Clans, Families, Clan Badges, Family Crests
FAQ Series
Why doesn't my family have a tartan or clan badge? First
let's work on the one of the common confusions, and believe me many people are
confused about this, so you are not alone. A Clan by it's definition is a
group of families, much like the Indian tribes of North America. These
families form a group or Clan for many reasons. The basic reason is the
"strength in numbers" fact of life. When the group of families from the other
glenn are hungry, your cattle and sheep start looking pretty good.
Hence how the Clans were formed. By simple geography. Many family names
are affiliated with several Clans because parts of the family lived in more than
one area.
The Clan Badge , a Scottish symbol only, is a round symbol made of a belt
surrounding the emblem of the clan, represents the clan, not the family. A
family crest or shield is associated with a specific family and looks like a
knights shield with adornments around it. There are many books on heraldry and
there is a complete discipline that incorporates heraldry.
So why doesn't my family have a tartan? Or why is there a tartan , and I
can not find a tie or scarf made out of it? The very concept of the tartan
is to affiliate people together. The clan tartan , remember "a group of
families", is there so that you know who else is on your side when your
out defending your sheep from the other clan. It is for all it's other reasons
to exist , is first and foremost a " battle garment" . It is a uniform that
identifies the members of your clan. I know that's not very PC of me to
say, but the kilts history and that is what we are really talking about when we
say plaid or tartan, is that of a military garment. Please see my
FAQ on the History of the Kilt.
What tartan should I wear? If someone was nice enough to
create a family tartan for you and you have a clan tartan that your family is
affiliated with then you have choices to make. Now this is good
thing, choices are always better than no choices. However there is always the
old saying " you can't pick your parents" , well you "can't pick your tartan
either" . The tartan your family or clan has, is yours , like
it or not. Now there are exceptions. See my FAQ on
Choosing a Tartan. But the point here is which choice
between family or clan tartan. The Scots have been a Clan based society and the
reason for wearing like tartans. I have my thoughts on this, but I want to make
it very clear that, It is simply the way I feel about it, not any rule that is
written down in the big book of tartan stuff. I wear my tartan to show my
history, I am very proud of my Scottish history and I wear the plaid to show my
appreciation for what my forefathers went through to get our family to
where its at today. So my first thoughts are to my larger affiliation,
to the Clan as this is the most recognized plaid and it affiliates me with the
larger group the clan.
So my first choice and suggestion for our customers is to wear your
clan tartan. When your at Highland Games you will be more often recognized
by other members of your clan that way. If you wear your family tartan, very few
will know who you are really affiliated with, other than members of your own
family that wear your tartan. If you can afford to own both , then my
suggestion is to wear your family tartan to family functions and your clan
tartan to everything else. Most people seemingly feel this way and the
reason that clan tartans are more commonly available than many family tartans.
