The word clan itself derives from the Gaelic clann, meaning ‘children’, and was first used many centuries ago as communities were formed around tribal lands on the islands of the western seaboard, forbidding mountain fastnesses and glens.
The format of clans changed gradually over the years, but at its best the chief and his family held the land on behalf of all, in effect like trustees, and the ordinary clansmen and women believed they had an indissoluble blood relationship with the founder of their clan.
But while a chief held the power of ‘fire and sword’ over his people, an inadequate leader could be deposed and replaced by someone of greater ability.
The concept of clanship is very old, and a more feudal notion of authority gradually crept in.
Pictland, for example, was divided into seven principalities ruled by feudal leaders who were the strongest and most charismatic of their particular groups, while by the sixth century the ‘British’ kingdoms of Strathclyde, Lothian and Celtic Dalriada (Argyll) had emerged and Scotland began to take shape in the time of King Kenneth MacAlpin.
The format of clans changed gradually over the years, but at its best the chief and his family held the land on behalf of all, in effect like trustees, and the ordinary clansmen and women believed they had an indissoluble blood relationship with the founder of their clan.
But while a chief held the power of ‘fire and sword’ over his people, an inadequate leader could be deposed and replaced by someone of greater ability.
The concept of clanship is very old, and a more feudal notion of authority gradually crept in.
Pictland, for example, was divided into seven principalities ruled by feudal leaders who were the strongest and most charismatic of their particular groups, while by the sixth century the ‘British’ kingdoms of Strathclyde, Lothian and Celtic Dalriada (Argyll) had emerged and Scotland began to take shape in the time of King Kenneth MacAlpin.
By the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the clans were more strongly brought under the central control of Scottish monarchs.
Lands were awarded and administered increasingly under royal favour, yet the power of the area clan chiefs was considerable.
For the MacGregors, their west coast heartlands included Loch Lomond, Glen Orchy, Rannoch and Glendochart, while the mighty Clan Donald (MacDonald) and its numerous branches controlled a vast fiefdom that embraced much of both the Western Isles and the West Highlands.
The isles of Mull, Tiree, Coll, Islay and Jura were for long the much fought-over preserves of Clan MacLean, while the MacLeods fiercely defended a vast swathe of territories including the isles of Skye, Harris and Lewis.
Back on the mainland, Clan Sinclair controlled not only far-flung Orkney and Caithness but also, much further south, present-day Midlothian.
Deriving their name from the territory known in Gaelic as Urchard, or Airchartdan, on the shores of Loch Ness in Inverness-shire, Clan Urquhart also held lands in areas including Aberdeenshire, while one of its enduring legacies are the magnificent ruins of Urquhart Castle on the shores of the loch.
The long wars to ensure Scotland’s independence against the expansionist ideas of English monarchs extended the influence of some clans and reduced the lands of others.
Those who supported the great warrior king Robert the Bruce, for example, were awarded the territories of the families of those who had opposed him.
Unique to the clans are their symbols – those of crest badge and plant badge.
Wearing the crest badge – the chief’s heraldic crest encircled with a strap and buckle and containing his heraldic motto – denotes allegiance to the chief.
The plant badge, a sprig of a particular plant such as broom, cranberry, hawthorn or oak, is normally worn in a bonnet behind the crest badge.
The clan system was tragically all but destroyed in the wake of the abortive Jacobite Rising of 1745, when many aspects of the Highland way of life were proscribed, including the wearing of the kilt, and the later ‘clearances’ of people from the land they had held for centuries to make way for sheep.
But through the worldwide clan associations and societies of today, proud heritage and tradition tenaciously survive.