Clan Kinninmont is a 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 Kinninmont 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 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...

, however no one at present is in possession of such arms. The original chiefly line died out when an heiress married into another family.

History

The clan name Kinninmont is derived from the lands of Kinninmonth in Fife

Fife

Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. In the years between 1189 and 1199, Odo, seneschal

Seneschal

A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...

 to the Bishop of St Andrews, received a charter

Charter

A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...

 for these lands from William I of Scotland

William I of Scotland

William the Lion , sometimes styled William I, also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough", reigned as King of the Scots from 1165 to 1214...

. An 1841 publication dealing with the charters on the archbishopric of St Andrews states that the charter granted by John, son of Adam, son of Odo is not recorded. The publication also states that John's "original deed of consent, executed at the same time, and before the same witnesses with the charter of his father, is still extanct; and on his seal we find the family name for the first time: S’Iohannis de Kinimmund". William de Kynemuthe's name appears on the Ragman Roll, which records the names of Scots nobles who submitted to Edward I of England

Edward I of England

Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...

 in 1296. In 1329 Alexander de Kininmund

Alexander de Kininmund (d. 1344)

Alexander de Kininmund was a 14th century Scottish churchman. The first mention of Alexander occurs when, as a canon of Dunkeld he is one of three ambassadors sent by King Robert I of Scotland to Avignon in 1320. The purpose of this embassy was to present a letter to Pope John XXII known as the...

 became Bishop of Aberdeen

Bishop of Aberdeen

The Bishop of Aberdeen was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Aberdeen, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th century cleric named Nechtan...

. Another Alexander de Kininmund

Alexander de Kininmund (d. 1380)

Alexander de Kininmund was a 14th century Scottish cleric. Although it is not known which one, it is known that in his youth he went to university and achieved a Licentiate in the Arts.-Career:...

 became Archdeacon of Aberdeen

Archdeacon of Aberdeen

The Archdeacon of Aberdeen was the only archdeacon in the Diocese of Aberdeen, acting as a deputy of the Bishop of Aberdeen. The archdeacon held the parish church of Rayne as a prebend since 1256. The following is a list of known historical archdeacons:...

 in 1352. James Kynimond of that Ilk asserted his hereditary right to the offices of baillie

Baillie

A baillie or bailie is a civic officer in the local government of Scotland. The position arose in the burghs, where baillies formerly held a post similar to that of an alderman or magistrate...

, steward

Seneschal

A seneschal was an officer in the houses of important nobles in the Middle Ages. In the French administrative system of the Middle Ages, the sénéchal was also a royal officer in charge of justice and control of the administration in southern provinces, equivalent to the northern French bailli...

 and marischal of St Andrews, in 1438. The direct line of Kininmonts of that Ilk (the chiefly line) came to an end with the marriage of the one heiress to Murray of Melgund.

Clan symbols

The crest badge

Scottish crest badge

A Scottish crest badge is a heraldic badge worn to show allegiance to an individual or membership in a specific Scottish clan. Crest badges are commonly called clan crests, but this is a misnomer; there is no such thing as a collective clan crest, just as there is no such thing as a clan coat of...

 suitable for members of the clan is derived from the arms of Kinninmont of that Ilk. The crest is blazoned as an oak tree Vert

Vert

The colour green is commonly found in modern flags and coat of arms, and to a lesser extent also in the classical heraldry of the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period....

and the motto is STABO, meaning "i shall stand".