Balmoral bonnet and feathers...

[Mael Coluim]

Yankee Doodle was a song made by a British man named Richard Shuckburg to make fun of the Colonists. Unfortunately for him, the Americans loved the song and so they made the British dance to it by 1781. When the British man wrote "He stuck a feather in his hat and called it Macaroni" meant that Americans were stupid and thought that a feather was macaroni. Macaroni isn't that kind that we eat: it was a hair style in England. Doodle meant "a foolish person." Yankee was a nick-name for New Englanders. The original tune for Yankee Doodle was Lydia Fisher's Jig with these words: "Lucy Locket lost her pocket, Kitty Fisher found it; Nothing in it, nothing on it, But the binding 'round it."
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Yankee Doodle

Father and I went down to camp,
Along with Captain Gooding;
And there we saw the men and boys,
As thick as hasty pudding.

Yankee doodle, keep it up,
Yankee doodle dandy;
Mind the musie and the step,
And with the girls be handy.

There was Captain Washington
Upon a slapping stallion,
A-giving orders to his men,
I guess there was a million.

And then the feathers on his hat,
They looked so' tarnal fin-a,
I wanted pockily to get
To give to my Jemima.

And then we saw a swamping gun,
Large as a log of maple;
Upon a deuced little cart,
A load for father's cattle.

And every time they shoot it off,
It takes a horn of powder;
It makes a noise like father's gun,
Only a nation louder.

I went as nigh to one myself,
As' Siah's underpinning;
And father went as nigh agin,
I thought the deuce was in him.

We saw a little barrel, too,
The heads were made of leather;
They knocked upon it with little clubs,
And called the folks together.

And there they'd fife away like fun,
And play on cornstalk fiddles,
And some had ribbons red as blood,
All bound around their middles.

The troopers, too, would gallop up
And fire right in our faces;
It scared me almost to death
To see them run such races.

Uncle Sam came there to change
Some pancakes and some onions,
For' lasses cake to carry home
To give his wife and young ones.

But I can't tell half I see
They kept up such a smother;
So I took my hat off, made a bow,
And scampered home to mother.

Cousin Simon grew so bold,
I thought he would have cocked it;
It scared me so I streaked it off,
And hung by father's pocket.

And there I saw a pumpkin shell,
As big as mother's basin;
And every time they touched it off,
They scampered like the nation.

Yankee doodle, keep it up,
Yankee doodle dandy;
Mind the music and the step,
And with the girls be handy

[caig]

As a Scottish armiger through me petitioning Lord Lyon, as opposed to inheriting any title, I get a little annoyed when kilt-wearers want to add a tall feather to their bonnet, so as to imitate an armiger.

It is not illegal to wear a tall feather when you are not an armiger, but here in the UK, we regard doing such things as "bad form".

Please do not ruin our Scottish traditions by copying them inappropriately.

[Jack Daw]

I think you could wear a piper's hackle without being confused with an armiger, chieftain, or chief.

[Azrobert]

Let's ask this question. Why are you wearing a Balmoral? I don't mean that as a challenge. I mean that in the significance of what message you are sending wearing a truly distinctive Scottish item. I guess what I'm saying is if you truly don't care what others think, why wear it? Why not wear a Mexican sombrero with your kilt? That would seem to satisfy some on this blog that feel you are entitled to wear whatever odd combination strikes your fancy. No one would care if you wore feathers in that hat. On the other hand, if you care, then skip the feathers. Personally, I keep a sprig of holly in my cockade as I am not the Clan Chief.

[Phil]

Let's ask this question. Why are you wearing a Balmoral? I don't mean that as a challenge. I mean that in the significance of what message you are sending wearing a truly distinctive Scottish item. I guess what I'm saying is if you truly don't care what others think, why wear it? Why not wear a Mexican sombrero with your kilt? That would seem to satisfy some on this blog that feel you are entitled to wear whatever odd combination strikes your fancy. No one would care if you wore feathers in that hat. On the other hand, if you care, then skip the feathers. Personally, I keep a sprig of holly in my cockade as I am not the Clan Chief.

Surely anyone is entitled to wear whatever clothing they like. I know that there are antagonistic views about certain forms of dress at the moment (and I won't mention which as this is not the forum for such discussions) but why should the OP not wear a Balmoral? It has no negative connotations and, while perhaps of Scottish derivation, what restrictions should that involve?
I cannot begin to comprehend why any alien culture other than a purely Scottish one should have the arrogance to presume to dictate what is or is not appropriate for anyone to wear in this context. As MOR has most eloquently described, the wearing of feathers in one's cap is quite separate from any legalistic or other formal heraldic conventions.

[Baldybrown]

I saw some of the Renaissance Scots wearing pheasant feathers at the Yellowstone Highland games in Billings, MT. They looked GREAT! I think I might try some with my bonnets if I can talk them away from a fly-fisherman.

[nagod]

i think it boils down to if it is going to make people assume you are something you are not(armiger,chief of clan,etc.)then dont wear them.DNR does have laws which feathers are legal to own/wear but that is a separate issue.of course feel free to consider my opinion to be worth what you paid for it.

[creagdhubh]

I would recommend your clan's plant badge in place of any sort of feather decoration - unless of course you are an armiger, recognised by the Lyon Court, which in that case, your are entitled to wear a signle eagle feather, though many armigers today prefer to wear the eagle feather in metal form, upon their own unique circlet, bearing their own motto and crest.

The plant badge is much more traditional, looks very smart in a Balmoral and Glengarry alike, and is appropriate for all environments where a bonnet is worn. The fact that not many Highland men wear their respected clan's plant badge any longer, also adds to its uniqueness.

Me wearing Boxwood, one of my clans, three different plant badges.


Me wearing White Heather in my Balmoral.


Cheers,

[MacMillan of Rathdown]

It may come as a bit of a surprise to some, but the custom of allowing armigerous clan folk to wear a single feather is not limited to those who have arms granted by the Lord Lyon. On the contrary, those who have arms granted by any substantive office of arms are accorded the same privilege.

[James Hood]

This continues as an interesting and thought-provoking thread.

A number of years ago, especially seeing the Eight-Pointed (commonly known as "Maltese") cross on someone who was "most likely not" a Hospitaler, used to rankle.

Now, while the stimulus still warrants a (usually silent) snort, the mind-soul endeavours to "lighten up"...much as military types must, when they see insignia purchased from a surplus store, worn "decourously" purely because it's shiny and caught someone's eye.

Or, as preached endlessly to our daughters, "Life is much too serious to take seriously."