Highland and Lowland Clans
We all know clans are divided into Highland and Lowland clans. The
highland clans preceded the lowland clans as at one time
the land south of the River Forth was inhabited by border
'families', not called clans. The earliest written reference to
Highland and Border appears in "An Act
of the Scottish Parliament of 1597 talks of the "Chiftanis and
chieffis of all clannis...duelland in the hielands or bordouris" -
thus using the word clan and chief to describe both Highland and
Border families."(
1)
"Until the
19th century, the Lowland or Border clans did not identify
themselves by specific tartans, nor did they wear the kilt or play
the Great Highland Pipes (although they would be familiar with the
widely used Lowland or Border Pipes) but afterwards they adopted
these characteristics of Highland culture as a form of clan
identification, which they are happy to use to the present day."(
1)
A Further Classification
There are two further divisions amongst the clans: those with a chief
and those without. Those without are called armigerous clans.
"An armigerous clan refers to 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
recognized as such by Lyon Court."(
2)
Further, "In Scottish heraldry undifferenced arms are only held by
chiefs or heads of clans, families, or names. A clan is considered 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. Because armigerous clans do not have such chiefs, they are not
recognised as noble communities and have no legal standing under
Scots law."(
2)
List of Clans
Click Here
for a list of Clans clans registered with the Lord Lyon Court which defines a
clan or family as a legally recognized group, but does not
differentiate between Families and Clans as it recognizes both terms
as being interchangeable.
The list shows information
on motto, clan chief (or armigerous), and classification of highland or lowland
clan. Some of the clan names have links to more information about
the clan.
Footnotes:
1.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_clans
2.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armigerous_clan
