A clan badge, sometimes called a plant badge, is a

badge A badge is a device or accessory, often containing the insignia of an organization, which is presented or displayed to indicate some feat of service, a special accomplishment, a symbol of authority granted by taking an oath (e.g., police and fir ...

emblem An emblem is an abstract art, abstract or representational pictorial image that represents a concept, like a moral truth, or an allegory, or a person, like a monarch or saint. Emblems vs. symbols Although the words ''emblem'' and ''symbol'' ...

, usually a sprig of a specific plant, that is used to identify a member of a particular

Scottish clan A Scottish clan (from Scottish Gaelic , literally 'children', more broadly 'kindred') is a kinship group among the Scottish people. Clans give a sense of shared heritage and descent to members, and in modern times have an official structure r ...

. They are usually worn affixed to the

bonnet A bonnet is a variety of headgear, hat or cap. Specific types of headgear referred to as "bonnets" may include Native American *War bonnet, feathered headgear worn as an earned military decoration by high-ranking Plains Indians United King ...

behind the

Scottish crest badge A Scottish crest badge is a heraldic badge worn to show allegiance to an individual or membership in a specific Scottish clan. Crest badges are commonly called "clan crests", but this is a misnomer; there is no such thing as a collective ''clan' ...

,The Clans, Septs, and Regiments of the Scottish Highlands; p.544; By Frank Adam, Thomas Innes of Learney; Published (1965) Johnston & Bacon or pinned at the shoulder of a lady's tartan sash. According to popular lore clan badges were used by Scottish clans as a means of identification in battle. An authentic example of plants being used in this way (though not by a clan) were the sprigs of

oats The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural). Oats appear to have been domesticated as a secondary crop, as their seed ...

used by troops under the command of Montrose during the sack of Aberdeen. Similar items are known to have been used by military forces in Scotland, like paper, or the "White

Cockade A cockade is a knot of ribbons, or other circular- or oval-shaped symbol of distinctive colours which is usually worn on a hat or cap. The word cockade derives from the French ''cocarde'', from Old French ''coquarde'', feminine of ''coquard'' (va ...

" (a bunch of white ribbon) of the Jacobites.

Authenticity

Despite popular lore, many clan badges attributed to Scottish clans would be completely impractical for use as a means of identification. Many would be unsuitable, even for a modern clan gathering, let alone a raging clan battle. Also, a number of the plants (and flowers) attributed as clan badges are only available during certain times of year. Even though it is maintained that clan badges were used long before the

s used today, according to a former

Lord Lyon King of Arms The Right Honourable the Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officer of State, Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scotland, Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry i ...

the oldest symbols used at gatherings were

heraldic flag In heraldry and vexillology, a heraldic flag is a flag containing coat of arms, coats of arms, heraldic badges, or other devices used for personal identification. Heraldic flags include banners, standards, pennons and their variants, gonfalons, ...

s such as the banner, standard and pinsel. There is much confusion as to why some clans have been attributed more than one clan badge. Several 19th century writers variously attributed plants to clans, many times contradicting each other. It has been claimed by one writer that if a clan gained new lands it may have also acquired that district's "badge" and used it along with their own clan badge. It is clear however, that there are several large groups of clans which share badges and also share a historical connection. The

Clan Donald Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald or Clan McDonald ( ), is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. Historically the chiefs of the Clan Donald held the title of Lord of the Isles until 1493 and two of those chiefs a ...

group (clans '' Macdonald'', '' Macdonald of Clanranald'', '' Macdonell of Glengarry'', '' MacDonald of Keppoch'') and clans/

septs A sept () is a division of a family, especially of a Scottish or Irish family. The term is used both in Scotland and in Ireland, where it may be translated as Irish , meaning "progeny" or "seed", and may indicate the descendants of a person ...

which have been associated with Clan Donald (like certain ''MacIntyres'' and the ''Macqueens'' of Skye) all have common heath attributed as their badge. Another large group is the

Clan Chattan Clan Chattan ( or ), also sometimes referred to as "Clan Dhugaill" (Quehele) after its progenitor Dougall-Dall, is a unique confederation of Highland clans. This distinctive allied community comprised at its greatest extent seventeen separate ...

group (clans ''

Mackintosh The Mackintosh raincoat (abbreviated as mac) is a form of waterproof raincoat, first sold in 1824, made of rubberised textile, fabric. The Mackintosh is named after its Scotland, Scottish inventor Charles Macintosh, although many writers adde ...

'', '' Macpherson'', '' Macgillivray'', '' Macqueen'', ''Macbain'', '' Farquharson'', '' Davidson'') which have been attributed red whortleberry (sometimes called

cranberry Cranberries are a group of evergreen dwarf shrubs or trailing vines in the subgenus ''Oxycoccus'' of the genus ''Vaccinium''. Cranberries are low, creeping shrubs or vines up to long and in height; they have slender stems that are not th ...

in Scotland), or

bearberry Bearberries are three species of dwarf shrubs in the genus ''Arctostaphylos''. Unlike the other species of ''Arctostaphylos'' (see manzanita), they are adapted to Arctic and subarctic climates, and have a circumpolar distribution in northern N ...

, or

boxwood ''Buxus'' is a genus of about seventy species in the family Buxaceae. Common names include box and boxwood. The boxes are native to western and southern Europe, southwest, southern and eastern Asia, Africa, Madagascar, northernmost So ...

. The leaves of these three plants are very similar, and at least one writer has claimed that whatever plant which happened to be available was used. One group, the

Siol Alpin Siol Alpin (from Gaelic, Sìol Ailpein: Seed of Alpin) is a family of seven Scottish clans traditionally claiming descent from Alpin, father of Cináed mac Ailpín, King of the Picts, of whom the Scots tradition considered the first King of Scot ...

group, of clans are said to have claimed or are thought to share a common descent. The Siol Alpin clans (clans '' Grant'', '' Gregor'', '' MacAulay'', '' Macfie'', '' Macnab'', '' Mackinnon'', '' Macquarrie'') are all attributed the clan badge of pine (Scots fir). In some cases, clan badges are derived from the heraldry of clan chiefs. For example, the Farquharsons have

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

attributed as a clan badge of theirs (pine also appears on the uniforms of the Invercauld Highlanders). Pine was actually used in the Invercauld

Arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

as a mark of cadencing to the basic Shaw-Mackintosh Arms.

Plants used as badges

Notes and references

Bibliography

* * * * * * Moncreiffe of that Ilk, Iain. ''The Highland Clans''. London: Barrie & Rockliff, 1967. * {{Scottish clans badge Symbols

Authenticity

Plants used as badges

See also

Notes and references

Bibliography