1 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:12,640 Centuries ago, much of Scotland was a law unto itself... 2 00:00:15,000 --> 00:00:17,160 ..beyond the control of any king. 3 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:26,840 Here, it's not the king who's the lawmaker. It's the clan chiefs. 4 00:00:26,840 --> 00:00:31,320 Like Mafia godfathers, they control the people, wield the power. 5 00:00:31,320 --> 00:00:32,920 I'm going to make you an offer. 6 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:37,000 They lead armies. 7 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:40,360 They scheme and slaughter... 8 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:42,400 ..in a violent struggle for dominance. 9 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:44,960 It's clan against clan... 10 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:49,680 ..but this is more than just gang warfare. 11 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:51,480 You forget yourself! ..who is your Queen?! 12 00:00:51,480 --> 00:00:54,200 Their struggles will shape a nation. 13 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:57,400 Blood will be spilled. 14 00:00:58,880 --> 00:01:02,160 This is a story of rebels and rogues, 15 00:01:02,160 --> 00:01:04,160 of heroes and freedom fighters... 16 00:01:04,160 --> 00:01:05,520 Raibeart! 17 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:07,320 ..of kingmakers... 18 00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:08,920 ALL: Ar righ! 19 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:10,040 ..and breakers. 20 00:01:12,920 --> 00:01:15,280 This is the rise of the clans. 21 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:36,440 Midsummer 1314. 22 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:38,920 Scotland holds her breath. 23 00:01:43,000 --> 00:01:46,600 A massive English army has marched north of the Border. 24 00:01:46,600 --> 00:01:51,080 Its mission - to do battle with the rebel King, Robert Bruce. 25 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:57,120 Bruce has been fighting a guerrilla war against English rule 26 00:01:57,120 --> 00:01:59,840 for eight years, and he's been winning. 27 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:04,840 Crucial to his success is an alliance of clan warriors, 28 00:02:05,400 --> 00:02:07,840 among them Campbells and MacDonalds. 29 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:15,160 At dawn, they're set for a final face-off with the English. 30 00:02:15,160 --> 00:02:20,200 If Bruce prevails, the clans will gain land and power, 31 00:02:20,840 --> 00:02:23,560 but they're outnumbered three to one... 32 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:27,480 ..and if they lose, they'll lose everything. 33 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:32,520 Now Bruce is telling them he wants to quit, 34 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:37,480 he's decided not to fight, but to retreat north into mountain country. 35 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:41,400 He's not convinced that they can fight the English army - 36 00:02:41,400 --> 00:02:45,040 cavalry, archers, foot soldiers - in pitched battle. 37 00:02:45,040 --> 00:02:47,160 "It's madness," Bruce argues. 38 00:02:47,160 --> 00:02:49,760 "Let's stick to what we've been good at. 39 00:02:49,760 --> 00:02:54,160 "Guerrilla tactics, terror, hit-and-run, clan warfare." 40 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:59,240 But the clan chiefs who've stuck with Bruce through thick and thin 41 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:01,480 are spoiling for a fight. 42 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:05,920 TRANSLATED FROM GAELIC: 43 00:03:13,640 --> 00:03:16,840 History can turn on a sixpence, 44 00:03:16,840 --> 00:03:21,160 its direction decided by a single instinctive act. 45 00:03:21,160 --> 00:03:25,560 Eight years earlier, Bruce acted, and it altered the fate of a nation. 46 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:35,280 1306. 47 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:39,920 Scotland is under the rule of the English King, Edward I. 48 00:03:39,920 --> 00:03:44,520 The King of Scots, John Balliol, is in exile, chased out of the country. 49 00:03:46,360 --> 00:03:50,840 Robert Bruce is a clan chief with a claim to the Scottish throne 50 00:03:50,840 --> 00:03:53,000 through his grandfather. 51 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:56,960 He intends to take the crown and restore the kingdom... 52 00:03:56,960 --> 00:04:00,560 ..but he's not the only one with designs on royal power. 53 00:04:00,560 --> 00:04:02,320 He has a rival. 54 00:04:02,320 --> 00:04:04,400 RAISED VOICES 55 00:04:05,600 --> 00:04:09,200 They meet at Greyfriars Church to negotiate. 56 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:12,440 It's the equivalent of a medieval Mafia meeting. 57 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:21,360 Bruce has come here to meet a great clan chief called John Comyn. 58 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:25,560 it's a chilly winter's morning, but the relationship between the two men 59 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:27,480 is positively glacial. 60 00:04:28,760 --> 00:04:31,960 Bruce has chosen Greyfriars for good reason. 61 00:04:31,960 --> 00:04:35,600 The church offers sanctuary and neutrality. 62 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:40,600 Bruce and Comyn are well known as bitter enemies, 63 00:04:40,600 --> 00:04:43,400 but today they're on their best behaviour. 64 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:50,120 Amid Bruce's retinue is his wee brother Edward 65 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:53,200 and his old friend Neil Campbell. 66 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:58,640 They might be on holy ground, but at any moment things might kick off. 67 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:03,000 The last time the pair were together, 68 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:05,800 their hands were round each other's throats. 69 00:05:05,800 --> 00:05:07,400 What have you got to say for yourself? 70 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:10,160 I'm going to make you an offer. Step aside. 71 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:16,680 The way Bruce sees it, Balliol is redundant, the throne vacant. 72 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:19,400 He believes that he should be declared 73 00:05:19,400 --> 00:05:21,520 as Scotland's rightful king. 74 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:28,080 Bruce starts by reminding Comyn of his claim to the Scottish throne. 75 00:05:28,080 --> 00:05:31,640 "Hardly news," retorts Comyn. "Balliol is king, though." 76 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:33,160 "Aye," replies Bruce, 77 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:36,960 "but the Scottish Kirk has withdrawn support for Balliol. 78 00:05:36,960 --> 00:05:39,720 "They've decided to back me." 79 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:42,560 Now, this is a breaking news story. 80 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:46,840 The Scottish bishops really struggled 81 00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:50,080 with the presence of the English, and English domination in Scotland. 82 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:52,200 They believed in Scottish sovereignty, 83 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:54,680 they wanted to see English interference removed, 84 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:58,800 and Balliol was no longer really able to fulfil his role... 85 00:05:58,800 --> 00:06:01,880 ..his God-ordained role as being defender of the people. 86 00:06:01,880 --> 00:06:05,760 And I think once they see that Balliol's cause is lost, you know - 87 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:07,560 he's hopeless as a king - they need to move 88 00:06:07,560 --> 00:06:11,480 and find their new champion, which, in this case, is going to be Bruce. 89 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:13,640 Do you have the backing of the Church? 90 00:06:13,640 --> 00:06:14,800 I have... 91 00:06:14,800 --> 00:06:17,160 Bruce might have the divine thumbs-up 92 00:06:17,160 --> 00:06:19,480 but this carries no truck with Comyn. 93 00:06:19,480 --> 00:06:20,920 I have land. What do you have? 94 00:06:20,920 --> 00:06:23,880 Tell me, do you have the backing of the Church? 95 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:25,800 Who backs you? I'm backed by everybody. 96 00:06:25,800 --> 00:06:27,760 Who's behind you? Everybody. 97 00:06:27,760 --> 00:06:31,800 Who stands by you?! Nobody! You're no leader, you're no king. 98 00:06:31,800 --> 00:06:34,880 You're nothing but the lapdog of your dad! 99 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:37,400 Your dad was nothing but a leper! 100 00:06:37,400 --> 00:06:40,880 Not cool to diss big Bobby's dad like that - 101 00:06:40,880 --> 00:06:45,320 and although meant to be unarmed, it seems Bruce has come tooled up. 102 00:06:45,320 --> 00:06:48,720 This is ugly. This isn't the plan. 103 00:06:48,720 --> 00:06:50,240 Or is it? 104 00:07:08,240 --> 00:07:11,480 Bruce has committed murder in a church. 105 00:07:11,480 --> 00:07:15,000 This sin alone condemns his soul to damnation. 106 00:07:15,000 --> 00:07:19,000 The crime must carry a sentence of execution for him, 107 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:22,760 and send his kin into Edward's jails, or worse. 108 00:07:22,760 --> 00:07:24,520 Actually, much worse. 109 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:37,560 I think Bruce didn't mean to murder Comyn. 110 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:40,080 I don't think he planned that. 111 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:43,160 I don't think he would have gone for something so drastic, I think, 112 00:07:43,160 --> 00:07:44,520 because of the fallout from it. 113 00:07:44,520 --> 00:07:47,240 You know, he didn't have enough support in Scotland at the time 114 00:07:47,240 --> 00:07:50,520 to ensure that he'd be able to come through it, you know, safely. 115 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:52,480 So I think that he's gone in there, 116 00:07:52,480 --> 00:07:54,960 he's had this heated discussion with Comyn, 117 00:07:54,960 --> 00:07:56,920 and they've just lost it, 118 00:07:56,920 --> 00:07:59,040 and I think that he's acted in anger, 119 00:07:59,040 --> 00:08:01,280 and his group have obviously supported him in that, 120 00:08:01,280 --> 00:08:03,520 and then he's thought, "Right, well, it's happened now. 121 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:04,640 "There's nothing I can do. 122 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:06,640 "I just have to go and try and make the best of it." 123 00:08:11,240 --> 00:08:15,520 Whatever was said to make Bruce lose it, whether it was planned or no... 124 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:17,080 MAN ISSUES ORDERS 125 00:08:17,080 --> 00:08:19,560 ..he started a clan blood feud. 126 00:08:20,800 --> 00:08:24,080 Clan is the Gaelic word for children. 127 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:29,120 Clans are organised around the idea of family, of kinship, 128 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:31,720 whether real or not, 129 00:08:31,720 --> 00:08:36,760 and those obligations and duties extend across everybody 130 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:40,520 who can claim kinship with the clan chief. 131 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:46,120 The kindred of John, chief of the Comyns, 132 00:08:46,120 --> 00:08:48,600 whose body now grows cold in Greyfriars Kirk, 133 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:52,360 belong to the most powerful clan in Scotland. 134 00:08:52,360 --> 00:08:55,240 They control vast territory in the north, 135 00:08:55,240 --> 00:08:57,560 they're allied to the mighty Clan Dougall, 136 00:08:57,560 --> 00:08:59,720 who dominate the western Highlands. 137 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:02,600 The House of Bruce, though, 138 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:04,200 controls the south-west, 139 00:09:04,200 --> 00:09:08,560 and has clan followers like the Campbells to call upon. 140 00:09:08,560 --> 00:09:11,600 The murder of John Comyn is a trip switch 141 00:09:11,600 --> 00:09:14,600 that will now set these clan confederacies 142 00:09:14,600 --> 00:09:17,240 against one another in open warfare. 143 00:09:19,280 --> 00:09:24,320 There's about 50 clans. Some are powerful, some are not so large. 144 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:28,040 They are not always warring with each other. 145 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:31,480 They try to ally with each other as a means of defence. 146 00:09:31,480 --> 00:09:34,720 Unfortunately, feuding is also quite rife. 147 00:09:34,720 --> 00:09:37,800 Petty land disputes or family quarrels 148 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:41,040 can turn into major clan disputes, 149 00:09:41,040 --> 00:09:43,320 and so while there's a lot of stability, 150 00:09:43,320 --> 00:09:45,200 there's also a lot of upheaval. 151 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:52,200 And pulled into this upheaval is Bruce's old friend Neil. 152 00:09:52,200 --> 00:09:55,440 He's a chief of the Campbells. 153 00:09:55,440 --> 00:09:59,920 They're not a Premier League clan, but they're very handy in a fight. 154 00:10:03,240 --> 00:10:05,080 Within days, Neil Campbell 155 00:10:05,080 --> 00:10:08,040 instructs the fiery cross of his clan to be lit. 156 00:10:08,040 --> 00:10:10,080 It's a summons to arms. 157 00:10:10,080 --> 00:10:12,880 Refusal is not an option. 158 00:10:12,880 --> 00:10:15,160 Loyalty is everything. 159 00:10:18,200 --> 00:10:22,160 Campbell and Robert have been friends since boyhood, 160 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:24,640 their families bound by ties of blood, 161 00:10:24,640 --> 00:10:26,920 but Neil never forgets his place. 162 00:10:26,920 --> 00:10:30,280 The Bruces provide the Campbells with protection, 163 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:32,360 with land and with jobs, 164 00:10:32,360 --> 00:10:36,080 and in return they demand military service... 165 00:10:38,040 --> 00:10:40,840 ..but this is much more than just a clan feud 166 00:10:40,840 --> 00:10:43,040 Neil's calling out the Campbells to fight in. 167 00:10:43,040 --> 00:10:46,920 It's armed revolt against the occupying rule of England 168 00:10:46,920 --> 00:10:48,840 and its king, Edward I. 169 00:10:50,360 --> 00:10:53,160 Neil Campbell epitomises a kind of middle rank 170 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:54,600 of Scottish society 171 00:10:54,600 --> 00:10:58,400 which is crucial in supporting the Bruce revolution. 172 00:10:58,400 --> 00:11:01,120 Now, people like Neil Campbell are taking an enormous risk. 173 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:04,080 Anybody who stands against Edward at this point in time 174 00:11:04,080 --> 00:11:07,720 will be subject to the full rigour of the common law of England - 175 00:11:07,720 --> 00:11:09,800 regarded as traitors. 176 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:14,320 On the other hand, the prize in supporting a king, if he can make it 177 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:16,720 and assert his legitimacy over the kingdom, 178 00:11:16,720 --> 00:11:18,920 the prizes could be immense, 179 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:21,520 in terms of the rewards that might await them, 180 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:24,600 in terms of territories within their own back yards. 181 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:31,280 With Clan Campbell at his back, 182 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:34,480 Bruce moves north, seeking more allies. 183 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:39,000 English troops are in hot pursuit. Sides must be taken now. 184 00:11:39,000 --> 00:11:41,440 Are you with Bruce or against him? 185 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:47,280 An epic poem in Scots immortalises these desperate days 186 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:51,640 with a not-too-subtle bias in Bruce's favour. 187 00:11:55,160 --> 00:11:57,240 TRANSLATED FROM SCOTS: 188 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:14,960 News travels to England of Bruce's deeds. 189 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:19,040 This is rebellion, treason. 190 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:24,120 Not only that. Bruce is heading for Scone, 191 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:27,160 the traditional site in Scotland for crowning kings. 192 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:32,000 When Edward hears this, he's furious 193 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:35,440 cos he knows that the only reason that Bruce would head to Scone 194 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:37,600 is to make a play for the Scottish throne. 195 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:40,520 I think Bruce is going to make himself King. 196 00:12:40,520 --> 00:12:43,040 Bruce's coronation is a hurried affair. 197 00:12:43,040 --> 00:12:45,960 It hadn't been planned this way, if you like, 198 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:47,680 that Comyn would be murdered 199 00:12:47,680 --> 00:12:51,200 and that he'd be moving to take the throne at this kind of pace. 200 00:12:55,200 --> 00:12:56,520 Bruce might be crowned, 201 00:12:56,520 --> 00:13:00,440 but there's no time for coronation bunting and street parties. 202 00:13:01,960 --> 00:13:06,760 Edward, "Hammer of the Scots", wants this sedition stamped out. 203 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:10,440 He orders his English knights occupying Scotland 204 00:13:10,440 --> 00:13:13,360 to raise the dragon banner, to unleash fire and sword 205 00:13:13,360 --> 00:13:15,720 on the House of Bruce and all who side with it. 206 00:13:17,200 --> 00:13:20,200 The terrible dragon banner means only one thing. 207 00:13:20,200 --> 00:13:22,200 No mercy. 208 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:28,160 An English army sweeps down on the town of Perth, 209 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:31,160 just a few miles from the site of Bruce's coronation. 210 00:13:34,480 --> 00:13:38,560 The capture of Perth presents Bruce with a dilemma. 211 00:13:38,560 --> 00:13:40,520 On the one hand, he needs to show the chiefs 212 00:13:40,520 --> 00:13:42,040 that he's a strong commander, 213 00:13:42,040 --> 00:13:44,560 so it makes sense to deal with the English vanguard 214 00:13:44,560 --> 00:13:47,640 before the main army arrives under Edward I. 215 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:50,680 He's got limited forces, though. He's still outnumbered, 216 00:13:50,680 --> 00:13:53,640 but the new King does have fire in his veins, 217 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:55,320 and he decides to fight... 218 00:13:57,960 --> 00:14:03,000 ..but this impetuousness, this lack of caution, proves unwise. 219 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:09,760 The Scots army doesn't even have an opportunity to assemble. 220 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:11,400 It doesn't have an opportunity 221 00:14:11,400 --> 00:14:13,640 to even put up a reasonable type of defence. 222 00:14:13,640 --> 00:14:16,520 It's caught unawares as the English heavy armour, 223 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:18,240 the knights on horseback, 224 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:20,160 come thundering through the encampment. 225 00:14:20,160 --> 00:14:22,840 Bruce's army is shattered, scatters in all directions. 226 00:14:22,840 --> 00:14:24,240 There are heavy casualties, 227 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:29,240 and Bruce is left with a small hard core of his inner retinue, 228 00:14:29,280 --> 00:14:31,720 and they escape westwards. 229 00:14:31,720 --> 00:14:36,760 So, Bruce's military career as King starts with an abject failure, 230 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:38,800 and it's kind of ironic, in a sense, 231 00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:41,040 that the Scots should be caught out like this. 232 00:14:41,040 --> 00:14:42,680 It demonstrates, I think, 233 00:14:42,680 --> 00:14:45,840 Bruce's naivety at this stage in his military career. 234 00:14:49,960 --> 00:14:52,680 The defeat is a brutal lesson for Bruce. 235 00:14:52,680 --> 00:14:55,040 Fighting the English on their terms, 236 00:14:55,040 --> 00:14:58,400 outnumbered by mounted knights over open ground - 237 00:14:58,400 --> 00:15:00,120 it's doomed to failure. 238 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:02,640 He needs time to regroup, time to think, 239 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:05,680 and he needs to get his family to safety quickly. 240 00:15:11,520 --> 00:15:15,080 Bruce sends his wife, daughter and his sister north 241 00:15:15,080 --> 00:15:17,200 to where they have kin, praying they'll be safe. 242 00:15:21,560 --> 00:15:25,120 He's now excommunicated, outlawed and on the run. 243 00:15:26,560 --> 00:15:29,520 In the eyes of the common people, it looks like their new king 244 00:15:29,520 --> 00:15:32,320 is even worse than the last. 245 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:34,960 TRANSLATED FROM SCOTS: 246 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:50,680 HE WHISTLES 247 00:15:50,680 --> 00:15:52,640 Bruce has his brother Edward, 248 00:15:52,640 --> 00:15:57,320 the ever-faithful Neil and a small war band of clansmen by his side - 249 00:15:57,320 --> 00:15:59,640 but they're hunted men. 250 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:03,720 They head west, hoping to lose their pursuers 251 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:06,280 amid Highland forests and glens, 252 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:10,200 and this brings them into Clan MacDougall territory. 253 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:15,040 They're desperate, on the run. It's a mistake. 254 00:16:17,920 --> 00:16:21,600 Top dog in Clan Dougall is John of Lorne. 255 00:16:21,600 --> 00:16:25,240 He's a kinsman of the murdered John Comyn. 256 00:16:25,240 --> 00:16:29,280 The Bruces and the Campbells are now sworn enemies of the MacDougalls... 257 00:16:32,920 --> 00:16:37,040 ..and they don't take kindly to them strutting into their glens. 258 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:41,840 Bruce is in a very difficult spot. 259 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:46,520 The MacDougalls are the dominant clan on the Scottish west coast 260 00:16:46,520 --> 00:16:48,640 by the end of the 13th century. 261 00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:53,640 They're used to running the region as a semi-autonomous lordship, 262 00:16:53,640 --> 00:16:56,120 almost a kingdom unto itself, 263 00:16:56,120 --> 00:16:58,400 and their links to the Comyns 264 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:02,040 mean that they're duty-bound, honour-bound, 265 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:04,400 to try and either capture or kill 266 00:17:04,400 --> 00:17:07,640 the man who bought about John Comyn's death. 267 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:12,440 So, whichever way Bruce is heading, he's heading into trouble. 268 00:17:12,440 --> 00:17:14,960 So when Bruce and his Campbell allies 269 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:18,240 try sneaking through MacDougall territory... 270 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:24,440 ..John of Lorne lies in wait for them, with archers and axemen. 271 00:17:46,120 --> 00:17:49,480 Clan Dougall unleash a devastating attack. 272 00:17:49,480 --> 00:17:52,240 Given the ragged state of Bruce's men, 273 00:17:52,240 --> 00:17:54,960 it's not so much a battle as a mugging. 274 00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:01,120 Bruce's men are cut to pieces. 275 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:17,360 Now even fewer in number, Bruce and the clansmen flee. 276 00:18:17,360 --> 00:18:19,360 They're down to 200 men. 277 00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:23,480 They head higher into the mountains, their enemies in pursuit. 278 00:18:26,120 --> 00:18:31,040 They travel a long, bitter and bloody road south to reach the sea. 279 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:34,000 Behind them lie two crushing defeats. 280 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:40,920 As for the women Bruce sent north to safety, they never made it. 281 00:18:40,920 --> 00:18:43,560 His wife, his daughter, his sisters, 282 00:18:43,560 --> 00:18:46,840 they were captured and sent south to face Edward's justice. 283 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:50,280 This is their darkest hour, 284 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:54,200 but Neil Campbell still has Bruce's back. 285 00:18:54,200 --> 00:18:58,440 He's led his King into his own clan territory, Argyll, 286 00:18:58,440 --> 00:19:01,240 and sent for galleys to ferry them to safety 287 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:05,000 off the mainland and away to remote islands in the west. 288 00:19:06,280 --> 00:19:08,400 Campbell has proved his loyalty, 289 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:10,120 but what isn't lost on the Bruce 290 00:19:10,120 --> 00:19:13,680 is Neil's ability to raise a fleet of galleys in just a few days. 291 00:19:13,680 --> 00:19:18,520 Bruce might be King of Scots, but Clan Campbell rule these parts. 292 00:19:23,600 --> 00:19:26,040 Bruce is a powerless fugitive... 293 00:19:27,760 --> 00:19:31,680 ..and as he waits for rescue, his thoughts focus upon the family 294 00:19:31,680 --> 00:19:34,280 he thinks he's sent to safety in the north, 295 00:19:34,280 --> 00:19:37,520 a family now in the clutches of Edward of England. 296 00:19:39,240 --> 00:19:42,600 It was to the women that Edward was especially cruel. 297 00:19:42,600 --> 00:19:46,080 Bruce's wife and daughter were imprisoned in nunneries. 298 00:19:46,080 --> 00:19:49,200 His sister Mary was put in an iron cage 299 00:19:49,200 --> 00:19:52,800 hung from a castle tower, open to the elements, 300 00:19:52,800 --> 00:19:55,400 forbidden to communicate with anyone - 301 00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:58,320 treated like a beast in a menagerie... 302 00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:04,440 ..but as for Bruce, after the Campbell galleys spirit him off, 303 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:08,840 as far as the English are concerned, he simply vanished. 304 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:14,560 Well, Bruce disappears off the map in this period. 305 00:20:14,560 --> 00:20:18,040 Perhaps Edward thought that all was well, 306 00:20:18,040 --> 00:20:20,360 that Bruce's early defeats had convinced him 307 00:20:20,360 --> 00:20:23,480 that there was no possibility in pursuing this campaign 308 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:25,400 to resurrect Scottish kingship. 309 00:20:31,720 --> 00:20:34,080 But Bruce hasn't given up. 310 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:36,400 He's seeking new allies, 311 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:39,960 this time on the island of Islay, 312 00:20:39,960 --> 00:20:42,480 home to the MacDonalds. 313 00:20:42,480 --> 00:20:45,840 Their chieftain is the fearsome Angus Og, 314 00:20:45,840 --> 00:20:50,120 and his clansmen are a heady mix of Gaelic warrior and Viking marauder. 315 00:20:52,520 --> 00:20:55,040 They're the Hell's Angels of the Hebrides. 316 00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:01,320 Bruce is probably quite anxious when he meets Angus Og. 317 00:21:01,320 --> 00:21:04,360 He's powerful, and Bruce really doesn't know 318 00:21:04,360 --> 00:21:06,000 what to expect at this moment, 319 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:08,200 because Angus is still allied to Edward, 320 00:21:08,200 --> 00:21:09,640 as many people are at the time. 321 00:21:09,640 --> 00:21:12,320 Bruce is also very vulnerable. He's quite weak, 322 00:21:12,320 --> 00:21:14,600 he doesn't have much support any more, 323 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:17,880 and so he's really on the back foot and not sure what to expect 324 00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:19,840 when he meets Angus Og. 325 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:22,680 So Bruce tries to make a deal. 326 00:21:24,280 --> 00:21:28,320 Angus Og sees potential in this wretched fugitive 327 00:21:28,320 --> 00:21:30,560 who has come to Islay. 328 00:21:32,400 --> 00:21:35,480 He is prepared to offer him shelter. 329 00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:38,320 He's prepared to offer him military support, 330 00:21:38,320 --> 00:21:43,000 but at a price - because Angus Og has got his own agenda. 331 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:46,720 His terms won't be easy. 332 00:21:46,720 --> 00:21:50,240 He is expecting lavish promises from Bruce, 333 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:53,000 and these promises are about land, 334 00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:57,800 especially land which is now under the control of his deadly enemies, 335 00:21:57,800 --> 00:21:59,640 the MacDougalls. 336 00:21:59,640 --> 00:22:04,680 He's expecting promises of future power and authority 337 00:22:05,040 --> 00:22:08,640 under a Bruce-led Kingdom of Scotland. 338 00:22:12,200 --> 00:22:16,920 But there is also a loyalty to Bruce and an affinity. 339 00:22:16,920 --> 00:22:18,480 So when these two men come together, 340 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:21,640 I think that there would have been an understanding on both their sides 341 00:22:21,640 --> 00:22:25,440 that they can profit from a strong working relationship, 342 00:22:25,440 --> 00:22:29,760 a shared belief in the causes that they each espouse 343 00:22:29,760 --> 00:22:33,800 that bring them together and create a very, very important relationship 344 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:37,840 in determining the ultimate success of Robert Bruce as King of Scots. 345 00:22:39,520 --> 00:22:43,720 Bruce has no choice. He accepts all of Angus's demands. 346 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:46,960 Now he has two major western clans on side, 347 00:22:46,960 --> 00:22:49,160 the Campbells and the MacDonalds. 348 00:22:49,160 --> 00:22:53,840 Three days later, Bruce's renegade fleet heads for the open sea again 349 00:22:53,840 --> 00:22:56,480 and he vanishes from his enemies' sight. 350 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:08,000 Winter is coming, and now the fugitive King 351 00:23:08,000 --> 00:23:11,920 seeks out another clan on the remote western seaboard of the Hebrides, 352 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:16,320 one with blood ties to the House of Bruce - the MacRuaidhris. 353 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:22,160 Chief of Clan Ruaidhri is Christiana of the Isles. 354 00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,520 The Gaels accepted women as leaders, 355 00:23:24,520 --> 00:23:27,920 and she's quick to offer Bruce support and shelter. 356 00:23:31,040 --> 00:23:34,240 It's usually said that Bruce spent the winter of 1306 357 00:23:34,240 --> 00:23:37,800 in a cold cave, with only a legendary spider for company. 358 00:23:37,800 --> 00:23:41,040 The truth is, he was probably much more comfortable than that. 359 00:23:41,040 --> 00:23:42,560 A warm family welcome, 360 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:45,880 a warm bed, food, advice on what to do next, 361 00:23:45,880 --> 00:23:48,400 and not a spider in sight. 362 00:23:48,400 --> 00:23:50,200 WOMAN SINGS IN GAELIC 363 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:55,720 It's said that Christiana gave Robert much more than just shelter 364 00:23:55,720 --> 00:23:57,320 in the winter of 1306 - 365 00:23:57,320 --> 00:24:01,000 that later she bore him an illegitimate child - 366 00:24:01,000 --> 00:24:04,520 but above all, she believed in his cause, 367 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:09,200 pledging clan warriors to his rebel band of Campbells and MacDonalds. 368 00:24:10,240 --> 00:24:12,720 TRANSLATED FROM GAELIC: 369 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:25,000 Bruce and his new friends talk long into the winter evenings. 370 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:29,120 How can they challenge the great English war machine? 371 00:24:29,120 --> 00:24:33,320 They have neither numbers nor arms to go into battle conventionally. 372 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:36,600 Bitter experience has taught them that... 373 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:41,680 ..but what if they could use 374 00:24:41,680 --> 00:24:45,360 the ferocious fighting style of the clan warrior 375 00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:49,360 and the forbidding Scottish landscape to their advantage? 376 00:24:50,440 --> 00:24:53,480 The strategy was recorded as a poem. 377 00:24:59,040 --> 00:25:01,720 What we should think about poetry at this time 378 00:25:01,720 --> 00:25:04,440 is, all across Europe, poetry, song, balladry, 379 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:06,720 is one of the major means of communicating, 380 00:25:06,720 --> 00:25:07,920 getting news across, 381 00:25:07,920 --> 00:25:10,720 getting an objective presented to your wider public, 382 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:13,280 because most people are illiterate, 383 00:25:13,280 --> 00:25:16,840 and this is how key messages are going to be communicated - 384 00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:20,880 and in Gaelic culture, this is critically important at all levels. 385 00:25:20,880 --> 00:25:23,320 TRANSLATED FROM GAELIC: 386 00:25:36,480 --> 00:25:39,760 It's how you can get across even as basic a message as, 387 00:25:39,760 --> 00:25:43,400 "This is how we want you to organise yourself when it comes to fighting. 388 00:25:43,400 --> 00:25:46,440 "Don't do this, do what we're telling you here," 389 00:25:46,440 --> 00:25:49,520 and you put that into rhyme, and people tend to remember it. 390 00:26:10,120 --> 00:26:14,080 Bruce has the loyalty of three powerful and influential clans - 391 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:18,680 the Campbells, the MacDonalds and now Clan Ruaidhri. 392 00:26:18,680 --> 00:26:22,080 In the winter of 1306, he announces a change of tactics. 393 00:26:22,080 --> 00:26:25,960 Basically, what the poem says is that he will use clan warfare 394 00:26:25,960 --> 00:26:29,240 to fight Edward, and unleash hell. 395 00:26:30,600 --> 00:26:32,120 TRANSLATED FROM GAELIC: 396 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:40,520 ALL: Ar righ! 397 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:49,280 It's time for the King to return. 398 00:27:02,000 --> 00:27:06,800 When Bruce returns, King Edward can't believe it. 399 00:27:08,040 --> 00:27:12,320 He hasn't returned with a massive army or with a great fleet at all. 400 00:27:12,320 --> 00:27:14,920 He's just returned with a few followers. 401 00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:20,080 Bruce has come back to the south-west. 402 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:21,760 Now, that's Bruce's own territory, 403 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:24,000 if you like, that's where his own earldom is, 404 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:26,240 the Earldom of Carrick, a Gaelic-speaking area. 405 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:28,040 But it's also part of the country 406 00:27:28,040 --> 00:27:30,280 where the English have a strong presence on the ground 407 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:32,520 in terms of controlling castles, 408 00:27:32,520 --> 00:27:36,760 so, in a sense, this is a very bold move by Bruce, I would think, 409 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:40,480 from Edward's point of view. He's literally entering the lion's den. 410 00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:45,040 But Bruce has absolutely no intention 411 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:46,920 of taking on Edward's army. 412 00:27:46,920 --> 00:27:49,880 He's about to change the very nature of war. 413 00:27:54,320 --> 00:27:57,080 Like a shadow, Bruce moves north. 414 00:28:00,600 --> 00:28:03,200 Bruce has not forgotten the previous year, 415 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:05,920 where he was caught unprepared and in the open. 416 00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:08,560 Now he will apply guerrilla warfare. 417 00:28:08,560 --> 00:28:10,680 Speed, mobility, surprise, 418 00:28:10,680 --> 00:28:13,800 small-scale hit-and-runs, scorched earth - 419 00:28:13,800 --> 00:28:16,200 this will be the style of his new campaign. 420 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:24,320 TRANSLATED FROM GAELIC: 421 00:28:48,600 --> 00:28:52,360 In April 1307, Bruce ambushes the English 422 00:28:52,360 --> 00:28:55,280 on his home turf at Glen Trool in Galloway, 423 00:28:55,280 --> 00:28:58,000 using his knowledge of the country to his advantage. 424 00:28:59,240 --> 00:29:04,080 Then, a month later, he smashes his enemy again...at Loudoun Hill. 425 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:12,760 At Loudoun Hill, Bruce once again exploited the landscape 426 00:29:12,760 --> 00:29:14,680 to give him the upper hand, 427 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:18,880 its rocky, slender top forcing the English to fight on a narrow front 428 00:29:18,880 --> 00:29:22,280 so that their superior numbers gave them no advantage. 429 00:29:22,280 --> 00:29:24,320 The Bruce's men attacked so violently 430 00:29:24,320 --> 00:29:27,160 that the rear of the English army fell back in a panic. 431 00:29:29,600 --> 00:29:32,360 Bruce's new tactics are working. 432 00:29:32,360 --> 00:29:36,280 These small victories are a turning point in Bruce's campaign 433 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:38,120 and their effect is electric. 434 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:42,920 Word has got around. God is on Bruce's side... 435 00:29:42,920 --> 00:29:48,000 ..and not just God, it seems, but the mythical wizard Merlin, too. 436 00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:51,960 Bruce was brilliant at this - an absolute master of propaganda. 437 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:54,720 We know that he had what were termed by the sources 438 00:29:54,720 --> 00:29:56,560 "false preachers" in his army, 439 00:29:56,560 --> 00:29:59,120 who were going around spreading the news, 440 00:29:59,120 --> 00:30:02,160 the good news of the coming of Bruce and his legitimacy as King of Scots. 441 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:09,720 A rattled Scots noble in service to Edward takes up his quill 442 00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:11,720 and writes to the King. 443 00:30:12,800 --> 00:30:15,800 "The people believe that Bruce will carry all before him, 444 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:17,520 "exhorted by false prophets. 445 00:30:17,520 --> 00:30:18,840 "They have told the people 446 00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:20,720 "that they have found a prophecy of Merlin, 447 00:30:20,720 --> 00:30:22,600 "that after the death of Edward 448 00:30:22,600 --> 00:30:24,800 "the people of Scotland and the Welsh 449 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:28,680 "shall band together and have full lordship and live in peace together 450 00:30:28,680 --> 00:30:30,640 "till the end of the world." 451 00:30:30,640 --> 00:30:32,520 Red rag - bull. 452 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:39,600 And just like a raging bull, the King of England charges up the road 453 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:41,960 to deal with the Scottish upstart - 454 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:44,320 but Edward I is now an old man. 455 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:50,320 Edward's been ill for months but he still travels north 456 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:52,360 to try and deal with the Scottish problem. 457 00:30:52,360 --> 00:30:55,720 I think he can't stand that he hasn't bought the Scots to heel - 458 00:30:55,720 --> 00:30:59,760 but he actually dies just in view of the Scottish Border, 459 00:30:59,760 --> 00:31:02,360 in the arms of his servants, so we're told, 460 00:31:02,360 --> 00:31:04,000 and I think this catches them off guard. 461 00:31:04,000 --> 00:31:06,400 Obviously, they hadn't planned for their King to die. 462 00:31:06,400 --> 00:31:08,240 They knew it might have been a possibility, 463 00:31:08,240 --> 00:31:10,680 but what do they do now? And I think their gut instincts 464 00:31:10,680 --> 00:31:12,280 really tell them to keep it a secret, 465 00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:15,360 because if the Scots find out that Edward has died, 466 00:31:15,360 --> 00:31:18,560 then it's going to potentially bolster the Scottish war effort. 467 00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:29,400 On Edward's death, Edward II is crowned King of England, 468 00:31:29,400 --> 00:31:31,800 but he's not his father's son. 469 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:33,440 He's no warrior, 470 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:36,000 he's weak and divisive, 471 00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:39,320 and while Ed Junior's knights and barons squabble, 472 00:31:39,320 --> 00:31:44,000 north of the border, Bruce's power grab gains momentum. 473 00:31:48,080 --> 00:31:51,200 Clans that once swore loyalty to the English 474 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:54,240 now feel the time has come to join Bruce. 475 00:31:55,760 --> 00:31:59,080 If you're not with him, you're agin him - 476 00:31:59,080 --> 00:32:01,760 and God help you if you're not on his side. 477 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:09,360 Bruce heads north with Neil Campbell and Angus Og. 478 00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:12,080 They have clan enemies to slaughter. 479 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:14,520 First on the list are the Comyns. 480 00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:16,880 Bruce's crown will never be secure 481 00:32:16,880 --> 00:32:19,760 for as long as even one of them remains alive. 482 00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:26,040 In September 1307, Bruce tears up the Great Glen. 483 00:32:28,080 --> 00:32:30,720 The audacity and speed of his guerrilla army 484 00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:33,040 take the Comyns completely by surprise, 485 00:32:33,040 --> 00:32:36,040 and the Bruce's treatment of them is merciless. 486 00:32:37,640 --> 00:32:40,640 The clan name Comyn is all but obliterated... 487 00:32:44,480 --> 00:32:47,680 ..and there's another clan about to get the Bruce treatment. 488 00:32:49,560 --> 00:32:52,760 The now-ascendant King of Scots hasn't forgotten the doing-over 489 00:32:52,760 --> 00:32:55,600 he and his beleaguered men got from the MacDougalls 490 00:32:55,600 --> 00:32:59,200 and their chieftain John of Lorne just two years earlier... 491 00:33:03,880 --> 00:33:06,640 ..and it's not just Bruce who holds a grudge. 492 00:33:06,640 --> 00:33:10,800 Neil Campbell has a score to settle with the MacDougalls, too. 493 00:33:12,360 --> 00:33:16,080 Once, Neil Campbell trained in Paris to be a priest, 494 00:33:16,080 --> 00:33:18,360 to be a man of peace, 495 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:20,760 but peace is not on his mind now. 496 00:33:22,080 --> 00:33:26,080 The MacDougalls are responsible for the death of Neil Campbell's father, 497 00:33:26,080 --> 00:33:28,880 so you have a feud going on there, as well - 498 00:33:28,880 --> 00:33:32,240 and in the Highlands, justice is kin-based, 499 00:33:32,240 --> 00:33:36,840 and it's about retribution, and they are committed to taking revenge. 500 00:33:41,000 --> 00:33:43,040 And if that's not enough, 501 00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:46,480 Angus Og has an axe to grind, too - literally. 502 00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:53,720 The MacDonalds have a problematic relationship with the MacDougalls. 503 00:33:53,720 --> 00:33:56,600 There have been tensions there in recent years, 504 00:33:56,600 --> 00:34:00,720 and a close relation of Angus Og's has been slain by the MacDougalls. 505 00:34:00,720 --> 00:34:02,680 That gives the MacDonalds a motive, 506 00:34:02,680 --> 00:34:05,000 just as the Campbells had, for taking the other side, 507 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:06,560 for opposing the MacDougalls 508 00:34:06,560 --> 00:34:08,520 and the Comyns and for supporting Bruce. 509 00:34:10,240 --> 00:34:12,480 This isn't just about backing a new king 510 00:34:12,480 --> 00:34:14,760 in return for rewards of land. 511 00:34:14,760 --> 00:34:18,160 This is a blood feud, and it's going to be messy. 512 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:24,280 John knows what's coming. 513 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:28,000 In desperation, he sends a letter to Edward begging for support. 514 00:34:28,000 --> 00:34:31,200 "Robert the Bruce approaches these parts with 10,000 men - 515 00:34:31,200 --> 00:34:32,600 "they say 15,000. 516 00:34:32,600 --> 00:34:34,360 "I have no more than 800. 517 00:34:34,360 --> 00:34:38,240 "Bruce asked for a truce, which I granted him for a short space, 518 00:34:38,240 --> 00:34:40,480 "until you send me help." 519 00:34:40,480 --> 00:34:43,920 John's estimate of 15,000 is a colossal exaggeration, 520 00:34:43,920 --> 00:34:45,720 but it hardly matters. 521 00:34:45,720 --> 00:34:48,840 Edward II sends no reply and no help. 522 00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:58,120 Showdown between Robert the Bruce and John of Lorne takes place 523 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:01,080 in the summer of 1308 in the Pass of Brander 524 00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:03,560 deep in the MacDougall heartland. 525 00:35:06,640 --> 00:35:08,560 The MacDougalls conceal themselves 526 00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:10,560 along the hillside overlooking the road, 527 00:35:10,560 --> 00:35:12,040 lying in wait, 528 00:35:12,040 --> 00:35:14,000 waiting to do to Bruce and his men 529 00:35:14,000 --> 00:35:17,560 what Bruce had done to the English in Glen Trool - ambush them... 530 00:35:19,880 --> 00:35:23,440 ..but Bruce and his now highly disciplined clan army 531 00:35:23,440 --> 00:35:25,520 outflank the MacDougalls. 532 00:35:27,200 --> 00:35:29,840 Using the slopes of the pass, 533 00:35:29,840 --> 00:35:33,160 they execute a deadly pincer movement and attack from the rear. 534 00:35:38,920 --> 00:35:41,240 TRANSLATED FROM SCOTS: 535 00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:57,600 The ambushers get ambushed. 536 00:35:58,720 --> 00:36:01,160 The MacDougalls are butchered. 537 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:05,000 Neil Campbell and Angus Og are avenged. 538 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:13,320 By now, Bruce's reputation ran before him. 539 00:36:13,320 --> 00:36:16,280 Assaulted from both above and below, the Argyllsmen flee. 540 00:36:16,280 --> 00:36:18,600 Their brave leader quickly follows. 541 00:36:18,600 --> 00:36:21,720 John of Lorne, last of the MacDougalls, 542 00:36:21,720 --> 00:36:24,520 lost the battle to simple terror. 543 00:36:40,040 --> 00:36:42,960 Bruce's power grows. 544 00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:44,200 We pledge our lives... 545 00:36:44,200 --> 00:36:46,200 Clan chiefs like Neil Campbell 546 00:36:46,200 --> 00:36:48,480 formally swear oaths of allegiance... 547 00:36:48,480 --> 00:36:50,440 ..to our Prince and King, Lord Robert. 548 00:36:50,440 --> 00:36:53,960 ..and there are others pledging their lives to the rebel King - 549 00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:59,000 like Alexander Seton, a veteran knight from the border lands. 550 00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:03,800 We pledge our lives and eternal loyalty to our Prince and King. 551 00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:07,320 Men like Alexander Seton are in the front line 552 00:37:07,320 --> 00:37:09,920 between the English and Scottish kingdoms. 553 00:37:11,040 --> 00:37:13,800 They've endured a decade of invasion. 554 00:37:13,800 --> 00:37:17,720 He has a wife, children, a household to support. 555 00:37:17,720 --> 00:37:22,680 They've seen armies come and go, they've lost family and friends, 556 00:37:22,680 --> 00:37:27,680 but now Bruce's success in the Highlands has the Lowlands talking. 557 00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:31,960 Maybe, just maybe, the tide is turning 558 00:37:31,960 --> 00:37:34,800 in favour of the King of Scots... 559 00:37:36,800 --> 00:37:39,680 ..but Seton's position isn't clean-cut. 560 00:37:39,680 --> 00:37:43,120 He's also sworn the same oath to the King of England. 561 00:37:44,200 --> 00:37:47,560 If Bruce prevails, he can jump the fence. 562 00:37:47,560 --> 00:37:50,080 If not, he's lost nothing. 563 00:37:50,080 --> 00:37:53,360 Seton is playing a double game... 564 00:37:54,960 --> 00:37:56,320 ..and Bruce knows it... 565 00:37:57,520 --> 00:38:00,080 ..but he's preparing for a tipping point in his campaign, 566 00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:04,640 when England's hold on Scotland is so weak that knights like Seton 567 00:38:04,640 --> 00:38:07,960 will have no choice but to fully commit to him. 568 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:14,080 Yet, although he is now master of the Highlands, 569 00:38:14,080 --> 00:38:17,200 winning over the Lowlands is a much tougher proposition. 570 00:38:20,360 --> 00:38:22,280 This is border country, 571 00:38:22,280 --> 00:38:25,120 studded with seemingly impregnable fortresses, 572 00:38:25,120 --> 00:38:27,680 all controlled by English garrisons, 573 00:38:27,680 --> 00:38:30,840 impossible to recapture without siege engines, 574 00:38:30,840 --> 00:38:32,760 limitless men 575 00:38:32,760 --> 00:38:35,080 and a serious war chest. 576 00:38:35,080 --> 00:38:37,160 Or so it seems. 577 00:38:37,160 --> 00:38:40,440 Things have been rolling along quite well for Robert, 578 00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:42,440 but you've got to bear in mind 579 00:38:42,440 --> 00:38:45,560 he does not have access to heavy siege artillery. 580 00:38:45,560 --> 00:38:47,080 So he's now got to resort 581 00:38:47,080 --> 00:38:49,760 to a completely different style of capture. 582 00:38:51,360 --> 00:38:55,240 Bruce harasses these garrisons 583 00:38:55,240 --> 00:38:57,840 whenever they come out of their castles, and he tries to disrupt 584 00:38:57,840 --> 00:39:00,520 the supply routes of the English to make life 585 00:39:00,520 --> 00:39:03,600 as miserable as possible for the soldiers serving in these garrisons, 586 00:39:03,600 --> 00:39:06,400 and once he senses that these garrisons 587 00:39:06,400 --> 00:39:10,440 are starting to become that little bit more vulnerable, 588 00:39:10,440 --> 00:39:13,200 that's when he puts all of his efforts into trying to... 589 00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:15,520 ..town or the castle, wherever it is they happen to be. 590 00:39:17,040 --> 00:39:20,320 You have various Scots, including Bruce, apparently, himself, 591 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:24,080 swimming the moats of castles to get access to the walls. 592 00:39:24,080 --> 00:39:27,120 You have Scots attacking castles from the points 593 00:39:27,120 --> 00:39:30,160 at which the defenders think they're impregnable. 594 00:39:32,480 --> 00:39:36,480 There's very many famous stories. William Bunnock... 595 00:39:36,480 --> 00:39:39,760 ..driving his hay cart under the portcullis 596 00:39:39,760 --> 00:39:44,120 of the Peel at Linlithgow, making sure that it can't be shut. 597 00:39:45,240 --> 00:39:48,240 So every trick in the book is used to capture these English castles, 598 00:39:48,240 --> 00:39:49,640 and it's amazingly effective, 599 00:39:49,640 --> 00:39:53,960 so that by 1313, pretty much most of Scotland has been recaptured, 600 00:39:53,960 --> 00:39:56,360 barring a few obstinate examples. 601 00:40:05,280 --> 00:40:07,480 While all this capture-the-castle lark 602 00:40:07,480 --> 00:40:09,720 is going swimmingly, thank you very much, 603 00:40:09,720 --> 00:40:12,000 Bruce has a problem. 604 00:40:12,000 --> 00:40:16,360 In order to be taken seriously as a legitimate king, 605 00:40:16,360 --> 00:40:19,880 he has to ditch all the rebel guerrilla tactics 606 00:40:19,880 --> 00:40:24,000 and face and defeat the mighty English army in open battle - 607 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:25,840 chivalric combat, 608 00:40:25,840 --> 00:40:29,280 the outcome of which is decided by God. 609 00:40:29,280 --> 00:40:31,640 Now, that's precisely the sort of warfare 610 00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:33,440 Bruce has never succeeded at. 611 00:40:33,440 --> 00:40:38,240 If only there was a way that he could know precisely where and when 612 00:40:38,240 --> 00:40:41,080 such an open battle might take place. 613 00:40:41,080 --> 00:40:44,040 Then he could give himself a fighting chance. 614 00:40:54,960 --> 00:41:00,000 By 1314, only Stirling Castle remains in English hands. 615 00:41:00,800 --> 00:41:04,600 It's the most important fortress in the country, 616 00:41:04,600 --> 00:41:08,960 the keystone that governs access between Highlands and Lowlands. 617 00:41:08,960 --> 00:41:12,000 It's a simple strategic fact - 618 00:41:12,000 --> 00:41:14,840 control Stirling and you control Scotland. 619 00:41:14,840 --> 00:41:17,080 Need to know our next move. 620 00:41:17,080 --> 00:41:19,320 Robert's wee brother, Edward, 621 00:41:19,320 --> 00:41:21,960 proposes they strike a deal with the English garrison 622 00:41:21,960 --> 00:41:23,600 occupying Stirling Castle. 623 00:41:24,800 --> 00:41:26,760 TRANSLATED FROM GAELIC: 624 00:41:26,760 --> 00:41:28,280 ROBERT LAUGHS 625 00:41:29,800 --> 00:41:32,000 A deal that will lure the English army into battle 626 00:41:32,000 --> 00:41:35,080 at a time and place the Scots can plan for... 627 00:41:36,520 --> 00:41:38,280 ..but it's risky. 628 00:41:40,040 --> 00:41:42,240 Well, in effect, the deal states 629 00:41:42,240 --> 00:41:45,040 that if Edward II can't bring an army north 630 00:41:45,040 --> 00:41:48,040 to relieve Stirling Castle by St John the Baptist's Day, 631 00:41:48,040 --> 00:41:51,200 or Midsummer's Day, 24th June 1314, 632 00:41:51,200 --> 00:41:55,400 then the garrison will surrender the castle to the Scots. 633 00:42:01,320 --> 00:42:03,680 When Edward II hears of the pact, 634 00:42:03,680 --> 00:42:06,960 he has very little choice, anyway, but to respond. 635 00:42:06,960 --> 00:42:08,600 His kingly reputation, 636 00:42:08,600 --> 00:42:11,760 his chivalric standing within the English community, 637 00:42:11,760 --> 00:42:14,280 which is already doubted, in part, by his own nobles, 638 00:42:14,280 --> 00:42:16,840 wouldn't survive another failure, 639 00:42:16,840 --> 00:42:19,920 and so he is caught on the horns of a dilemma. 640 00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:22,400 He has to march to Stirling's relief, 641 00:42:22,400 --> 00:42:25,880 and he has to be shown to make a good effort of it. 642 00:42:28,440 --> 00:42:31,040 Edward II had already been raising forces 643 00:42:31,040 --> 00:42:34,200 to take down the upstart King in the north - 644 00:42:34,200 --> 00:42:36,880 but now he's got a deadline to meet, 645 00:42:36,880 --> 00:42:40,440 and the gears of England's war machine start turning faster. 646 00:42:40,440 --> 00:42:44,320 The countdown to Bruce's high noon has begun. 647 00:42:46,120 --> 00:42:48,400 Now he's committed to meeting his enemy 648 00:42:48,400 --> 00:42:50,880 under the terms he's avoided since 1307. 649 00:42:50,880 --> 00:42:54,320 He has to meet him in open battle, not a surprise battle, 650 00:42:54,320 --> 00:42:57,840 not a hit-and-run battle, not a battle of the clans' choosing, 651 00:42:57,840 --> 00:42:59,840 but a full-on face-to-face, 652 00:42:59,840 --> 00:43:03,080 "stop King Edward getting to the castle" battle. 653 00:43:03,080 --> 00:43:05,760 Things can only get medieval. 654 00:43:09,920 --> 00:43:14,400 Bruce has got this far by playing a high-stakes game, 655 00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:17,040 but on the face of it, he's taking a gamble here, 656 00:43:17,040 --> 00:43:19,920 where the odds are seriously stacked against him. 657 00:43:21,360 --> 00:43:23,960 The danger of Edward II coming to Stirling 658 00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:28,080 is that Bruce has created this vision of himself 659 00:43:28,080 --> 00:43:29,960 as the Warrior King, 660 00:43:29,960 --> 00:43:32,960 and it's his success on which all this rests. 661 00:43:32,960 --> 00:43:34,920 There are still those within Scotland 662 00:43:34,920 --> 00:43:36,760 who do not support his kingship, 663 00:43:36,760 --> 00:43:38,880 but do so quietly, and it only takes one defeat, 664 00:43:38,880 --> 00:43:40,520 potentially, to break the spell, 665 00:43:40,520 --> 00:43:43,520 and that's the gamble he's taking. 666 00:43:45,320 --> 00:43:46,680 It's also worth remembering 667 00:43:46,680 --> 00:43:50,440 that Bruce hasn't actually convinced everyone that he's the man to back, 668 00:43:50,440 --> 00:43:53,000 so failure here at this crucial juncture 669 00:43:53,000 --> 00:43:56,280 could lead people that are on the fence to switch their allegiance 670 00:43:56,280 --> 00:43:58,000 and take their loyalty elsewhere. 671 00:43:59,680 --> 00:44:03,480 Edward gathered his forces at Berwick by the 10th of June. 672 00:44:03,480 --> 00:44:06,640 15,000 foot soldiers and 2,500 cavalry. 673 00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:09,640 A large army compared to Bruce's 6,000, 674 00:44:09,640 --> 00:44:12,720 but, in reality, numbers don't matter. 675 00:44:12,720 --> 00:44:16,960 The battle will be a contest between Bruce's clan foot soldiers 676 00:44:16,960 --> 00:44:20,240 and Edward's mounted knights, archers and infantry. 677 00:44:20,240 --> 00:44:22,400 It doesn't sound like a fair fight, 678 00:44:22,400 --> 00:44:24,480 but Bruce, as always, has a plan. 679 00:44:28,800 --> 00:44:32,600 Methodically, the King of Scots starts to prepare his clan army 680 00:44:32,600 --> 00:44:35,200 for the greatest trial of strength they will face... 681 00:44:36,800 --> 00:44:39,320 ..and he has an ace up his sleeve. 682 00:44:39,320 --> 00:44:42,640 He trains his men to form schiltrons. 683 00:44:46,760 --> 00:44:50,640 Well, a schiltron is a tightly packed spear formation, 684 00:44:50,640 --> 00:44:53,800 probably oval-shaped, or possibly crescent-shaped, 685 00:44:53,800 --> 00:44:57,720 with spears pointing, basically, in any direction you can get them. 686 00:44:57,720 --> 00:45:02,320 And they are designed, in effect, to stop heavy cavalry charges, 687 00:45:02,320 --> 00:45:05,560 which for the last 200 years 688 00:45:05,560 --> 00:45:08,040 have dominated the battlefields of medieval Europe. 689 00:45:11,680 --> 00:45:14,360 But they tend, like most infantry in the Middle Ages, 690 00:45:14,360 --> 00:45:16,080 to have been largely static - 691 00:45:16,080 --> 00:45:18,720 but if you can turn that static infantry 692 00:45:18,720 --> 00:45:23,320 into a highly mobile, organised mass of spearmen, 693 00:45:23,320 --> 00:45:26,440 you completely change the complexion of fighting, 694 00:45:26,440 --> 00:45:28,520 and that's what Bruce is able to do, 695 00:45:28,520 --> 00:45:31,760 and he reorganises the great mass of Scottish foot soldiers 696 00:45:31,760 --> 00:45:35,120 into these bodies called schiltrons, 697 00:45:35,120 --> 00:45:37,880 and these are bristling with spears, 698 00:45:37,880 --> 00:45:41,040 they're described as being like hedgehogs, almost, 699 00:45:41,040 --> 00:45:43,080 but they're not standing still in one place. 700 00:45:43,080 --> 00:45:45,760 They're able to move en masse and not lose formation. 701 00:45:54,920 --> 00:45:59,160 It's late afternoon, and the 18,000-strong English host 702 00:45:59,160 --> 00:46:01,840 arrives within sight of Stirling. 703 00:46:01,840 --> 00:46:04,640 They've marched up the old Roman road, 704 00:46:04,640 --> 00:46:08,000 but blocking their path is a Scottish schiltron. 705 00:46:11,240 --> 00:46:13,520 Well, when the English arrive, 706 00:46:13,520 --> 00:46:16,840 they are not necessarily expecting the Scots 707 00:46:16,840 --> 00:46:19,880 still to be even waiting for them at all. 708 00:46:19,880 --> 00:46:23,560 They are still thinking of Bruce very much as a guerrilla leader. 709 00:46:23,560 --> 00:46:26,480 They also think that this much smaller army 710 00:46:26,480 --> 00:46:28,280 can't possibly withstand 711 00:46:28,280 --> 00:46:31,360 this much bigger, more sophisticated army that they have, 712 00:46:31,360 --> 00:46:35,720 so they thunder straight towards the first Scots that they meet. 713 00:46:35,720 --> 00:46:39,880 However, that English force is stopped in its tracks 714 00:46:39,880 --> 00:46:42,000 and ultimately forced to pull back. 715 00:46:44,120 --> 00:46:47,680 Bruce has prepared a brutal surprise for the English knights. 716 00:46:52,600 --> 00:46:55,440 On either side of the road leading to the castle, 717 00:46:55,440 --> 00:46:58,960 Bruce's men dug a honeycomb pattern of deep pits 718 00:46:58,960 --> 00:47:02,320 and they put sharpened wooden stakes in the bottom of them. 719 00:47:02,320 --> 00:47:05,800 They were deadly, like medieval tank traps. 720 00:47:05,800 --> 00:47:09,760 To make them even more dangerous, Bruce's men concealed them, 721 00:47:09,760 --> 00:47:12,880 camouflaging the pits with cut branches. 722 00:47:16,760 --> 00:47:20,000 It's dirty warfare, but the ultimate effect of the pits, 723 00:47:20,000 --> 00:47:22,320 combined with the wall of disciplined, 724 00:47:22,320 --> 00:47:24,400 spear-wielding clan warriors, 725 00:47:24,400 --> 00:47:27,880 neuters the English vanguard's opening gambit. 726 00:47:32,680 --> 00:47:34,440 When Edward finds that he can't 727 00:47:34,440 --> 00:47:36,520 push his way directly up towards the castle, 728 00:47:36,520 --> 00:47:40,000 he's got very little option at that point other than to head east, 729 00:47:40,000 --> 00:47:44,360 and he ends up making camp in a wide flat area known as the Carse, 730 00:47:44,360 --> 00:47:46,840 bounded on the north side by the Pelstream, 731 00:47:46,840 --> 00:47:49,240 bounded on the south side by the Bannock Burn. 732 00:47:51,520 --> 00:47:54,440 The clans might have won the opening skirmish 733 00:47:54,440 --> 00:47:57,080 but Bruce knows that was just the foreplay. 734 00:47:57,080 --> 00:47:59,200 The main event is still to come... 735 00:48:00,440 --> 00:48:04,120 ..and the rebel king has seen too many of his comrades-in-arms 736 00:48:04,120 --> 00:48:08,920 slaughtered when facing a full-scale charge by English heavy horse. 737 00:48:08,920 --> 00:48:12,760 So, as he and his lieutenants gather to plan their next move, 738 00:48:12,760 --> 00:48:16,640 for the first time, Bruce appears to be losing his nerve. 739 00:48:26,640 --> 00:48:30,160 He's turning 40 and he has no legitimate son 740 00:48:30,160 --> 00:48:33,160 to continue his line if he dies. 741 00:48:33,160 --> 00:48:35,440 His heir currently is his brother Edward, 742 00:48:35,440 --> 00:48:38,440 who is also going into battle at Bannockburn - 743 00:48:38,440 --> 00:48:40,720 and the only remaining member of the Bruce dynasty 744 00:48:40,720 --> 00:48:42,000 at that point is Marjorie, 745 00:48:42,000 --> 00:48:44,000 Bruce's daughter from his first marriage, 746 00:48:44,000 --> 00:48:46,840 who is a prisoner in England at the time. 747 00:48:46,840 --> 00:48:50,760 So, if Robert and Edward don't make it off that battlefield, 748 00:48:50,760 --> 00:48:53,200 and, of course, it's quite possible that they wouldn't, 749 00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:57,320 then the whole of the Bruce dynasty goes up in smoke, in effect, 750 00:48:57,320 --> 00:49:00,960 and those clan leaders, those Lowland families, 751 00:49:00,960 --> 00:49:04,920 all of them will then have to find themselves a new strongman, 752 00:49:04,920 --> 00:49:07,840 or else they're going to go over to Edward II. 753 00:49:13,800 --> 00:49:16,360 Rather than fight next day, 754 00:49:16,360 --> 00:49:20,160 Bruce wants to withdraw to the hills near Loch Lomond. 755 00:49:20,160 --> 00:49:23,160 So determined is he to avoid pitched battle 756 00:49:23,160 --> 00:49:25,120 and to wage the guerrilla warfare 757 00:49:25,120 --> 00:49:27,560 that has worked so brilliantly until now, 758 00:49:27,560 --> 00:49:30,960 he urges his men to quit while they have the advantage... 759 00:49:32,320 --> 00:49:34,840 TRANSLATED FROM GAELIC: 760 00:49:46,520 --> 00:49:51,240 ..but then Neil Campbell introduces a surprise guest to the council. 761 00:49:54,480 --> 00:49:58,840 Alexander Seton is still officially in the service of Edward II, 762 00:49:58,840 --> 00:50:03,560 but now he's crossed enemy lines with urgent news for the Scots. 763 00:50:09,320 --> 00:50:12,080 First, Neil Campbell reminds Bruce 764 00:50:12,080 --> 00:50:16,320 of the bond Seton swore with him at Cambuskenneth six years previously 765 00:50:16,320 --> 00:50:18,920 to die fighting for his King. 766 00:50:18,920 --> 00:50:21,400 Seton is a Scottish spy. 767 00:50:24,480 --> 00:50:27,240 Seton reports that after the initial clash, 768 00:50:27,240 --> 00:50:29,600 English confidence has been rocked... 769 00:50:30,800 --> 00:50:35,840 ..that the barons squabble, and Edward II's leadership is weak. 770 00:50:38,440 --> 00:50:42,120 "My lord, now is the time, if ever you mean to win Scotland. 771 00:50:42,120 --> 00:50:45,400 "The English have lost heart, they are discomfited, 772 00:50:45,400 --> 00:50:49,440 "I swear on my head and on the pain of being hanged and drawn 773 00:50:49,440 --> 00:50:50,960 "that if you attack in the morning 774 00:50:50,960 --> 00:50:52,880 "you will defeat them easily without loss." 775 00:50:57,520 --> 00:51:01,120 For Bruce, cunning, ruthless warrior that he is, 776 00:51:01,120 --> 00:51:03,440 this intelligence changes everything. 777 00:51:03,440 --> 00:51:06,800 By contrast, the clans are spoiling for a fight. 778 00:51:06,800 --> 00:51:08,520 It's game on. 779 00:51:15,280 --> 00:51:17,880 In the dawn light of midsummer, 780 00:51:17,880 --> 00:51:19,680 the Scots emerge and take up a position 781 00:51:19,680 --> 00:51:21,200 overlooking the English army. 782 00:51:23,520 --> 00:51:27,080 Bruce himself commands a division of spearmen. 783 00:51:29,160 --> 00:51:33,360 At Bannockburn, Bruce has within his own division of the Scottish army 784 00:51:33,360 --> 00:51:34,800 the men of Argyll and the Isles. 785 00:51:34,800 --> 00:51:37,800 Now, these were, I think, the troops that Bruce understood the best, 786 00:51:37,800 --> 00:51:40,200 troops who fought the Gaelic way, 787 00:51:40,200 --> 00:51:44,040 troops who had been the backbone of his army and his guerrilla campaigns 788 00:51:44,040 --> 00:51:46,640 since 1306, 1307. 789 00:51:49,120 --> 00:51:53,400 The men Bruce leads aren't just the King's subjects, they're comrades. 790 00:51:55,160 --> 00:51:57,080 He knows he's taking them into a fight 791 00:51:57,080 --> 00:52:00,160 where they're vastly outnumbered and outclassed. 792 00:52:00,160 --> 00:52:01,600 See those barons over there? 793 00:52:03,360 --> 00:52:07,640 They think they'll win, they think today is theirs - 794 00:52:07,640 --> 00:52:09,440 but I tell you, 795 00:52:09,440 --> 00:52:11,040 they will not win. 796 00:52:16,080 --> 00:52:18,400 The Bruce has lost family - 797 00:52:18,400 --> 00:52:20,040 brothers, kinsmen. 798 00:52:20,040 --> 00:52:24,520 His wife, daughter, sisters have been kept like animals in cages. 799 00:52:24,520 --> 00:52:27,360 His clan warriors have lost more besides. 800 00:52:27,360 --> 00:52:29,720 Now the English King must be made to pay, 801 00:52:29,720 --> 00:52:31,880 or else they will lose everything. 802 00:52:34,200 --> 00:52:39,160 The Scots schiltrons advance out of the gloom of the dawn. 803 00:52:39,920 --> 00:52:42,160 Only now do the English see them. 804 00:52:42,160 --> 00:52:44,600 They're not ready to fight - 805 00:52:44,600 --> 00:52:46,120 and that's the point. 806 00:52:47,480 --> 00:52:50,440 Bruce might be facing his enemy in open battle, 807 00:52:50,440 --> 00:52:55,040 but his plan is simple - to once again exploit clan warfare, 808 00:52:55,040 --> 00:53:00,080 to use speed, shock and surprise, this time on an epic scale. 809 00:53:00,800 --> 00:53:04,360 Bruce is trying to bring the battle to the English 810 00:53:04,360 --> 00:53:06,200 as quickly as possible. 811 00:53:06,200 --> 00:53:08,920 He's trying to close the distance between them 812 00:53:08,920 --> 00:53:10,360 and meet them in an area 813 00:53:10,360 --> 00:53:14,680 where it is too narrow for them to bring their superior numbers. 814 00:53:16,480 --> 00:53:19,080 And now facing them is what looks like 815 00:53:19,080 --> 00:53:22,080 an impenetrable wall of Scottish spearmen 816 00:53:22,080 --> 00:53:26,360 advancing slowly, inexorably 817 00:53:26,360 --> 00:53:29,880 towards the English host. 818 00:53:29,880 --> 00:53:32,120 And Bruce is confident that the discipline 819 00:53:32,120 --> 00:53:33,640 that he's instilled in these men 820 00:53:33,640 --> 00:53:37,320 is going to allow them to push the English back, to kettle them in. 821 00:53:39,120 --> 00:53:42,120 With the Bannock Burn hemming them in to the rear, 822 00:53:42,120 --> 00:53:45,120 the English heavy horse can't charge with any force of momentum, 823 00:53:45,120 --> 00:53:48,720 and are driven back by the deadly schiltron spears. 824 00:53:54,840 --> 00:53:58,000 Pushing forward, the Scots soon begin to gain ground. 825 00:53:58,000 --> 00:54:00,360 Chaos breaks out in the English ranks, 826 00:54:00,360 --> 00:54:03,000 as dead and wounded are trampled underfoot. 827 00:54:03,000 --> 00:54:05,280 Slowly but surely, the whole army 828 00:54:05,280 --> 00:54:07,840 is driven back toward the Bannock Burn. 829 00:54:09,960 --> 00:54:11,960 And then, at a crucial junction in the battle, 830 00:54:11,960 --> 00:54:14,320 when Bruce realises that the tide is about to turn, 831 00:54:14,320 --> 00:54:16,320 he unleashes the men of his own division 832 00:54:16,320 --> 00:54:20,360 in what we would now call, I think, the Highland Charge. 833 00:54:22,160 --> 00:54:25,080 Those of the English that haven't been impaled, 834 00:54:25,080 --> 00:54:27,640 trampled or crushed to death now flee, 835 00:54:27,640 --> 00:54:30,040 only to drown in the Bannock Burn, 836 00:54:30,040 --> 00:54:32,720 or be cut down by pursuing Highlanders. 837 00:54:35,920 --> 00:54:37,120 Bruce has won. 838 00:54:50,000 --> 00:54:53,800 Victory at Bannockburn gives Bruce legitimacy as King. 839 00:54:53,800 --> 00:54:55,800 He is Scotland's champion. 840 00:54:57,000 --> 00:54:59,920 The ransoms raised from captured English nobles 841 00:54:59,920 --> 00:55:02,720 buy the release of his family from captivity, 842 00:55:02,720 --> 00:55:07,680 and he now has the power to deliver on the long-promised rewards 843 00:55:07,680 --> 00:55:09,800 to the clan chiefs who supported him - 844 00:55:09,800 --> 00:55:13,280 namely Neil Campbell and Angus Og MacDonald. 845 00:55:15,320 --> 00:55:19,480 Victory at Bannockburn is really setting the seal 846 00:55:19,480 --> 00:55:23,040 for a complete transition 847 00:55:23,040 --> 00:55:25,800 from the old regime to the new Bruce regime - 848 00:55:25,800 --> 00:55:28,160 and one of the ways that you see that being manifested 849 00:55:28,160 --> 00:55:29,680 immediately after Bannockburn 850 00:55:29,680 --> 00:55:34,680 is a series of land grants and gifts of territory and power and title. 851 00:55:35,240 --> 00:55:38,480 Along with the parchment that actually is what you need 852 00:55:38,480 --> 00:55:40,320 to give you the title deeds, if you like, 853 00:55:40,320 --> 00:55:44,560 it's that still symbolic handing over of earth and rock 854 00:55:44,560 --> 00:55:48,040 as a sign of, "You've got physical possession of this land." 855 00:55:48,040 --> 00:55:50,640 Land's still the key to power, 856 00:55:50,640 --> 00:55:54,520 and this is rewarding the new regime's key members. 857 00:55:59,360 --> 00:56:04,400 Bruce's victory meant a redrawing of the whole map of the Highlands. 858 00:56:06,800 --> 00:56:11,720 The previous all-powerful warlords, the Comyns and the MacDougalls, 859 00:56:11,720 --> 00:56:14,040 had their power either greatly diminished 860 00:56:14,040 --> 00:56:15,920 or else eliminated altogether. 861 00:56:17,320 --> 00:56:21,600 In their place, new victors stood. 862 00:56:22,560 --> 00:56:26,400 We have the Campbells in Argyll, 863 00:56:26,400 --> 00:56:28,960 we have the MacRuaidhris in the northern Hebrides, 864 00:56:28,960 --> 00:56:32,520 and above all we have the Clan Donald. 865 00:56:32,520 --> 00:56:36,960 The great swathe of land both in the mainland and in the Hebrides - 866 00:56:36,960 --> 00:56:41,040 the foundation for a great territorial empire 867 00:56:41,040 --> 00:56:43,680 over the coming generations. 868 00:56:46,760 --> 00:56:50,560 And there's another clan who will benefit from backing the Bruce, 869 00:56:50,560 --> 00:56:54,920 one currently headed by a young chief known as the "beardless boy". 870 00:56:57,000 --> 00:56:58,840 Meet Walter Stewart. 871 00:56:58,840 --> 00:57:03,160 Take away the final T and replace it with a D and it becomes Steward, 872 00:57:03,160 --> 00:57:06,040 and that's how this man's ancestors started, 873 00:57:06,040 --> 00:57:08,120 as the king's food-bearers - 874 00:57:08,120 --> 00:57:10,680 but by backing Bruce, everything has changed. 875 00:57:11,800 --> 00:57:14,560 Walter hasn't featured in our story much so far, 876 00:57:14,560 --> 00:57:16,000 but watch out, 877 00:57:16,000 --> 00:57:19,960 because he has ambitions far beyond serving in the royal household. 878 00:57:21,480 --> 00:57:23,800 Young Walter doesn't just get lands 879 00:57:23,800 --> 00:57:26,120 for his part in the Bruce revolution. 880 00:57:26,120 --> 00:57:30,800 He also receives the hand of the King of Scots' daughter in marriage. 881 00:57:30,800 --> 00:57:33,560 History turns on a sixpence, 882 00:57:33,560 --> 00:57:35,680 and the direction it's taking now 883 00:57:35,680 --> 00:57:40,760 will lead to the rise of the greatest clan dynasty of all. 884 00:57:40,880 --> 00:57:43,280 By creating and investing such power 885 00:57:43,280 --> 00:57:45,760 in the hands of a handful of clan chiefs - 886 00:57:45,760 --> 00:57:48,320 MacDonalds, Campbells, Stewarts - 887 00:57:48,320 --> 00:57:51,280 Bruce hopes his new kingdom will thrive... 888 00:57:51,280 --> 00:57:53,800 ..but what if those clan chiefs 889 00:57:53,800 --> 00:57:57,120 become overly ambitious, competitive? 890 00:57:57,120 --> 00:57:59,840 What if they themselves come to believe 891 00:57:59,840 --> 00:58:02,280 that it's them who should be kings? 892 00:58:03,560 --> 00:58:05,440 Next time... 893 00:58:05,440 --> 00:58:06,720 How one clan murders, 894 00:58:06,720 --> 00:58:09,480 betrays and fights its way to the greatest prize... 895 00:58:10,560 --> 00:58:12,840 ..the Scottish Crown. 896 00:58:12,840 --> 00:58:17,720 The story of four rival brothers and how their lust for power 897 00:58:17,720 --> 00:58:22,120 led to the emergence of Britain's greatest and enduring clan dynasty.