How does someone become a clan chief?

[Cavebear58]

Just curious - how does someone become a Clan chief these days?

Cheers,
Graham.

[beloitpiper]

By having a father who is a clan Chief.

[McClef]

These days only by Primogeniture.

How they did it originally would be an interesting study though.

[Bugbear]

By having a father who is a clan Chief.

It must, and can only be, a blood relative, too. In other words, a chief can not adopt a child and pass the title of chief to the adopted child; the next closes blood relative would need to be found.

I asked MacMillan of Rathdown this once.

[beloitpiper]

These days only by Primogeniture.

How they did it originally would be an interesting study though.

I'm glad you asked! (I just wrote a paper with this question as part of it). How far back do you want to go?

From my paper:

But why did they not centralize? Why didn’t one great chieftain step up and unite the Celtic world? The answer lies in their kinship system. Kinship and inheritance in the Celtic world was far different from how we understand inheritance today. Our idea of primogeniture, that is, the passing of wealth and power down to the oldest son, is a device rooted in various non-Celtic cultures. Inheritance in the Celtic world operated in a far different way (Arnold and Gibson, p.77). While wealth would be passed down through the family, title and power would be wielded by only the strongest warriors. The warlike culture of the Celts meant that those best suited to the job would serve it. Rulers were part of larger clans and the most able in the clan would become the Chieftain. Any large fortress built by the clan would therefore be passed to the ruler, not one’s nuclear family. Because of this, wealth was spent on private armies, jewelry, and lawyers and poets (who were commonly one in the same). So if the son of the Chieftain could not replace his father, at least he would hold on to the monetary wealth of the family and not lose it passing off the clan or tribal fortress to the next Chieftain (Arnold and Gibson, p.123).

[Colonel MacNeal]

That would make the Highland Games more interesting, with Clan Chiefs battling for supremacy.

[gilmore]

Just curious - how does someone become a Clan chief these days?

Cheers,
Graham.

One selects the right parent to be born to.

[The Wizard of BC]

Please click on the following link to be taken to the website of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs section where they talk about just this.

http://www.clanchiefs.org/heraldry/t...r-clan-chiefs/

[Bugbear]

All right, I clicked on the link. It sounds like the process of the Lord Lyon, derbhfine, and ten year period is a one time deal that establishes a blood line of a chief. I have to assume, it doesn't directly say, that all future chiefs of that new clan will be geneticly related to the first chief.

So the overwelming norm seems to be that one must be born into the family line to be a chief.

[slohairt]

That would make the Highland Games more interesting, with Clan Chiefs battling for supremacy.

That would be as entertaining as watching out politicians duking it out. Wait, actually that would be a good idea!