Scottish Clans

The Gaelic word "clan" means "children", but it is also used to describe a large group of families, all related to the same ancestors.

The Scottish clans began 800-1,000 years ago in the Highlands of northern Scotland. Each clan might have included several thousand people, and was ruled by a chief. All members of a clan were expected to be loyal to the chef and to each other. Fighting between clans was common, and powerful clans such as the MacDonalds or the Campbells had wide areas of clan territory.

All members of a clan had the same surname, and all wore the same tartan. This is a type of woollen cloth with a pattern of coloured checks, and each clan had its own design. In early Scotland, only Highlanders wore kilts-Lowlanders, as Scots from the south are called, saw them as barbaric. In those days the kilt was just a long piece of thick tartan cloth wrapped around the body and held in place with a belt.

Nowadays, kilts are pert of the national dress of Scotland, and are worn with pride by Highlanders and Lowlanders alike.