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The Clan System
One of a series of seven
articles by Brian Wilton reproduced here by kind permission of the House of
Edgar, Perth.
'Clan' is the Gaelic for 'family' and clans belonged to the
Highlands. In simple terms, clan society evolved from the earlier Celtic tribal
society. Each clan had its own land-owning chief who leased it out to 'tacksmen'
who then rented it to the tenant farmers within the clan. In return for this and
the protection afforded by the Chief, the clansmen would pledge their allegiance
and when called upon, would turn out to fight in the Chief's private army.
A very early observer of the Celts, the famous Greek geographer Strabo (circa
50BC - 24AD) wrote of them "The whole race which is now called Celtic or
Gallic is madly fond of war, high spirited and quick to battle but otherwise
straightforward and not of evil character. And so when they are stirred up they
assemble in their bands for battle, quite openly and without forethought; so
that they are easily handled by those who desire to outwit
them."
They were said to be brave and impetuous in attack but became
demoralised quickly by failure and often suffered defeat through their own
indiscipline. It's written that even the mere provocation of a drunken insult
was hardly necessary to start a fight, since warfare was one of their major
pastimes, and if they lacked the stimulus of a foreign enemy they were perfectly
content to battle among themselves!
It's no surprise then, that in 80AD
when the Roman general Gnaeus Julius Agricola set out to conquer the Celts in
Britain, the famous Roman chronicler Tacitus commented 'fortune can give no
greater boon than discord among our foes.' With a reported 21
different tribes in Scotland at that time, there was obviously plenty scope for
such internal dissension. Such a genetic legacy was to keep the country in
turmoil for almost two millennia and was the cornerstone of the clan system in
that unique Land of the Celts - the Scottish Highlands. Indeed, so
extensive has been that inherited baggage that many of we modern Celts are still
dragging some of it around with us!
To the Celts, 'the boar
personified the divine spirit of courage, strength and sexual prowess' and
today this emblem can be seen in many clan crests, arms and banners — Campbell,
Chisholm, Ferguson, Gordon, Innes, Lockhart, MacIver, MacKinnon, Nisbet, Rose,
MacKintosh, Swinton, Urquhart and Weir. Historian and prolific author, the late
Ian Grimble talks of one of the strangest examples of the longevity of Celtic
belief and custom which was the cult of the human head. "It is typical"
he said "of the paradoxical behaviour of these combative but sensitive
people that they venerated the human head as the repository of wisdom and
virtue, and yet debased this concept by the practice of head-hunting."
Today's badges for the MacNabs, Menzies and Muirs all feature severed heads and
in many clan atrocities over the years, severed heads are a central feature.
Like the boar, the mare, the cat and even the wolf were also ancient
pagan symbols of superhuman power perpetuated by the Celts. The origins
and early affinities of many of today's clans can be seen in their clan badges:
the dominant clan amongst the Children of the Cat were the Mackintoshes
whose motto is "Touch not the cat bot a glove" (touch not the cat
without a glove) and no less than four other clans share that motto — Chattan,
Gow, MacBain and MacPherson.
It is generally accepted that the structure
of Scottish society - and therefore the clan system - underwent a major change
in the 11th century. The second marriage of King Malcolm III (1058-93) was to
the Saxon Princess Margaret, granddaughter of the English King, Edmund Ironside.
Queen Margaret was a devout Catholic and under her influence at court,
Catholicism burgeoned, the ancient Celtic church was sidelined and the King
adopted southern customs. One of these was English feudalism under which the
land became the property of the King who could then distribute it at his will to
those who supported and protected him. This was diametrically opposed to the
Celtic Patriarchal system under which the land had belonged to the tribes.
The changing distribution of clan names is evidence of the cost of
backing the wrong horse! It could mean that your clan was scattered to the
winds with the victors picking over your land holdings and sharing them out to
their cronies. The poor MacSweens once owned huge tracts of land, north, south
and west of Lochgilphead in Argyll, only to have them confiscated by Robert the
Bruce when they sided with his enemies. Today the main concentrations of
MacSweens are said to be on the tiny island of Scalpay in the Outer Hebrides.
Clan Campbell and Clan Donald both supported Robert the Bruce and were amply
rewarded and those MacSweens who remained in Argyll, became vassals to the
Campbells. Such then was the ebb and flow of clan fortunes which was replicated
throughout the Highlands of Scotland.
When events dispersed clans, and
deportations and enforced clearances scattered clansmen to various corners of
the New World, clanship as such was often replaced with a wider, more fervent
and often melancholic love of their birthplace. Clans put aside their
differences and worked together against the vicissitudes of their adopted - and
often primitive - country. Their values, their enthusiasm, their work
ethic, all helped them thrive and the landscapes of their adopted countries are
liberally sprinkled with names to remind them of their homeland.
Scottish humorist, the late Cliff Hanley, perceptively wrote that when
an émigré Scot reached the three mile territorial limit, his skin turned
tartan! Distance and absence certainly makes the heart grow fonder and has been
responsible over the generations for the establishment around the world of many
hundreds of cultural, social and charitable Scottish organisations: clan and
family associations, Burns Clubs, pipe bands, Caledonian and St. Andrews
Societies, Highland games, Scottish Country dance clubs, re-enactment
societies . . . . a global web of invisible strands of kinship reaching back
through time and space to the beloved 'old country'.
Tartan blood is most certainly thicker than
water!
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