Hello to All, My name is Dale Lawson, I have done quite alot of work researching MacLaren and MacLaurin heraldry. I realize that The Clan Chief alone traditionaly used the MacLaren coat of Arms and the Clan members were entitled to wear the Clan crest. But what most people forget is that the MacLaren families were so close to the borders that some strayed to the English towns and became land owners and had large families of their own and eventually qualified for Arms of their own. The Scottish Heraldry tradition also allows for sub chiefs and cadet branches to have arms granted along as they are differenced by the proper border on the shield. The official source for the Scottish Heraldry is the Lord Lyon Court, who has Civil authority dealing with geneology and heraldry. I have a Cd that contains almost all the MacLaren / McLaurin arms up to the early 1900's and possibly even later. I have also the Lawson Arms for Scotland, Ireland, and England. If anyone is looking for a copy of one of these coats of arms I can send one via e-mail attachment. If any one wants the whole Cd we can talk off this forum, I don't want to violate the noncommercial spirit of these forums. 1-eyed-owl@excite.com