The clan system in Scotland plays a big role in national culture and traditions. The history of the Scottish clans is rooted in the ancient Celtic tribal system. They have existed for many hundreds of years and included the family group, the political system and the means of defending the territory and ensuring survival in harsh conditions and difficult times. Today, Scots around the world are still committed to their clan heritage and are very proud of it. In fact, with the growing interest in genealogy, heritage and history, the clans of Scotland are experiencing a renaissance of their own.
The concept of the clan system
In the simplest case, a clan is an extended family, closely related by kinship ties, different branches of the same family tree, different families connected by a common history. The origins of the clan system are very ancient, historians suggest that itappeared at least a thousand years ago, long before Scotland became a state. The word itself comes from the Scottish Gaelic language and meant "offspring". However, the clans were never required to belong to the same family, related by blood, not always all their members took the surname of the leader. Historically, each of them was led by a head, the one who watched over those under his care, and also made the final decision on any important issues.
Each Scottish clan had a certain territory, often with several castles that periodically changed hands. As the clan grew and prospered, they needed more fertile land to grow food and raise livestock to feed their people, especially during the long and often harsh winters. Because the best land was always already taken by someone else, any clan expansion would require either diplomacy or force of arms. Marriages and unions were often used for this, although violent confrontation was also common. The last major clan battle took place west of Wick in Caithness in 1680 between Campbells and Sinclairs and resulted in over 300 deaths. Deceit, betrayal, and reprisals were also remarkably common in clan history, and feuds continued for centuries. After the defeat of the last king of Scotland, James VII, in 1690, the chiefs of the highland families swore allegiance to William III of Orange. After that, a new stage in their history began.
After the Jacobite risings of the 18th century, the culture of the Scottish clans experienced a periodorganized, authorized destruction. Many were either killed or removed from their historic lands, which were then turned over to Crown supporters. Wearing a plaid and kilt, playing the bagpipes, carrying weapons, speaking Gaelic, and collecting for games were prohibited by law. In many ways this law and the ethnic cleansing it encouraged succeeded in their intentions, after it was repealed 36 years later, the culture of the highlands and clans changed irrevocably.
History of occurrence
The Scottish clan system developed around the 11th and 12th centuries, but signs of its existence date back to the 6th century.
The original clans of Scotland were basically extended family groups, most of whose members were related by blood and descended from a common ancestor.
They also maintained a number of "septs", which were families that had no direct blood ties to the chief, but were absorbed into the larger clan for the benefit, usually of both sides. Often these septs themselves possessed a certain amount of clan power.
Other people sometimes join the clan to show their support, seek protection, or simply stay alive.
In the beginning, clan names were usually tied to certain areas known as "clan territories", they were created in order to bind the inhabitants of the area and protect it from invasion or theft by other groups.
Interesting fact: north of mainland Scotland are the Shetlandand the Orkney Islands. They were part of Norway until the middle of the 15th century, and then they were "donated" to Scotland. They never adopted the clan system or many other traditional Scottish cultural traditions such as kilts or bagpipes. In addition, this type of landscape also played a big role when it came to creating protection for certain areas.
Features of the clan system
Many of the features of the Scottish clans that are now known and celebrated are actually relatively recent reinventions. For example, prior to the rebellion in 1745, members of the clan wore a much larger kilt, the "philamhor" or "great kilt"; it was a long fabric, simultaneously playing the role of a hood, cloak, kilt and blanket. After the law was repealed, it was replaced by a more modern kilt, whose makers began to use more modern and brighter colors than the muted colors previously used. The coats of arms of the Scottish clans have been preserved from the distant past.
The Victorians and Queen Victoria herself did much to encourage the romantic ideal of the highlands, in fact they reinvented the idea of clan to fit the ideas of empire and union. Instead of fighting against the crown, the Scottish regiments were sent across the globe, taking with them their tartans, kilts, trumpets and warrior culture. However, even before the defeat of Pretty Prince Charlie (Karl Edward Steward), Culloden was already undergoing changes in the management of the clan chiefs withtransition to ownership of the land, not to the management of people.
Each individual Scottish clan was closely linked by blood and loy alty, and they tended to develop their own very specific customs, traditions and laws.
Loy alty and devotion are deeply ingrained, and enmity with rival clans has often been passed down from generation to generation-an ill will that refuses to lessen over time.
Destruction of the clan system
Many bloody battles were fought in the clan territories between the highland clans of Scotland and the lowland families or septs.
By the 1800s they were under attack in the form of increasing pressure from the English monarchy and the British government.
In 1746, a Scottish rebellion was put down at the Battle of Culloden and the Scottish clan system was nearly destroyed.
Nevertheless, the Scots, distinguished by their determination and endurance, clung to their traditions and beliefs, and in the 19th century they saw their clans begin to grow in popularity.
Since then, the growing interest in Scottish history and culture has made people all over the world want to know more about their Celtic origins and roots.
In general, the clans have played a huge role in shaping the culture, traditions, attitudes and attitudes of the Scottish people.
Update
Today, the revival of the identity of the clans is largely due to the descendants of those who were expelled from Scotland, orfamilies who followed the Scottish regiments to settle in remote places. For example, all over the world there are Gaelic speakers in Canada, Highlanders in Kuala Lumpur, and many hundreds of thousands of Campbells, MacGregors, MacDonalds and Sainclairs. Popular culture continues to depict clan life or aspects of Scottish Highland clan history, not always with complete accuracy, in films and television such as Highlander, Braveheart, Outlander, Game of Thrones and others.
2009 and 2014 were declared the Years of Homecoming, events were held to encourage Scots around the world to return to their ancestral lands and learn more about their culture. The Internet helps clan members plan events and meetings wherever they are. Although the Scottish clans have changed over the years, there has been a strong surge of interest and the culture's future looks bright.
How the clan system works
When people think of family, they tend to think of blood relatives, but of course there are relatives by marriage and close friends who are often considered family. The clans were organized in a similar way, each of them was headed by a leader, and his family usually lived in their family castle.
Interaction
Each clan had its own fiercely guarded territory or land and was ruled by a powerful chief who controlled almost every aspect of daily life.
But historically this structure is something muchmore than family groups, for for centuries this has been the main political system in Scotland. Membership passes through the male line (patriarchal).
The clan is centered around the man's last name, so as soon as a woman marries, she becomes part of her husband's clan, while the rest of her birth family remains members of her father's clan.
In addition, it is not uncommon for a chief's children to be raised by a maternal uncle and his family in another clan.
Both of these practices helped build bonds between families that paid off in times of trouble or attack. Accordingly, when united by the clan to protect land, livestock and other resources, their strength and numbers increased.
Scottish kilt and tartan
Today, Scottish tartan is closely tied to the clan system, but this has not always been the case.
Tartan comes in an almost endless variety of colors and patterns (although they all have intertwined horizontal and vertical lines). There are five hundred different designs of tartan created over the centuries.
Each clan has at least one tartan that is unique and only used by them, for them, but many also have several different tartan designs. Clans Donald, Stewart and Macfarlane are a prime example of this.
The earliest fabrics were often one or two colors, and the relationship between color, fabric, and design had more to do with the natural resources of a particular region and the craftsmanship of local weavers than anything else.
The relationship between a particular tartan and a particular clan began in the late 1700s when it became accepted as a symbol of the clan, and wearing one's own "clan tartan" became a matter of pride.
The kilts themselves were seen as early as the 1500s as a form of dress for the highlands, although they differed significantly from today's version.
Modern history
Scotland has a population of around 5,295,000 (approximate figure from the official 2011 census), but there are huge numbers of people around the world who have Scottish ancestors, anywhere from 45 million to 85 million!
Today the clan is a legally recognized group in Scotland and it legally has a "corporate identity" (just like a business or company).
This is a "noble association" because clan chiefs are considered nobles in Scotland, and this leads to the clan being officially referred to as the "Honored Clan…".
According to Scottish law, it is recognized as the hereditary property of the chief, who legally owns it and is responsible for its management and development.
Although some Scottish surnames are traditionally associated with certain clans, the "correct" name alone does not guarantee membership. Despite the difficulty in figuring out exactly who the Scottish ancestors were and what clan they belonged to, in fact today anyone with the surname of the chiefs is considered a member of the clan.
Even if such a person does not have a "correct" name, if heswears allegiance to the leader, then he can be considered a member of his clan.
However, in both of these situations, only the head can decide whether he accepts a new member or not.
Origins of some famous clans in Scotland
There are more than one hundred and seventy in total. Each of them has its own story, its own origin.
One of the famous is the Leslie clan. The surname comes from the lands in Aberdeenshire of the same name. She is quite famous in Germany, Poland, France. A Hungarian nobleman named Bartholomew arrived in the retinue of Agatha, the wife of Edward the Exile. He later married Malcolm III's sister, Princess Beatrix of Scotland, after which the King appointed him Governor of Edinburgh Castle.
Sir Andrew de Leslie was one of those who signed the letter sent to the Pope in 1320 about the Declaration of Arbroath, which asserted the independence of Scotland.
The lands of the Lamont clan were in the mountains. Its founder is Laumann, who lived in Kavala in 1238. Tradition ascribes descent from an Irish prince named Anrothan O'Neill to him. Clan Lamont, like several others such as MacEwen of Otter, MacLachlan, MacNeill of Barra and McSweene, claim descent from Anrothan O'Neill, who left Ireland for Kintyre in the 11th century.
The clan's darkest era dates back to the mid-17th century, when about a hundred of its members were killed at Dunoon in 1646 by their powerful neighbors, the Campbells. The clan did not take part in the Jacobite uprisings. In the XIX century, the leader of the clan emigrated to Australia, where the currentchapter. Today it represents the Clan Lamont Society, which was formed in 1895. It meets once a year and accepts membership from anyone bearing the family's surname or any of its associated names.
Clan MacAllister is a branch of Clan Donald and is descended from Alasdair Mor, son of Domhnall mac Ragnaill, who was the grandson of Somerled. Somerled is considered the father of the Macalisters, MacDonalds and MacDougalls. Gaelic tradition has given Somerled a male-line Celtic ancestry, although recent DNA testing has shown that Somerled may have been of Norse descent.
Clan Mackenzie from Scotland is believed to be of Celtic origin, it is not among the families that descended from Norman ancestors. They are believed to be related to Clan Matheson and Clan Anrias, all three descended from Gillein Aird in the 12th century. Founded originally in Kintail, the clan lived in Eilean Donan, a stronghold with which it has been associated for many centuries. MacRae has traditionally been Constable Eilean Donan for generations. Because of this, the MacRae clan became known as the "Mail Mackenzies". They also had strongholds at Kilkoy and Brachan castles.
The Scottish clan MacGregor, or Gregor, also lived in the highlands. It was outlawed for nearly two hundred years due to a long power struggle with the Campbells. He is believed to be descended from Constantine, his wife and cousin Malvina, first son of Dungalla and wife of Spontana (daughter of the High King of Ireland) and grandson of Giric, third son of Alpin Mac Echdah, fatherKenneth McAlpin, first king of Scotland.
Also famous names are Anderson, Barclay, Boyd, Cameron, Campbell, Eliott, Fergusson, Hamilton, Kirkpatrick, McIntosh, Malcolm, Stuart and others. The last king of Scotland, James VII, was a Stuart by birth.
