Clan MacMillan Heraldry

Although the art of Heraldry is very systematised these days, and the bearing of coats of arms is heavily regulated by law (at least in the British Isles), this was not always the case; and as with much of Scottish history, we should beware of imposing modern concepts and practices on the continuing process of evolution that took place in medieval times. A lack of contemporary documentary evidence and a surfeit of "tradition" often makes it impossible to be sure about much of the early histories of the clans; and no more so than in the sphere of heraldry. The certainties of modern accounts are quickly blown away when one sees the variations in design and colour (or "charges" and "tinctures" as a herald would say) attributed by various old armorials to the same clan chiefs; some of which bear absolutely no relation whatsoever to the arms registered in modern times to those same names. In a few cases the known history of the family concerned may explain some, though rarely all of these apparent discrepancies; but in many cases a mystery remains, and that is certainly the case so far as the MacMillans are concerned. There are two quite distinct sets of arms attributed to the clan, within both of which there are various differences of design and colour; all of which are shown below, along with coats associated with other related names.

THE SHIELDS SHOWN BELOW ARE NUMBERED BOTTOM RIGHT, AND THE EXPLANATIONS THAT FOLLOW EACH LINE OFTEN INCLUDE REFERENCES TO THE FOLLOWING STANDARD WORKS:
Burke: “Burke's General Armory” (1884); Papworth: “Papworth's Ordinary of British Armorials” (1961); Stodart: R.R.Stodart, “Scottish Arms” (2 Vols, Edinburgh, 1881); Nisbet: Alexander Nisbet, “A System of Heraldry” (2 Vols, Edin, 1984); Way & Squire: George Way & Romily Squire, “Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia” (Glasgow, 1994). Other works are fully referenced individually.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

7. 8. 9. 10.

1. "MacMillan, Scotland": Burke, 645.
2. "MacMillan": (1620 MS in Lyon Office): Arms of Principal MacMillan Families in CLAN MACMILLAN MAGAZINE, Vol. I, No.1 (1958), 41-2; referring to a 1953 letter from the Lord Lyon to the article’s author, Somerled MacMillan.
3. "MacMillan": (Pre-1663 Ross Herald’s MSS by Joseph Stacey): See Somerled MacMillan, The MacMillans and their Septs (Glasgow, 1952), 47. It seems quite clear, despite Somerled’s assertion that the Lord Lyon himself is wrong to read it so, that Stacey is saying the lion is sable - i.e. black - like the bars.
4. "MacMillan": Arms of Principal MacMillan Families, op.cit., 45. No written record of this coat exists and Somerled MacMillan, who claims they were probably the original arms of the Knapdale MacMillans, does not even name the oral sources from whom he obtained the details. In the circumstances their existence at any time must remain very doubtful indeed.
5. "MacMillan of Murlagan": Lyon Register, XLII , 48. Based in part on an engraving on an old kettle in the possession of the present MacMillan of Murlagan; the lion’s fistfull of arrows indicates Clann ‘ic ‘illemhaoil Abrach’s loyalty to the Camerons of Lochiel.
6. "Milliken of that Ilk": Burke, 687. See Septs page for this name's connection to the clan.
7. "MacMillan of Dunmore", 1723: See William Buchanan of Auchmar, An Account of the MacMillans, 129 (where, as Somerled MacMillan rightly pointed out, the arms described make no heraldic sense; so this is a best guess based on that account).
8. "MacMillan of Dunmore", 1742: Burke, 645, where it is dated to 1672 (though registration in the Lyon Court took place in 1742). These are the basis of the arms born today by the present "MacMillan of MacMillan and Knap".
9. "MacMillan-Scott" (the M'millan quarters): Burke, 906. Though the arms this family matriculated in relatively recent times are based on the Dunmore coat, their ancestors the McMillans of Shorthope were associated in the early 18th century with Edinburgh rather than Knapdale.
10. "Millan, Scotland": Papworth, 108.

11. 12. 13.

14. 15. 16. 17. 18.

11. "MacMillan, England": Burke , 645.
12. "MacMillan": Nisbet , I, 219. Note that although Somerled MacMillan attributes these arms to the MacMillans of Brockloch, chieftains of the Galloway branch of the clan, Nisbet himself does not associate them with any particular family or branch.
13. "MacMillan, Ulster": Burke, 645.
14. "Bell" (Balfour MS compiled 1630-54): Stodart, II , 238.
15. "Bell" (Seal 1427): John H. Stevenson & Marguerite Wood, Scottish Heraldic Seals (Glasgow, 1940), 244.
16. "Mullins / Muliens": Burke , 715.
17. "Lany", Dublin (recorded 1607): Burke, 585.
18, "Lennie, Scotland" (Leny of that Ilk): Burke, 601.

Please note that it is an offence under Scottish law to use a coat of arms that is registered in the Lyon Office to someone else; and that applies to clanspeople or clan societies putting the chief's arms on their notepaper or newsletters. Clan members and branches may however use their chief's crest enclosed in a buckled belt; as shown for M'millans at the top of The Clan page of this website.

For more on Scottish heraldry and links to related sites you can visit the website of the Heraldy Society of Scotland.

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