HRH at Greenville Games

[AcuteEnigma]

For purely organizational reasons all of the "feathered chappies" from up on the stage were asked to flock together so that they could be easily located, if needed.

As I recall the "big tent" was Clan Sinclair, whose chief, the Earl of Caithness, was honoured chief of the games. The next tent was Clan Boyle then Clan MacMillan. Boyle had more "vacant space" than either of it's neighbors, so Way of Plean and Squire of Rubislaw (both members of clan MacMillan by bonds of manrent) along with Harden of Cowdenknowes, pitched up there, while my wife and I took shelter from the sun with "oor ain folks" in the MacMillan tent next door (if tents can be considered to have doors ).

Ah, I see. I just assumed it was something liquid the Lady of the Tent was serving.

;-)

It was very cool to have them all next to us!

Thank you for your definitions too. You have cleared up several questions I had but may I ask one more? There are people who have arms created. They have traced their ancestry back to Scotland and then arms are created for those ancestors and now the current person gets arms after paying certain fees. Is this person now considered nobility?

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

Thank you for your definitions. You have cleared up several questions I had but may I ask one more? There are people who have arms created. They have traced their ancestry back to Scotland and then arms are created for those ancestors and now the current person gets arms after paying certain fees. Is this person now considered nobility?

Addressing the preamble to your question-- persons who live outside of Scotland, and who are of Scottish descent, may, if they meet certain criteria set forth by the Court of the Lord Lyon, apply for and receive a grant of arms in respect of their Scottish ancestry. Because the process of granting arms is fairly complicated, the government has set a schedule of statutory fees which must be paid to off-set (at least in part) the cost of the process. In this respect the fees assessed are similar in character to the fees associated with a building permit-- they cover the actual cost of inspecting the proof that the applicant has complied with the relevant regulations.

That said, the short answer to your question is a qualified "yes", although the understanding and recognition of nobility varies considerably from place to place and from time to time, even within Great Britain.

The universally accepted minimum "standard" of nobility is a coat of arms; that is the shield with its heraldic devices, a helmet-- which in some countries may denote rank-- and a crest. So, in purely legalistic terms, anyone possessing a full achievement of arms (shield, helmet and crest) can, and should be regarded as "noble", provided that their arms are either granted or confirmed by a sovereign power. The mere adopting of arms by an individual does not, in any way, enoble.

In much of the English speaking world there is an assumption that only people with titles are noble. This is of course wrong-- No one would doubt that Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, is noble. However, neither of her children have titles. Are they somehow "not noble" even though they are eligible to inherit the throne of their Grandmother, the Queen? (They rank 10th and 11th in the line of succession.) No, they are not. They each bear the Royal Arms quartered with those of their father, Mark Phillips, along with the helmet appropriate to their rank and a crest. Clearly they are noble.

The same would apply to Mr. McTavish, or any other armiger-- by virtue of their arms they are noble. A title is merely an additiment to nobility, not its foundation.

[AcuteEnigma]

Thank you Mr. MacMillan of Rathdown.

I wish I had met you in person at the Greenville games.