joining the clan

[macwilkin]

Now there you go. The very article you point to confirms that the Lord Lyon acknowledges the EXISTANCE of a clan with no chief.
"On May 16, 1989 Malcolm R. Innes of Edingight, CVO, WS Lord Lyon King of Arms Scotland, confirmed the right for Clan Young to have a Crest Badge for all members of Clan Young...."

Of course, the $64,000 question is the status of the Buchanan chiefship with the Lyon Court -- at present, the chiefship of Clan Buchanan is dormant, and to my knowledge, no commander has been appointed by the Lyon Court.

That being said, the Buchanan Society does have a fairly long history, being one of the first clan societies established in 1725, as I mentioned before.

I'm sure Rathdown or Sketraw could add to this discussion.

Regards,

Todd

[jordanjm]

If there is no chief, there is no clan.

I belong to Clan MacGillivray, which currently has no chief.

[macwilkin]

I belong to Clan MacGillivray, which currently has no chief.

Information:

http://www.mcgillivray.us/chiefshipintro.html

Regards,

Todd

[BEEDEE]

If there is no chief, there is no clan.

Not strictly true. Clan MacRae has not had a Chief for many years but still exisits. There was an attempt about 40 or so years ago by one of the branches to claim the Chieftain but it did not pass the Lord Lyons Court.

Brian

[gilmore]

Not strictly true. Clan MacRae has not had a Chief for many years but still exisits. There was an attempt about 40 or so years ago by one of the branches to claim the Chieftain but it did not pass the Lord Lyons Court.

Brian

Take a look at the list of clans here and the information just above it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_clan

[AcuteEnigma]

Take a look at the list of clans here and the information just above it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scottish_clan

And the counterpart:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armigerous_clan

[AcuteEnigma]

If there is no chief, there is no clan.

How can you say such nonsense?

?????

Wow. This really makes me angry.

[insert cuss words here]

[Bugbear]

so many people have posted that there are no kilt police and i know this. but i guess im just not that type of girl (im more of the large hairy Y chromosome girl) and those people where told if it means that much to them then write a letter to the clan chief asking for permission to wear the tartan. so how do i go about swearing loyalty to a clan without a chieftain

Look, I have Gilmore's voice in my head saying things every time joining a clan comes up, so "ya what he said."

Perhaps you could consider a clan change if this is something you feel you must do. I just saw something about the procedure in another thread.
Good luck.

[gilmore]

To me, clans are interesting relics of centuries ago. The clan system was a viable way of life, a real, living entity, at one time, but that was a very long time ago. We may be descendants of those people, but we can never live like they did, and being "in a clan" can never be the same thing to us that it was to them.

In other words, I wouldn't worry about it.

[DamnthePants]

Please forgive me, I base my opinion off only one book I read on the subject, and naturaly with out more sources it can be construed as bias, but this answer on the subject is one that I have come to agree with:

It is a some what romantacized idea that in the highlands, the various clans would be able to identify eachother strickly by the pattern of thier tartan. It is equaly as romantacized that an entier clan would prescribe it self to one set ( or sets) of pattern. Often times you just had to wear what ever could be taylored.

Now, if you were the lord of a Castle, and just happend to be a Campbell, and you had an eye for a certian blue green tartan pattern, it was well within your economic scope to say "I want this pattern to be the official pattern of my castle". and it could be done. So if you worked for him, then you could be issued the Campbell pattern in what ever garment was worn.

Over time the patterns became known as the Campbell Tartan, and then though the years it somehow gets tied to the Campbell clain, and then somehow the idea of every Campbell wore this specific tartan color grew, and thats thats.

The further back you go in history the less importent wearing a specific type of pattern becomes.


Again this is just my interpretation.

To Summise, as long as you know the name of the tartan should anyone ask, and it matches your shirt, everything is kosher.