Clans and Families in Scotland - Article by Dr Bruce Drurie

[Bruce Scott]

I thought this may be of some interest: https://www.mdpi.com/2313-5778/10/2/44

The full title is: "Towards a List of Clans and Families in Scotland—Identity Politics, Cultural Appropriation and Romantic Idealism"


Dr Bruce Drurie: http://brucedurie.co.uk/who_is_bruce_durie.htm

[Jock Scot]

Well, I cannot help but agree with the author in general terms. The detail he uses only confirms much of what I have always thought and on occasion, said. Although his Northern end(right of map) of the "Highland Line" on his map, is higher than I had imagined.

[OC Richard]

That's a great read, thanks!

It's hilarious, all that Mark Twain stuff. If you read Innocents Abroad you'll know about Twain's disdain for the pretentions of European culture, but I had no idea he specifically targeted Sir Walter Scott.

What I didn't see mentioned about Scott is how he swallowed the Allen Brothers' nonsense hook, line, and sinker. Scott's promoting of the Brothers' creations did irreparable harm to authentic Highland tartan.

The author briefly mentions McIan but doesn't mention that he, too, was an English imposter who also did lasting harm to outsider's perceptions of Highland culture by replacing reality with his fantasies.

[jsrnephdoc]

That's a great read, thanks!

It's hilarious, all that Mark Twain stuff. If you read Innocents Abroad you'll know about Twain's disdain for the pretentions of European culture, but I had no idea he specifically targeted Sir Walter Scott.

What I didn't see mentioned about Scott is how he swallowed the Allen Brothers' nonsense hook, line, and sinker. Scott's promoting of the Brothers' creations did irreparable harm to authentic Highland tartan.

The author briefly mentions McIan but doesn't mention that he, too, was an English imposter who also did lasting harm to outsider's perceptions of Highland culture by replacing reality with his fantasies.

I would NEVER claim to be a historian. One bit of evidence is how easily I fell for the apparent nonsense regarding the origin of "Ghillie Brogues."

I've not read Drurie's entire essay as yet, but I hope I can be forgiven if what follows is based on inaccurate consumption of material available to the American tourist in Scotland from what would generally be considered "authoritative" sources.

As a youngster, my understanding of Scottish history, culture and dress was based largely on little books my dad possessed that displayed images of Clan tartans, a map of the clans that hung on the wall of his office, and neckties and blazer pocket patches we all had by the time we were old enough to WEAR those garments. Of course there were also scratchy 78 rpms Harry Lauder and Royal Scots Guards Pipes and Drums recordings.

My first visit to Scotland was a one-week deviation during a month in France with my then 13 year old younger son. The day before we flew to Edinburgh from Paris (on British Airways, the pre-takeoff safety demo elaborately done in English by the live flight attendants followed by an audio-only repetition in difficult to hear French) my son and I visited the Verdun WWI memorial.

I've said here before that the Verdun memorial is among THE most sobering anti-war advocacy statements I've ever seen, on a par with the museums in Berlin and Washington DC that detail the horrors of the 1940s Holocaust.

The day after we landed in Edinburgh, we visited the Castle Museum, my memories of which are extraordinarily different, including the light-hearted (a museum staffer lying on the pavement demonstrating how to dress in a sheepherder's great kilt), but (far more importantly) an overriding declaration from the exhibits that "yeah, them English have decimated us repetitively over the centuries, but just give us one more chance against their nukes and jets with our Claymores, Dirks, and Sgian dubhs, and we'll slaughter 'em all! (OK, that might be a BIT hyperbolic, but the message really DID come through).

During my most recent visit (summer, 2023, with my older son), that slant seemed still present, with LONG lines waiting up on the roof of the museum to see the Stone of Scone in a virtual temple overlooking the city, signifying its Christmas Eve stealthy retrieval from London.

In fairness, however, more balanced essays exist as well. At Culloden, we learned that it was the BRITISH, not English army that slaughtered the highlanders.

But my favorite line in Drurie's essay is "Robert Burns never wore a kilt."

[PiperPadre]

That's a great read, thanks!

It's hilarious, all that Mark Twain stuff. If you read Innocents Abroad you'll know about Twain's disdain for the pretentions of European culture, but I had no idea he specifically targeted Sir Walter Scott.

What I didn't see mentioned about Scott is how he swallowed the Allen Brothers' nonsense hook, line, and sinker. Scott's promoting of the Brothers' creations did irreparable harm to authentic Highland tartan.

The author briefly mentions McIan but doesn't mention that he, too, was an English imposter who also did lasting harm to outsider's perceptions of Highland culture by replacing reality with his fantasies.

He revealed his disdain for Scott in "Huck Finn" by naming the floundering and sinking ship "Walter Scott".