Series in which Paul Murton uncovers the history of Scotland's most famous clans. He begins his journey by exploring his own MacGregor ancestry. In the 17th century this Highland clan reached such heights of infamy that it was outlawed by the State and the name MacGregor became punishable by death.
Series in which Paul Murton uncovers the history of Scotland's most famous clans. For almost 400 years the MacDonalds dominated the Highlands and Islands of Scotland but at the end of the 15th century this mighty clan was ripped apart by a bitter family feud. The struggle between father and son had disastrous consequences from which the MacDonalds never recovered.
Series in which Paul Murton uncovers the history of Scotland's most famous clans. During the 16th century terrible atrocities were committed as rival Highland clans battled for supremacy. The Age of Feuds and Forays was a high point for Gaelic culture but one stained with blood. One clan in particular flourished during this violent chapter in Scottish history and its name was MacLeod.
The history of Scotland's most famous clans. There can be few Highland Clans more mired in bloodshed than Clan Campbell. The Campbells combined an understanding of the law with formidable might to become the most powerful and influential clan in the country. But in the middle of the 17th century Scotland was ravaged by a bloody civil war that gave the Campbell's bitter rivals, the MacDonalds an opportunity to exact revenge. Thousands died as these two mighty Highland Clans battled for supremacy..
The story of Clan Fraser begins in the twelfth century when a French knight named Frezel left Normandy for a new life in Scotland. His descendents became one of the most powerful and ferocious Highland Clans. Almost a thousand years later Simon, the twenty-fifth chief of the clan, landed back in Normandy during D-Day, June 1944. Series looks at the history of Scotland's most famous clans.
The Mackenzies were of Celtic stock and were not among the clans that originated from Norman ancestors. They are believed to be related to Clan Matheson and Clan Anrias, all three descending from the 12th century Gill'Eòin of the Aird. Based initially in Kintail, the clan was recorded at Eilean Donan on Loch Duich, a stronghold with which it was for many centuries associated.
Clan Armstrong. Paul Murton reveals the turbulent history of the families who lived on the border with England and the raiding tradition that was part of this violent society.
Documentary series. Paul Murton travels to the highlands to retrace the dramatic story of Clan Cameron, who sacrificed everything for the Jacobite cause and paid the ultimate price for their loyalty to Bonnie Prince Charlie.
Presenter Paul Murton investigates the story of Clan Douglas, one of the most powerful families in late medieval Scotland, who ruthlessly pursued their ambition to become the country's number one dynasty.
Many of the clansmen were killed at Battle of Culloden. The massacre of the MacDonald clansmen in the late 17th century marked the point when the fortunes of the MacLean clan began to wane, and by 1691 century the Campbells had gained possession of Duart Castle and most of the MacLean estates. However, Duart Castle was reclaimed by the family in 1911 and has been restored as the family seat.
Documentary series. Paul Murton reveals the surprising origins of Scotland's most famous family and tells the fascinating story of Alexander Stewart, the infamous Wolf of Badenoch.
Documentary series. Presenter Paul Murton uncovers the remarkable story of Clan Grant, a clan adventure in the colonies of the British Empire which brought prosperity to Scotland.
A clan on the very edge of Scotland, the Macneils of Barra were notorious pirates who exploited their superb knowledge of the sea. Taking over from where the Vikings left off, the Macneils carried on the great Highland tradition of raiding and were a law unto themselves. The story of the Macneils from the culture they shared with the Vikings, through piracy, shipwreck and seaweed - to their decline in the 19th century.
The Scotts were once just an ordinary Borders family. Today, they have become one of the greatest private landowners in Britain - with thousands of acres of land, four major castles and a vast art collection. They won all this not through battlefield prowess, but through the canny determination of one of the most remarkable women in Clan history. Anna Scott was no more than a girl when she became the Duchess of Buccleuch in the mid-17th century. Her marriage to the son of Charles II propelled the Scotts into the first rank of British nobility - but it very nearly ended in disaster. The story of the Scotts' journey from reivers to royalty.
In 1563, the putrifying corpse of George Gordon, the fourth earl of Huntley, was tried and found guilty of treason. A bizarre end for a nobleman whose power and arrogance had earned him the title of 'the cock o' the North'. Despite the humiliation of Clan Gordon, their prestige was resurrected by the sixth Earl of Huntley, whose intimate relationship with King James the Sixth set tongues wagging and resulted in a jealous feud with a memorably bloody finale - the brutal murder of the Bonny Earl of Moray. The gruesome story of how the Gordons became embroiled in a blood feud that led to open rebellion against the Scottish crown, leading to their eventual downfall.
The untold story of how the Leslies played a major role in shaping modern Europe. From as early as the Crusades the Leslies made their name as warriors. Many of them left Scotland seeking fame, fortune and glory, including Walter Leslie, who left behind his modest roots in Aberdeenshire and ended up a Count of the Holy Roman Empire, and Alexander Leslie, who also left Scotland with nothing, to fight in the Swedish Army, and became one of Europe's greatest generals.
Alexander Robertson of Struan was a legend in his own lifetime. As the thirteenth and last chief of his clan, he was the only Scot to have fought in all three Jacobite rebellions of the 17th and 18th centuries - and the only one to have published pornographic and political Gaelic verse. This self-styled romantic hero single-handedly tried to restore the reputation of his clan while living the life of a rebel. But his unwavering support for the Jacobite cause cost this highland chief most of his ancestral lands. The story of Alexander, the so-called poet chief, tracing the rise and fall of a clan that mythologised its own importance as the world around them changed.
The Hamiltons have been one of Scotland's most famous lowland clans and one of her greatest families - from the Wars of Independence right through to the Second World War. But did they act for the good of Scotland or the good of the Hamiltons? The programme examines the role of this clan, who always found themselves at the centre of events throughout history, from the marriage of Mary Queen of Scots to the Act of Union and Rudolf Hess' bizarre attempt to start peace talks with Britain in 1941.
