This is a piece by Ross McEwen Esq, LL.M (Dist), FSA Scot, as presented at our gathering and with his permission is published here.
Ross was born in the Scottish Highlands and by profession he is a subject specialist in Freedom Information law and a former University Lecturer. His second career as a sought after speaker functions within Scottish Clan and Family Society, both at home and abroad. He increasingly involves advocating for the health and prosperity of Clan culture in Scotland and overseas, providing advice and support to Clan Chiefs, Societies and the public on matters pertaining to engagement, governance, ceremonial, and heraldry, as well as the role and functions of the Court of the Lord Lyon.
His busy schedule includes speaking at many Clan Gatherings, academic conferences worldwide covering the exciting and vibrant world of Scots Heraldry, history, and Clan culture around the globe, notably the subject of Clan Chiefs, and their legal status in Scotland.
Ross is a senior member of the global leadership of Clan MacEwen, a Member of Council of The Royal Stuart Society, a Trustee of The Heraldry Society of Scotland, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland and Secretary to the Association of Highland Clans & Societies.
Clans and their role, purpose, problems and prizes throughout history is an enormous topic, the legal framework which gives recognition to Clans and more specifically, their Chiefs, is an equally vast, enchanting, interesting and in the view of many, thankfully, important element to Scotland’s story, and while the age of swords and shields may, for the most part, be over, and as odd as it may sound to some, in 2024 we may in fact be living through the most vibrant and exciting chapters for the Scottish Clan space and story so far.
This talk is titled so to look at the present and into the future, however to take a quick pit stop into the past just to fully grasp and appreciate just what we are talking about here, when seeking the establishment of Clans we can go right back to the 10th century latin gospel book, The Book of Deer, or yo-it-yay’d – with its 12th century additions to find evidence there were already Clans and an organised land system in the pre-feudal Scotland of the 11th century. A Clan, a family, was a hybrid institution, a mixture of tribal tradition clustering about the ipso facto landholder of the soil.
Scotland’s Clans and Families were among the principal building blocks of Scottish society, especially the areas of Scotland outside of the Central belt of Glasgow and Edinburgh. Beyond the modern romantic Hollywood image of windswept manicured Highlanders….and equally striking Lowlanders….The Clans and Families of the past wielded considerable influence on the social, economic, and military tales of Scottish history, due in large part to the influence, land, wealth, business interests or…..taste for treachery of any one Chief at any one time, and the size or strength of the families who lived and worked on their land.
Scholars largely credit the emergence of Clans as we recognise them as a product of politics more than ethnicity or origin, and the historic feudal legal landscape recognised Clans and their leadership structures as landlords, at times military commanders, dispensers of local justice and much more. Indeed, Clan members were not all related throughout history, and carried the ‘family name’ of their Chief in some cases as an indication of their employment, who they worked for and where, rather than a mark that they were blood family members of the Chief.
In comparison, today Clan membership is almost entirely centred around an ethnic and genealogical connection, with some Clan societies, regrettably in my view, locking many people out, and going as far as only permitting access TO their Societies if you can provide documents proving you are a DNA / genealogical member of said Clan or can describe what colour the front door was on on your great-great-great granny’s hoose out in the countryside. However given that if one was to go back in history only a couple of centuries, that DNA connection would, as I have briefly detailed, be rather meaningless, membership of a Clan with a Chief was not restrictive then, and as I will allude to in a moment, it need not necessarily be restrictive now. Clan culture here in Scotland, and I am happy to say, most places abroad with Scottish heritage, is an egalitarian structure, and is all the better for being so.
As Frank Adam wrote in his wonderful book ‘The Clans, Septs & Regiments of the Scottish Highlands’, first published in 1908,
“Amongst the social organisations of the world, perhaps none has so captured the public imagination as the Scottish clan system. The reason is not difficult to find, for it has carried down, into the modern world, the great principles of kinship and Inheritance, from which people have elsewhere so often strayed, but to which the human race ever returns for inspiration.”
The idea of a family linked by blood, land, purpose or even, persecution, is as old as time itself, however the Scottish Clan system, which at times has thrived, and at other times barely survived, lives a life today as something which boasts vibrancy, potential, and a global reach.
Today there are approximately 160 Chiefs of Scottish Clans and Families, not all live here in Scotland, not all posses’ vast lands, castles or estates, not all have noble titles which accompany their Chiefly positions, but all have the utmost privilege of being the Chief of their Name and sitting at the epicentre of their Family and their community identity, more on that in a moment.
The Chiefship of a Clan is a living, breathing, walking embodiments of heritage, history, identity, community and in many ways they legitimise all of those aspects too, especially in Scotland where thankfully the Chiefship of a Clan or Family is a social dignity, a legal identity still enabled and empowered in law, recognised by the Crown, in somewhat similar ways to the Office of Federal Acknowledgement which forms part of the United States Government’s recognition of Native Tribal Existence in the US, where currently there are eight live Petitioners for Tribes or Tribal Nations seeking Federal Acknowledgement. In Scotland, the names which are currently (following Carruthers ed.) seeking official recognition via the establishing or re-establishing of their Chiefships via research and possibly subsequent election via acclamation in line with the Lord Lyon 2021 guidance note on include Strachan, MacGillivray, Logan, MacEwen, Baird, MacPhee, Currie, Ewing, and Macalpine, with the families Young and Bell looking to commence and recommence the process before the end of the decade, the Chiefship of MacDonald of Glencoe is also currently in play, and a few more are in the wings.
In Scotland you can link almost any aspect of our historic culture to Clans and families, whether that be land, geography, history, art, music, poetry, sport to some extent, communities etc. The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs, which was formed in the early 1950s and currently has 134 members, provides the most spectacular opportunity to act as a beacon for parties around the world to approach in order to float ideas, seek advice or steer, propose events or activities. Among those 134 members will be a wealth of different experience, networks, professional skills, influence and corporate memory, it is therefore a group which can and should have a seat at the top table in discussions relating to Scottish culture, history, and the future, and protect, promote, preserve and prioritise the integrity of this area of our culture with all their ability.
The support of Chiefs and increasingly, newly appointed Chieftains by Clans such as Cameron, Lamont, Strachan, Urquhart, MacNicol and MacKay, and Commissioners and Officer bearers create and maintain a synergy throughout the Clan’s work and locations around the world, and I am sure I speak with the same mind as those Chiefs present when I say that those individuals who give their time, effort, personal funds and dedication representing their Clan or Family throughout the world fuel the vibrancy and enjoyment that everyone in the culture benefits from and is enriched by.
The Chiefship of Carruthers is something that I, and others in the Clan and Heraldic spaces have studied, to include the 13 and a half pages, 5,915 words across 31 paragraphs of the legal decision. But what the black and white ink and the signature of the present Lord Lyon Joseph Morrow means, what that document has enabled, is the name of Carruthers to be given its rightful place as one of the great names of our land again, and its Clansfolk, Officers, and the Chief, can now get to work to find and forge the best possible future for the name Carruthers, here and overseas.
Part of that best possible future is also for many more Carruthers to Petition the Lord Lyon for their own Coat of Arms, and I would warmly encourage you all to consider Petitioning for Arms, thereby setting themselves among the Clan and the kindred of Carruthers, and you certainly have plenty of expertise available within your leadership to help you and to explain more about that process and the wonderful meaning and fulfilment it can bring.
So, while the legal decision re-establishing the Chiefship of Carruthers is dated 19 August 2019, here on the 24 August 2024, in Annan, not far from the historic lands of Carruthers and during what I understand is the first ever modern gathering of Carruthers members to take place, all of us should and I am sure do, feel fortunate to have witnessed today’s proceedings and we all wish the honourable family of Carruthers, its Chief, its officers, its clans folk near and far, the most successful, bright, enjoyable and meaningful future imaginable, thank you for the invitation to be here and for your hospitality and participate today.
Carruthers thanks Ross for his continued friendship and support throughout our journey to achieve the ultimate goal in having a Chief inaugurated, in our ancestral home of Annandale in front of members of our clan and family both from Scotland and the UK as well as representatives of the Diaspora from Africa, Australasia, Canada, Europe and the United States of America.
Carruthers have now taken their rightful place in Scottish clan and family society and this should be and hopefully will be, celebrated worldwide.
As the DNA Genealogist for the Carruthers, I recognize the incredible value that DNA testing can bring to understanding our family’s history. However, it’s important to emphasize that a direct bloodline is not the only path to belonging in our Clan. In fact, many people may feel disconnected if they don’t have that direct bloodline, but nothing could be further from the truth. As Ross McEwen said… “Not all Clan members were related throughout history and carried the ‘family name’ of their Chief in some cases as an indication of their employment, who they worked for and where, rather than a mark that they were blood family members of a Chief.”
This means that belonging to a Clan isn’t defined only by DNA. For example, some individuals with a DNA bloodline may not carry the family name due to circumstances like adoption, unique family circumstances, or the passage of time. Likewise, others carry the family name through loyalty, work, or close bonds, having been part of the Clan without being biologically related. Then the last group carry both the family name and bloodline. What unites us is our shared commitment to the family, our values, and our connections, whether they are through ancestry, service, or simply the deep sense of belonging we all feel.
In the Clan, family means embracing all who are connected through loyalty, tradition, or shared experiences, not just those connected by blood. Whether you share the family name name by birth, by adoption, by service, or simply by your dedication to the Clan, you are a valued member of this family. Together, we are stronger, united by more than just our genes.
And this is next weeks blog and your piece will be included thank yiu