Scottish clan Clan Grant. During the Wars of Scottish Independence, feudal tenures were introduced by Robert the Bruce that harnessed and controlled the prowess of clans by the award of charters for land in order to gain support in the national cause against the English. For example, the Clan MacDonald were elevated above the Clan MacDougall, two clans who shared a common descent from a great Norse-Gaelic warlord named Somerled of the 12th century. Clanship was thus not only a strong tie of local kinship but also of feudalism to the Scottish Crown. It is this feudal component, reinforced by Scots law,
Clan Macnab in Doune Castle. The current chief is the 24th, James William Archibald Macnab of Macnab who succeeded his father, James Charles Macnab of Macnab, in 2013. Clan Macnab Clan Macnab is a Highland Scottish clan. The name Macnab is derived from the Scottish Gaelic "Mac An Aba", which means "child of the abbot". According to tradition the progenitor of the clan was "Abraruadh" who was the Abbot of Glen Dochart and Strathearn. Abraruadh was allegedly a younger son of Kenneth MacAlpin, the first king of Scots. (See: Siol Alpin). Abraruadh was also descended from Fergus, king of Dál Riata and