Succession

The same system applied at the clan, regional and national levels. When a chief/king died, the deputy chief/king (the Tanist) automatically became the new chief/king. This ensured that the clan/nation was never leaderless. There would then be a gathering of all those eligible to vote;typically the heads of the families of the clan, or regional leaders (Mormaers or Righ in the case of the king), to elect a new Tanist from those eligible to be chief. Generally the new Tanist would be someone deemed a wise man and an able warrior, able to protect his people and dispense justice. This process theoretically ensured that leaders were always men best able to perform the task of leader, and that no one family dominated the leadership. In the 11 th /12 th century, Alba (Scotland) had seven regional leaders (the seven Righ, or Kings) who elected the national Tanist who would become the next Ard Righ (High King) when the current incumbent died. At the national level, the new Tanist may be one of the Righ or anyone of their clans who was of a descendant of a past Ard Righ. Though not necessarily designed to be so, one of the perceived benefits of the system was that no single family dominated the country as a whole. The main aim of the process was to select the best man (or woman) for the job. Whilst, in modern thinking, Tanistry can be seen as a semi- democratic form of deciding on a leader, it did have the downside of there frequently being so many candidates that it could, and did, lead to strife which in turn led to violence - the power of the ballot box had not yet been established!

Origins

Tanistry was a Gaelic system of succession for leadership of a clan or nation, which began in Ireland and migrated to Scotland and the Isle of Mann. It was a strictly patrilineal system in that, although a woman could be elected as leader, elegibility was through the male line only. In contrast, the Picts allowed succession via female lines. When the Picts and Gaels merged under a single King, Kenneth mac Alpin, tanistry was the system that survived.

Later Tanistry

Ironically, around 200 years after feudalism was introduced by the Canmore kings (Malcolm III onwards), potential candidates to the monarchy from the Bruce and Balliol families, both of Norman descent, used Pictish and Gaelic principles of tanistry to argue their claims to the throne! Echoes of tanistry still exist in Ireland where the Prime Minister is the Taoiseach (chief) and the Deputy Prime Minister is the Tánaiste (heir or deputy).