Clan Graham Association
Clan Graham
According to tradition the origins of the Clan Graham are that they are descended from "Graeme", a great Caledonian chief, who broke the Roman Antonine Wall, which forged the divide between Roman Britannia and the unconquered highlands, as he drove the Roman legions from his lands. He is said to have won it the name "Graham's Dyke during the time of Fergus II. This, unfortunately, might never be proven, although Roman texts vaguely reference a Graeme in similar context.
Theories attempt to explain the ancient roots of the clan with the postulation that similar names from the Celtic "Greumach" (grim) or the Saxon "Gram" (fierce) were absorbed into a larger entity to form a united clan. Scottish legend also suggests that the daughter of a Gryme married a King of the Scots, Fergus II, and that the family consequently holds exceptionally old royal ancestry beyond that later gained. The Celts and Saxons disappeared or were swallowed up by the descendants of "Lez Grames" of Norman origin. Another theory is that that the original Grahams in Scotland were Picts, established long before the Saxons or Normans came to Scotland, making Graham one of the most ancient families in all of Britain.
Though the above theories differ as to how the clan was established in Scotland, solid information has established a Norman descent of the original Grahams. These Normans were originally of the Vikings who landed on Scottish soil in ancient times and thus a Graham lineage goes back into Scandinavia.
From the records available, the first Graham known in Scotland was Sir William de Graham (or De Graeme), a knight who accompanied David I, England's premier baron, on his journey north to claim the Scottish crown in 1128. William De Graeme personally witnessed the signing of the charter founding the Abbey of Holyrood in the same year 1128. From this line descended the Montrose line of Grahams, one of the most distinguished families of Scotland and perhaps all of Britain. This knight might have originated from a place listed as "Graeg Ham" in the Domesday Book of William the Conqueror in 11th century in England - now the town of Grantham.
Scottish Clans
Scottish clans (from Scottish Gaelic clann, "children"), give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs officially registered with the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which controls the heraldry and Coat of Arms. Each clan has its own tartan patterns, usually dating to the 19th century, and members of the clan may wear kilts, skirts, sashes, ties, scarves, or other items of clothing made of the appropriate tartan as a badge of membership and as a uniform where appropriate.
Clans identify with geographical areas originally controlled by the Chiefs, usually with an ancestral castle and clan gatherings form a regular part of the social scene.
Coat of Arms
A coat of arms, more properly called an armorial achievement, armorial bearings, or often just arms for short, in European tradition, is a design belonging to a particular person (or group of people) and used by them in a wide variety of ways. Historically, they were used by knights to identify them apart from enemy soldiers. In Continental Europe, commoners were able to adopt burgher arms. Unlike seals and emblems, coats of arms have a formal description that is expressed as a blazon. In the 21st century, coats of arms are still in use by a variety of institutions and individuals (for example several universities have guidelines on how their coats of arms may be used and protect their use).
The art of designing, displaying, describing and recording arms is called heraldry. The use of coats of arms by countries, states, provinces, towns and villages is called civic heraldry.