Summary: In this episode, I discuss the other, non-Gaelic ethnic groups that, along with Dal Riata, were the foundation of Scotland. Which clans claim descent from them? In the southwest of Scotland, from around the Loch Lomond area down through Galloway were the Britons of Clyde Rock (later of Strathclyde). In the eastern Lowlands, the Germanic Angles established themselves at the expense of the earlier Britons and Picts. North of the Firth of Clyde/Forth line and east of Drumalban were the Picts, who spoke a language relating to the Britons. There was so much mixing that we shouldn't get too caught up with the concept of someone being a pure Picts or Gael, Briton or Angle since there wasn't such a thing, at least not concerning their ancestry. A quick look at a list of any clan's chiefs and who they married will dispell the idea of purity. The language issue would have been a different story, but that was fluid over time. With that said, it is interesting to know the origins of clans and what their ethnic background was. That's the reason behind this episode. As I looked into the origins of individual clans, unless I could clearly see that there was a Norman or Viking ancestor, I assumed an origin corresponding with the original ethnic group dominant in that particular region of Scotland. British clans might include Wallace, Muir, Cathcart, Cunningham, Douglas (unless the claim of descent from Freskin is accurate), Carmichael, Carruthers, Scott, Johnstone, Armstrong. Clans with a possible Angle origin are Lockhart, Gordon (maybe), Rutherford, Nesbitt, Turnbull, Home, and Dunbar. Clans who may descend from the Picts include Forbes, Sempill, MacDuff (and by virtue of the MacDuffs: MacIntosh, Shaw of Rothiemurchus, Farquharson, MacThomas, Wemyss and Scrymgour), MacNaughten, Brodie, Eliot, and Ogilvy.
