Clan Lindsay

Clan Chief:            29th Chief, the Earl of Crawford lives in Balcarres in Fife.

Origin of Name:    Derived from placename "Lincoln's Island" in England

Gaelic Name:         MacGhille Fhionntaig

Clan Crest:            A swan rising out of a coronet

Clan Motto:            Endure fort (Endure boldly).

Lands:                     Borders, Angus

The Lindsays are a Clan of distinction, coming to prominence in Scotland during the 11th Century and remaining in an honoured position throughout the nation’s proud history. The Lindsays were a powerful Norman family, coming to England with William the Conqueror after he assumed the English throne. The Lindsays were invited to Scotland by David I, and Sir Walter de Lindesay, noted as "noble and knight", was a close companion of the young King. The Clan soon rose in strength, and Walter’s great grandson, Sir William de Lindesay, the Baron of Luffness, was a member of the 1164 Parliament and held the title of Justiciar of East Lothian. The Clan possessed the lands of Crawford in Lanarkshire, and later acquired Glenesk in Angus through David Lindsay’s marriage to the heiress of the Earldom of Angus in 1340. The Lindsays continued to be an honoured Clan, and by 1256 Sir David Lindsay was the High Chamberlain of Scotland. Sir David later accompanied Louis of France on the Crusade to the Holy Land, where he died in 1268.

Clan Lindsay’s name has always been linked to bold acts of gallantry performed for the sake of Scotland. Sir David’s son Alexander was a steadfast companion of the great William Wallace in his campaigns for the independence of Scotland. This commitment to a free Scotland was shared by Alexander’s son David, who was one of the barons to petition the Pope with the Declaration of Arbroath, asserting their nation’s independence. Another Sir David de Lindsay entered a tournament at London Bridge in 1390, where he soundly defeated Richard II’s English champion. Sir David unhorsed the Englishman, but chose to spare his opponent’s life, an act which earned him the admiration of the English king. In 1398, Sir David was created the Earl of Crawford, later becoming the High Admiral of Scotland and ambassador to England. The Lindsays continued to enjoy royal favour, with the 5th Earl becoming successively Lord High Admiral of Scotland, Master of the Royal Household, Lord Chamberlain& High Justiciary.

The Lindsays’ support for the Stuart kings of Scotland was not without its costs, and the Clan often made great sacrifices for their monarches. The 6th Earl was slain at the Battle of Flodden in 1513, laying his life down on the battlefield next to his king, James IV of Scotland. Clan Lindsay fought beside Charles I against Oliver Cromwell’s Roundhead army during the devastating 16th Century Civil War. This committment of the House of Stuart continued to their support for the Jacobite cause and the campaign for the Stuart’s rightful restoration to the British throne. Colin, 3rd Earl of Balcarres, fought in the unsuccessful 1715 Rising but was so respected that he escaped any punishment. The Clan Lindsay crest is a swan rising out of a coronet and the proud Lindsay clan motto reads "Endure fort" meaning "Endure with strength".

The 29th Chief, the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, is the Premier Earl of Scotland, and resides at Balcarres in the district of Fife, Scotland.

The Clan Lindsay crest is a swan rising out of a coronet and the proud Lindsay clan motto reads "Endure fort" meaning "Endure boldly".

Clan Elliott

Clan Chief:           28th Chief of Clan Elliott is Madam Margaret Elliott

                         of Redheugh.

Origin of name:   The origin of the name is Hebrew, Elias.

Clan Crest:           A right hand in armour holding a cutlass.           

Clan Motto:          Fortiter et recte (Boldly and rightly)           

Lands:                  Borders

The borders of Scotland are renowned for breeding the wildest and hardiest of the Scottish Clans and the Eliotts are no exception to this pedigree. According to Eliott tradition, the Clan originated in the Highlands, at the foot of Glenshee in Angus. The Clan were granted land in Teviotdale by the great King Robert the Bruce in the early 14th Century and they travelled south to settle in their new territory. Here the Clan prospered, zealously guarding their interests in the turbulent borders. The Clan's name was originally Ellot, which changed to the current form of Eliott around 1650, although there still remain a number of different spellings.

The 10th Chief, Robert Ellott of Redheugh, consolidated the Clan's strength when he erected a strong tower on the top of a cliff overlooking Hermitage Water in 1470. At one time the Ellots controlled around 100 strong towers in Liddesdale, their Clan lands. Such fortifications were necessary in a land where the power of law stemmed from two strong hands on the hilt of a claymore. The Ellots were not adverse to raiding their neighbours on both sides of the border when they felt an urge for the beef of less bold men. On one such raid against Clan Scott, four Ellots were taken by Scott of Buccleuch and put to death. Outraged, a force of three hundred Ellots rode against the Scotts to avenge the death of their kinsmen, and made the Scotts rethink their impudence.

Clan Eliott was loyal to the Crown of Scotland, fighting for the King on many occasions. At the Battle of Flodden in 1513, Robert the 13th Chief, was slain beside his King, James IV. His descendant, Gilbert Eliott was knighted by the exiled Charles II and was made a Baronet of Nova Scotia by the King in 1666. His son George Eliott rose to be a General in the British Army, and was famed for his heroic defence of Gibraltar during the Great Siege of 1779 to 1782. Other Eliotts have risen to great heights, with members of the Clan having held the positions of Governor General of Canada, Governor General of Bengal, Viceroy of India and numerous seats in Parliament. 
The 11th Baronet and 28th Chief of Clan Eliott is Margaret Eliott of the Ilk.

The Clan Elliott crest shows a right hand in armour holding a cutlass and the proud Elliott clan motto "Fortiter et recte"  which means "Boldly and rightly" 

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Clan Robertson

Clan Chief:            Alexander Gilbert Haldane Robertson, 24th Chief

                         of Clan Donnachaidh, 28th Chief of Struan.

Origin of Name:   Gaelic name, MacDhonnachaidh (Son of Duncan)

Gaelic Name:        Mac Dhonnachaidh

Clan Crest:            A hand holding up an imperial crown

Clan Motto:           Virtutis Gloria merces (Glory is the reward of valour)

Lands:                    Struan, Perthshire

Robertson, that fierce and warlike clan, traces it's lineage down from the ancient Celtic hereditary Abbots of Dunkeld. These Abbots were not always gentle Churchmen, as they traditionally led the vanguard of the army into battle. Bethoc, the daughter of King Malcolm 11 married the Abbot Crinan (killed in battle in 1045) and in 1034 their first son became King Duncan 1, who was later murdered by Macbeth.

Several generations later, Donnachaidh Reamhar (Stout Duncan) was Chief of the Donnachaidh Clan, the other name by which the Robertson Clan is still known. Duncan was a close supporter of Robert the Bruce and led the Clan, with great valour, for the victorious King Robert in the battle of Bannockburn. Over a century later, his direct descendant, Robert Riach (Grizzled Robert) was created Baron of the lands of Struan in Tayside, near Blair Atholl. The Barony was Robert's reward for capturing the murderers of King James 1 and delivering them to the court. It was from this Robert that the Clan took the name of Robertson and the Clan Chief is always known as Struan Robertson.The warrior spirit and unswerving loyalty of the Clan to the Stewart dynasty involved them in many of the conflicts which shook Scotland.

Under one Chief, the Clan fought for the Jacobites against William 111 in 1689, again in the Jacobite rising of 1715 and although the Chief really was too old by then, took part in the 1745 uprising for Bonnie Prince Charlie. The defeat of the uprising and the subsequent suppression of the Highland clans by the government brought ruin to the Robertsons and the loss of titles and great territories. 
Margaret became the 18th Chief in 1749, but most of the remainder of the estates were seized from her heir by the government. Dispossessed, the Chiefs lived at Loch Rannoch and later at the residence known as Rannoch Barracks. Within a few years of Jean Robertson, in 1910, succeeding her brother to become 24th Chief, the last of the Clan lands had been sold. 

The present Chief, Struan Robertson, lives in Kent, England. Struan and Dunalastair, near to Tummel Bridge are the ancient burial sites of the Robertsons. To the west of Blair Atholl, at Bruar Falls, is the Clan Donnachaidh museum which houses the famous Clach na Bratach, the charm-stone of the Clan. This rock crystal has been associated with the Clan since before Bannockburn and is thought to have been worn by the ancient Abbots during their battles.

The Robertson Clan Crest is a hand holding up an imperial crown and the proud Robertson clan motto, “Virtutis Gloria merces” meaning (Glory is the reward of valour).

Clan Farquharson

Clan Chief:        The current chief, Captain Alwynne Farquharson

                          of Invercauld.

Origin of name:   Gaelic Fearchar

Clan Crest:         Upper half of a lion rampant rising out of a hat

                           with a sword in its right paw.

Clan Motto:         Fide et fortitudine (by fidelity and fortitude)

Lands:               Aberdeenshire, Invercauld.

Clan Farquharson belong to the most powerful Clan confederation in Scotland, Clan Chattan, or the Clan of the Cat. Other members of this enviable alliance include the Clans Mackintosh, Macpherson, Macbean, and Shaw. The Clan Farquharson are intimately related to the Shaws, with the Farquharsons descending from Farquar, the 4th son of Alexander Shaw of Rothiemurchus, who lived at the beginning of the 15th Century. Farquar's son Donald wed Isobel Stewart, heiress to Invercauld, and so gained lands for the infant Clan.

Clan Farquharson did not take long to rise to some prominence in the annals of Scottish history. Donald and Isobel's son, Finlay Mor, was slain at the Battle of Pinkie Cleugh in 1547, while carrying the Royal Standard of Scotland. Such was Mary, Queen of Scots esteem at this gallant sacrifice that she presented Finlay's widow, Beatrix Farquharson, with a clarsach. This treasured musical instrument is a traditional Celtic harp, and it is said that Beatrix was unparalleled in her mastery of the ancient art of the clarsach. The harp is now housed in Edinburgh's Royal Museum of Scotland, where it is displayed with the only other surviving clarsach, the Lamont harp. The Farquharsons' relationship with Scottish culture and the Crown continued down through the centuries, with the royal Scottish palace of Balmoral once belonging to the Clan Farquharson estates.

The Farquharson were staunch supporters of the exiled Stuart monarchs, and were prominent in the Jacobite Risings of the 18th Century. In 1715, John Farquharson of Invercauld, and 144 of his kin, joined the Clan Chattan forces at the Battle of Preston, but John was captured by the government forces. Three decades later, Clan Farquharson rallied with their Chattan compatriots under the banner of Bonnie Prince Charlie, supplying 300 men to fight in the frontlines of Culloden. Such was the zeal of Farquharson support for the charismatic Prince Charlie that Anne Farquharson, wife of the Mackintosh chief, raised an army of Mackintoshs to fight on the Jacobite side. This was much to her husband's chagrin, who was away fighting the Jacobites in the government armies. Despite her husband's wishes, Anne sheltered the fugitive Prince after the Jacobite defeat at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. It is testament to her spirit that she organised all her servants to divert an attack on her home designed to capture Charlie, while spiriting the Prince away to safety.

The chief, Captain Alwynne Farquharson, resides at Braemar on royal Deeside, next door to the Queen's residence at Balmoral.

The Farquharson Clan crest is the upper half of a lion rampant rising out of a hat with a sword in its paw and the proud Farquharson Clan motto reads "Fide et fortitudine" meaning in Latin "by fidelity and fortitude".

Clan MacLean

Clan Chief:             27th MacLean Chief is Sir Lachlan MacLean

                          of Duart and Morven

Origin of Name:    Gaelic, MacGille-Eoin 

                          (Son of the Servant of St. John)

Gaelic Name:         MacGille-Eoin

Clan Crest:             A castle tower with battlements

Clan Motto:            "Virtue mine honour”

Lands:                     Inner Hebrides

Amid the breathtaking beauty of the Sound of Mull stands an ancient castle, which rises above the rugged landscape like a monument to Scotland's glorious past. Castle Duart, built in the 14th Century, is the seat of the great Clan MacLean, a hardy people renowned throughout Scotland as adventurers and seafarers. The MacLeans are descended from Gillean of the Battleaxe, who fought off the Viking invaders at the Battle of Largs in 1263. Four generations later, Lachlan MacLean married the Lord of the Isles' daughter Mary, and was given Duart Castle and lands in Mull by his father-in-law. The MacLeans held the position of Chamberlain to the Lord of the Isles, which the Crown confirmed in 1495. Clan MacLean's power grew and they controlled extensive lands, including the islands of Tiree, Mull, Coll and Islay, and large sections of the mainland, including Morven, Lochaber and Lochbuie.

The Clan MacLean are well remembered in Scotland's history for rallying to the Scottish cause during pivotal events which shaped the nation. Gillean's great-grandson Gillecullum fought beside the famed Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, helping to drive the English occupiers from a proudly independent Scotland. This relationship to the Scottish Crown was compounded through the centuries, with various MacLean chiefs assisting the in affairs of the state. Hector MacLean obtained an assurance of safe passage from the English King Henry IV in order to visit his captured sovereign James I in the southern land. Another chief, Lachlan MacLean, bargained with Queen Elizabeth I of England, threatening to raise Highland mercenaries to fight for the Irish rebels if she would not meet his demands. Such spunk ensured the ensured the success of the MacLeans, and by the 17th Century the Clan MacLean was at the height of its power. The Crown rewarded the MacLeans' verve in 1633, when Sir Lachlan MacLean was made a baronet of Nova Scotia. His son, Sir Hector, stood steadfast beside King Charles I during the Civil War, rallying with the Clan in the fight against Cromwell's Roundheads. Sir Hector was slain at the Battle of Inverkeithing, but not before seven brothers had lain down their lives to protect the chief, crying as they fell "Fear eile airson Eachainn" meaning, in Gaelic "another for Hector". This has become the battle cry of the MacLeans. 
The Clan stood firmly under the banner of Bonnie Prince Charlie during the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, flexing their muscle for the sake of Charlie's birthright. The Clan MacLean fought bravely on the fateful field of Culloden, even though their chief was held in London as a political prisoner. 
The 27th MacLean Chief is Lord MacLean, Lord Chamberlain to Her Majesty's Household, who resides, as have generations of his forefathers, at Duart Castle on the Sound of Mull.  

The MacLean Clan Crest is a castle tower with battlements and the proud MacLean clan motto, “Virtue mine honour