Clan Macqueen is a Highland

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 ...

and a member of the

Chattan Confederation 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 ...

.Way, George and Squire, Romily. ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The

Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs (SCSC) is an organisation that represents many prominent Scottish clan chief, clan chiefs and Scottish clan chief#Chief of the Name and Arms, Chiefs of the Name and Arms in Scotland. It claims to be the pr ...

). Published in 1994. Page 426. The clan does not currently have a chief and is therefore considered an

armigerous clan An armigerous clan (from armiger) is a Scottish clan, family or name which is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon and once had a chief who bore undifferenced arms, but does not have a chief currently recognised as such by Lyon Court. Be ...

History

Origins

The name MacQueen is sometimes also given as ''MacSween'' which means ''son of Sweyn''. The MacQueens are allegedly of the same descent as 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 ...

, having kinship with the

High Kings of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...

. The MacQueens are said to have provided a guard for a daughter of the chief of Clan MacDonald of Clanranald, who married a chief of the

Clan Mackintosh Clan Mackintosh (''Clann Mhic an Tòisich'') is a Scottish clan from Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. The chiefs of the clan are the Mackintoshes of Mackintosh. Another branch of the clan, the Mackintoshes of Torcastle, are the chiefs of Cl ...

. The Mackintosh clan were also chiefs of the

and so the MacQueens settled around

Findhorn Findhorn ( or ''Inbhir Èireann'') is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is located on the eastern shore of Findhorn Bay and immediately south of the Moray Firth. Findhorn is 3 miles (5 km) northwest of Kinloss, Scotland, Kinloss, and abou ...

and became part of the confederation of Clan Chattan. The Clan MacQueen was then known as the ''Clan Revan''. The chiefs became the Lairds of Corrieborough and were highly regarded amongst the supporters of the MacDonalds.

18th century

The chief of the Clan MacDonald of Sleat said in 1778: "it does me great honour to have the sons of the Chieftains in the Regiment and as the MacQueens have been invariably attached to our family, to whom we believe we owe our existence, I am proud of the nomination". The MacQueens or MacSweens were numerous in the

Hebrides The Hebrides ( ; , ; ) are the largest archipelago in the United Kingdom, off the west coast of the Scotland, Scottish mainland. The islands fall into two main groups, based on their proximity to the mainland: the Inner Hebrides, Inner and Ou ...

. The Reverend of Snizort, Donald MacQueen was of such intellect that he even impressed the doctor

Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson ( – 13 December 1784), often called Dr Johnson, was an English writer who made lasting contributions as a poet, playwright, essayist, moralist, literary critic, sermonist, biographer, editor, and lexicographer. The ''Oxford ...

when he visited the Hebrides. The name MacQueen was not always highly regarded as

Robert McQueen, Lord Braxfield Robert McQueen, Lord Braxfield (4 May 1722 – 30 May 1799) was a Scottish advocate and judge. Life McQueen was born at Braxfield House near Lanark on 4 May 1722, son of John McQueen. He studied law at Edinburgh University and was admitted to ...

, a notorious 18th-century judge was feared for his savage sentences and use of the death penalty. The chief's family is believed to have moved to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and the clan became scattered throughout Scotland and the rest of the English-speaking world.

Modern clan symbolism

Today members of Scottish clans show their clan allegiance by wearing

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' ...

s, clan tartans and sometimes clan badges (plant badges). The crest badge suitable for members of Clan MacQueen contains the

heraldic crest A crest is a component of a heraldic display, consisting of the device borne on top of the helm. Originating in the decorative sculptures worn by knights in tournaments and, to a lesser extent, battles, crests became solely pictorial after t ...

of ''an heraldic tyger rampant Ermine holding an arrow, point downwards

Argent In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to b ...

pheoned

Gules In heraldry, gules () is the tincture with the colour red. It is one of the class of five dark tinctures called "colours", the others being azure (blue), sable (black), vert (green) and purpure (purple). Gules is portrayed in heraldic hatch ...

''. The

heraldic motto A motto (derived from the Latin , 'mutter', by way of Italian , 'word' or 'sentence') is a sentence or phrase expressing a belief or purpose, or the general motivation or intention of an individual, family, social group, or organization. Mot ...

that appears upon the crest badge is CONSTANT AND FAITHFUL. Another badge sometimes used by clan members is a clan badge (or plant badge). Several different clan badges have been attributed to various MacQueens. The MacQueens associated with Clan Chattan are attributed

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 ...

and red whortleberry as a clan badge. Many other Scottish clans which are closely associated with Clan Chattan have been attributed the same plants. The MacQueen's of

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye, is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated by the Cuillin, the rocky slopes of which provide some o ...

, on the other hand, have common heath attributed as their clan badge. Common heath is the clan badge of many of the clans associated with

. The MacQueen tartan was first published in 1842, in the '' Vestiarium Scoticum''. The ''Vestiarium'' was the work of the dubious " Sobieski Stuarts" and is today considered a Victorian era hoax. The tartan is supposedly that of Clan Revan, being named after Revan MacMulmor MacAngus MacQueen who led a MacDonald bride to be married to a chief of Clan Mackintosh. The Scottish Tartans World Register (STWR) notes that the MacQueen tartan is similar to the Fraser and Gunn tartans, which both have four bold stripes. However, the STWR considers it to be a combination of the MacDonald and Mackintosh tartans.cottish-tartans-world-register.com1209]"> The tartan scholar D. C. Stewart noted that the MacQueen tartan is the reverse of the MacKeane tartan, possibly because of the two similar-sounding names, even though both names have a different history.Stewart (1974), p. 49.

Associated Names and Septs

The following Scottish and Irish names are spelling variants of the Clan name MacQueen: * M'Quain * McQuain * McSwain * MacQuien * MacCuinn * MacCunn * MacShuain * MacSuain * MacSwan * MacSween * McSweeney * MacSwen * MacSwyde * Mhic Cuithain * Mhic Cuithein * Mhic Suibne * McQueen * QueenKenny, Hamill (1960)

945 Year 945 (Roman numerals, CMXLV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * January 27 – The co-emperors Stephen Lekapenos, Stephen and Constantine Lekapenos, Constantine a ...

West Virginia place names: their origin and meaning, including the nomenclature of the streams and mountains. West Virginia University. p. 514. OCLC 233593610. * Swain * Swan * Swann * Sween * Sweeney * Swyne

Notes

References

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:MacQueen Clan Chattan Scottish clans Gaelic families of Norse descent Armigerous clans Highlands and Islands of Scotland

Clans A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

Clans and families