ARMIGEROUS CLAN

An 'armigerous clan' or Family, is a Scottish clan without a chief with matriculated arms.
The term "armigerous clan" is something of a misnomer. Under Scots law only individuals may be armigerous, matriculated by Lord Lyon, King of Arms. In common usage, an armigerous clan is a clan or family which has, at some point, had a chief with matriculated arms but due to a number of reasons, no longer has a chief.
While there are a number of reasons why a clan may have no chief the most common are listed below.

★ Following the 1745 Jacobite Rising and the dismantling of the clan system, many of the chiefly lines of clans and families were lost. Due to gaps in the genealogical evidence, it has thus far been unable to prove a direct descent to current claimants.

★ Over time, some smaller clans were absorbed and became a sept of the larger clan. While the smaller clan retains a clan crest, it owes allegiance to the chief of the larger clan. Some of these smaller clans now wish to be identified separately from the larger clan, however, proving a genealogical link to the chiefs before absorption is very difficult.

★ As Scots law and English and Welsh law differ over inheritance, some individuals are barred from being matriculated as chief.

★ As punishment for acts against the monarch, it was possible for chiefs to be stripped of land and titles. Though often restored to later generations of the family, this was not always the case.
There are currently over 200 armigerous clans and families of Scotland.

'Clan/Family'	'Motto'
Abercromby
Abernethy
Adair
Adam
Aikenhead
Ainslie
Aiton ( AYTON )	Decerptae dabunt odorum ( Roses plucked will give sweet smell )
Anderson	Stand Sure
Armstrong	Invictus maneo (''I remain unvanquished'').
Arnott	Sereputum Et Completum
Auchinleck
Baillie	Quid clarius astris.
Baird	Dominus Fecit (God Made)
Balfour
Bannatyne
Baxter
Bell
Belshes
Bethune
Beveridge	Perseverando
Binning
Bisset
Blackadder
Blackstock
Blair
Blane
Blyth
Boswell	Vraye foi (Have faith)
Brisbane
Bryce	Fiat Justitia (''Let Justice be Done'').
Buchanan	Clarior hinc honos (''Henceforth the honour shall grow ever brighter'').
Byres
Cairns
Calder	Be mindful
Caldwell
Callender
Campbell of Craignish
Carruthers	Promptus et fidelis (''Ready and faithful'').
Chalmers
Cheyne
Clelland
Clephane
Cockburn	Accendit Cantu (He excites us with song)
Congilton
Craig
Crawford	Tutum Te Rebore Reddam (I will give you safety by strength)
Crosbie
Cunningham	Over Fork Over
Dalmahoy
Dalrymple
Dalziel
Dennistoun
Don
Douglas	Jamais Arriere (Never Behind)
Dunlop
Edmonstone
Fairlie
Falconer
Fenton
Fleming
Fletcher
Fotheringham
Fullarton
Galbraith	Ab obice sauvoir (''Sweeter for there having been difficulties'').
Galloway
Garden
Gartshore
Ged
Gibsone
Gladstains
Glas
Glen
Glendinning	Have Faith In Christ
Haliburton
Halkerston
Halket
Hall	Vive ut vivas
Hepburn
Heron
Herries
Hog
Hopkirk
Horsburgh
Houston	In Vicis (''In Time'').
Hutton
Inglis
Innes	Be Traist
Kelly
Kincaid
Kinloch
Kinnaird
Kinnear
Kinninmont
Kirkcaldy
Kirkpatrick
Laing
Lammie
Langlands
Learmonth
Little
Logan	Hoc majorum virtus (''This is the valour of my ancestors'').
Logie
Lundin
Lyle
MacAulay	Dulce periculum (''Danger is sweet'').
MacBrayne
MacDuff	Deus juvat (''God assists'').
MacEwen
MacFarlane	This I'll Defend
MacFie	Pro Rege (''For The King'').
McGhee	Quae sursum volo (''I want that which is above'').
MacGillivary	Touch Not This Cat
MacInnes
MacIver	Nunquam obliviscar (''I will never forget'').
Mackie
MacLellan
MacQuarrie	An T'Arm Breac Dearg (The Red Tartaned Army)
MacQueen	"Constant and Faithful"
MacRae	"Fortitudine"
Masterton
Maule
Maxton
Maxwell
McCorquodale
MacCulloch	Vi et animo "By strength and courage"
McKerrell
Meldrum
Melville
Mercer
Middleton	Fortis in arduis ( Strong in adversity )
Moncur	Virtuti non Armis Fido
Monteith
Monypenny
Mouat
Moubray
Mow
Muir	Durum Patientia Frango ''I Overcome Difficulty by Pateince''
Muirhead
Nairn
Neish
Nevoy
Newlands
Newton
Norvel
Ochterlony
Orrock
Paisley
Paterson
Pennycook
Pentland
Peter
Pitblado
Pitcairn
Pollock
Polwarth
Porteous	I Byde My Time
Porterfield
Preston
Pringle
Purves
Rait
Ralston
Renton
Roberton
Rossie
Russel	Virtus Sine Macula
Rutherford	Nec sorte, nec facto (neither chance nor fate)
Schaw
Seton
Skirving
Somerville	Fear God In Life
Spalding
Spottiswood
Stewart
Strachan	Non timeo sed caveo (I do not fear but am careful).
Straiton	Surgere tento (I strive to rise)
Strange
Sydserf
Symmers
Tailyour
Tait
Tennant
Troup
Turnbull
Tweedie	Thole and Think
Udny	All my hope is in God
Vans
Walkinshaw
Wardlaw
Watson
Wauchope
Weir
Whitefoord
Whitelaw
Wishart
Wood	Defend
Young

Contents

See also

See also

★ Scottish clan

★ Heraldry