McHistory Lesson

No, this is not about McDonald's. I'm sure that clan really appreciates that their name has been taken over by fast food.

Two weeks ago, John and I went with a friend of mine to the Scottish Highland Games at Stone Mountain. You can see pictures and read about it at John's blog. He posted first about it, so I fought redundancy and decided not to post about it myself.

Many clans had booths you could visit for more information. John's grandmother was a McKim, and my mom was a McClure, so we looked for those booths. Eventually, we found out that McKim is a sept of the Fraser clan ("Essentially, a clan is a collection of families, living in a more or less defined area, and loyal to a specific chief. The most powerful family (which is also usually the wealthiest) carries the name of the clan.... Other families that belong to the clan are referred to as 'septs.'" - Courtesy of the Macleod Society). At the Fraser booth, John signed up to get information on membership in the Clan Fraser Society. But we kept looking in vain for McClure (I wasn't sure if it's Scottish or Irish, either).

At one booth, you could look up your clan and tartan. I asked about McClure and was told that it is VERY rare. But they did have a tartan of it. I asked how they found it if it's so rare, and the man in the booth said he "created" it. (He's Dr. something or other from Scotland and came up with it in 1997, apparently.)

I was a little disappointed and chose not to get a color printout for $5, but we figured maybe he pieced it together from old records, surviving pieces, etc. I could also have gotten a kilt or scarf made from it in Scotland, but for a huge price since it's not a more common tartan, and they would have had to create the fabric from scratch. O well.

However, Google the Great offered up many websites where I found some answers! McClure (also spelled MacLure, MacLur, MacAlear, MacLeur, MacLewer, MacClewer) is a sept of Macleod. I'll have to buy a tartan at next year's Games, now that I know.

There are actually two tartans for the Macleods, but McClure falls under the "Macleods of Harris" and so uses that tartan. The crest contains the Macleod (of Harris) motto, which is "Hold fast." Explains a lot about me, I'm sure John would say.

The Macleods still own and maintain Dunvegan Castle, the ancestral home of the Chiefs of Macleods for nearly 800 years. AND the Macleods have their own legend about the chief of the clan Macleod who fell in love with a fairy princess. How cool is that.