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Re: clans of a kind



At 03:19 05/07/99 -0500, you wrote:
>
>
>
>Niven~
>I have learned much since joining this list from your posts.  In light of
>that, I had a question that I thought you best could answer if you would. 
>What clan would you say most parallels our clan,
>in history, in legacy and in spirit?
>In your debt,
>Tessa
>
>Dear Tessa,

You ask what other Clan is closest to us

None.  We are exceptional.  No family under the rank of Royalty has a more distinguished history
or produced so many distinguished people over the Centuries.   One has only to look at their contribution
to the constitution and the history of America to realise that their talents have cascaded down through
the generations just as they, themselves, have retained their Viking wanderlust by spreading across the
face of the Globe.

Let me quote a little from "The St Clairs of the Isles":

"The Saint-Clairs figure prominently in history, song and story.  In Normandy, they controlled
  lands, castles and troops of men and were closely allied to royal blood.

  At Hastings their prowess was conspicuous and materially helped to decide the fate of that
  eventful day.  They appear in the Battle Abbey roll.

  Early in the 11th Century  William ' the Seemly" St Clair settled in Scotland; soon his name
  appears on the roll of the nobles of King Malcolm Canmore and thenceforward for generations
  his descendants are found in loyal support of the Scottish monarchs who trusted them implicitly
  through good and ill.  Honoured with the confidence of the ancient Celtic line; entrusted with the
  defence of the Royal fortress during the wars of the Scottish Succession; they were the companions
  in arms of the patriot Bruce and, in later times, the St Clairs shared in the triumphs and disasters
  of the House of Stuart."

I could cover the last 1,000 years of our history (even before we took the name of St Clair) with volume after
volume of  facts and it would still be incomplete because, with every passing day, I am discovering fresh
information about the Sinclairs and the part they played in the development of Western civilisation and culture.

Let me give you one more quote:

"All that was highest in marriage, lands and office they had in England for nearly a Century after
  the Conquest and the glow of their fame and their physical and intellectual powers kep them high
  for Centuries afterwards in a way which was rare to any one particular lineage."

We are also different in so far as we have always had a European dimension.  Our name is as well known in
Scandinavia as it is in Scotland.  We held lands in every Province of France and in Alsace.  We are related to
the ex Royal House of Poland and, if we had won the Battle of Val-es-Dunes in 1047 against William 'the Bastard'
it is the Sinclairs who would have been the Royal House of England and ipso facto of one quarter of the Globe.

We must never forget our history because 'we are nothing without our roots'.  It gives us the confidence and
the stability to face up to life's vicissitudes in this increasingly tormented and troubled World.  I hope it will also
give us the courage and the desire to improve the lot of our fellow man by becoming actively involved in our
respective communities.  We can begin by giving support to our Clan associations because there is strength
in unity.  The Sinclair engrailed cross - the oriflamme of our family - must be seen to herald a renaissance of
the spirit of chivalry and brotherhood which should govern all our lives.

With every good wish.

Niven Sinclair


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