Macdonald of the Isles Double Headed Eagle

[Riverkilt]

My family goes back to Uig and Staffin on the Trotternish Peninsula of Skye.

Since I'm not a Christian, and my clan badge has a Christian cross in it, have been looking for something to represent the clan that doesn't have the cross.

I like the double headed eagle design sometimes used to represent Macdonald of the Isles, but its hard to find a good representation of it. Find small things, no good clear pics like I could take to a tattoo artist...

Not sure I'll go that far...it does look a tad "Prussian" to me....

Thanks for any suggestions.

Ron

[Big Dave]

Since I'm not a Christian, and my clan badge has a Christian cross in it, have been looking for something to represent the clan that doesn't have the cross.

The cross wassn't always a Christian symbol it's much older. The cross itself is a symbol of protection, and also represents our life on Earth intersecting with the AfterWorld (Heaven, Sumerland, UnderWorld, etc.)

[macwilkin]

Ron,

Respectfully -- the badge is the crest of the Chief, not a personal symbol. The cross you speak of is the crest of the Chief of the MacDonald's coat of arms.

By wearing the chief's crest badge, you are not indentifying yourself as a Christian just because you are wearing a cross, you are identifying yourself as a member of the clan by wearing a symbol of the Chief, who is the father of the Clan.

btw, I'm not finding any double-headed eagles as crest badges for the MacDonalds -- several of the various Chiefs of the branches have an eagle on their personal arms, but that is not a "clan symbol", it belongs to the Chief.

You could always wear the plant badge of the MacDonalds, which is a sprig of heather, but again, by wearing the badge, you are not endorsing a religion, you are saying that you are loyal to the MacDonald Chief and thereby the Clan.

The cross wasn't always a Christian symbol it's much older. The cross itself is a symbol of protection, and also represents our life on Earth intersecting with the AfterWorld (Heaven, Sumerland, UnderWorld, etc.)

Considering Heraldry was introduced to Scotland much later than the pre-Christian era, one can hardly make this claim that the cross of the MacDonalds is a "pre-Christian" symbol.

Cheers,

Todd

[macwilkin]

Further the discussion of MacDonald Heraldry, there is an interesting article on the Heraldry Society of Scotland's web site:

http://heraldry-scotland.co.uk/westhigh.html

Cheers,

Todd

[Riverkilt]

Thanks Todd,

....I think....wow!, that's an academic article for someone with no background...appreciate the referral to that sight though.

Ron

[macwilkin]

Thanks Todd,

....I think....wow!, that's an academic article for someone with no background...appreciate the referral to that sight though.

Ron

Ron,

The more important information is my post before the article, though. :mrgreen:

T.

[Prester John]

The Double headed eagle represents the Old Roman Empire after St. Constantine.

You should not have trouble finding a good one. Check also some German heraldry sites.

[macwilkin]

The Double headed eagle represents the Old Roman Empire after St. Constantine.

You should not have trouble finding a good one. Check also some German heraldry sites.

In this case, Father, the eagle in question is featured on the arms of the Chief of the MacDonalds. It is not a double-headed one, a la the Russian eagle.

Regards,

Todd