), a person must have been regarded as ...

to the

king of Scots The monarch of Scotland was the head of state of the Kingdom of Scotland. According to tradition, the first King of Scots was Kenneth I MacAlpin (), who founded the sovereign state, state in 843. Historically, the Kingdom of Scotland is thoug ...

. Later, the 18th century

heraldist 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 branch ...

Alexander Nisbet Alexander Nisbet (bapt. 23 March 1657; died 7 Dec. 1725) was a Scottish lawyer and antiquarian. He is remembered for his works on the subject of heraldry, which are generally considered to be some of the most complete and authoritative ever pr ...

claimed that the clan may have acted as

s to Alexander II or Alexander III. There is however no real evidence to support any of these claims. Despite this, the arms of Schaw of

Sauchie Sauchie is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. It lies north of the River Forth and south of the Ochil Hills, within the council area of Clackmannanshire. Sauchie has a population of around 6000 and is located northeast of Alloa and e ...

(the principal branch of the clan) allude to the office of cup bearer, and are

blazoned In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb ''to blazon'' means to create such a description. The vis ...

as: '' Azure, three covered cups Or''. In this way the arms are similar to those of the Butler family in England. Today members of Clan Schaw may wear a

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' ...

to show their allegiance to the clan. This crest badge 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 the ...

''a demi savage Proper'', and the

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 ...

''I MEAN WELL''. The crest within the crest badge is derived from the arms of Schaw of Sauchie.

History

The clan name ''Schaw'' is either a

topographic name Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...

or a

habitational name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name, ...

. The topographic name is for person who lived near a

copse Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management which exploits the capacity of many species of trees to put out new shoots from their stump or roots if cut down. In a coppiced wood, which is called a copse, young tree stems are repeated ...

or thicket. It is derived from the

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...

''s''(''c'')''hage'', ''s''(''c'')''hawe'' from the

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

''sceaga''. The habitational name could be derived from several places named with these words."Dictionary of American Family Names", Oxford University Press, " cited at Ancestry.com http://www.ancestry.com/facts/Shaw-family-history.ashx The earliest record of the lowland name is of John ''de Schau'', who witnessed a deed in relation to the Abbey of Paisley in 1284. Another early recorded ''Schaw'' is William Schaw who witnessed a charter in 1291 to the Monastery of Paisley. In 1296, Symon ''de Schawe'', Fergus ''de Shawe'' and William ''de Schawe'' of

Lanark Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...

, all rendered

homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

, king of England. Sometime before 1309, the clan acquired the lands of Hayley, Wardlaw and Drumchaber in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

from James, Great Steward of Scotland. In 1407, an agreement between John Schaw, lord of Hayley and Alan Cathcart was confirmed by charter under the great seal. John Schaw of Hayley was one of the men who made up the Embassy that negotiated the terms of marriage between James III and

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular througho ...

, daughter of the

Christian I Christian I (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he was also duke of Schleswig (within ...

king of Denmark The monarchy of Denmark is a constitutional political system, institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes Denmark proper and the autonomous administrative division, autonomous territories of the Faroe ...

. In 1477, a younger son of John Schaw of Hayley received the lands of Sornbeg and Polkemmet. The principal family within the clan was said to have been the Schaws of

(their residence,

Sauchie Tower Sauchie Tower, also known as Devon Tower, is a 15th-century tower house in Clackmannanshire, Scotland. The tower is located by the village of Fishcross, north of Sauchie and north of Alloa, close to the River Devon. It is protected as a Sched ...

still stands in

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; sco, Clackmannanshire; gd, Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn) is a historic county, council area, registration county and Lieutenancy area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife, and Perth & Kinross and the hi ...

). A member of this family was John Schaw of Sauchie, who was

Comptroller of the Royal Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of t ...

to James III. Other branches or families within the clan were located in

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county ...

and

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

, and also around the towns of

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council areas of Scotland, council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh of barony, burgh within the Counties of Scotland, historic ...

and Stirling.

References

External links

Clan Schaw at ScotClans.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schaw Scottish clans Armigerous clans

Uncertain origins

History

See also

References

External links