A Modern Scottish View of Clans (and Gathering)

[macwilkin]

I’m afraid I seem to be rather good at that and really must try to be more considerate of the sincerely held beliefs and aspirations of others when it comes to clans, heraldry and other matters Scottish.
In mitigation I would only say that I, and I believe a substantial majority of fellow Scots, have no connection with any so-called “clan” other than an awareness of their existence as historical entities which no longer exist in any meaningful way or with any significance whatsoever to society in the 21st century. The days are not so far off when Scottish people were feudally bound to landowners as vassals and such bondsmen as miners only had this hereditary serfdom lifted in the 19th century. In fact, feudalism generally in Scotland was only abolished as recently as 1974 and I, myself, was a vassal under this system, paying feu duty to a feudal superior for the pleasure of allowing me to occupy the house I had bought.
While this serfdom may come as a shock to some raised to the “land of the free” they should try to understand how it has shaped and coloured the views of those so recently released from their feudal shackles. In particular towards those who would still seek to “lord it” over their fellow man, who live by the trappings of feudal privilege such as lords, chiefs etc., and those who try to exercise a supposed superiority by the use of arcane mediaeval flummery. There was never really anything romantic about the clan system which only existed to perpetuate the privileges of a very few land-owning individuals by holding their many clansmen in abject servitude purely for their own selfish ends. And when these ends no longer required clansmen to till their fields, tend their cattle and spill their blood on their behalf they had little compunction in dispensing with them, frequently in the cruellest ways imaginable. This is how so many found themselves dispossessed, homeless and shipped off to the far corners of the world to face an unknown and uncertain future. It says much for their hard work and determination that they survived in such hostile places and that their descendants survive to this day. It says nothing for the clan system, however, and for those privileged chiefs and other landowners who cast them aside without a further thought. You may, perhaps, understand why I completely fail to understand how anyone would wish to perpetuate something that so completely failed its adherents in the past and has nothing to offer but a simplistic romanticism nowadays.
By all means join clan societies but do so in the knowledge of what they truly represent. That is all I ask.

Have you ever considered Phil, that many people of Scottish heritage join clan (and other Scottish) societies not to celebrate feudalism and the "real" history of the clan system, but instead (and these are your words) "... their [ancestors] hard work and determination that they survived in such hostile places and that their descendants survive to this day"?

I don't believe I've ever said that the clan system was something "romantic". Any serious student of Scottish history, regardless of their nationality, can certainly tell you that. However, as a trained historian, I'm also very wary of sweeping generalizations brought on by personal opinions and beliefs. Your description of the Scottish clan system could just as easily describe the American South and the romantic "moonlight and magnolias" view that some still hold today, yet history goes much deeper than such generalizations.

Regards,

Todd

[Phil]

Have you ever considered Phil, that many people of Scottish heritage join clan (and other Scottish) societies not to celebrate feudalism and the "real" history of the clan system, but instead (and these are your words) "... their [ancestors] hard work and determination that they survived in such hostile places and that their descendants survive to this day"?

I don't believe I've ever said that the clan system was something "romantic". Any serious student of Scottish history, regardless of their nationality, can certainly tell you that. However, as a trained historian, I'm also very wary of sweeping generalizations brought on by personal opinions and beliefs. Your description of the Scottish clan system could just as easily describe the American South and the romantic "moonlight and magnolias" view that some still hold today, yet history goes much deeper than such generalizations.

Regards,

Todd

Thanks for commenting on my post, Todd.
I did not, of course, say that you held the view that the clan system was something romantic, rather that the whole concept conveyed a notion of romanticism. Whether or not you subscribe to that is, of course, a personal view, coloured by the depth of knowledge of the subject. Your example of the American South is obviously a similar phenomenon and, while I am unaware of this myself, from what you write I imagine it to be something where opinions are similarly polarised. And, of course, history does go much deeper than such generalisations so that it is only by seeking the truth that one can approach the true picture. In all of this, however, we must also be conscious of the axiom that history is written by the victors and the whole truth is not always presented as a result so that inconvenient truths can be suppressed.

[macwilkin]

Thanks for commenting on my post, Todd.
I did not, of course, say that you held the view that the clan system was something romantic, rather that the whole concept conveyed a notion of romanticism. Whether or not you subscribe to that is, of course, a personal view, coloured by the depth of knowledge of the subject. Your example of the American South is obviously a similar phenomenon and, while I am unaware of this myself, from what you write I imagine it to be something where opinions are similarly polarised. And, of course, history does go much deeper than such generalisations so that it is only by seeking the truth that one can approach the true picture. In all of this, however, we must also be conscious of the axiom that history is written by the victors and the whole truth is not always presented as a result so that inconvenient truths can be suppressed.

Phil,

Romanticism and mythology aren't necessarily always bad. I frequently use them as a teaching tool to get at the "real" history behind such myths. However, I do not advocate throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Todd

[Deil the Yin]

Your description of the Scottish clan system could just as easily describe the American South and the romantic "moonlight and magnolias" view that some still hold today...
Todd

I heard that!