5 Incredible People From Scottish History You Need To Know!

It’s no secret that Scottish history is fascinating, every corner of the country has a story to tell. For me, it’s the people who make the story, where would we be without them after all?

Legends of heroes standing up for what they believe in, deeds of brave chiefs passed down by their clan or tales of terrifying outlaws only ever mentioned in hushed tones. It’s people like these who have given Scotland such incredible stories.

That’s why I’ve written a follow up to my best-selling book Scotland’s Stories but this time following the trails of figures from history. These type of books usually focus on the big names – Robert the Bruce, William Wallace, Rob Roy, etc. While I couldn’t just ignore those, Scotland’s People: On The Trail Of Incredible Stories also focuses on the less known figures.

I’ve picked just a few of my favourites from over 100 in the book, so here are five incredible people from Scottish history you need to know!

1 – The Good Sir James Douglas

The Wars of Independence in the early 1300s was a pivotal time in Scottish history, changing the face up of the country and it’s noble families. Few figures deserve their story to be told as much as James Douglas. The Good Sir James to his friends and the Black Douglas to his enemies! In the village of Douglas, you can come face to face with the knight in St Bride’s Church!

Douglas was a famous warrior, fierce, loyal and incredibly determined, but deprived of his ancestral home by King Edward I of England. James pledged his sword to Robert the Bruce and in 1307, travelled to recover Douglas Castle from the English.

He arrived with just two men and hid with a loyal old servant. Over the next few days, the small group grew as more trusted followers jumped at the chance to rebel and take the castle back.

On Palm Sunday, the garrison of Douglas Castle left to attend a church at St Brides. James and his men travelled to the service in disguise before rising to the cry of “Douglas” and slaughtering their enemy. Anybody still alive was dragged back to the castle, beheaded and piled inside the storeroom.

James didn’t have the men to garrison the castle, so he removed the supplies they could carry and poured the rest in with the executed soldiers. He burned everything to the ground so it couldn’t be used against him, poisoning the well in what’s now known as the Douglas Larder.

His ability to overcome seemingly impossible odds spread and his reputation grew. In Northern England, he became the bogeyman to scare kids, with parents whispering, “Hush ye, hush ye, or the Black Douglas will come and get thee!”

2 – The Reckless Laird Of Burleigh

Not every fascination person from Scottish history was a hero though. Hidden away near Milnathort, Burleigh Castle might not look like much now, but it was once the grand home of the Balfour family.

The most famous to live here was Robert the 5th Laird of Burleigh, a reckless figure, but a man of his word. As a youth, he had fallen in love with a local girl far below his station. His parents thought that if they sent him to the continent for a while, then he would forget this young love.

Instead of the two youngsters promising to wait for each other like a romantic novel, Robert promised that if the girl married while he was away, then he would kill her husband on his return.

While the young Balfour was abroad, his childhood sweetheart wasn’t going to wait around, marrying a schoolmaster called Henry Stenhouse. She warned him of Robert’s threat, but he either wasn’t worried or didn’t take it seriously.

When Robert returned in 1707, the first thing he did was ask about the girl. The second thing he did was ride out to the school where her husband worked, call him outside and shoot him.

The shot was to the arm and Robert claimed he didn’t mean to kill, but a few days later, Henry died. Found guilty of murder, Robert escaped prison and returned to his home at Burleigh, hiding in a hollow ash tree anytime the soldiers came looking for him.

He saw his way out with the 1715 Jacobite rising, pledging himself to the cause. When they lost the fight, the Balfours were dispossessed of their lands. Robert Balfour had kept his word but, in the end, lost everything else.

3 – King Alexander III‘s Foolish Death

In 1286, the future of Scotland changed drastically. The body of Alexander III was found on the road to Kinghorn in Fife, and the crisis that followed led to the Scottish Wars of Independence.

Alexander had been a reasonably good King, holding off advances from both the English and Norwegians. He even reclaimed the Hebrides for Scotland after a couple of centuries of Norse rule.

By 1286, the children from his first marriage had all died young and Alexander had a new, pregnant wife – Yolande de Dreux. The King had finished a council in Edinburgh late one evening and was thinking of his lovely wife back in Kinghorn, Fife.

After a few too many drinks, he must have looked out across the River Forth and decided he had to see her.

Against all advice, he put on his cloak and saddled his horse to set out on the dark journey. A storm was brewing and this wasn’t a short trip across a bridge like it is today. It involved hours of riding and a ferry crossing in darkness.

Alexander and his companions made the crossing safely and arrived in Inverkeithing to once again be advised to spend the night there. The King was headstrong and nothing was going to keep him from Yolande that night. He carried on riding along the coastal path towards Kinghorn with only 10 miles to go.

He never made it to his queen. At some point, his horse slipped and Alexander fell, breaking his neck. The death of the King plunged the country into chaos, with Yolande’s unborn child not surviving the pregnancy.

Alexander’s only grandchild then died on her way to Scotland and it became a country with no obvious heir, all thanks to a drunken king who missed his wife!

4 – William Mackintosh of Borlum’s Jacobite Blunder

Few periods of Scottish history are as important as the Jacobite risings. Most people focus on the romanticism of the 1745, but a much larger rising took place 30 years earlier, with some fascinating stories!

William Mackintosh of Borlum isn’t a name many are familiar with, but he once led 2500 men in an attempt to capture Edinburgh! Things got off to a terrible start. Under the darkness of night, Mackintosh commandeered several boats on the south Fife coast to ferry his small army to Edinburgh. Somehow, 1000 of his force went missing during the crossing.

Gathering as many as he could, Mackintosh and the Jacobites marched on the city. The plan hinged on assistance from Major Thomas Arthur who had arranged for one of the city gates to be left open. Arthur had already staged one attempt to capture the castle, only to find out his ladders were six feet too short!

Unfortunately, Arthur had mucked up once again, this time being stuck back over in Fife on one of the boats that failed in its crossing! Mackintosh didn’t know which gate to use, so his men turned on the port of Leith instead.

The Jacobites raided the Customs House, liberating plenty of alcohol, before marching into Leith Citadel. When the government force arrived, they discovered the old fort to be a tough nut to crack, even though the defenders had next to no ammunition! The stalemate was broken when Mackintosh realised the danger of being trapped.

His army crept away through the night, soon joining English Jacobites marching south. Mackintosh of Borlum was eventually captured and imprisoned in London. He wasn’t finished though, overpowering the guards at Newgate prison before escaping through a hole in the wall into the warren-like streets of London to fight another day!

5 – Mary MacLeod The Gaelic Poet

Not everybody in the Scotland’s People book was a burly warrior or landed laird. Born in the early 1600s, Màiri nighean Alasdair Ruaidh, otherwise known as Mary MacLeod, daughter of Red Alexander, is every bit as fascinating as her peers. Most of what we know about her life has been passed down through oral storytelling, so it’s not easy to tie down the facts, but it’s believed she was born in Rodel on the Isle of Harris.

For at least some of her life, Màiri lived on Skye and is believed to have worked as a nursemaid for at least four MacLeod Chiefs from Iain Mor to the sons of Iain Breac. It was an important position to hold, so she must have had some level of influence over the men who would lead her clan.

However, Màiri got herself into trouble on more than one occasion after refusing to conform to ridiculous rules. While women were encouraged to sing lullabies or waulking songs, powerful praise poetry was always reserved for the men. Màiri didn’t like that one bit.

She let loose with her quick wit, sharp tongue and love of satirical songs. Instead of praising the chief of the MacLeods of Dunvegan, Màiri wrote a powerful piece of poetry about Norman MacLeod of Berneray. In response, she was banned from reciting her words both inside and outside of the home!

The wise woman just started performing from the threshold of the door instead. That was the final straw for the chief of the MacLeods, who banished her from his lands, forcing Màiri to live on Mull instead. Eventually, she was reconciled and now lies buried somewhere in St. Clement’s Church in the far south of Harris. However, this great Gaelic poet is said to have been buried face down in her grave to keep her quiet even in death!

Where To Buy The Scotland’s People Book

The Scotland’s People Book is currently published in the UK and is due for international release on the 17th April 2o27. For UK orders, you can find the book in any good book shop, if there’s none in stock they can always order more in. Alternatively, if you order a copy through this link, I make a tiny bit more from each sold.

Any international readers who can’t wait, Blackwells often do very reasonable shipping fees. Otherwise, you can always grab a copy of the first Scotland’s Stories book here, there’s even an Audio Book version if you want to listen while you drive around the country!