There are no strict rules on who has the right to wear a particular tartan. People normally wear only the tartan (if any) of their surname, or a "district tartan" connected with where they live or from where their family came. Wearing a particular clan tartan indicates that the wearer bears an allegiance to the chief of that clan. A tartan which uses the name of a clan may only do so if the chief of that clan has given his approval to the particular design. There is no official government register of tartans. Records of designs are maintained by the Scottish Tartans Authority, a non-governmental institution.
There are two different Crawford tartans to consider wearing: ancient and modern. Generally, the ancient tartan is of lighter colors and the modern tartan of darker colors in the same pattern. There are also tartans called Ayrshire and Lanarkshire, districts of Scotland. There are national Scottish tartans: Black Watch, Hunting Stewart, Jacobite, etc. And there is the St. Andrew's tartan and various province, state, and county tartans. Those whose surname is Crawford seldom opt for national or district tartans because its more appropriate for Clan associates to wear the tartan of the surname they support.
One taboo in wearing tartan is wearing those of two different clans. It has been suggested in the past that a man could wear a tie in his mother's clan tartan, but this is not correct. Even the same tartan tie as one's kilt is discouraged.
What is the Clan plant?
Boxwood - In the days prior to the tartan registry and other modern formalities, boxwood was worn to identify the individual associated with Clan Crawford.
What is the Clan motto?
Dalmagregan Branch: Tutum Te Robore Reddam - Our Strength in Exchange for Your Trust. This is a result of the 1127 event which produced the Clan Crest. This is the recognized Clan motto.
Crawfordjohn Branch: God schaw ye right (traditional) God shaw the right (alternative).
What is the Clan crest?
As a common portion of an armiger's Arms, the protocol governing the crest is not as formal as for the shield. The crest generally identifies members of a lineage within the Clan in a manner similar to the tartan. The generally observed Crawford crest is the buck set upon a wreath and topped with a cross of various styles. The Cross of Lorraine replacing the original styles is a modern alteration. Another recent addition is the crest when standing alone encircled with a buckled belt with the motto around the belt.
Tradition states that in 1127 Gregan Crawford, son of the Laird of Crawfordjohn, saved King David from the charge of a buck. In gratitude the King knighted him and built Holyrood Abbey. The result of this incident is that the buck is placed in the crest commemorating this event, and the cross is placed atop the buck to commemorate the construction of Holyrood Abbey. The motto is placed in the belt declaring most literally, "Our Strength in Exchange for Your Trust" in acknowledgement of King David's trust exchanged for protection.
But a closer examination shows that the observed crest was actually adopted by Patrick Crawford of Drumsoy from the Dalmagregan Branch when he married into the Chief's line of the Crawfordjohn Branch to become Clan Chief about 1700. The buck is the crest of the Dalmagregan Branch. The original Crawfordjohn Branch crest is a phoenix rising from flames with the motto "God schaw ye right." At present we can only speculate on the symbolic representation, but it is likely to represent the trial of the Wars of Independence for which the Crawfordjohn Branch sacrificed most dearly. As supporting evidence that the phoenix crest is from the Crawfordjohn Branch, this Crawfordjohn motto is also on a memorial in Kilbirnie Kirk for Thomas Crawford placed in 1594. Apparently Thomas was a loyal Clansman. The Crawfordjohn motto also appears in the Arms of the City of Ayr as a result of the First Sheriff of Ayrshire being Craufurdjohn Chieftain.
What is the Family Coat of Arms?
First, a Family Coat of Arms is a fictional creation. Coats of Arms are strictly for individuals and owned by individuals. Coats of Arms were and still are very much like a modern Registered Trade Mark for an individual. Each individual Arms is different from any other. What makes them incredibly valuable to researchers is that the rules governing each characteristic describe the individual in a symbolic way. This description can give hints about the owner's lineage and sometimes achievements.
Protection of ownership in Scotland is enforced by the Lyon Court. Outside Scotland ownership is not as formal. Arms are made of several features: the shield, the helm, the crest, the motto (a uniquely Scottish tradition), the supporters, and the mantle. A very interesting design is this contemporary registration of a descendant of the Ardmillan Cadet, with the paternal line in the dominant 1st and 4th quarters.
Aside from differencing, which is particularly important for Clan members whose genealogy is determined, the common features of the shield of a Crawfordjohn Branch member are that the shield is gules (red) with an ermine (white with black tails) fess (middle third). The shield to the above right is a single-differenced Crawfurdjohn Branch shield, a basic shield with a cloud geometry on the upper fess edge. Differencing is: (1) a slight geometric variation in the borders and edges, (2) addition of charges (symbols), as well as (3) more drastic quartering the shield among various paternal and maternal lineal descendencies. The quartered shields now appear in the Kilbirnie Cadet as a combination of the Crawford and Barclay shields, as shown above right, for reasons shown in the pedigree.
However, as shown to the left the Chief's line (Auchinames Cadet) adopted a silver (white) shield with two tilting lances in saltire between 4 spots of ermine, symbolizing the honors earned in the Battle of Bannockburn by Reginald Craufurd and the reason for the grant of Auchinames. And to further complicate matters, the Dalmagregan Branch shield is entirely different, being a silver (white) shield with a red stag's head as shown on the left, commemorating the act of Gregan de Craufurd.
The Coat pictured above right shows an amalgamated Coat of Arms. The shield is the original undifferenced Crawfordjohn Branch shield. Atop the shield is the helm indicating social status. Atop the helm is variation of the Dalmagregan Branch crest, in this case the face forward roe buck topped with the original Patriarchal Cross. Below the shield is the banner with the Dalmagregan Branch motto. There are no supporters for the shield and the mantling is a typical leaf design. But this doesn't preclude other Clan armigers from adding supporters. For example, the arms of one of the Dalmagregan cadets included two black horned bulls supporting the shield.
Dalmagregan Branch
South Ayrshire
Crawfordjohn Branch
North Ayrshire
Crawfordjohn Branch
Craufurdland Cadet
Malcolm Craufurd
Kilbirnie/Barclay
Coat of Arms
Craufurdland Cadet
Chief's Shield, 1314-1700
Auchinames Cadet
Dalmagregan Branch
Kerse/Drumsuie Cadet
Chief's Shield, post-1700
Drumsoy/Auchinames
& Crawfordjohn/Kerse
As the example on the right shows, the pre-1700 Clan Chief's Arms had a silver (white) shield, crossed lances, 4 ermine spots, a rising phoenix above the helm, and the Crawfordjohn motto. After the Dalmagregan and Crawfordjohn Branches unified in 1700 the shield of the Chief consisted of a quartered shield of representations from the 2 branches of the Clan as shown on the left. The 1st and 4th quarters of the shield are silver (white) with red stag's head for Kerse and Drumsoy. The 2nd quarter is silver (white) with crossed lances between 4 ermine spots for Auchinames. And the 3rd quarter is the Crawfordjohn red shield with ermine fess. Additionally, the Dalmagregan motto and crest were adopted for the new Chief's paternal line. It is particularly important to note that while the arms of Clan Branch members may show the arms of other families through quartering, the Clan Crawford Chief's Arms never demonstrate allegiance to any other clan, sept, or family. Clan Crawford is indeed a separate clan just waiting for a Chief to be identified.
Coat of Arms
Clan Chief, 1314-1700
