Quote Originally Posted by Chas View Post
Conversely, what about the 'MacDonald' child who is orphaned and is then raised by the Oberhumpelstinkendorf family - does he stop being a 'MacDonald'?

There is one member of X Marks whose parents are both middle European. They were each orphaned and adopted in the US by families whose surnames were MacSomething. He knows all this but is a firm believer in his Celtic/Scottish/Highland roots and heritage. He is a member of both the Clan Societies (Scottish and US). Is he a member of a clan? He believes so - by his membership of the societies and by virtue of him 'being' a MacSomething. I for one agree with him.

Roots/heritage/tradition have to start somewhere.

Regards

Chas
It would be my opinion that if the gentleman referred to "follows" a chief, he's a member of the chief's clan.

While it is nice to be able to recite one's genealogy back to the year dot, and while membership in a clan is widely held to be the result of being able to claim a "blood tie" to the ancient chiefly line, the reality is that many of the clansmen of old were considered clansmen based as much on allegiance, and more often than not defined themselves as clansmen in those terms, as much as anything else.