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Niven, such a great letter. I'm
keeping it in my folder.
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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