The whole idea of clans and chiefs is very foreign to an American, like myself. But the concept apparently had a lot of value in feudal times. Related persons working together with a recognized leader could accomplish more than a disorganized group. A King could in turn control these groups by "officially" recognizing them and their leader.
This is where we get to the confusing part. Say I get together with a group of like-minded people and they choose me to be their leader and we all agree to call me the Grand Poohbah. Nope. That does not work. The right to be called a "Clan" or a clan "Chief" can only be bestowed by your Sovereign. [Didn't we win this argument in 1776?]
To quote from the Court of the Lord Lyon [more on this guy later] ... "The best definition of a clan .... is contained in Nisbet's "System of Heraldry", published in 1722: 'A social group consisting of an aggregate of distinct erected families actually descended, or accepting themselves as descendants of a common ancestor, and which has been received by the Sovereign through its Supreme Officer of Honour, the Lord Lyon, as an honourable community whereof all of the members on establishing right to, or receiving fresh grants of, personal hereditary nobility will be awarded arms as determinate or indeterminate cadets both as may be of the chief family of the clan.' A clan is therefore a community which is both distinguished by heraldry and recognised by the Sovereign. At the head of this honourable community is the chief."
The Court of the Lord Lyon is part of the Office of the Crown and has been in existence since the 1600s. This was undoubtedly the English continuation of the Seanchaí (sennachie) system used by the Scots in prior centuries. Sennachies were appointed by their clan chiefs to record genealogical, legal, and other historical matters. However, the purview of the current Lord Lyon is strictly heraldic, meaning that they are the only source for granting a "Coat of Arms." By Scottish law, if a clan is not distinguished by heraldry (Coat of Arms) and recognized by the sovereign (via the Court of Lord Lyon), then the clan chief, and hence his clan, have no official recognition.
Of most importance to genealogists, is that these sennachies and heraldic officers have accumulated genealogies for many of the lines of nobility including cadet branches. The Scottish nobility practiced primogeniture...the oldest son inherited everything. The younger sons, should they manage to acquire lands and power through other means (marriage, inheritance, hard work?, luck?), were referred to as cadets.
The Craignish line is a cadet branch of the main Campbell line of Argyll. It split off very early in Campbell history, about 1150. Its descendants are pretty well documented. (see Manuscript History of Craignish by Herbert Campbell) My line appears to have branched off rather late (~1600) which is within historical times where making a documented connection is not unrealistic.
I leave you with a link to an illegible graphic of the cadet branches of the Campbell tree which have Coats of Arms. It is impossible to read, but one gets the message that there are a lot.
More on Craignish in a future blog.
