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NARRATOR: They call it Britain's
last great wilderness,
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a place as beautiful
as it is barren.
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The islands and mountains
of Scotland seem to exist
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on the edge of the imagination.
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But it wasn't always like this.
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For centuries, Gaelic Scotland was
at the heart of the Scottish kingdom.
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Then it changed.
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It became something different,
something separate.
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Something other.
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(LIVELY MUSIC PLAYS)
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(ALL SPEAK GAELIC)
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In many ways,
Scotland is a nation of two cultures,
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one Highland and one Lowland,
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and one part just doesn't
seem to understand the other.
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Most of us don't speak Gaelic.
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We speak English
and, whether we admit it or not,
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we have to view our own country through
the prism of the English language.
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And when we go to the Highlands
and Islands,
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we find ourselves
in amongst a language
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and an entire culture
that we don't understand,
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that we just don't get.
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It's an uneasy,
uncomfortable double vision.
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It's Scotland's guilty secret.
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And it all began
with a feud between two families.
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In 15th-century Scotland,
family was everything.
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This is the story
of two of those families
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and how their fates
were locked together.
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The rise of one
meant the fall of the other.
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Their struggle was epic...
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...their names legendary.
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They were the Stewarts
and the MacDonalds.
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There's a story of a medieval
Spanish traveller
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who came to Edinburgh
to see the sights.
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When he got home,
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someone asked him what was
the most wonderful thing he'd seen.
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The traveller thought for a moment
and then answered,
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"A grand man called MacDonald
with a great train of men after him,
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"called neither Duke nor Marquis."
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His name was Alexander,
Lord of the Isles,
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Ri Innse Gall,
The King of the Hebrides.
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Alexander's family, the MacDonalds,
had played the game well.
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They had backed Bruce
and the rewards had flowed -
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lands, wealth and power.
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The power of 10,000 armed men.
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Power over the islands.
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Power over the sea.
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This is called a "birlinn"
or a West Highland galley.
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She's really a descendant
of a Viking long ship.
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What range, what territory could
boats like these cover effectively?
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In some cases up to 50,
maybe 60 miles a clay.
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You could certainly go from
Northern Ireland up to Cape Wrath
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in two or three days if you had
good wind behind you.
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NEIL: How important would you say
these craft were to the Lordship?
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GORDON: Vital. Whoever controlled
the roads of the sea had the power
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and that's what the MacDonalds had.
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If it wasn't for these, there would
have been no Lordship of the Isles.
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With over 700 birlinns
at his command
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Alexander dominated
Scotland's Atlantic seaboard.
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No wonder they called him
the King of the Hebrides.
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The nerve centre of his far-flung
territories, Finlaggan on Islay.
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It was here Alexander summoned
his chiefs to do deals, form alliances
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and, most importantly,
keep the peace.
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As an archaeologist,
one of the first things
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that strikes me about this place
is the fact that it isn't fortified.
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But then, of course,
it didn't need to be.
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By the time Alexander took over,
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the Lordship had already enjoyed
a century of internal stability.
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And with that peace and with
the patronage of the MacDonald Lords
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came a flourishing of the arts,
sculpture, music and poetry.
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It's often hard to get a sense of
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what places like Finlaggan were like
in their heyday.
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But a few archaeological finds that have
been recovered from the site
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over the years, give an idea
of the day-to-day reality of life here.
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This is from a hunting dog's collar
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and you can tell from the careful
decoration on it
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that the dog's owner was proud
of the beast
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and wanted it to look its best
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and, of course, the Lords of the Isles
were very big on hunting.
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These are gaming pieces
carved from bone,
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the rules of the game
long forgotten,
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but on this one you can clearly see
the carved outline of a stag
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with its antlers and its mouth open
and its tongue sticking out.
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And finally, this last piece
is a pilgrim's badge or token.
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It's made of lead
and it's from Rome.
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So somebody with connections
to the Lordship of the Isles
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went all the way to Rome and brought back
this as a souvenir
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with its image of
St Peter carrying the keys of heaven.
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Alexander, Lord of the Isles, held
the keys to more earthly kingdoms.
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His Atlantic realm faced in two
different directions at once.
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To the south was Ireland where
family and cultural ties were deep.
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To the east was Scotland.
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But the Lordship wasn't on
the fringes of the Scottish kingdom,
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it was at its very centre.
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The Gaelic world of the Lordship
was at the heart
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of how Scotland imagined itself.
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It was the Gaels
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who had first unified the kingdom,
giving it its Gaelic name, Alba.
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Now Gaelic Scotland
was enjoying a second golden age.
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If Finlaggan was the heart
of the Lordship,
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then Iona was its soul.
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St Columba '5 island
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was one of the most important
spiritual sites in Scotland.
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It was here that the bodies
of the Lords of the Isles
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were brought for burial.
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Alexander showered the Abbey
and its community with money and gifts.
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Of course, he had good reason.
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Like the best of
medieval godfathers,
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he had a string of mistresses
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and a pile of cautionary letters
from the Pope to prove it.
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All this church-building was
a kind of spiritual insurance policy.
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But if Alexander MacDonald
feared for his soul,
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that was pretty much all he feared.
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He was Ri Innse Gall,
a king in his own land,
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in a land where there was no king.
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Scotland was a kingdom
with an empty throne.
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Its Royal line had faltered.
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Its young king was in the hands
of its ancient enemy.
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James Stewart, King of Scots,
had been captured by the English
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when he was only 12 years old.
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His family had fought
alongside Robert the Bruce
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during the Wars of Independence.
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When Bruce's bloodline died out,
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it was the Stewarts who succeeded
to the Scottish throne.
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But the sole heir to the new
Stewart dynasty was now a hostage -
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a bargaining chip, leverage.
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It was the same old game,
for the same old stakes.
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If the Scottish magnates wanted
their king back, they would have to
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submit to English overlordship.
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"Forget the Bruce.
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"Give up your independence."
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But the Scots weren't going to play
by the English rules.
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"No, thanks," they said.
"We're managing fine without a king."
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So James was left as a captive
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with plenty of time
to brood on his redundancy.
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For a time,
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James had been shunted from
one miserable prison to another.
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But then his royal privileges
were restored
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and he was given free run
of Henry V's court.
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You can imagine
how grateful James was
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for this outbreak of benevolence.
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But Henry's motives
weren't exactly pure.
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He had a war to finish in France
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and he needed a new ally
to fight an old enemy,
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because across the Channel
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it wasn't just the French that Henry
was up against, it was the Scots.
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(BAGPIPES PLAY)
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The role the Scots played
in the Hundred Years' War
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was something
the French would never forget.
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In this summer pageant
in the middle of France
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the crowds are celebrating
the arrival of Scottish troops
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at a life or death moment
in the history of their country.
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Henry V had just defeated
the French at Agincourt.
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Final, decisive victory
was within his grasp.
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And then the Scots waded in
on behalf of their old ally.
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Now the Scots and French forces
were united against the English king.
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To defeat them he had first
to divide them
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and Henry thought
he had the perfect weapon -James.
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Now Henry's plans for him
became clear.
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James was King of the Scots,
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so James could tell the Scots
to pack up and go home.
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Melun was the acid test.
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In 1420, Henry lay siege
to the strategic town
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just upriver from Paris.
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The walls were defended
by Scottish troops.
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James knew what was expected of him.
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He ordered the Scots to surrender.
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English and French kings
expected unquestioning obedience
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from their subjects.
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But these soldiers were Scots.
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And in Scotland, king and kingdom
didn't mean the same thing at all.
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Scotland was more than one individual.
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It was a community, a loose
but resilient network of loyalties.
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"Lay down your arms,"
James commanded his subjects.
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And as one,
the Scots kept on fighting.
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700 defenders held out against
a 20,000-strong besieging force.
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These days, the underground vaults
beneath the town
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are used to store wine.
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But in 1420, this was the scene
of vicious hand-to-hand combat.
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The English dug tunnels
beneath the fortifications
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in an attempt to undermine them.
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The defenders opened up their own
tunnels so they could counterattack.
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It was in claustrophobic,
suffocating darkness
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that the battle of Melun was fought.
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But for all their tenacity,
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the defenders of Melun
couldn't hold out.
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When Henry finally broke into
the town, he was out for revenge.
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The surviving Scots were rounded up,
separated from the other prisoners
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and executed en masse
as traitors to their king, James I.
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James never forgot
the shame of Melun.
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He had been made to act as a puppet
by a foreign king.
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He'd been defied by his subjects.
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His humiliation was immeasurable,
off the scale.
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It was Melun, more than anything else,
that shaped the kind of man
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James would become -
intolerant, inflexible, impatient.
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Just two years after Melun,
Henry V was dead.
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His successors couldn't see
much political value in James.
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But their prisoner
was still worth a king's ransom.
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In 1424,
the English cashed their chips in.
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At 30 years old,
James Stewart was on his way home.
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Scotland was more of a memory
for James than a reality.
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He had spent over half his life
in English captivity,
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so he had a lot of catching up to do.
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In other words,
he was a king in a hurry.
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Amongst the welcoming party
was Alexander MacDonald,
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King of the Hebrides
and Lord of the Isles.
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He must have viewed the new arrival
with guarded curiosity.
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Along with the other
Scottish magnates,
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Alexander had agreed to pay
a colossal ransom.
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What had they got for their money?
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A king on the make, a catwalk king.
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A king who understood
that front was everything.
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Linlithgow Palace
was James I '5 pet project.
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00:17:15,961 --> 00:17:18,721
It was something
brand-new in Scotland.
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It wasn't a fortress.
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It was a Renaissance-style
Royal residence.
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It made its point through wealth,
not strength.
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James had an agenda.
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He wanted to elevate
the very idea of kingship.
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Linlithgow Palace declared,
in 100-foot-high capital letters,
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James '5 ambitions
as a European monarch.
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Before James I, the magnates
like the Lords of the Isles
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had regarded their king
as first amongst equals,
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and occasionally
as something less than that.
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But James considered himself
to have no equals.
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James I was educated
and accomplished.
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He was Scotland's first
Renaissance king.
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Amongst many other talents,
he had a real gift for poetry.
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In one poem entitled
The King's Quair,
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he described the moment
when he first fell in love.
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James was a captive in England
when he wrote these lines,
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00:18:59,641 --> 00:19:02,561
but you wouldn't have heard this
language at the court of Henry V.
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00:19:02,681 --> 00:19:06,841
This was James's mother tongue
and imagine how he must have missed it,
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00:19:06,921 --> 00:19:11,041
the rich Scots language
of his Lowland birthplace.
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Scotland in the 15th century
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was a blur of different languages
and dialects.
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In the Lowlands, Scots -
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a distinctive vernacular with
Anglo-Saxon roots - predominated.
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00:19:28,521 --> 00:19:30,241
Most of the rest of the kingdom -
239
00:19:30,361 --> 00:19:33,241
at least half of Scotland's population -
spoke Gaelic.
240
00:19:33,321 --> 00:19:37,641
And within Gaelic Scotland
there was no more influential,
241
00:19:37,721 --> 00:19:42,321
no more determined figure
than Alexander, Lord of the Isles.
242
00:19:45,881 --> 00:19:48,761
While James Stewart
was palace building,
243
00:19:48,841 --> 00:19:51,841
Alexander MacDonald
was empire building.
244
00:20:06,361 --> 00:20:12,161
Alexander's birlinns gave him
control of an island archipelago,
245
00:20:12,241 --> 00:20:14,721
but his real ambitions
lay on the mainland.
246
00:20:22,041 --> 00:20:25,761
Ross stretched from the rocky
shores of the Atlantic
247
00:20:25,841 --> 00:20:28,921
to the rich farmland
of the North Sea coast.
248
00:20:29,001 --> 00:20:33,681
By acquiring Ross, Alexander became
one of the most powerful landowners
249
00:20:33,761 --> 00:20:34,761
in the kingdom.
250
00:20:37,561 --> 00:20:41,041
Ross was the jewel
in Alexander's crown.
251
00:20:41,121 --> 00:20:47,161
But soon James himself began to cast
envious eyes on the northern prize.
252
00:20:47,241 --> 00:20:49,481
The king was running short of cash.
253
00:20:49,561 --> 00:20:52,241
All this palace building
came at a price.
254
00:20:52,321 --> 00:20:54,361
He'd already tried
cooking the books.
255
00:20:54,441 --> 00:20:57,921
Money that should have been going
south to pay his ransom
256
00:20:58,001 --> 00:21:00,841
was being spent on gold leaf
and fine carving,
257
00:21:00,921 --> 00:21:04,561
but even that wasn't enough
to plug the hole in his finances.
258
00:21:04,641 --> 00:21:06,241
He needed money, and badly.
259
00:21:06,321 --> 00:21:10,401
Alexander's territory in Ross
began to look seriously tempting.
260
00:21:17,201 --> 00:21:20,921
James invited Alexander
to meet him in Inverness.
261
00:21:25,481 --> 00:21:29,601
But this would be
no Royal garden party.
262
00:21:33,321 --> 00:21:36,921
Alexander was camped outside
the town with a large entourage,
263
00:21:37,001 --> 00:21:38,481
including his own family.
264
00:21:38,561 --> 00:21:42,121
When he finally got the summons
from the king, Alexander, his mother
265
00:21:42,201 --> 00:21:45,841
and a few select followers
got dressed in all their finery.
266
00:21:45,921 --> 00:21:50,641
What delights were on the menu?
What treats were in store?
267
00:21:50,761 --> 00:21:53,801
As soon as they were through the gates,
they were set upon
268
00:21:53,881 --> 00:21:55,641
and disarmed by the king's men.
269
00:21:55,721 --> 00:21:58,361
The MacDonalds
didn't have a chance to resist.
270
00:21:58,441 --> 00:22:02,521
Alexander's own mother was
pushed around, taunted, dishonoured.
271
00:22:06,921 --> 00:22:10,841
James watched as the MacDonalds
were dragged off like common criminals.
272
00:22:10,921 --> 00:22:12,481
It seemed to inspire him.
273
00:22:12,561 --> 00:22:15,321
He entertained the court
with some off-the-cuff verse.
274
00:22:15,401 --> 00:22:17,921
But this time,
the muse was less romantic.
275
00:22:18,001 --> 00:22:20,601
It was no gentle
love poem he recited.
276
00:22:20,681 --> 00:22:23,881
"Let us take the chance to
conduct this company to the tower
277
00:22:23,961 --> 00:22:27,761
"For by Christ's death,
these men deserve death."
278
00:22:36,801 --> 00:22:39,721
Wary tolerance
had suddenly turned violent.
279
00:22:41,281 --> 00:22:45,001
James executed some of his prisoners
without trial.
280
00:22:45,081 --> 00:22:47,361
But he didn't kill Alexander.
281
00:22:49,041 --> 00:22:50,561
He didn't have to.
282
00:22:53,521 --> 00:22:58,681
James had got his hands on Ross
and the revenues it provided.
283
00:22:58,761 --> 00:23:02,841
After a couple of months
and with a great show of mercy,
284
00:23:02,921 --> 00:23:05,721
he released the Lord of the Isles.
285
00:23:05,801 --> 00:23:08,281
But if he thought
Alexander would be grateful,
286
00:23:08,361 --> 00:23:10,841
he was wrong.
287
00:23:10,921 --> 00:23:15,481
Alexander gathered up his men,
returned to Inverness
288
00:23:15,561 --> 00:23:17,681
and burned it to the ground.
289
00:23:18,601 --> 00:23:22,801
Revenge was sweet,
but it was short-lived.
290
00:23:26,721 --> 00:23:30,441
Alexander knew he'd allowed
his anger to blind his judgement.
291
00:23:30,521 --> 00:23:33,281
A Royal army was closing in.
292
00:23:33,361 --> 00:23:36,201
Outnumbered and outmanoeuvred,
Alexander calculated
293
00:23:36,281 --> 00:23:39,121
that he had only one option left.
294
00:23:43,601 --> 00:23:46,081
At Holyrood Palace in 1429,
295
00:23:46,161 --> 00:23:51,241
Alexander, Lord of the Isles,
surrendered.
296
00:23:54,921 --> 00:23:57,281
Ritually stripped to his underclothes
in front of James,
297
00:23:57,361 --> 00:24:01,441
he handed over his sword,
his title and his lands.
298
00:24:02,761 --> 00:24:06,641
Alexander, Lord of the Isles,
was then led away into captivity.
299
00:24:14,681 --> 00:24:16,881
The rules of the game had changed.
300
00:24:18,961 --> 00:24:22,921
The magnates had once carved up
Scotland amongst them.
301
00:24:23,001 --> 00:24:24,801
Not any more.
302
00:24:24,881 --> 00:24:27,561
Now the king was in charge.
303
00:24:30,361 --> 00:24:33,281
Or so the king wanted to believe.
304
00:24:34,801 --> 00:24:38,001
The Lord of the Isles
might be behind bars,
305
00:24:38,081 --> 00:24:41,681
but his family
openly defied Royal authority.
306
00:24:41,761 --> 00:24:44,041
James sent an army
to deal with them.
307
00:24:46,281 --> 00:24:51,361
But Alexander's men
weren't about to turn tail.
308
00:24:58,201 --> 00:25:00,761
(MAN SPEAKS GAELIC)
309
00:25:32,561 --> 00:25:35,721
From every corner of
his dispossessed territories,
310
00:25:35,801 --> 00:25:37,921
Alexander's supporters gathered,
311
00:25:38,001 --> 00:25:41,081
moving to meet the Royal army
at Inverlochy
312
00:25:41,161 --> 00:25:43,161
at the head of the Great Glen.
313
00:25:52,161 --> 00:25:55,281
The Islesmen landed their birlinns
a few miles down there
314
00:25:55,361 --> 00:25:56,761
where Fort William now is.
315
00:25:56,841 --> 00:26:00,241
They marched along the river
towards where the Royal army
316
00:26:00,321 --> 00:26:03,761
was camped around Inverlochy Castle,
just down there in the trees.
317
00:26:03,841 --> 00:26:06,641
The commander of the Royal troops
was in the middle of a card game
318
00:26:06,721 --> 00:26:08,761
when he got the report
of the enemy approach.
319
00:26:08,841 --> 00:26:12,001
He dismissed it. He said
he knew very well the doings of
320
00:26:12,081 --> 00:26:14,281
the big-bellied carles of the Isles.
321
00:26:14,361 --> 00:26:17,961
At that moment, a body of archers
hidden on this hill
322
00:26:18,041 --> 00:26:21,681
shot a hail of arrows down onto
the unprepared Royal troops.
323
00:26:21,801 --> 00:26:26,001
And taking that as their cue,
the main body of the Islesmen charged.
324
00:26:34,201 --> 00:26:36,361
It only took a few minutes.
325
00:26:36,441 --> 00:26:39,121
Over 900 Royal troops lay dead.
326
00:26:39,201 --> 00:26:42,361
Their injured commander
fled over the mountains.
327
00:26:52,961 --> 00:26:57,241
Inverlochy was a brutal lesson
in the limits of Royal power.
328
00:26:57,321 --> 00:27:01,681
James was forced to realise
that it was as dangerous
329
00:27:01,761 --> 00:27:05,881
to keep Alexander behind bars
as it was to have him on the loose.
330
00:27:11,401 --> 00:27:14,801
A month after Inverlochy,
he set Alexander free.
331
00:27:22,561 --> 00:27:26,201
Alexander got just about
everything back -
332
00:27:26,281 --> 00:27:32,081
his lands, his titles
and, crucially, his prestige.
333
00:27:32,161 --> 00:27:35,401
The MacDonalds were back on top.
334
00:27:39,121 --> 00:27:43,161
7' he Stewart; meanwhile,
were in trouble.
335
00:27:47,321 --> 00:27:48,841
To many of the magnates,
336
00:27:48,921 --> 00:27:52,441
James's release of Alexander
seemed like weakness.
337
00:27:54,001 --> 00:27:56,481
They scented blood.
338
00:28:00,481 --> 00:28:05,801
Simmering resentments
finally boiled over into conspiracy.
339
00:28:05,921 --> 00:28:11,881
On 20th February 1437, James's enemies
finally caught up with him.
340
00:28:17,081 --> 00:28:20,201
It was after midnight when they
broke into the Royal lodgings.
341
00:28:25,401 --> 00:28:29,521
with the assassins outside the door,
James searched for a way out.
342
00:28:29,601 --> 00:28:33,521
There wasn't one, so he smashed
a hole through the wooden floor
343
00:28:33,601 --> 00:28:35,801
and dropped into the sewer beneath.
344
00:28:40,001 --> 00:28:42,601
But the exit to the drain
had been blocked off.
345
00:28:42,681 --> 00:28:44,961
James turned to face his pursuers.
346
00:28:45,041 --> 00:28:46,881
He tried to make a fight of it.
347
00:28:46,961 --> 00:28:51,121
But there, in the darkness and the filth,
he was stabbed to death.
348
00:29:00,041 --> 00:29:02,041
Scotland held her breath.
349
00:29:03,681 --> 00:29:07,921
The killing of a king was a shocking,
almost sacrilegious act.
350
00:29:15,441 --> 00:29:18,601
With the Stewart dynasty
weak and exposed,
351
00:29:18,681 --> 00:29:21,201
the MacDonalds were unassailable.
352
00:29:21,281 --> 00:29:25,521
When Alexander, Lord of the Isles,
eventually died in 1449,
353
00:29:25,601 --> 00:29:29,681
his dream of ruling an empire
that stretched from coast to coast
354
00:29:29,761 --> 00:29:30,961
had been realised.
355
00:29:36,361 --> 00:29:40,081
He was buried not on Iona
like his forefathers,
356
00:29:40,161 --> 00:29:43,201
but on the mainland
in the rich soil of Ross.
357
00:29:52,921 --> 00:29:57,881
From beyond the grave, Alexander
was not only reinforcing past claims,
358
00:29:57,961 --> 00:30:00,401
he was hinting at future ambitions.
359
00:30:10,281 --> 00:30:12,681
The kingdom was at a turning point.
360
00:30:12,761 --> 00:30:16,161
With James I and Alexander,
Lord of the Isles, gone
361
00:30:16,241 --> 00:30:20,281
it was up to a new generation
to continue their legacies.
362
00:30:27,561 --> 00:30:32,041
On the Stewart side, James II
assumed his father's throne.
363
00:30:32,121 --> 00:30:37,521
A bright red birthmark earned him
the nickname, James the Fiery Face.
364
00:30:40,801 --> 00:30:45,721
On the MacDonald side, it was John
who now became Lord of the Isles.
365
00:30:45,801 --> 00:30:49,401
His inauguration followed a ritual
that was centuries old.
366
00:30:58,081 --> 00:31:01,441
just like the ancient kings,
John stepped into
367
00:31:01,521 --> 00:31:03,281
a carved rock footprint,
368
00:31:03,361 --> 00:31:06,881
joining him to the land
he was to rule over.
369
00:31:14,721 --> 00:31:16,881
(MAN SPEAKS GAELIC)
370
00:31:54,121 --> 00:31:57,921
The bards heaped extravagant praise
on John MacDonald.
371
00:31:58,001 --> 00:32:02,681
But it only added to the weight of
expectation on his shoulders.
372
00:32:15,681 --> 00:32:19,041
John's position was difficult,
even precarious.
373
00:32:19,121 --> 00:32:21,441
Should he try and expand
his territory?
374
00:32:21,521 --> 00:32:25,961
Or would it better to consolidate
his already over-stretched empire?
375
00:32:26,041 --> 00:32:29,161
For the moment,
he opted for the status quo.
376
00:32:34,561 --> 00:32:39,281
Meanwhile,
James took decisive action.
377
00:32:39,361 --> 00:32:43,001
The new king would cement
his family's fortunes,
378
00:32:43,081 --> 00:32:44,681
not through violence
379
00:32:44,761 --> 00:32:46,241
but at the altar.
380
00:32:55,441 --> 00:33:00,601
Here in Edinburgh in 1449,
James II married Mary of Gueldres.
381
00:33:00,681 --> 00:33:04,521
She was the grandniece of the Duke
of Burgundy, one of the most wealthy
382
00:33:04,601 --> 00:33:06,441
and powerful men on the continent.
383
00:33:06,521 --> 00:33:10,041
The Stewarts had most definitely
arrived at the top table
384
00:33:10,121 --> 00:33:11,281
of European power.
385
00:33:17,241 --> 00:33:19,761
There was a hefty price to pay, of course.
386
00:33:19,841 --> 00:33:22,321
James and his family
wanted to impress
387
00:33:22,401 --> 00:33:24,401
their powerful, foreign guests
388
00:33:24,481 --> 00:33:29,361
with the very best in food,
wine and entertainment.
389
00:33:29,441 --> 00:33:31,081
But it was worth it.
390
00:33:37,001 --> 00:33:39,361
The marriage brought the Stewarts
391
00:33:39,441 --> 00:33:43,081
international prestige
and political influence.
392
00:33:43,161 --> 00:33:47,201
And there were other, more
tangible items on the gift list.
393
00:33:51,081 --> 00:33:53,681
NEIL: This is some wedding present
for a teenage king.
394
00:33:53,761 --> 00:33:58,281
It is. And the wedding wasn't
exactly a shotgun wedding.
395
00:33:58,401 --> 00:34:01,881
It was one of the main dynastic weddings
of the period.
396
00:34:02,001 --> 00:34:05,841
And when James got this gun,
Mons Meg, from the Duke of Burgundy,
397
00:34:05,921 --> 00:34:09,761
he was being given one of the most
impressive pieces of technology
398
00:34:09,841 --> 00:34:11,161
available at that time.
399
00:34:11,241 --> 00:34:15,281
Just how dangerous or effective
was a thing like this?
400
00:34:15,361 --> 00:34:20,281
This gun could fire 18-inch
stone balls, a good-sized ball,
401
00:34:20,361 --> 00:34:24,441
that could go over a mile, actually,
especially with a following wind.
402
00:34:24,521 --> 00:34:27,161
And the real danger that
this represented
403
00:34:27,241 --> 00:34:29,201
was to the castles of the period.
404
00:34:29,281 --> 00:34:32,721
A gun like this brought against
a great castle was a real threat
405
00:34:32,801 --> 00:34:34,761
in terms of knocking its walls down.
406
00:34:34,841 --> 00:34:39,241
What does it say about James, though,
that he now possesses this?
407
00:34:39,321 --> 00:34:42,761
Where does it put him in
the league table of kings?
408
00:34:42,841 --> 00:34:46,321
It's putting him right up there
amongst go-getters,
409
00:34:46,401 --> 00:34:48,961
amongst the main sovereigns in Europe.
410
00:34:49,081 --> 00:34:53,361
- So James was, in many ways, a big noise?
- Absolutely.
411
00:34:55,641 --> 00:35:00,121
James II's showy pretensions
hid a mass of insecurities.
412
00:35:01,801 --> 00:35:06,241
He was thin-skinned,
prickly, paranoid.
413
00:35:09,761 --> 00:35:13,001
The king felt trapped, hemmed in.
414
00:35:13,121 --> 00:35:18,401
To the north and west John MacDonald
dominated a huge arc of territories.
415
00:35:18,481 --> 00:35:23,161
Meanwhile to the south,
there was another potential rival -
416
00:35:23,241 --> 00:35:25,001
the Black Douglas.
417
00:35:28,801 --> 00:35:33,001
William, Earl of Douglas
was a 15th-century pin-up.
418
00:35:33,081 --> 00:35:38,241
He was popular, he was famous
and he was very, very rich.
419
00:35:38,321 --> 00:35:42,961
His family, the Black Douglases,
were the big power in the Borders.
420
00:35:46,321 --> 00:35:50,881
When William, Earl of Douglas,
and John, Lord of the Isles,
421
00:35:50,961 --> 00:35:52,921
agreed a friendship pact,
422
00:35:53,001 --> 00:35:55,761
it set them
on a collision course with James.
423
00:36:00,001 --> 00:36:04,961
Deals like this were routine, innocuous,
they meant as much as a handshake.
424
00:36:05,041 --> 00:36:07,281
But James didn't
see it as a courtesy.
425
00:36:07,361 --> 00:36:10,041
He chose to view it as a conspiracy.
426
00:36:14,761 --> 00:36:18,441
The king brooded on how to
deal with the two magnates.
427
00:36:21,121 --> 00:36:23,121
He didn't brood for very long.
428
00:36:27,321 --> 00:36:31,321
In 1452, James requested the presence
of the Earl of Douglas
429
00:36:31,401 --> 00:36:32,761
at Stirling Castle.
430
00:36:32,841 --> 00:36:35,961
William smelt a rat.
431
00:36:36,041 --> 00:36:39,161
He only showed up when he got
a letter guaranteeing his safety.
432
00:36:52,161 --> 00:36:55,201
It was the dinner party from hell.
433
00:36:55,281 --> 00:36:58,321
James was jumpy and volatile.
William was edgy too.
434
00:36:58,401 --> 00:37:01,241
The fact that both men had been
drinking since lunchtime
435
00:37:01,321 --> 00:37:03,641
made the situation
even more unpredictable.
436
00:37:03,721 --> 00:37:08,001
Only one thing was guaranteed
and that was a confrontation.
437
00:37:12,241 --> 00:37:15,681
At some point, late in the proceedings,
James demanded
438
00:37:15,761 --> 00:37:19,841
that William give up his alliance
with John, Lord of the Isles.
439
00:37:19,921 --> 00:37:23,241
William refused. Bad move.
440
00:37:27,441 --> 00:37:31,201
James exploded. He pulled a knife
and launched himself at William.
441
00:37:31,281 --> 00:37:33,041
Then his courtiers pitched in.
442
00:37:33,121 --> 00:37:35,601
Legend has it
that when the frenzy was over,
443
00:37:35,681 --> 00:37:37,641
they dumped him out of that window.
444
00:37:37,721 --> 00:37:40,601
When the body was recovered
by William's men,
445
00:37:40,681 --> 00:37:43,521
it was found to have
26 separate stab wounds.
446
00:37:43,601 --> 00:37:46,921
His head had been split open
with an axe.
447
00:37:50,441 --> 00:37:52,121
It was a shocking act,
448
00:37:52,201 --> 00:37:57,241
as much for its violation of
notions of honour as its brutality.
449
00:37:57,321 --> 00:38:00,761
William's followers paraded a copy
of the king's safe-conduct pass
450
00:38:00,841 --> 00:38:04,241
around Stirling
before ransacking the town.
451
00:38:08,401 --> 00:38:11,801
But James was more than a match
for the Black Douglas.
452
00:38:11,881 --> 00:38:14,201
Faced by the King's heavy artillery,
453
00:38:14,281 --> 00:38:17,281
the Douglas castles
surrendered without a shot.
454
00:38:17,361 --> 00:38:21,361
William's family fled into exile
in England.
455
00:38:23,561 --> 00:38:26,921
This was another great leap
in the Stewart fortunes.
456
00:38:27,001 --> 00:38:29,601
By seizing the lands
of the Black Douglases,
457
00:38:29,681 --> 00:38:31,561
James made himself very rich.
458
00:38:31,641 --> 00:38:35,561
Big guns, wealthy relations
and a single brutal act of murder
459
00:38:35,641 --> 00:38:39,081
would bankroll the future
of Scotland's Royal dynasty.
460
00:38:40,641 --> 00:38:43,721
For James, it was a dream outcome.
461
00:38:44,961 --> 00:38:48,441
But for John,
it was a nightmare scenario.
462
00:38:48,561 --> 00:38:52,481
What had happened to
the Black Douglas could happen to him.
463
00:38:53,641 --> 00:38:56,241
John had to find a way of keeping on
464
00:38:56,321 --> 00:39:00,841
the right side of the explosive
and newly powerful king.
465
00:39:00,921 --> 00:39:04,401
So when James prepared for war
with England in 1460,
466
00:39:04,481 --> 00:39:07,601
John was amongst his
most loyal lieutenants.
467
00:39:11,321 --> 00:39:13,601
John vowed that his men would fight
468
00:39:13,681 --> 00:39:16,161
one league mile
ahead of the main army.
469
00:39:16,241 --> 00:39:17,361
It was a very public,
470
00:39:17,441 --> 00:39:20,081
very ostentatious show
of loyalty to the King.
471
00:39:20,161 --> 00:39:24,001
It was also a vow that John
would never have to keep.
472
00:39:24,081 --> 00:39:26,401
James loved guns.
473
00:39:26,481 --> 00:39:29,961
In fact he loved them to death.
474
00:39:34,241 --> 00:39:37,401
James was in the middle of a long,
hot summer campaign
475
00:39:37,481 --> 00:39:40,601
when he got news that his queen,
Mary, was arriving.
476
00:39:40,681 --> 00:39:43,161
He got one of the guns
ready to fire a salute.
477
00:39:43,241 --> 00:39:46,761
But his grand gesture
blew up in his face, literally.
478
00:39:46,841 --> 00:39:51,081
The gun exploded, sending lethal
shrapnel flying in all directions.
479
00:39:51,161 --> 00:39:54,721
At 29 years old, James II was dead.
480
00:40:09,321 --> 00:40:12,841
No-one could doubt that
the Stewarts would continue.
481
00:40:12,921 --> 00:40:15,481
The dynasty seemed unassailable,
482
00:40:15,561 --> 00:40:19,161
as much a part of Scotland now
as its rocks and hills.
483
00:40:20,921 --> 00:40:25,201
But the new king, James III,
was just a boy.
484
00:40:25,281 --> 00:40:28,081
For some, opportunity knocked.
485
00:40:34,921 --> 00:40:37,921
Only months after the coronation
of eight-year-old James,
486
00:40:38,001 --> 00:40:42,281
an envoy arrives at John MacDonald's
stronghold of Ardtornish Castle
487
00:40:42,361 --> 00:40:43,561
on a secret mission.
488
00:40:43,641 --> 00:40:47,521
The messenger represents
the defeated Black Douglas family
489
00:40:47,601 --> 00:40:52,521
and he carries with him an offer
from the English king, Edward IV.
490
00:40:58,921 --> 00:41:02,641
What Edward proposes is this -
he will back a rebellion in Scotland
491
00:41:02,721 --> 00:41:05,921
and the MacDonald and Douglas
families will share the spoils.
492
00:41:06,001 --> 00:41:08,241
John will get the north
of the country,
493
00:41:08,321 --> 00:41:11,201
the Black Douglas
will get the south. And Edward?
494
00:41:11,281 --> 00:41:14,681
Well, Edward secures his grip
on the English throne.
495
00:41:14,761 --> 00:41:17,361
Of course there was a catch
to all of this.
496
00:41:17,441 --> 00:41:20,601
John and the Douglas
have to acknowledge Edward
497
00:41:20,681 --> 00:41:21,961
as their overlord.
498
00:41:26,801 --> 00:41:28,561
This was treason.
499
00:41:28,641 --> 00:41:30,681
The MacDonalds
and the Black Douglas
500
00:41:30,761 --> 00:41:34,361
were plotting the annihilation
of Scotland's Royal dynasty.
501
00:41:38,561 --> 00:41:42,001
The old king's suspicions
now appeared less like paranoia
502
00:41:42,081 --> 00:41:43,921
and more like prophecy.
503
00:41:48,841 --> 00:41:52,401
So why did John
take such a huge gamble?
504
00:41:52,481 --> 00:41:56,281
Why did he risk everything
that his forefathers had achieved?
505
00:41:56,361 --> 00:42:00,441
The simple answer
was that he had no choice.
506
00:42:07,281 --> 00:42:10,761
John was being put under pressure
by his own relatives.
507
00:42:10,841 --> 00:42:14,681
They wanted to see the continued
expansion of MacDonald territory
508
00:42:14,761 --> 00:42:17,121
and the leader
of the hardline faction
509
00:42:17,201 --> 00:42:19,401
was his illegitimate son, Angus Og.
510
00:42:22,721 --> 00:42:25,961
Angus Og pressed his father
to sign the treaty with the English.
511
00:42:26,041 --> 00:42:31,601
The ink wasn't even dry before Angus
and his men set out to demand
512
00:42:31,681 --> 00:42:35,481
that taxes owed to the king
be paid directly to the MacDonalds.
513
00:42:44,201 --> 00:42:48,201
But the English king had only ever
wanted a diversion in the north.
514
00:42:48,281 --> 00:42:51,001
when Edward sorted out
his own internal troubles,
515
00:42:51,081 --> 00:42:53,681
he had no further need
for his Scottish allies.
516
00:42:56,161 --> 00:42:59,361
The game was up for John,
Lord of the Isles.
517
00:42:59,441 --> 00:43:02,921
He could now only hope that
the king, James III,
518
00:43:03,001 --> 00:43:05,841
wouldn't discover the secret treaty.
519
00:43:14,441 --> 00:43:16,721
Fat chance.
Eventually the story leaked out
520
00:43:16,801 --> 00:43:19,001
and everyone, the king included,
521
00:43:19,081 --> 00:43:21,841
knew about John's pact
with the English.
522
00:43:34,881 --> 00:43:38,841
John was cornered. In a humiliating
ceremony that echoed
523
00:43:38,921 --> 00:43:41,841
that of Alexander
all those years before,
524
00:43:41,921 --> 00:43:44,041
he was forced to surrender.
525
00:43:51,441 --> 00:43:55,921
John had wanted nothing more
than to be like his father.
526
00:43:56,001 --> 00:43:58,441
This was the bitter fulfillment
of that wish.
527
00:43:58,521 --> 00:44:00,321
Like his father,
he had underestimated
528
00:44:00,401 --> 00:44:01,921
the power of the Stewarts.
529
00:44:02,001 --> 00:44:04,401
And like his father,
he had paid the price.
530
00:44:04,481 --> 00:44:06,841
But this was more than
a personal failure.
531
00:44:06,921 --> 00:44:10,201
The repercussions
would be felt much more widely,
532
00:44:10,281 --> 00:44:15,041
rippling down through the centuries
and affecting Scotland to this day.
533
00:44:19,281 --> 00:44:21,241
John kept his head.
534
00:44:21,321 --> 00:44:25,121
He even managed to hold on
to some of his lands.
535
00:44:25,201 --> 00:44:29,961
But the humiliating submission
was too much for others in his family.
536
00:44:43,241 --> 00:44:45,761
Angus Og looked back
to the glory days,
537
00:44:45,841 --> 00:44:48,601
a time when his family
commanded respect.
538
00:44:51,441 --> 00:44:55,521
Then, the MacDonalds had
burned Inverness to the ground
539
00:44:55,601 --> 00:44:58,561
and routed a Royal army
at Inverlochy.
540
00:44:58,641 --> 00:45:02,881
No-one, not even kings,
had been able to subdue them.
541
00:45:02,961 --> 00:45:07,321
And now they were expected
just to roll over.
542
00:45:13,641 --> 00:45:16,041
The argument divided the family.
543
00:45:16,121 --> 00:45:19,881
In the process,
it tore Gaelic Scotland apart.
544
00:45:19,961 --> 00:45:23,241
When Angus attempted to
seize power from his father,
545
00:45:23,321 --> 00:45:26,521
the Highlands and Islands erupted
into civil war.
546
00:45:28,081 --> 00:45:33,601
The birlinns which had made the Lordship
now gathered to destroy it.
547
00:45:35,481 --> 00:45:37,561
Son against father,
548
00:45:37,641 --> 00:45:42,601
the final battlefield -
a bay on the Sound of Mull.
549
00:45:51,881 --> 00:45:55,201
That stretch of water ahead
is called Bloody Bay.
550
00:45:55,281 --> 00:45:58,481
It's where the birlinns of
John and Angus Og clashed
551
00:45:58,561 --> 00:46:00,521
with such disastrous violence.
552
00:46:00,601 --> 00:46:04,561
It's supposed to have been
a victory for Angus's forces,
553
00:46:04,641 --> 00:46:08,881
but the truth is that it was a defeat
for the whole of the Lordship.
554
00:46:08,961 --> 00:46:11,641
Something more than men
died that day.
555
00:46:11,721 --> 00:46:15,881
The idea of a strong Gaelic world,
a coherent entity
556
00:46:15,961 --> 00:46:20,561
that could deal on equal terms
with the rest of Scotland, died too.
557
00:46:38,321 --> 00:46:40,241
It was a seismic moment.
558
00:46:40,321 --> 00:46:43,801
The hairline crack between
the Highlands and the Lowlands
559
00:46:43,881 --> 00:46:45,361
suddenly blew wide open.
560
00:46:47,041 --> 00:46:52,961
At one time, Gaelic Scotland -
the place, the people and the language -
561
00:46:53,041 --> 00:46:57,721
had seemed central
to the collective identity of Scots.
562
00:46:57,801 --> 00:47:02,321
But now it began to be seen
as threatening, as different,
563
00:47:02,401 --> 00:47:04,361
as other.
564
00:47:08,081 --> 00:47:12,321
Scotland was changing,
and changing fast.
565
00:47:16,041 --> 00:47:20,201
Only one thing seemed constant -
the Stewarts.
566
00:47:22,401 --> 00:47:26,441
just a few years after the implosion
of the MacDonald;
567
00:47:26,521 --> 00:47:28,961
another James
sat upon the Scottish throne.
568
00:47:29,041 --> 00:47:30,801
Extravagant, charming
569
00:47:30,881 --> 00:47:34,681
and able to inspire affection
as well as respect,
570
00:47:34,761 --> 00:47:38,961
James IV was everything
that his forefathers weren't.
571
00:47:39,041 --> 00:47:41,361
But he did have one Stewart trait...
572
00:47:43,561 --> 00:47:46,121
...a burning desire to make a mark.
573
00:47:47,841 --> 00:47:52,001
Falkland Palace
was James IV's country retreat,
574
00:47:52,081 --> 00:47:56,601
an escape from
the everyday pressures of court.
575
00:47:56,681 --> 00:47:58,561
Everywhere you look,
576
00:47:58,641 --> 00:48:00,281
there are thistles.
577
00:48:02,361 --> 00:48:05,121
This was the new Stewart emblem.
578
00:48:05,201 --> 00:48:10,081
It was an image that James adapted
and reproduced endlessly.
579
00:48:10,161 --> 00:48:14,681
It was a brilliant logo, so simple,
so memorable that the thistle became
580
00:48:14,761 --> 00:48:19,441
the definitive symbol, not just of
the Stewarts, but of Scotland too.
581
00:48:30,441 --> 00:48:34,961
James wanted to create
a new Scottish identity.
582
00:48:35,041 --> 00:48:40,081
But that identity was
a very specific, even limiting one.
583
00:48:44,401 --> 00:48:49,361
James IV was the last Scottish king
to speak Gaelic.
584
00:48:49,441 --> 00:48:54,241
But Gaelic wasn't the King's
native tongue. Scots was.
585
00:48:55,881 --> 00:49:00,281
And under the patronage of James,
Scots was on the up.
586
00:49:10,801 --> 00:49:12,441
This is one of the first prints
587
00:49:12,521 --> 00:49:15,561
printed and produced in Scotland
in 1507, 1508,
588
00:49:15,641 --> 00:49:17,161
and the fascinating thing about it
589
00:49:17,241 --> 00:49:19,961
is that it's written in the language
of the Lowland Scots.
590
00:49:20,041 --> 00:49:23,201
Who's the author
that's printed here?
591
00:49:23,281 --> 00:49:25,721
The Flyting Of Dunbar And Kennedie
is actually by two poets.
592
00:49:25,801 --> 00:49:28,481
- And this is by Dunbar.
- What is a flyting?
593
00:49:28,561 --> 00:49:32,081
A flyting is a genre where one poet
challenges another poet to a duel
594
00:49:32,161 --> 00:49:34,641
by being as abusive as possible.
595
00:49:34,761 --> 00:49:40,961
Can you read me an example of Dunbar
having a pop at his adversary?
596
00:49:41,041 --> 00:49:44,801
(SPEAKS LOW LAND SCOTS)
597
00:50:05,641 --> 00:50:08,401
He's not exactly calling him
a smashing chap, is he?
598
00:50:08,481 --> 00:50:10,761
Er, not really, no, no.
599
00:50:10,841 --> 00:50:14,241
I can already pick out
from what you're saying
600
00:50:14,321 --> 00:50:17,241
that one of the key things
that this Lowland poet
601
00:50:17,321 --> 00:50:19,161
is accusing the other of
602
00:50:19,241 --> 00:50:23,161
is of using the Irish tongue,
the Gaelic tongue.
603
00:50:23,241 --> 00:50:24,921
- Yep.
- What's that about?
604
00:50:25,001 --> 00:50:27,761
THEO: I think Dunbar is tapping
into the stereotypes
605
00:50:27,841 --> 00:50:29,361
that would exist at the time.
606
00:50:29,441 --> 00:50:35,321
As part of James IV's political agenda,
cultural agenda, social agenda,
607
00:50:35,401 --> 00:50:38,601
you're looking at him
pushing Lowland Scots
608
00:50:38,681 --> 00:50:41,521
as the language of the people
in Scotland
609
00:50:41,601 --> 00:50:44,241
and use that as an official language
610
00:50:44,321 --> 00:50:46,401
and export that
to the further-out regions,
611
00:50:46,481 --> 00:50:48,881
and therefore Gaelic
is clearly under pressure.
612
00:50:48,961 --> 00:50:51,121
- So language is power?
- I think so, yes.
613
00:50:59,761 --> 00:51:03,961
Under James IV,
earthy, everyday Scots
614
00:51:04,041 --> 00:51:08,041
became the language of literature
and law and therefore of power.
615
00:51:08,121 --> 00:51:11,401
Gaelic, meanwhile,
had become politically tainted.
616
00:51:11,481 --> 00:51:15,041
It might well have been the language
of at least half of all Scots
617
00:51:15,121 --> 00:51:17,241
but, as far as Lowlanders
were concerned,
618
00:51:17,321 --> 00:51:20,601
it was the tongue
of traitors and outlaws.
619
00:51:25,681 --> 00:51:28,481
Without the glue of the Lordship
to hold it together,
620
00:51:28,561 --> 00:51:33,961
the Highlands and Islands
had become a kind of Wild West.
621
00:51:34,041 --> 00:51:36,721
Everyone was out
to grab what they could.
622
00:51:36,801 --> 00:51:40,481
In the bloodletting,
old scores were settled.
623
00:51:40,561 --> 00:51:45,161
Angus Og, the upstart son who had
tried to seize the Lordship,
624
00:51:45,241 --> 00:51:46,441
met a brutal end,
625
00:51:46,521 --> 00:51:50,401
strangled to death
by one of his own servants.
626
00:51:57,601 --> 00:52:00,921
This was Linn nan Creach,
The Raiding Time.
627
00:52:01,001 --> 00:52:05,241
To the outside world it seemed that
every stereotype of the lawlessness
628
00:52:05,321 --> 00:52:07,201
of the Gaels had been confirmed.
629
00:52:09,601 --> 00:52:14,041
As if overwhelmed by the torrent
of violence that he had unleashed,
630
00:52:14,121 --> 00:52:17,961
John MacDonald retreated
into penance and prayer.
631
00:52:18,041 --> 00:52:19,201
In name at least,
632
00:52:19,281 --> 00:52:23,521
he was still King of the Hebrides,
still Lord of the Isles.
633
00:52:23,601 --> 00:52:29,081
But in the new Scotland, there could
only be one king and only one lord.
634
00:52:40,281 --> 00:52:44,561
In 1493,
James took the title for himself.
635
00:52:46,121 --> 00:52:50,641
The Stewart; not the MacDonald;
were the Lords of the Isles how.
636
00:52:50,721 --> 00:52:55,601
It was their word,
their law, their rule.
637
00:52:55,681 --> 00:52:57,961
James put together an expedition
638
00:52:58,041 --> 00:53:01,001
and sailed north
to impose his authority.
639
00:53:04,361 --> 00:53:05,881
The last time a Scottish king
640
00:53:05,961 --> 00:53:09,521
had ventured into the labyrinth
of the Hebrides, he'd been on the run.
641
00:53:09,601 --> 00:53:12,721
But unlike Robert the Bruce
nearly 200 years previously,
642
00:53:12,801 --> 00:53:17,281
James had come not as a fugitive
but as a feudal overlord.
643
00:53:18,841 --> 00:53:21,681
The time of the MacDonalds
had passed.
644
00:53:24,001 --> 00:53:26,801
The time of the Stewarts had come.
645
00:53:28,441 --> 00:53:30,161
They were rich,
646
00:53:30,241 --> 00:53:32,041
they were powerful,
647
00:53:32,121 --> 00:53:33,761
they were in charge.
648
00:53:35,321 --> 00:53:39,321
The Stewarts now looked
to secure their future.
649
00:53:40,881 --> 00:53:45,001
In 1503, James IV married
Margaret Tudor,
650
00:53:45,081 --> 00:53:47,561
the daughter of Henry VII
of England.
651
00:53:53,601 --> 00:53:57,041
It was another spectacular
marriage for the Stewarts,
652
00:53:57,121 --> 00:54:00,601
but with an important difference.
653
00:54:00,681 --> 00:54:02,721
This time,
it wasn't just the Stewarts
654
00:54:02,801 --> 00:54:06,481
using a royal match as the passport
to power and respectability,
655
00:54:06,561 --> 00:54:08,281
it was the English Tudors.
656
00:54:08,361 --> 00:54:11,041
The Tudor dynasty
was still a fragile one.
657
00:54:11,121 --> 00:54:13,601
They'd just emerged
from the Wars of the Roses
658
00:54:13,681 --> 00:54:16,641
and they were clinging on
to power by their fingertips.
659
00:54:16,721 --> 00:54:19,561
Marriage into
the long-established Stewart family
660
00:54:19,641 --> 00:54:23,761
would bring much needed legitimacy
in the eyes of European monarchy.
661
00:54:25,361 --> 00:54:28,521
It was an extraordinary
reversal of fortune.
662
00:54:28,601 --> 00:54:33,761
Once they'd been hostages
and political prisoners,
663
00:54:33,841 --> 00:54:37,081
now the Stewart dynasty
had become major powerbrokers,
664
00:54:37,161 --> 00:54:40,521
able to make the reputations
of their Royal rivals.
665
00:54:42,641 --> 00:54:46,001
And with the birth of a baby boy
in 1507,
666
00:54:46,081 --> 00:54:49,161
the Stewarts were only
a heartbeat away
667
00:54:49,241 --> 00:54:51,561
from the throne of their ancient enemy,
668
00:54:51,641 --> 00:54:53,121
the English.
669
00:55:03,441 --> 00:55:06,921
The world had turned,
the centre had shifted.
670
00:55:07,001 --> 00:55:09,241
While the Stewart court blossomed,
671
00:55:09,321 --> 00:55:12,921
the court of the Lords of the Isles,
Finlaggan, burned.
672
00:55:30,081 --> 00:55:32,881
(MAN SPEAKS GAELIC)
673
00:56:01,201 --> 00:56:03,281
The Highland Boundary fault line
674
00:56:03,361 --> 00:56:06,841
cuts like a sword stroke
through the heart of Scotland.
675
00:56:06,921 --> 00:56:11,681
From coast to coast, it divides
the country into two distinct parts,
676
00:56:11,761 --> 00:56:14,801
the Highlands and the Lowlands.
677
00:56:14,881 --> 00:56:16,961
It's a neat division,
678
00:56:17,041 --> 00:56:18,761
perhaps too neat.
679
00:56:22,041 --> 00:56:26,521
It's easy for us to think that
the differences between Gaelic identity
680
00:56:26,601 --> 00:56:28,801
and Scots are somehow set in stone.
681
00:56:31,681 --> 00:56:36,201
But this sense of separation
is only a few centuries old.
682
00:56:36,281 --> 00:56:40,361
It's history,
not geography that divides us.
683
00:56:42,481 --> 00:56:44,361
Scotland's split personality
684
00:56:44,441 --> 00:56:48,561
is the result of a family struggle
that pulled the kingdom apart.
685
00:56:51,401 --> 00:56:54,561
From being fully paid-up members
of the Scottish project,
686
00:56:54,641 --> 00:56:59,721
Gaels began to be thought of
as rebels, outsiders.
687
00:57:01,321 --> 00:57:04,481
Scotland couldn't continue
to be diverse,
688
00:57:04,561 --> 00:57:07,481
it had to be
a single, political entity.
689
00:57:09,041 --> 00:57:11,881
And maybe a single
cultural entity too.
690
00:57:13,601 --> 00:57:18,121
It was the Stewarts who drove this
new vision of a Scottish kingdom.
691
00:57:18,201 --> 00:57:21,361
In their eyes, Scotland was secure
in its independence
692
00:57:21,441 --> 00:57:23,681
and established
on the European stage.
693
00:57:23,761 --> 00:57:27,721
But this was only the start
of what they had set out to achieve.
694
00:57:27,801 --> 00:57:27,721
In the years to come, their ambitions
would truly take flight.