When visiting clan tents at any Highland Games in the world you will hear terms such as Chief, family, sept, and branch. These terms are used consistently in most clans, and Clan Donald's booth is not an exception though maybe it should be.

Most clan societies look to the 16th & 17th centuries as the time their clans were at the height of power. Their chiefs were feudal lords who obtained authority through birthright and loyalty to the Scottish crown.  From the crown they obtained land and power over several unrelated families that lived on those lands. These families are now referred to as septs of that chief's clan. This concept is the foundation of the clan sept lists seen in clan booths and printed in several clan directories such as "Kith & Kin".

Clan Donald's height of power was hundreds of years earlier than the other clans under a totally different form of government. For hundreds of years prior to feudalism the government in the Highlands & Islands was Celtic. The right to govern in Celtic society was earned through individual deeds (actions) instead of government deeds (documents). The ancient Celtic chief was elected by his clan as the one most capable of leading them and removed from office if he failed. Those chiefs formed a Council of the Isles that represented their clans and elected a High Chief called the King of the Isles. Most of the clans making up the Council were branches of Clan Donald, but many were not related. Their part of the Kingdom of the Isles was a voluntary alliance rather than royal decree. The Kingdom of the Isles was at first a rival of the Kingdom of Scotland, but was eventually recognized by Scotland as the "Lordship of the Isles". Finally the Scottish crown declared the forfeiture of the Lordship in 1493. There are hundreds of names with little or no blood relationship to Clan Donald that have a legitimate claim of affiliation with Clan Donald because of the Lordship.

Clan Donald and the Kingdom (Lordship) of the Isles were Celtic societies living under Celtic laws. The Celtic law of rule by debfine (Gaelic meaning 4 generations of family) is the reason Clan Donald was divided into branches, each ruled by a descendant of Donald instead of the feudalist concept of a united kingdom inherited by the eldest son. The Celtic way was to difuse government into local kingdoms rather than have a powerful central government. This loose federation left them vernerable to the divide and conquer tactics of the powerful empires of the Romans in Europe and later Anglo/Saxon monarchs in Britain.

The branches of Clan Donald were named and determined by the different Clan Donald lands granted the different descendants of Donald of Islay.Obviously everyone living on the land was not a literal descendant of the chief.  The clan system was a society based on the family concept of the chief acting as a father figure, but not literally the father of every clan member.You may access the individual branch pages by clicking on the appropriate crest to the left.

If you are fortunate enough to have family tradition of which branch your ancestors associated you may choose to wear that tartan.  It is not necessary that you trace your genealogy directly back to a Clan Donald branch chief to justify wearing the branch tartan (if you can do that you may have claim to being the next chief). There were considerable movements and marriages that weren't confined to Clan Donald branches or lands. It was a strong Celtic traditional value to seek a bride outside the immediate clan which not only prevented consanguinity (inbreeding problems experienced by feudal nobility, such as hemophilia), but strengthened the clan by expanding it's influence.  This Celtic trait of your ancestors may make the decision of which MacDonald tartan to claim as your own more complicated and explain why the common Scottish answer to the question, "Which tartan should I wear?" is "Which one do you like?"

We have included a brief summary of the history of eight branches of Clan Donald from Donald J. Macdonald's history of Clan Donald. We chose a few historical events that convey what your ancestors experienced as rank and file of Clan Donald. For the genealogies and personal life history of each chief we recommend Donald J. Macdonald's work. You can access the history of each branch by clicking on the appropriate crest to the left at the top of the page.

For an alphabetical list of names associated with Clan Donald including the branch or region with which they were associated we refer you to either the Clan Donald, USA  or Clan Donald UK web sites. We have also included Celtic mythology under Legends associated with each branch of Clan Donald. These legends are a large part of what motivated your ancestors and often took place in the land associated with that branch. To our Celtic ancestors the traditions were part of the land upon which they lived and died. Each rock, each loch, and glen have a tradition associated with them. Knowing the traditions helps you understand the lands of your ancestors that were such an important part of your ancestors' identity. To your ancestors it was enough to say "of Islay", "of Glengarry", or "of Sleat" to communicate generations of legend and history that made up who they were. It is a major part of who you are.