131 items

• The Battle of Bannockburn 1314: Robert the Bruce, the Clans Who Fought & Scotland's Fight for Independence

  The Battle of Bannockburn in June 1314 was Scotland's greatest military victory — a heavily outnumbered Scots army under Robert the Bruce crushed the English forces of Edward II and...

• Scottish Castles Associated with Robert the Bruce

  Robert the Bruce's campaign for Scottish independence was fought across a landscape of castles — some he defended, some he besieged, some he deliberately destroyed to deny them to England....

• Neidpath Castle History, Clan Hay Connections & the Tweed Valley

  Neidpath Castle clings to a gorge above the River Tweed near Peebles — a fourteenth-century L-plan tower house in one of the most dramatic riverside settings in the Scottish Borders....

• Hermitage Castle History, Border Reivers & Scottish Borders Heritage

  Explore the history of Hermitage Castle in Liddesdale, from medieval border lords and Mary Queen of Scots to Armstrong, Elliot, Scott, and Border Reiver heritage.

• Clan Home History: Hume Castle, Motto & Border Origins

  Explore Clan Home or Hume through Hume Castle, the Border lordship and earldom, its rallying cry, notable names and practical genealogy research.

• The Assassination of James I, 1437: Murder, a Sewer, and Kate Barlass

  James I was murdered in Perth in 1437 after a dramatic palace conspiracy, a blocked doorway and brutal revenge.

• Scottish Clans of the Lowlands: Names, History & Heritage

  Explore the great clans and families of Lowland Scotland — Hamilton, Douglas, Lockhart, Crawford and more. Discover their lands, castles, mottos, and lasting influence on Scottish history.

• Balvenie Castle History, Clan Comyn Origins & Speyside Heritage

  Balvenie Castle stands above the River Fiddich near Dufftown in Speyside — one of Scotland's oldest surviving courtyard castles, built by the Comyn earls of Buchan in the thirteenth century...

• The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh 1547: Black Saturday, the Rough Wooing & the Clans Who Paid the Price

  The Battle of Pinkie Cleugh on 10 September 1547 — Black Saturday — was one of the bloodiest defeats in Scottish history. England's Rough Wooing army destroyed the Scottish force...

• Scottish Clans with Royal Connections: Dynasties, Blood Lines & Heritage

  Discover Scottish clans with royal connections — Stewart, Hamilton, Bruce, MacDuff, Douglas and more. Explore the dynasties, royal bloodlines, and families whose histories intertwined with the Scottish crown.

• Clan Crichton History, Motto & Origins: Crichton Castle, the Black Dinner & Scottish Heritage

  Discover the history, motto, and origins of Clan Crichton — a Midlothian family who rose to control Scotland as Chancellors, orchestrated the notorious Black Dinner of 1440, built the Italian...

• Crichton Castle History, Clan Crichton Origins & Midlothian Heritage

  Crichton Castle in Midlothian contains one of the most unexpected architectural surprises in Scotland — a diamond-faceted Italian Renaissance courtyard added by the Earl of Bothwell after travels in Spain....

• The Declaration of Arbroath, 1320: Scotland's Letter That Defined Freedom

  On 6 April 1320 the barons of Scotland sealed a letter to the Pope that became one of history's greatest statements of freedom. The story of the Declaration of Arbroath,...

• Laurie History & Origins: Annie Laurie of Maxwelton, the Lawrence Roots & Scottish Heritage

  Anna Laurie of Maxwelton was real, born in 1682 and married to a Fergusson rather than to the man credited with the song. Here is the evidence behind the ballad,...

• Glamis Castle History, Clan Lyon Connections & the Macbeth Legend

  Glamis Castle stands in Angus as one of Scotland's most dramatic and storied fortresses — home to Clan Lyon for over six centuries, linked to Shakespeare's Macbeth, and childhood home...

• Scottish Battles of the Wars of Independence: Stirling Bridge, Falkirk & Bannockburn

  The Wars of Scottish Independence produced three defining battles — Stirling Bridge, Falkirk, and Bannockburn — and gave Scotland Wallace, de Moray, and Robert the Bruce. Discover how each battle...

• The Bloodiest Battles in Scottish History: Flodden, Culloden, Harlaw & Pinkie Cleugh

  Scotland has fought some of the most devastating battles in British history. Flodden killed a king and 10,000 soldiers. Pinkie Cleugh became Black Saturday. Red Harlaw ran with blood. Culloden...

• The Founding of the Gaelic League: How Ireland Reclaimed Its Language

  On 31 July 1893, Douglas Hyde, Eoin MacNeill and fellow revivalists founded the Gaelic League to protect the Irish language and restore cultural confidence. Discover how classes, publications and local...

• The Battle of Methven 1306: Robert the Bruce's Darkest Hour

  Weeks after his coronation in 1306, Robert the Bruce was surprised and routed at Methven near Perth, sent fleeing into the wilds as a hunted fugitive while his family suffered...

• Abernethy Scottish Surname History: Origins, the Crown of Scotland & Perthshire Heritage

  Discover the Abernethy surname — a Pictish place-name from Perthshire tied to the Earls of Fife, the Battle of Harlaw, and the hereditary right to bear the Crown of Scotland....

• The Battle of Langside 1568: Mary Queen of Scots, the Clans Who Fought for Her & the Defeat That Changed Everything

  The Battle of Langside on 13 May 1568 ended Mary Queen of Scots' reign on Scottish soil in forty-five minutes. Her Hamilton-led army was trapped in the lanes of Langside...

• Clan Keith History, Motto & Origins: Earls Marischal, Dunnottar Castle & Scottish Heritage

  Explore Clan Keith history through the hereditary Marischals, Dunnottar Castle, the full rescue of the Honours of Scotland, and the 10th Earl’s precise 1715 chronology.

• The Battle of Flodden 1513: Which Clans Fought, What Happened & Why Scotland Never Forgot

  The Battle of Flodden on 9 September 1513 was the greatest military catastrophe in Scottish history. King James IV and the flower of Scottish nobility fell on a Northumberland hillside,...

• The Battle of Sauchieburn 1488: The Day a King Fell and James IV Rose

  On 11 June 1488, a Scottish king rode into battle carrying the sword of Robert the Bruce — and by nightfall his fifteen-year-old son was King James IV. The story...