The most ridiculous.......

[kiltedsawyer]

What is the most ridiculous myth / mis-information you have heard about kilts, highlanders, Scottish history, clans, clan crests, heraldry, etc? Perhaps we could put them all in one thread for newbies to read and thus help to dispel said myths.

Respectfully,
David

[Jock Scot]

Great idea and this could be interesting too.

[ForresterModern]

First one is easy---just about anything factual in the movie " Braveheart" except for the names of William Wallace, Robert The Bruce, and Longshanks.

[cessna152towser]

This could be rather fun. A lot of Scottish clan history is steeped in myth, legend and possibilities. The recognised "bible" on the subject, the Scottish Clan and Family Encyclopaedia by George Way of Plean and Romilly Squire, contains a lot of good factual information about current clan and heraldry matters, but its clans and families section makes use of phrases such as "seems to be", "may have been", and "charming legend", when describing some of the historical background. I don't believe we can ever dispel the myths, and would we really want to, many of them make great stories of romance and heroism and glorify the clans. What we can do though is dispel the mis-information of which there is a lot out there.

[haukehaien]

Start with the most obvious for a kilt site; the myth that the tartans are ancient, dating back to Roman times at least, and every clan had their own and used it as the primary way to tell who was who. Subvariations on this would include the various legal penalties for wearing a tartan not of your clan, the symbolism of colors in a tartan (e.g., red in a tartan indicates that the founder was illegitimate), and other general silliness about the tartan.

[JolyStNicholas]

I am currently reading two great books at the present: One is::A Concise
History of Scotland by Fitzroy MacClean and the second is SCOTLAND: The
Story of a Nation by Mangus MacNusson.

Both are fantastic books and given me a great deal of new information that I
wasn't aware of, or had been informed of incorrectly. Most of what I am learning I never knew at any level, fact or fable.

I would recommend them both to anyone who enjoys reading history and is a Scot at heart.

[ForresterModern]

I am currently reading two great books at the present: One is::A Concise
History of Scotland by Fitzroy MacClean and the second is SCOTLAND: The
Story of a Nation by Mangus MacNusson.

Both are fantastic books and given me a great deal of new information that I
wasn't aware of, or had been informed of incorrectly. Most of what I am learning I never knew at any level, fact or fable.

I would recommend them both to anyone who enjoys reading history and is a Scot at heart.

I finished Magnussons book a few months ago. Great book, as far as I can tell well researched.

[JSFMACLJR]

I am currently reading two great books at the present: One is::A Concise
History of Scotland by Fitzroy MacClean and the second is SCOTLAND: The
Story of a Nation by Mangus MacNusson.

.

Both are excellent books. Sir Fitzroy's name is spelled, BTW, Maclean (of Dunconnel).

[muirkirkca]

I have been told a number of times that if your name prefix is "Mc" it is Irish and if "Mac" it is Scottish. Must have been a lot of settlers from Argyllshire in SW Ontario who didn't know their true ethnicity.

[JSFMACLJR]

I have been told a number of times that if your name prefix is "Mc" it is Irish and if "Mac" it is Scottish. Must have been a lot of settlers from Argyllshire in SW Ontario who didn't know their true ethnicity.

"Mc" and "Mac"...it doesn't matter. Really. My MacLean forebearers left the Isle of Mull, spelling their surname McLean. Two generations later it was MacLean.

The spelling issue is a total fabrication, as far as denoting Scottish heritage. The use is interchangeable, due to notoriously poor spelling abilities! As to how the Irish do it, I just don't know.