Relationships in a Highland Clan, whether it be within the Clan or otherwise, are rarely cut and dry. Along with the already blurry lines of history and the complete warping, or even purposeful misrepresentation of facts during the Victorian area, many sources now, due to ignorance or otherwise, teach incorrect information. This section hopes to explain the Oliphant Clan’s relationships with others, as well as clear up such misinformation concerning such relationships, which has been passed on from one source to another, without any fact to support it.
The supportable facts are:
Firstly, that Lord Lyon has ruled that the Chief of Clan Oliphant is Chief of the Arms and Whole Name of Oliphant.
Secondly, Lord Lyon has ruled as is duly reflected in the blazon of 2003 that the Chief of Clan Oliphant has supporters to his arms by right.
These two points necessarily define in Scottish Law that Clan Oliphant is not a sept of any other Clan.
Following on from that, it was accepted by the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs that The Chief of Clan Oliphant be elected a member of the Standing Council as by right due to qualifying in the primary category: “(a) Hereditary Chiefs or Heads of considerable Scottish names bearing the absolute undifferenced Arms of their noble stock and stem provided such Arms include the right to hereditary supporters.”
The following pages dispel some of the main misconceptions propagated by Victorian authors.