Clan Mackie is a Lowland Scottish clan

Scottish clan

Scottish clans , give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs recognised by the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which acts as an authority concerning matters of heraldry and Coat of Arms...

. The clan does not have a chief

Scottish clan chief

The Scottish Gaelic word clann means children. In early times, and possibly even today, clan members believed themselves to descend from a common ancestor, the founder of the Scottish clan. From its perceived founder a clan takes its name. The clan chief is the representative of this founder, and...

 recognised by the Lord Lyon King of Arms

Lord Lyon King of Arms

The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the head of Lyon Court, is the most junior of the Great Officers of State in Scotland and is the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, the oldest...

 therefore the clan has no standing under Scots Law

Scots law

Scots law is the legal system of Scotland. It is considered a hybrid or mixed legal system as it traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. With English law and Northern Irish law it forms the legal system of the United Kingdom; it shares with the two other systems some...

. Clan Mackie is considered an armigerous clan

Armigerous clan

An armigerous clan is a Scottish clan, family or name which is registered with the Court of the Lord Lyon and once had a chief who bore undifferenced arms, but does not have a chief currently recognized as such by Lyon Court...

, meaning that it is considered to have had at one time a recognised chief, or a chief who possessed the chiefly arms

Undifferenced arms

Undifferenced arms are coats of arms which have no marks distinguishing the bearer by birth order or family position. In the Scottish and English heraldic traditions, these plain coats of arms are legal property transmitted from father to eldest male heir, and are used only by one person at any...

 of the name, however no one at present is in possession of such arms.

Origins

The clan-name Mackie is an Anglicised form of the Gaelic Mac Aodha, meaning "son of Aodh". The Gaelic personal name

Personal name

A personal name is the proper name identifying an individual person, and today usually comprises a given name bestowed at birth or at a young age plus a surname. It is nearly universal for a human to have a name; except in rare cases, for example feral children growing up in isolation, or infants...

 Aodh is an old one and means "fire".

History

Clan Mackie was a prominent Galwegien

Galloway

Galloway is an area in southwestern Scotland. It usually refers to the former counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire...

 family in the 16th and early 17th centuries. The Mackies of Larg were the principal family of the clan. At the beginning of the 17th century, Sir Patrick Mackie of Larg was one the original fifty Scottish undertakers of the plantation of Ulster

Plantation of Ulster

The Plantation of Ulster was the organised colonisation of Ulster—a province of Ireland—by people from Great Britain. Private plantation by wealthy landowners began in 1606, while official plantation controlled by King James I of England and VI of Scotland began in 1609...

. About 1000 acre (4.05 km²; 1.56 sq mi) of his lands, near Donegal

Donegal

Donegal or Donegal Town is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. Its name, which was historically written in English as Dunnagall or Dunagall, translates from Irish as "stronghold of the foreigners" ....

, were however later taken over by John, earl of Annandale. The Mackies of Larg acquired the lands of Bargaly in Kirkcudbrightshire

Kirkcudbrightshire

The Stewartry of Kirkcudbright or Kirkcudbrightshire was a county of south-western Scotland. It was also known as East Galloway, forming the larger Galloway region with Wigtownshire....

 and Auchencairn near Castle Douglas

Castle Douglas

Castle Douglas , a town in the south of Scotland in Dumfries and Galloway, lies in the eastern part of Galloway known as the Stewartry, between the towns of Dalbeattie and Gatehouse of Fleet.-History:...

. Today there are still Mackies in Kirkcudbright

Kirkcudbright

Kirkcudbright, is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland.The town lies south of Castle Douglas and Dalbeattie, in the part of Dumfries and Galloway known as the Stewartry, at the mouth of the River Dee, some six miles from the sea...

.

Symbols

The arms of Mackie of Larg is blazoned Argent

Argent

In heraldry, argent is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it...

, two ravens pendant from an arrow fessways piercing their necks Proper, on a chief Azure

Azure

In heraldry, azure is the tincture with the colour blue, and belongs to the class of tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of horizontal lines or else marked with either az. or b. as an abbreviation....

 a lion passant of the Field armed and langued Gules

Gules

In heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called "colours". In engraving, it is sometimes depicted as a region of vertical lines or else marked with gu. as an abbreviation....

. The origin of these arms is explained by tradition. Mackie of Larg was to have been in the company of Robert II

Robert II of Scotland

Robert II became King of Scots in 1371 as the first monarch of the House of Stewart. He was the son of Walter Stewart, hereditary High Steward of Scotland and of Marjorie Bruce, daughter of Robert I and of his first wife Isabella of Mar...

 and was boasting of his prowess in the skill of archery

Archery

Archery is the art, practice, or skill of propelling arrows with the use of a bow, from Latin arcus. Archery has historically been used for hunting and combat; in modern times, however, its main use is that of a recreational activity...

. The king of Scots, growing weary of this, pointed out two raven

Raven

Raven is the common name given to several larger-bodied members of the genus Corvus—but in Europe and North America the Common Raven is normally implied...

s on a distant tree and asked Mackie of Larg to prove his boasts. However, much to the chagrin of the king Mackie of Larg skewered both ravens with his arrow. Tradition goes on to state that because of his feat Mackie of Larg was granted the right to bear on his shield two ravens pierced by an arrow through their neck, together with a lion which alluded to the king.

See also

• Mackie (disambiguation)
  Mackie (disambiguation)
  -People:* Alec Mackie , Irish footballer with Arsenal F.C. and Portsmouth F.C.* Alex Mackie , Scottish football manager with Middlesbrough F.C.* Andrew Mackie , Australian rules footballer with the Geelong Football Club...
  
  
• Clan Mackay
  Clan MacKay
  Clan Mackay is an ancient and once powerful Scottish clan from the far north of the Scottish Highlands, but with roots in the old kingdom of Moray. They were a powerful force in politics beginning in the 14th century, supporting Robert the Bruce. In the centuries that followed they were...
  
  , a separate Scottish clan which also derives its name from the Gaelic Aodh