My New Brogues for Highland Evening Wear

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

David,

The inquiry would prove to be redundant as it would illicit the same response as you have already posted!

As David has rightly pointed out, armigers have options regarding the wearing of crest badges that are not available to the average clanfolk: The option is to wear the badge of your chief, or your own badge.

Speaking only for myself-- the rest of you may do as you please-- if I am representing my Chief, I wear the strap and buckle with full feathers. Otherwise I wear my crest (which is different than my Chief's) within a circlet and, if the situation warrants it, with full feathers. If I'm not wearing full feathers then I stick a sprig of holly behind my bonnet badge.

Now all of this is really rather a moot point because, quite honestly, I only wear a bonnet when I absolutely have to-- I prefer a Panama in the sun, especially in North America.

[davidlpope]

David,

The inquiry would prove to be redundant as it would illicit the same response as you have already posted posted!

As David has rightly pointed out, armigers have options regarding the wearing of crest badges that are not available to the average clanfolk: The option is to wear the badge of your chief, or your own badge.

Speaking only for myself-- the rest of you may do as you please-- if I am representing my Chief, I wear the strap and buckle with full feathers. Otherwise I wear my crest (which is different than my Chief's) within a circlet and, if the situation warrants it, with full feathers. If I'm not wearing full feathers then I stick a sprig of holly behind my bonnet badge.

Now all of this is really rather a moot point because, quite honestly, I only wear a bonnet when I absolutely have to-- I prefer a Panama in the sun, especially in North America.

Scott,

Wow. I'm surprised to be correct..Thanks for clearing this up.

David

[creagdhubh]

It sounds very impressive, Kyle.

I was just wondering why you intend to wear an eagle's feather in your Clan Macpherson badge. The single eagle feather is normally worn by a Scottish armiger, that is to say someone who has had arms granted or matriculated by the Lord Lyon.

Your thoughts?

Regards

Chas

Because I am a Scottish Armiger and matriculated arms from the Court of the Lord Lyon about a year and half ago. I petitioned for the arms of a direct male ancestor, provided the legal documentation to the Court oin Edinburgh, paid a hefty price, waited a while, and was eventually granted the arms. That is why I have the privilege of wearing one eagle feather.

[creagdhubh]

I agree with Sandford. It is either one or the other, feather with your own crest or the clansman's badge.

This page from the Court of the Lord Lyon refers:

http://www.lyon-court.com/lordlyon/242.html

Regards

Chas

I wear the Clan Macpherson clansman's badge. My ancestor's (who lived during the 19th-century) crest is based on the crest of the Chief of the Clan Macpherson, but is not exact, though in some cases for other armigers, it may come pretty close. The current position of the Scottish Wildcat, which is the totem and crest of Cluny Macpherson and the Clan Macpherson, is seated with one glove (arm and paw) raised. My ancestor's crest is a Scottish Wildcat-rampant-with one glove holding a dagger. I would love to find a good, Scottish metalsmith to fashion the badge for me, but I have not done so yet, that is why I wear the clansman's badge with one eagle feather-of course I don't wear the feather all of the time-only when I deem it appropriate, suitable, and practical (mainly at games, gatherings, and clan meetings-AGM's-and in Scotland). I hope I clarified my privilege of being armigerous to everyone. I am not breaking any sort of Scottish Law, as I have done the research and have followed the proper procedures to a tee!

[macwilkin]

I wear the Clan Macpherson clansman's badge. My ancestor crest is based on the crest of the Chief of the Clan Macpherson, but is not exact, though in some cases in may come pretty close. The current position of the Scottish Wildcat, which is the totem and crest of Cluny Macpherson and the Clan Macpherson, is seated with one glove raised. My ancestor's crest is a Scottish Wildcat-rampant-with one glove holding a dagger. I would love to find a good, Scottish metalsmith to fashion the badge for me, but I have not done so yet, that is why I wear the clansman's badge with one eagle feather-of course I don't wear the feather all of the time-only when I deem appropriate, suitable, and practical. I hope I clarified my privilege of being armigerous to everyone. I am not breaking any sort of Scottish Law, as I haev done the research and have followed the proper procedures to a tee!

Contact our own Skretaw here on Xmarks -- he knows of a good metalsmith that made his badge.

T.

[creagdhubh]

I believe Kyle is armigerous, Chas. I'm not so sure about wearing a feather with his chief's crest badge, though. I would suggest he acquire his personal crest badge. His clan is obvious from his tartan.

Yes, I do realize that I may wear my own crest (actually my ancestor's that has been granted to me by the Lyon Court for wearing and use, yet with slight alterations in order to make it distinctly my own), however I have not commissioned anyone to produce one yet. I understand that it is just a circlet and not a belt and buckle.

There are two other armigers (that I personally know of) within the Clan Macpherson that do not have their own badges-they simply wear the Clan Macpherson badge approved by Cluny. Our Chief, Cluny, as approved this. He personally knows the armigers of his clan and the Clan Macpherson Association and not all have their own badge, depicting their personal crest, or an ancestor's crest. Rest assure, it is okay, in accordance with my Chief, that I wear the Clan Macpherson badge with my entitled eagle feather. Now I coul certainly have my badge made with the circlet and one metal eagle feather as well, which is quite interesting. Below is an excerpt for the application of matriculation of existing arms, as in my case, the arms of my ancestor:

Applying for a Matriculation off Existing Arms

Arms are heritable property, and on the original owner’s death they descend in terms of the
destination, but usually to his eldest son, and in turn to his eldest son, and so on for ever. A
younger brother may inherit his father’s Arms if the elder brother dies first and leaves no
heirs of his own. Otherwise younger sons and their descendants inherit a right to apply for a
Matriculation of their ancestral Arms with a small mark of difference added appropriate to
their place in the family.

A descendant applying for Arms is called “the Petitioner”, and he should submit a formal
Petition to the Lord Lyon King of Arms drawn up as in the fictitious SPECIMEN on page 6.
In it he should set out his descent from the ancestor who had recorded Arms and ask for the
Arms to be “matriculated” in his own name with a suitable mark of difference.
At the top the Petitioner should state his Christian names in full and his surname, followed by
any rank, decorations, academic qualifications and honours, profession or occupation, and
“residing at” followed by his address in full. Beneath “HUMBLY SHEWETH” the Petitioner
should set out his ancestry back to the ancestor who had recorded Arms. This should be done
in numbered paragraphs, one to each generation, in the way explained on page 3 of this leaflet
and shown in the SPECIMEN. Proof of each fact stated is required in the same way as on
page 3 and accompanied by a “SCHEDULE OF PROOFS” as shown on page 10. Beneath
the last paragraph of the ancestry, in a separate paragraph (No. 4 in the Petition), the
Petitioner should set out the record of his ancestor’s Arms in the Public Register of All Arms
and Bearings in Scotland in the way shown. Finally he should formally state his wish in the
wording shown in paragraph 5 of the Petition, and repeat this wish in the formal Prayer at the
end in the wording shown opposite.

The completed Petition should then be signed and dated and sent with its accompanying
Certificates of Birth and Marriage and the “SCHEDULE OF PROOFS” (see pages 3 and 10)
to the Lyon Clerk at the Court of the Lord Lyon. While the Arms will resemble the
ancestor’s, the Crest and Motto can vary considerably from the ancestor’s, perhaps reflecting
the Petitioner’s own occupation and outlook on life. The Lord Lyon will welcome the
Petitioner’s own views, and will discuss them with the Petitioner.
When these matters have been agreed, the Petitioner will receive for his approval a draft text
for his Matriculation of Arms document, which is his title deed to the Arms, and a note of the
fees due at this point.

Once the draft text has been approved and the fees paid by the Petitioner, the Lyon Clerk will
in due course send him his Extract of Matriculation. A copy of the Arms and the text of the
document is placed on record in name of the Petitioner in the Public Register of All Arms and
Bearings in Scotland, and the process is complete.

The following information can be found on the official website of the Court of the Lord Lyon:

Armigers

A person who has registered his or her own coat of Arms and Crest, or inherited these according to the Laws of Arms in Scotland from an ancestor who had recorded them in the Lyon Register, may wear their own Crest as a badge:

either on its Wreath, Crest Coronet or Chapeau,
or, as is more usual, within a plain circlet inscribed with his Motto.
An armiger may also choose to wear instead the Crest badge of his Chief if the armiger is a clansman. An armiger is entitled to one silver eagle's feather behind the plain circlet, and if he is also a Peer he may add his appropriate coronet of rank on top of the circlet.

http://www.lyon-court.com/lordlyon/242.html

Slainte,

[JSFMACLJR]

I wear the Clan Macpherson clansman's badge. My ancestor's (from the 19th-century) crest is based on the crest of the Chief of the Clan Macpherson, but is not exact, though in some cases for armigers, it may come pretty close. The current position of the Scottish Wildcat, which is the totem and crest of Cluny Macpherson and the Clan Macpherson, is seated with one glove (arm and paw) raised. My ancestor's crest is a Scottish Wildcat-rampant-with one glove holding a dagger. I would love to find a good, Scottish metalsmith to fashion the badge for me, but I have not done so yet, that is why I wear the clansman's badge with one eagle feather-of course I don't wear the feather all of the time-only when I deem it appropriate, suitable, and practical (mainly at games, gatherings, and clan meetings-AGM's-and in Scotland). I hope I clarified my privilege of being armigerous to everyone. I am not breaking any sort of Scottish Law, as I have done the research and have followed the proper procedures to a tee!

There are certainly lots of excellent Scottish--and American--silversmiths who can make your crest badge. Mine was made in the US by Michael McRae of Scotia Metalworks ( http://www.scotiametalwork.com/index.html ). One of the best in Scotland is Roddy Young, in Inverness ( http://www.clancrestsilver.com/ ).

[JSFMACLJR]

Contact our own Skretaw here on Xmarks -- he knows of a good metalsmith that made his badge.

T.

Roddy Young ( http://www.clancrestsilver.com/

[creagdhubh]

For what it's worth, it has been my experience, and that of other gentlemen on this forum, that when one wears a dirk with formal Highland attire the dirk belt is worn over, not under, the waistcoat. This allows one to easily remove the dirk without having to fiddle with their waistcoat, etc.

If you are wearing pumps with your evening attire, you may wish to have your local cobbler fit a bit of moleskin at the inside of the heel to keep the shoes from slipping off your feet when dancing. It is precisely because pumps tend to slip at the heel that the top strap was added to dress Highland shoes in the first place.

Do post pictures when you get a chance.

Thanks for the advice regarding the pumps! I was wondering how badly they might slip whilst wearing hose! I have seen many images of Highlanders wearing a dirk, yet no belt can be seen, yet obviously there bust be a belt present in order to affix the dirk to the waist. The obvious conclusion is that it is worn underneath the waistcoat, then the dirk is positioned in front of the doublet giving the effect that it is "just there" almost held in suspension. I like this kind of look better than having the belt worn over the waistcoat. The latter looks a wee bit sloppy and unkept to me, though I realize that it has been done frequently through the centuries. Is this a correct interpretation of the Macleay portrait below?

[creagdhubh]

There are certainly lots of excellent Scottish--and American--silversmiths who can make your crest badge. Mine was made in the US by Michael McRae of Scotia Metalworks ( http://www.scotiametalwork.com/index.html ). One of the best in Scotland is Roddy Young, in Inverness ( http://www.clancrestsilver.com/ ).

AWESOME!!! Thank you!