Douglas Archives -

The Border Reivers Cursing Stone

Border reivers were raiders along the Anglo-Scottish border from the late 13th century to the beginning of the 17th century. These were rugged, tough people who enforced their own brutal code of conduct in what was to be known as the 300 Year War. There are 77 predominant family names who can claim to have […]

01 Mar

Douglas and the Heart

By Rodger Moffet

Robert the Bruce, arguably one of Scotlands best known kings died in 1329. On his deathbed he confided in his friend and lieutenant Sir James Douglas, hero of Bannockburn. Now depending on which version of this story you hear he either asked Douglas that his heart be taken from his body and presented at the […]

28 Feb

The Story Behind the Crest: Clan Carmichael

By Rodger Moffet

In part five of this series, Rodger Moffet of ScotClans tells the story of how Clan Carmichael came to have the broken lance as their crest image. The Carmichaels were a large and powerful landowning family from the Southern Uplands of Scotland. They occupied land around Lanarkshire for over 800 years and had strong ties […]

03 Feb

10 Strange Scottish Deaths.

By Rodger Moffet

Scotland has had a long and turbulent history. From the Middle Ages where life was best described by Thomas Hobbes’ quote as ‘Nasty, brutish and short’ through the troubled times of the reformation and on to the Jacobite risings. Here is a rundown of Scots who have met an untimely (or just plain bizarre) end. […]

24 Nov

The Battle of Baugé

By Rodger Moffet

Throughout Scottish history there have been many battles fought on Scots soil, many have been fought on English soil, however a few battles between Scotland and England have taken place on French soil. Few have been as important as this one though; the Battle of Baugé Background: The Battle was part of the ‘Hundred Years War’ […]

17 Jul

Spooky Glamis Castle

By admin

Glamis Castle, found in the Angus area, is the historic seat of the Lyon family. The estate was presented to Sir John Lyon as a gift by Robert II in 1376. The Bowes-Lyon family, as they are now, still owns the castle and grounds as the Earls of Strathmore. The family has a large link […]

20 Feb

Bannockburn Visitor Centre Ready for Battle

By admin

We’re just back from a quick trip up the road to just outside Stirling to check out the new Bannockburn Visitor Centre, set to open to the public next weekend. Coming in (on time, and on budget) with a price tag of £9.1 million, the centre uses state-of-the-art motion capture techniques and fight choreography to […]

12 Sep

The Flodden 500 Service at St Giles, Edinburgh.

By Amanda Moffet

On Monday Amanda and I were privileged to be able to attend the service in commemoration for the 500th anniversary of the Battle of Flodden held at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. Over 40 Clan Chiefs were in attendance and you will be able to read the list of names below. The service included lessons […]

21 Jun

How the Clans Inspired Game of Thrones

By admin

If you still haven’t seen Episode 9 ‘The Rains of Castamere‘ in the latest season of Game of Thrones, you should probably stop reading this post right about now. It’s a well-known and begrudgingly accepted fact that Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin loves to kill off central characters. In episode nine of the […]

12 Apr

For Sale: Two Castles, TLC Required

By admin

Lordscairnie Castle – situated on the outskirts of Fife near Moonzie – was built between 1493 and 1498 by Sir Alexander Lindsay, seventh Earl of Crawford. The forlorn ruins are being sold for around £200,000, with selling agent Smiths Gore hoping to find an ’emotional purchaser’ ready to take on the castle’s challenges. At the […]