Development of the Clan system
The origins of the clan system are hidden behind the smoke-screen of history. In the early middle ages the Scottish society had been built on the usual tribal system, soundly revolving around family relationships. These tribes were mainly geographically defined. In the course of the middle ages this system began to develop into our present day clan system which is, contrary to common misunderstanding, not anymore primarily based on family relationships.
This misunderstanding is mainly caused by the prefix Mac (“son”) that many Scottish tribes/families/clans feature in front of their patronymicum. Thus the name MacDonald means literally: “Son of Donald”. Pretty soon however, the “Mac” came to mean “descendant” in a much wider sense, regardless of generation. But the spreading of the name and the Clan didn’t stop there.
Although it is certainly true that the direct family of the “tribal father” formed the core of the clan, the vast majority of the clansmen existed outside of that core. These were often people who lived on the Clan grounds and/or worked for the Chief, but in practice everybody from however far and wide whose declaration of allegiance to the Chief was accepted by this worthy, were Clan members. These non-family members either adopted the name of the clan, or became part of a “sept” (Clan branch) under their own name. All Clansmen, whether family or not, were expected to support their Chief in all minor and major conflicts, and in practice most Clanspeople even proved more faithful to the clan then to the kings.
Stability in an insecure life
The clan system ensured some stability in the insecure life of the Middle Ages. People knew themselves mutually linked and supported under the rule of the Chief, and not only that: Clans often tended to create bonds with each other. In this situation it was not impossible for an individual to “change clans”, or for a son to join another clan than his father. It was a matter of allegiance to, and acceptance by, the Chief.
Clans never were exclusively defined in a geographical sense: in many areas several clans coexisted, whether peacefully or not. Eventually this system came under pressure because the Clan Chiefs kept dividing the grounds between their male offspring, a disastrous practice when continued over many generations. Eventually the remaining plots became too small to provide for the Chiefs, let alone for the Clans. The result was impoverishment and a lot of fighting between Clans. The central powers in London were quick to jump in and get the clans under control, and after 1745 the ancient Clan system as an active unit of government was finished.
However, the Scottish Clans are far from dead! Although they don’t play their original roles anymore and are without political influence, they are still corporate bodies under Scottish law, and have great attraction for those who want to honor their own “Scottishness” or that of their ancestors. They are instrumental in creating friendship and unity – and we can’t have enough of those!
Orange bordered on account of my Dutch birth and proudly flying the Saltire in honor of our Scottish roots, I make this website for all Fergussons - regardless of name, spelling or origins. It's dedicated to all Scots and all Scottish descendants around the world, meaning that in fact it's dedicated to ourselves!
