Clan Members Crest Badge and Tartan
This is a picture of the Lamont Clan members Crest Badge and the Lamont
tartan in ancient colors.
Crest Badge
The Crest Badge is the emblem that Clan members may
wear to show their clan affiliation. Despite the advertisements of numerous vendors, there
is no such thing as a "Family Coat of Arms" in Scotland. By law, coats of arms
are the personal property of one individual only. Coats of Arms are granted by the Lord
Lyon King of Arms, the Monarch's Supreme Officer of Honour in Scotland. Therefore, the
arms of the Clan Chief may not be worn by other Clan members. However, Chiefs have
authorized the wearing of the crest from the Coat of Arms, encircled by a buckled strap.
This constitutes the Clan Members Crest Badge, and may be worn by any Clan Member. The
badge that a Chief wears is somewhat similar, consisting of the Crest encircled by a plain
band containing the Chief's motto, and backed by the three feathers of a Chief.
Lamont Tartan
The tartan background to this picture is the Ancient Lamont tartan. These colors are
intended to match the old vegetable dyes used by the weavers in earlier times. There is
also version of the tartan in Modern colors that utilizes darker "modern" dyes.
Most clan tartans are available in at least ancient and modern versions, and some have
dress, hunting, and weathered versions also. Whether all this is accurate, or an invention
of the modern woolen mills, is open to question. The Lamont tartan was registered by the
Chief in 1817. For more information, see Lamont Tartans
.