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The
Creation of The Council
The
Council was formed with two primary aims: -
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•
To provide representation to the many “Chiefless” Scottish
Armigerous clans and ancient families
which are not currently
represented by the
Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.
•
To aid "chiefless" clans and
families to obtain official recognition as Clans, through the
election or appointment of a hereditary Chief, by the
Lord Lyon, King of Arms of Scotland. |
What
is a recognised Scottish Clan?
A
recognised Scottish Clan consists of the landed and armigerous families,
their tenants, followers and those who bear the clan surname, or a
connected surname. Each Clan is governed by a hereditary leader or
Chief. Where the last known Chief has died without any known successor,
or the Clan consists of a group of Scottish armigerous families, which
collectively have never been afforded the status of a Clan, it is the
Council’s view that it is the armigers
of each Clan who are charged with obtaining recognition for the Clan.
The armigers are the Clan elite, and after the Chief, are
amongst its leading members. Although the armigers cannot act with the
same authority as a recognised Clan Chief, they receive their authority
from the same source as the Chief. Through a grant or confirmation of
armorial bearings, from the Sovereign’s representative, the Lord Lyon,
King of Arms of Scotland. It is the Council’s belief that it is the duty
of the armigers of each “Chiefless” clan to represent their Clan until
such time as a recognised Chief can be found and recognised by the Lord
Lyon.
Why
should we resurrect dormant Scottish Clans or establish ‘new clans’?
Since
the virtual annihilation of the Scottish Clan System following the
battle of Culloden in 1746, many Highland Clans have since lost their
lands and the Chiefly line has died out. Due to the changes in social
and economic conditions which have prevailed over the last two
centuries, the Chiefly line of many great Scottish lowland and border
families has also died out, leaving them leaderless.
In
addition, many well deserving and ancient Scottish families, due to a
number of reasons, have never had a Chief recognised by the Sovereign,
through the Lord Lyon, King of Arms, and as such, have never been
afforded the status of a Clan. The Council’s view is that certain
Scottish family groups, should be able to petition the Lord Lyon and
obtain the recognition of a hereditary Chief to preside over them.
That
Scottish Clans have a recognised Chief is a matter of inordinate pride
for all Clan members across the globe. To re-establish a Scottish Clan
with a hereditary Chief, through the recognition of the Lord Lyon, King
of Arms of Scotland, has the effect of restoring the Chief, and all
within the clan, to a position of honour within the national and civic
life of Scotland.
Why
is there a need For the Council of Scottish Armigerous Clans and
Families?
To
re-establish a clan where the Chiefly line has died out is an extremely
long and difficult process, often involving many years of hard work and
with little guarantee of success. Clans where the Chiefly line has died
out - so called dormant clans - can be re-established either by tracing
the direct descendant of the last known Chief, or under guidelines
issued by the Lord Lyon, the Clan can form a family convention to elect
a new Chief. Carrying out the genealogical research required to trace
the successor to a dormant chiefship, or finding sufficient numbers of
qualified individuals to sit on a family convention,
is an extremely time consuming, difficult and often costly process. The
Council was established to provide representation; mutual support,
advice and guidance to aid Clans complete, the often arduous process, of
obtaining the recognition of a hereditary Chief.
Where
name groups have never been afforded recognition as a Clan, through the
confirmation of a Chief by the Lord Lyon, the situation is more
challenging. Previous Lyon Court guidelines allowed for new Clans to be
formed. The new Lyon Court guidelines, issued in July 2010, no longer
allow for the creation of new clans. Where member clans have never had a
recognised Chief historically, the Council will continue to make
representations and lobby on behalf of its member Clans, to restore
their rights to petition the Lord Lyon for the recognition of a
hereditary Chief. The Council accepts that in recognising new clans,
certain safeguards must be in place to preserve the dignity of Chiefship.
However, not withstanding these safeguards, the process to obtain Clan
recognition should not be unduly restrictive, as the Council believes
that the recognition of new clans is essential for the continuation of
the Scottish Clan system into the next century.
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