[ThistleDown]

Probitate, this may make it a bit easier for you -- or much more difficult. First of all, the crest you describe does not belong to the family of Renwick; it belongs to an individual man who matriculated arms with that as a crest. It's as though the crest is a part of his signature. By using it encircled in a belt you are declaring to the world that he is your "superior", as in clan chief or family patriarch. Are you sure you want to do that since you know nothing about him?

The same would be true, of course, if you wore the belted crest of the current Broun/Brown or Montgomery chiefs, but at least you have a better chance of knowing one of these individuals or finding out much more about them.

[Chas]

Originally Posted by Probitate

The crest is Renwick, which is not so much a Scottish Clan as a family with Scottish/Border roots, apparently. Though I've managed to locate our Tartan, the crest, which has been described as a 'dexter hand holding a scimitar proper', has not been found. I think my best bet aside from commisioning a custom work (which, as a teenager working part-time on the neighbour's dairy farm, I really don't have all that much money for), would be to find my grandmother's crest, which id Brown, or else dig up in the family and see if one trickled down from my Montgomery great-great-grandmother, though I'm hesitant about wearing that with such a diluted claim.

There is neither an Armigerous Clan nor a Clan with a Chief in the name of Renwick. Neither is it listed as a Riever name. But there is village in Northern England of that name.

Renwick (formerly Ravenwick) is a small village in the English county of Cumbria.
For the purpose of local administration Renwick forms part of the civil parish of Kirkoswald that, in turn, is part of the district of Eden. Renwick is located north-east of the town of Penrith between the A686 and B6413 roads.

There have been two separate Baronets in the name of Renwick (one of which was elevated to a Baron). Either of which could have had the crest of "a dexter hand holding a scimitar proper".

It would, in my opinion, be rather dubious to to assume as a Clan Crest, the crest of a man who was not in any way your Chief. The crest, as part of the arms is the possession of the armiger and unless one has express permission to do so, there is very little difference to using his car without permission.

Sorry to be pedantic, but this kind of thing is legally protected and enforced in Scotland. Cajunscot made a good recommendation and I would add that here at XMarks we also have our own Clan Crest Cap Badge.

Regards

Chas

[Kilted Canadian]

Rest assured, I have no wish to impede on any national law, and I understand completely the points you're trying to make.

Well, this seems to have left me about at square 1, perhaps a bit farther back, even. Alright, so disregarding my patrilineal name, would it be an equal faux pas to wear a Brown crest with my grandmother's name, as I have Browns(unrelated) on both sides of my family who are genuinley Scottish, as backing? Or would that simply be an insult to the Chief as well?

Rest assured, I understand your points and I will examine the idea of a non-clan crest, but, at the risk of sounding stubborn in the face of 'it doesn't work like that' proof, which I do not mean to be, I would like to explore ALL my options and exhaust them before I give up and move to mediocrity.

[Chas]

Originally Posted by Probitate

Rest assured, I have no wish to impede on any national law, and I understand completely the points you're trying to make.

Well, this seems to have left me about at square 1, perhaps a bit farther back, even. Alright, so disregarding my patrilineal name, would it be an equal faux pas to wear a Brown crest with my grandmother's name, as I have Browns(unrelated) on both sides of my family who are genuinley Scottish, as backing? Or would that simply be an insult to the Chief as well?

Rest assured, I understand your points and I will examine the idea of a non-clan crest, but I would like to explore ALL my options and exhaust them before I give up and move to mediocrity.

The wearing of a Clan Crest badge says "These are my people and This is my Chief". So the question is - Who do YOU accept as your people and who will YOU call Chief?

The thing to remember as well is that there is no time limit. You don't have to get this done by the weekend! I searched for 5 years and had almost given up hope when I discovered, purely by accident, that my family was a sept of MacKenzie. You have plenty of time - do your research and when you finally come to a conclusion, make your choice.

Don't feel that you have to wear a Clan crest badge - look round our galleries. In most pictures our members aren't wearing one, possibly because they are in the same position as you. A cheap generic badge will do as a placeholder till you know exactly what you want.

Good luck and good hunting.

Regards

Chas

[davedove]

Originally Posted by Chas

The wearing of a Clan Crest badge says "These are my people and This is my Chief". So the question is - Who do YOU accept as your people and who will YOU call Chief?

Chas makes a great point here. Who do you really want to give this sort of loyaly to? Granted, most people tend to wear the badge as mere decoration, but it does have meaning. That's why I normally don't wear a badge and when I do it's usually the US Army badge, since that's the only "clan" I've ever sworn an oath to.

[Kilted Canadian]

Alright. Well, thanks to both of you. I think I've gotten a better idea now of the whole process and insignia. Personally, now that I understand what it now signifies, I think I'll hold off until I join the local Highland Regiment and just adopt thiers. Until then, cross the bridge when one arrives at it...

Many Thanks to all who have replied! I think I've got this, for now, resolved.

[Cygnus]

I'm in a very similar boat to you and really can't see myself declaring allegiance to somebody on a whim (especially if it's someone about whom I know nothing).

I'm thinking I'll probably pick up an X Marks the Scot cap badge to keep me content until I finally determine my loyalties.

Good luck!

[Steve Ashton]

You are of course welcome to wear the X Marks Crest.



The only requirement is that you be a member in good standing of this forum.
You would owe allegiance only to our community.

[Kilted Canadian]

I just might pick one of those up....

Now, how to change my username from the false motto, that's the question.....

[Steve Ashton]

the answer to your question is that all you need do is send me a PM with the new screen name you would like.