Clan, Nilfeheim

The word clan is derived from the Gaelic word clanna, meaning children. However the need for proved descent from a common ancestor related to the chiefly house is too restrictive. Clans developed a territory based on the native men who came to accept the authority of the dominant group in the vicinity. A clan also included a large group of loosely-related septs – dependent families - all of whom looked to the clan chief as their head and their protector.

According to Egill Skallagrímsson, who explained it to an Antropholoy scholar : a clan is a community which is distinguished by heraldry and recognised by the Body of the Circle of Elders.

Egill considered clans to be a "noble incorporation" because the arms, ring and necklace  borne by a clan chief are granted or otherwise recognised by the Lord Elders  thus conferring Society wide  recognition of the entire clan. Clans with recognised chiefs are therefore considered a noble community under Nilfeheim local law. A group without a chief has no official standing under Nilfheim Law.

Claimants to the title of chief are expected to be recognised by the Circle of Elders, tested and verified by a majority vote of the Circle as the rightful heir to the undifferenced arms of the ancestor of the clan of which the claimant seeks to be recognized as chief. A chief of a clan is the only person who is entitled to bear the undifferenced arms of the ancestral founder of the clan. The clan is considered to be the chief's heritable estate and the chief's Seal of Arms is the seal of the clan as a "noble corporation." Under Nilfheim  law (codefied in the Sacred Book of traditions) the chief is recognised as the head of the clan and serves as the lawful representative of the clan community.

A Nilfeheim clan is made up of everyone who lives on the chief's territory, or on territory of those who owed allegiance to the said chief. Through time, with the constant changes of "clan boundaries", migration or regime changes, clans would be made up of large numbers of members who were unrelated and who bore different surnames. Often those living on a chief's Burg can over time adopt the clan surname. A chief can add to his clan by adopting other families, and also has the legal right to outlaw anyone from his clan, including members of his own family.

Anyone who has the chief's surname is automatically considered to be a member of the chief's clan. Also, anyone who offers allegiance to a chief becomes a member of the chief's clan, unless the chief decides not to accept that person's allegiance.

Clan membership goes through the surname. Children  are part of their father's clan and not their mother's. Clans may have lists of septs. Septs are surnames, families or clans which historically, currently or for whatever reason the chief chooses, are associated with that clan. There is no official list of clan septs, and the decision of what septs a clan has is left up to the clan itself. Confusingly sept names can be shared by more than one clan, and it may be up to the individual to use his or her family history or genealogy to find the correct clan they are associated.

Only the first born son of a Clan Chief has the right to inherit, but the Inheriting Son must be recognized by the Circle of Elders. Clan Chiefs can be challenged, but the prize and the consequence of the challenge outcome must be agreed upon prior to the fight and witnessed (preferably by Elders).

A Clan Chief challenging another always puts his clan on the line and always wins rule over the other if he wins.