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In the ‘System of Heraldry’, published in
1722 by Nisbet, the definition of a
clan is this : |
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“A social group consisting of an
aggregate of distinct erected
families actually descended, or
accepting themselves as descended of
a common ancestor, and which has
been received by the Sovereign
through its Supreme Office of
Honour, the
Lord Lyon, as an
honourable community whereof all of
the members on establishing right
to, or receiving fresh grants of,
personal hereditary nobility will be
awarded arms as determinate or
indeterminate
cadets both as may be of
the chief family of the clan.”
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In other words a clan is a family, or group
of families, recognised by the sovereign and
to whom a grant of heraldic Arms has been
awarded by the
Lord Lyon, Scotland’s principal
Officer of Arms.
Heraldry, therefore, has always been of
immense importance in the history of the
Scottish Clans, especially in the 15th and
16th centuries, helping to express and
uphold a chief’s noble standing and the
loyalty of his people, and it continues to
be of deep importance today.
Thus, over the centuries, the
Lyon Register of Scotland has
been tirelessly compiled to make it the most
splendid and comprehensive record of
heraldic Arms in the world.
Although a name may be a
sept
of a larger clan it may well have a Coat of
Arms in its own right. Check our
Surnames List for your own family name.
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