A History of Clan Campbell, Volume 1: From Origins to Flodden

The Clan Campbell has long been among the largest of the Scottish highland clans as well as arguably the most powerful. Apart from the intrinsic interest of the clan Campbell, its history is inseparable from the history of Scotland. This is the first of three volumes that will tell the full history of the clan in a depth never before attempted.The book opens with an investigation of the myths and legends that surround the traditional accounts of the origin of the clan together with a description of the wild and beautiful land of Argyll in which they settled and built up their power-base. Although already of some substance elsewhere in Scotland, the Campbells had to work hard to establish themselves among more powerful neighbours. Chief among these were Somerled's descendants, the MacDougall Lords of Argyll by whom Sir Cailean Mor Campbell was slain at the String of Lorne in 1296. When Sir Cailean Mor's cousin Robert the Bruce rewarded his loyal Campbell followers he set them on the road to success.