MacLeod
Ancient Modern Crest
Gaelic Name: MacLeòid
Motto: Hold Fast
Badge: Juniper
Lands: Skye and Harris
Descended from the Norse kings of Man and the North Isles, the clan of MacLeod comprised two main branches, the MacLeods of Skye and the MacLeods of Lewis. The MacLeods of Skye established the seat at Dunvegan, which remains the chief’s seat to this day. The name of this branch of the MacLeod clan, “Siol Tormod” from Tormod, grandson of Olaf the Black, who founded the clan. Tormod’s son supported Robert the Bruce in the War of Independence but, by and large, the MacLeods retained their own spirit of independence through the tortuous politics of fourteenth and fifteenth century Scotland.