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A Scottish clan (from Scottish Gaelic clann, literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred'[1]) is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared heritage and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure recognised by the Court of the Lord Lyon, which regulates Scottish heraldry and coats of arms. Most clans have their own tartan patterns, usually dating from the 19th century, which members may incorporate into kilts or other clothing.
The modern image of clans, each with their own tartan and specific land, was promulgated by the Scottish author Sir Walter Scott after influence by others. Historically, tartan designs were associated with Lowland and Highland districts whose weavers tended to produce cloth patterns favoured in those districts. By process of social evolution, it followed that the clans/families prominent in a particular district would wear the tartan of that district, and it was but a short step for that community to become identified by it.
Many clans have their own clan chief; those that do not are known as armigerous clans. Clans generally identify with geographical areas originally controlled by their founders, sometimes with an ancestral castle and clan gatherings, which form a regular part of the social scene. The most notable clan event of recent times was The Gathering 2009 in Edinburgh, which attracted at least 47,000 participants from around the world.[2]
It is a common misconception that every person who bears a clan's name is a lineal descendant of the chiefs.[3] Many clansmen, although not related to the chief, took the chief's surname as their own either to show solidarity or to obtain basic protection or for much needed sustenance.[3] Most of the followers of the clan were tenants, who supplied labour to the clan leaders.[4] Contrary to popular belief, the ordinary clansmen rarely had any blood tie of kinship with the clan chiefs, but they sometimes took the chief's surname as their own when surnames came into common use in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.[4] Thus, by the eighteenth century the myth had arisen that the whole clan was descended from one ancestor, perhaps relying on Scottish Gaelic clann originally having a primary sense of 'children' or 'offspring'.[4]
About 30% of Scottish families are attached to a clan.[5]
- ^ Lynch, Michael, ed. (2011). Oxford Companion to Scottish History. Oxford University Press. p. 93. ISBN 9780199234820.
- ^ Mollison, Hazel (27 July 2009). "The Gathering is hailed big success after 50,000 flock to Holyrood Park". The Scotsman. Retrieved 15 March 2020.
- ^ a b "Surnames: Clan-based surnames". Scotland's People. National Records of Scotland. 2018. Archived from the original on 14 June 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
- ^ a b c Roberts, J. L. (2000). Clan, King, and Covenant: History of the Highland Clans from the Civil War to the Glencoe Massacre. Edinburgh University Press. p. 13. ISBN 0-7486-1393-5.
- ^ DeBrohun, Diana (23 February 2020). "Were my Ancestors Part of a Scottish Clan?". Scottish American Insider. Retrieved 13 October 2023.