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Clan MacAlpine (Tartans, Crest) and The Story Behind

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MacAlpine

Gaelic Name: MacAilpein (Son of Alpin)

Clan Motto: Cuimhnich Bàs Ailpein (Remember the Death of Alpin)

Origin of Name: Son of Alpin

Lands: Dunstaffnage in Argyll, near Oban. Other areas under MacAlpine control included the Royal Palace at Forteviot, where King Kenneth moved his capital after subjugating the Picts and because of increasing Viking raids in Argyll. There is a sizeable cluster of MacAlpin(e)s around Kilmartin

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MacAlpine Clan History

It's odd that a surname that appears to be descended from Alpin, the father of Kenneth MacAlpin (Cináed mac Ailpn, Coinneach mac Ailpein) has never had a Chief of Names and Arms. Despite claims of seven established Clans descended from Alpin (Clan Grant, Clan Gregor, Clan MacAulay, Clan Macfie, Clan Mackinnon, Clan Macnab, and Clan MacQuarrie, collectively known as the Siol Alpin), there are no connected genealogies back to him.

The historical Alpn mac Echdach could refer to two different people: the first, a presumed king of Dál Riata in the late 730s descended from Fergus Mór mac Eirc, and the second, Kenneth MacAlpin's father. Most modern king lists begin with Kenneth I (810-13 February 858), King of the Picts, rather than the first King of Scots, as national mythology now claims. Alpn is most likely a Pictish name, possibly derived from the Anglo-Saxon name lfwine. Mac Echdach is a patronymic that means "son of Eochaid or Eochu."

Unfortunately, Alpin is not mentioned in the 11th Century Duan Albanach (Song of the Scots) or the various Irish Annals, and there is no real evidence that he was a king in Dál Riata or that his father was Eochaid mac eda Find, who may or may not be true. In any case, the MacAlpine name is so ancient that it must have originated when the clan system was still in its infancy.

We know almost nothing about Cináed mac Ailpn (in Gaelic Coinneach mac Ailpein, also known as Kenneth MacAlpin). While he was certainly king of the Picts, national mythology that makes him the first king of Scots is less historically certain. However, it is from this that his posthumous nickname - An Ferbasach, "The Conqueror" - derives.

Mediaeval lists of early kings were mostly compiled much later, are frequently inconsistent, and do not stand up to modern historical scrutiny. The Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, which included the reference to Kenneth I, was not completed until 100 years later:

Kinadius son of Alpinus, the first Scot, ruled Pictland prosperously for 16 years. Pictland was named after the Picts, who were destroyed by Kinadius, as previously stated. … He had received the kingdom of Dál Riata two years before arriving in Pictland.

Kenneth, the Gael king of what is now Argyll (Oir-Ghàidheal, the land of the "eastern Gaels") and Lochaber in Scotland, and Co. Antrim in Ulster (the area around Belfast), is depicted as "destroying" the Picts. According to other sources, Kenneth took the throne in 840, following a disastrous defeat of the Pictish army by Danes. The well-worn story of Kenneth's father being murdered by the Picts and Kenneth avenging him by gathering the Pictish kings for a feast and slaughtering them was recognized as early as the 1570s as merely a later retelling of a story invented by Geoffrey of Monmouth in the 12th Century, concerning Saxon treachery at a feast.

Historians now regard Kenneth I as the fifth last Pictish king rather than the first Scot (Gael) king, and there is no real evidence that he was a Scot who inherited the Pictish throne through his mother through Pictish matrilineal succession. In any case, the Picts were not "destroyed" or "disappeared," but rather assimilated into the Scoto-Gaelic culture, which, unlike the Picts, had writing. The Pict and Gaelic union grew stronger in the face of increased Norse settlement in Shetland, Orkney, Caithness, Sutherland, the Western Isles, the Isle of Man, and a portion of Ross, which threatened and weakened links with Ireland because the Norse controlled the western sea-ways.

Kenneth died on 13 February 858, not in battle, but from cancer, at the palace of Cinnbelachoir, possibly near Scone or Forteviot. He was referred to as King of the Picts rather than King of Alba, a title that was not used until Kenneth's grandsons, Donald II (Domnall mac Causantn) and Constantine II (Constantn mac eda). The merger of the Scot and Pict kingdoms is said to have been sealed by the relocation of the 'Stone of Destiny,' the symbolic seat of power of the Celtic Dalriadic Kings, from Dunstaffnage to Scone in the heart of the old Pictish kingdom. It was taken to London with Edward I, but was returned and can now be seen in Edinburgh castle alongside the Honours of Scotland (the crown jewels). Kenneth also made Dunkeld the Celtic Church's headquarters and the capital of the newly formed nation.

The sarcophagus discovered in 1855 in Govan's Old Parish Church in Glasgow is thought to have once held the remains of Constantine, son of Kenneth MacAlpin, who died in 877.

Having said that, MacAlpin (and its variants) is an ancient name in Scotland, but it could simply mean "Son of Alba" or be derived from another Elbin or similar name. An old Gaelic saying, "Cnuic 'is uillt 'is Ailpeinich" (Hills and Streams and MacAlpine), suggests that the MacAlpins formed concurrently with the hills and streams, that is, the Earth itself. Beginning with John MacAlpyne, who witnessed a charter by Malise, Earl of Stratherne, of the lands of Cultenacloche and others in Glenalmond, c. 1260 (Grandtully, I, p. 126. ), and Monaghe fiz Alpyn of the county of Perth, who was forced to render homage to Edward I of England in 1296, Black's Surnames of Scotland lists early records of the name. Others include Monauche Macalpin, who witnessed a charter in 1285, Monach mac Alpy, who rendered homage to the Scottish government in 1296, Malcolm Macalpyne, who witnessed a charter by Duncan, Earl of Levenax (Lennox) in 1395, and Mordac Makcalpy, who was granted permission to attend the University of Oxford by Henry IV of England in 1405.

Modern DNA evidence suggests that modern MacAlpin(e)s have two distinct genetic origins that are strongly represented - I2a2a1a1/L369 (eastern or "Pict") and R1b1a2/M-269 (western or "Scot", but the dominant R1b in Europe). There is little support for a common ancestor with, say, MacGregor.

On September 10, 2016, the MacAlpines held a Family Convention in Scotland, which was overseen by an Officer of Arms appointed by the Lord Lyon. Michael McAlpin was appointed as Commander of the Name ad interim on April 19, 2017. Following the procedures, a Chief will be recognized, a welcome recognition of one of Scotland's oldest and most distinguished surnames.

MacAlpine Places & People

People of Clan MacAlpine

King Alpin (circa 840)

The ancient Scottish kingdom of Dalriada was ruled by King Alpin. He reigned for only three years as the 34th King before being killed in a raid on Galloway. In his honor, a standing stone stands in Laight.

Kenneth MacAlpin (died in 858)

Kenneth, son of Alpin and brother of Donald I, is credited as the Dalriada King who united the Scots and Picts kingdoms to become the first King of Scotland.

Sir Robert MacAlpine (1847-1935).

Working in a Lanarkshire mine since the age of eight, Robert MacAlpine established his own construction company by the age of twenty-two.

His hugely successful company undertook many great projects with his sons, including Wembley Stadium, Glenfinnan Viaduct, and Borrowdale Bridge.

In 1918, 'Concrete Bob' was knighted.

MacAlpine Tartans

MacAlpine Ancient

MacAlpine Modern

MacAlpine Crest & Coats of Arms

Clan MacAlpine Crest

The MacAlpine crest is being studied...

Coats of Arms of MacAlpine

A word about Coats of Arms:

A coat of arms is granted to an individual under Scottish heraldic law (with the exception of civic or corporate arms). A 'family coat of arms' does not exist. With the exceptions noted above, the arms depicted below are personal arms. Only the person who has been granted these weapons has the right to use them.

The first "MacAlpine" Coat of Arms granted by a Lord Lyon King of Arms and recorded in Scotland's Lyon Register.

Arms: Per bend Vert and Azure, a sword Gules in bend dexter, hilted Sable between an antique crown Or in chief and a bearded man's head Proper, severed at the neck on a bend Or.

A curlew serves as the crest.

HONOUR TRADITION LOYALTY is the motto.

The Court of the Lord Lyon, December 4, 2001. Volume 83, Page 113 of the Lyon Register.

Background Details

The Arms were granted to John Duncan McAlpine's only son, John Donald McAlpine, in his honor and memory. The Letters Patent link John Duncan's father, Duncan McAlpine, to his grandfather, Donald McAlpine, and the Scottish county of Argyll.

Sir Robert McAlpine's Arms, 1922

The McAlpine Baronets of Knotts Park, the most famous members of which are Sir Robert (nicknamed "Concrete Bob"), the first Baronet, his grandson Lord McAlpine of Moffat, MP, and his son Lord Alastair McAlpine of West Green, Conservative Party Treasurer and author of several books, including a two-part autobiography.

Sir William Hepburn McAlpine, 6th Baronet, now holds the Arms.

Lt. General Duncan Alastair McAlpine's Arms.

The coat of arms is azure. a saltire couped Argent surmounted by a sword point downward Argent its hilt beset dexter to sinister with a maple leaf Argent fimbriated Azure, maple leaf Or fimbriated Gules, both enfilading an ancient crown Or.

Crest: An Azure castle tower masoned Argent charged with a rose also Argent barbed Vert seeded Or rising therefrom two Scots Pine cones Azure.

On a grassy mount strewn with Scots Pine cones Argent and roses also Argent barbed Vert seeded Or two collies Or and Argent armed Sable the dexter gorged with a collar Azure charged with three oak acorns Argent the sinister gorged with a collar Azure charged with three Maltese crosses Argent.

"THA CUIMHNE AGAM-SA GU BHEIL AILPEIN BE," says the motto.

Portland, Oregon

Arms Grant and Supporters

The date was September 20, 1990.

44, Vol. II

William Alexander McAlpine's Arms

"Argent, on a bend Azure between two garbs Gules, a sword in bend point upward Argent enfiled with an antique crown Or"

Michael T. McAlpin's Arms

"Gules, a sword in bend Gules hilted and pommelled Or, a bordure engrailed parted per pale Azure and Argent, on a bend Argent between in chief a fir tree eradicated Argent and in base an ancient crown Or, a bordure engrailed parted per pale Azure and Argent."

Proper crest: a green darner dragonfly"

Motto: Na Bitheam Coitcheann (Above the arms in Escrol).

Published on July 10, 2008.

The 17th page of the 89th volume of Scotland's Public Register of All Arms and Bearings.

The Finn Alpin Arms

"A bend Argent on an Azure field."

On the bend, an Azure hilted and pommelled sword in bend point upwards.

In chief, a couped boar's head Or, and in base, an antique crown Or."

Crest: An Argent dexter hand grasping a chaplet of Vert laurel leaves.

CUIMHNICH (in a scroll above the arms) is the motto.

Issued on December 3, 2010.

75th page of the 89th volume of Scotland's Public Register of All Arms and Bearings.

Sidney F. McAlpin's Arms

"Gules, a sword in bend Gules hilted and pommelled Or, a bordure engrailed Azure, between in chief a fir tree eradicated Argent and in base an ancient crown Or."

Crest: a Purpure darner dragonfly"

Motto: Na Bitheam Coitcheann (Above the arms in Escrol).

issued on February 8, 2011

The 69th page of the 91st volume of Scotland's Public Register of All Arms and Bearings.

Earl Dale McAlpine's Arms

"Azure, a bend Argent between two garbs Or a sword point upward Azure enfiled with an antique crown Or all within an engrailed bordure Or charged with three marlets Azure."

Proper " is cabossed on the head of a California deer.

"CUIMHNICH AIR NA DAOINE O'N D'THAINIG THU" is the Irish national anthem.

On November 27th, the following statement was issued:

Volume 89, 107th Page of the Public Register of All Arms and Bearings in Scotland

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