Scottish Clan Insignia

Last modified: 2005-03-19 by rob raeside
Keywords: scotland | clans |
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• About Clan Insignia
• Definitions of Clan Insignia components
• Descriptions of Clan standards
  • Clan Fraser standard
• Other Clans on the Web

See also:

• Scottish Clan Banners
• Flags used at Culloden
• Scotland
• United Kingdom
• Clan Chief website
• Court of the Lord Lyon website
• Scottish clan flags website

About Clan Insignia

While calling the images below the standards of the clans is a convenient shorthand, they are really one of several types of personal insignia of the chief. The leaflet published by Lyon Court says they are granted only to those who have "followings," including chiefs of clans. While the chief's banner (i.e., his arms in rectangular cloth form) indicates his personal presence, his standard marks the location of his headquarters or the clan's gathering point. So the mere fact that someone's name is Fraser does not mean he or she is entitled under Scottish law to fly the Fraser standard, any more than to display the chief's arms or banner.
Joe McMillan, 17 March 2004

From what I understood in the leaflet, the images below (e.g. Clan Fraser) seems to be rather a guidon (rounded end) instead of a standard. And it seems to be a "role" flag, assigned to a clan chief as someone who has a following and a headquarters.
Dirk Schoenberger, 17 March 2004

Dirk is correct, the illustration should have a double-rounded end to be the standard of a p