0:00:06 > 0:00:10For 400 years the MacDonalds ruled the seas,
0:00:10 > 0:00:14building a vast empire here in the Highlands and Islands.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18They became so powerful they challenged the authority of the kings of Scotland,
0:00:18 > 0:00:24but, ultimately, their struggle for supremacy set father against son
0:00:24 > 0:00:27in a bloody fight for the very soul of Clan Donald.
0:00:42 > 0:00:47The Scottish Highlands have been shaped by centuries of clan history.
0:00:47 > 0:00:52A past overflowing with countless tales of bloodshed and bravery,
0:00:52 > 0:00:54rivalry and revenge.
0:00:56 > 0:01:02But I'm making a personal journey beyond the myths and the tartan
0:01:02 > 0:01:06to uncover the real story of Scotland's Highland clans.
0:01:07 > 0:01:12Across the world 120 million people claim clan ancestry.
0:01:12 > 0:01:20And millions of these belong to probably the biggest and most famous clan of them all, MacDonald.
0:01:20 > 0:01:26And the story of this mighty Highland Clan starts with one extraordinary man.
0:01:28 > 0:01:33Somerled was the greatest of the Celtic warrior kings.
0:01:33 > 0:01:36In the 12th century "ri innse Gall", King of the Isles,
0:01:36 > 0:01:39defeated the Vikings and rose to such power
0:01:39 > 0:01:44that he and his descendents, the MacDonalds, challenged the kings of Scotland.
0:01:47 > 0:01:52My journey starts just off the west coast in the Sound of Mull,
0:01:52 > 0:01:55where Somerled launched his campaign to defeat the Vikings.
0:01:58 > 0:02:03800 years ago the Vikings raided and pillaged the communities of the Hebrides,
0:02:03 > 0:02:05and all along the west coast of Scotland.
0:02:05 > 0:02:10And it was here in the islands that they built a network of fortresses
0:02:10 > 0:02:13that allowed them to totally dominate the local population.
0:02:17 > 0:02:21By the middle of the 12th century the people of the west coast
0:02:21 > 0:02:25had endured almost 400 years of Viking oppression.
0:02:28 > 0:02:32The key to Somerled's eventual victory was naval power.
0:02:32 > 0:02:37To find out more about the technology that enabled him to defeat the Vikings,
0:02:37 > 0:02:40I joined the crew of the Aileach,
0:02:40 > 0:02:43the only working replica of a West Highland Galley.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45Stroke!
0:02:45 > 0:02:48We started with a bit of light rowing.
0:02:48 > 0:02:51..and stroke, and stroke.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55But it was soon clear we weren't going to win any Olympic medals.
0:02:59 > 0:03:01- In...in... - They say it's all about rhythm,
0:03:01 > 0:03:04and I am definitely not in rhythm here.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07I can't imagine what it must have been like,
0:03:07 > 0:03:10spending all day at the oars...
0:03:10 > 0:03:13It must have been absolutely knackering.
0:03:15 > 0:03:21In the 12th Century Somerled's galleys would have been manned by truly expert mariners.
0:03:21 > 0:03:27Today's crew are all volunteers who have little experience of sailing this ancient craft.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30I'm a little worried.
0:03:30 > 0:03:32The conditions are getting rougher,
0:03:32 > 0:03:36and hoisting the sail is proving to be rather difficult.
0:03:38 > 0:03:39Woah! Woah, woah, woah!
0:03:41 > 0:03:42Drop it down! Down!
0:03:46 > 0:03:48Once we're back on an even keel,
0:03:48 > 0:03:53I take the opportunity to ask galley master Gordon about how this unique vessel
0:03:53 > 0:03:57gave Somerled the upper hand in his fight against the Vikings.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02Gordon, what kind of boat is this? It looks to me like a Viking ship.
0:04:02 > 0:04:06Yes, you're right. She is a descendant of a Viking long ship.
0:04:06 > 0:04:09The main difference is the way that we control the steering.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13A Viking long ship would have had what is called a "steer board",
0:04:13 > 0:04:15or steering board, where we get the word starboard from.
0:04:15 > 0:04:21- Steer board, starboard. - It was basically a big plank that was lashed to the side of the ship.
0:04:21 > 0:04:24The galley... she has her rudder directly on the stern,
0:04:24 > 0:04:26rather than on the side of the boat,
0:04:26 > 0:04:29which gives you a lot more manoeuvrability,
0:04:29 > 0:04:31gives you a sharper turning circle.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34So this would have given Somerled a great advantage?
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Oh yes, very much so. Certainly in battle against the Norse, yes.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40So you say boats like this would actually go into battle?
0:04:40 > 0:04:41Yes. They would, er...
0:04:41 > 0:04:45Their first exchange would probably be arrow fire,
0:04:45 > 0:04:49and when they got a little bit closer within range of throwing a rope
0:04:49 > 0:04:51they would throw a grappling hook or axes over,
0:04:51 > 0:04:53pull the two ships together,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56lash them together, and they would have a fighting platform.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00- Just knocking great lumps out of each other?- Yes.- On the sea?- Yep.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02At the start of his campaign,
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Somerled faced seemingly impossible odds.
0:05:05 > 0:05:09Short on men and fire-power,
0:05:09 > 0:05:11he was forced to rely on Guerrilla tactics.
0:05:11 > 0:05:16But using captured ships, Somerled was able to challenge the Vikings,
0:05:16 > 0:05:18masters of the seas, at their own game.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21As his campaign grew increasingly successful
0:05:21 > 0:05:24he began to build his own ships, like the Aileach.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27So why were these boats important to Somerled?
0:05:27 > 0:05:28It was important to him,
0:05:28 > 0:05:31because having the power he then commanded the seas.
0:05:31 > 0:05:33By controlling the sea lanes,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35was Somerled able to become a king, really?
0:05:35 > 0:05:40Very much so, yes, a self-proclaimed king of the west coast of Scotland.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46No image of Somerled has survived to this day.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49So to gain a better picture of this remarkable figure,
0:05:49 > 0:05:51and his importance to the story of Clan Donald,
0:05:51 > 0:05:54I landed on the Isle of Mull.
0:05:54 > 0:05:58Author and local historian Kathleen McPhee
0:05:58 > 0:06:01is taking me to where Somerled's story began.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Kathleen, what kind of man was Somerled?
0:06:05 > 0:06:08I think he was a person of tremendous character,
0:06:08 > 0:06:12determination, intelligence.
0:06:12 > 0:06:17He it was who had the charisma to rally the people
0:06:17 > 0:06:22and get them to fight back against the Viking thugs.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25How was he connected to this part of the world,
0:06:25 > 0:06:28where had he come from and what was his mission?
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Somerled was the son of a dispossessed chief, Gillebreachy,
0:06:32 > 0:06:37of who belonged to Morvern on this side of the Sound.
0:06:37 > 0:06:39So Somerled's interest in this part of the world
0:06:39 > 0:06:42had to do with a lost inheritance in a sense,
0:06:42 > 0:06:44and he wanted to grab this back for himself?
0:06:44 > 0:06:49Exactly. He gradually started to take over not just Morvern but Mull,
0:06:49 > 0:06:51which was infested with Vikings,
0:06:51 > 0:06:56and then Kintyre, Lorne, mid Argyl, Nutdale,
0:06:56 > 0:07:00in fact, he very soon had the whole of Argyl back.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02I think the idea came into his head,
0:07:02 > 0:07:06that perhaps he could become a king of his own territories.
0:07:06 > 0:07:08It sounds as if Somerled was driven
0:07:08 > 0:07:12by something other than just the desire to get back his patrimony,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15his inheritance, what do you think that other thing was?
0:07:15 > 0:07:22Without him the whole Gaelic culture and language and presence might have disappeared.
0:07:22 > 0:07:29He saved it. He started the resurgence of all things Gaelic,
0:07:29 > 0:07:35and he created a kingdom which challenged the King of Scotland.
0:07:38 > 0:07:43By 1153 Somerled's Gaelic empire stretched from Lewis in the north
0:07:43 > 0:07:47all the way down the west coast to Kintyre in the south.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49However, to the east lay Scotland,
0:07:49 > 0:07:53whose young king, Malcolm the 4th,
0:07:53 > 0:07:56wanted Somerled's lands for himself.
0:07:58 > 0:08:03For a decade an uneasy peace existed between the two kings.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06But when the Scots began to push west,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09down the Clyde into Somerled's territory,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12the King of the Isles mobilised his forces.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19Somerled was 64, almost retirement age for many of us,
0:08:19 > 0:08:24when he assembled a massive taskforce of 164 galleys
0:08:24 > 0:08:28and 15,000 men from across the west coast and the Hebrides.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33Now this Celtic Armada sailed right up the Firth of Clyde,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36determined to stop the westward advance of the Scots.
0:08:42 > 0:08:47Somerled's army disembarked where Erskine Bridge now stands today.
0:08:47 > 0:08:50The two sides eventually came face to face
0:08:50 > 0:08:52in what is now a housing estate.
0:08:56 > 0:09:01The Battle of Renfrew took place here at Bargarran in 1164.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05obviously this land has long since been built over,
0:09:05 > 0:09:08and is presently occupied by a housing scheme.
0:09:08 > 0:09:15It's all very peaceful here. So it's almost impossible for us to imagine
0:09:15 > 0:09:20the brutal scenes that once took place - a titanic clash between two mighty armies
0:09:20 > 0:09:24struggling to control the destiny of Scotland.
0:09:24 > 0:09:28So you'd think such a momentous event in our shared history
0:09:28 > 0:09:30would be remembered somehow,
0:09:30 > 0:09:34but there's not a monument, a cairn or even a plaque.
0:09:38 > 0:09:43It was here that Somerled, the great warrior king, was finally slain.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47An account of the Battle is given in a medieval poem
0:09:47 > 0:09:51which outlines the moment of his death.
0:09:51 > 0:09:55"Wounded by a spear, slain by the sword, Somerled died.
0:09:55 > 0:10:00"And when this fierce leader was struck down, the wicked took flight,
0:10:00 > 0:10:04"and very many were slaughtered, both on sea and on land."
0:10:08 > 0:10:13This poem reads like a heavily biased piece of war reporting on behalf of the Scots.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16But it's more than just a little ironic to think
0:10:16 > 0:10:19that when so much of Somerled's power and success
0:10:19 > 0:10:22depended on being able to control the seas,
0:10:22 > 0:10:26it was on land that his campaign finally came to an end.
0:10:26 > 0:10:31And I wonder too what would have happened if Somerled had actually won the Battle of Renfrew.
0:10:31 > 0:10:36Perhaps a lot more of us would be speaking Gaelic today!
0:10:39 > 0:10:44After the battle, Somerled's kingdom was not swallowed up by Scotland.
0:10:44 > 0:10:50The death of the King of the Isles eventually led to the formation of Clan Donald.
0:10:50 > 0:10:55I've come to Paisley Abbey to speak with historian Andrew McDonald.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58I want to find out about the birth
0:10:58 > 0:11:01of what is perhaps the greatest dynasty in highland history.
0:11:01 > 0:11:04Andrew, what happened after the battle of Renfrew?
0:11:04 > 0:11:06Well, the first thing that happened
0:11:06 > 0:11:11was that Somerled's Kingdom or empire was divided up amongst his sons
0:11:11 > 0:11:16and within a couple of generations one of the dominant figures that emerges in the west
0:11:16 > 0:11:18is Somerled's grandson named Donald,
0:11:18 > 0:11:21and it is from Donald, of course, that we get the Clan Donald,
0:11:21 > 0:11:24the MacDonalds, that eventually go on to become
0:11:24 > 0:11:27one of the most powerful families in the region.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30What was the key to Clan Donald's success?
0:11:30 > 0:11:32Sometimes it's easier to work from within the system
0:11:32 > 0:11:34than it is to oppose it from without.
0:11:34 > 0:11:37One of the best examples of what I'm talking about
0:11:37 > 0:11:39is in this Abbey all around us,
0:11:39 > 0:11:43because even though it was founded by the man who defeated Somerled
0:11:43 > 0:11:48it was actually patronised by Somerled's descendents, including Donald.
0:11:48 > 0:11:51They gave money to the Abbey, they pumped money into it,
0:11:51 > 0:11:55they were benefactors, and in fact what we see in the 13th Century,
0:11:55 > 0:12:01is these men coming much closer in to contact with the Scottish Kingdom itself.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05The descendants of Somerled cease to use the title of king that Somerled had used,
0:12:05 > 0:12:09and they now tend to describe themselves as lords,
0:12:09 > 0:12:13or in one document of 1284, Barons of the Realm of Scotland.
0:12:13 > 0:12:18But originally they were fighting against the crown, now they're fighting with the crown,
0:12:18 > 0:12:21so there's a complete turnaround. What was in it for them?
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Well, I think what was in for them was, again, opportunism,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28a means of enhancing their power and their prestige, and that's exactly what happens.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36Instead of fighting the Scottish Crown,
0:12:36 > 0:12:38the MacDonalds were now courting its favour.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43In the Highlands and Islands, they continued to battle
0:12:43 > 0:12:48with clans such as the Macleods and the MacLeans, for supremacy.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52But the Lowlands would be the stage for the next chapter in the story of Clan Donald,
0:12:52 > 0:12:57when they played a vital role in the most pivotal moment in Scottish history.
0:13:00 > 0:13:01After his coronation in 1306,
0:13:01 > 0:13:05Scotland's new king, Robert the Bruce, was forced on the run,
0:13:05 > 0:13:09but was given sanctuary from his enemies on Islay,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12by a young MacDonald Chief, Angus Og.
0:13:14 > 0:13:19And when, in 1314, Bruce faced the might of England at Bannockburn,
0:13:19 > 0:13:21Angus Og was at his side.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27It was here on the flat marshy ground below Stirling Castle
0:13:27 > 0:13:31that they defeated the English despite being outnumbered 3-1.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37The Scots' victory came about because of the close relationship
0:13:37 > 0:13:40that existed between the King of Scotland,
0:13:40 > 0:13:42and the MacDonald Clan chief, Angus Og,
0:13:42 > 0:13:46who brought 5000 clansmen to fight here at Bannockburn.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52Bruce sent the MacDonalds into battle
0:13:52 > 0:13:55with the words "my hope is constant in thee."
0:13:55 > 0:13:59The Scots drove the English from the battlefield.
0:13:59 > 0:14:03Thousands were slain and Stirling Castle fell to Bruce.
0:14:03 > 0:14:08Without Clan Donald, Scotland would never have won its independence from England.
0:14:10 > 0:14:14Angus Og was richly rewarded for his loyalty to Robert the Bruce.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18With royal backing, the McDonalds were soon riding high,
0:14:18 > 0:14:20and by the end of the 14th Century had become
0:14:20 > 0:14:25the most important and powerful clan in the Highlands and Islands.
0:14:27 > 0:14:32For the next 200 years the MacDonalds would be the dominant force in the west of Scotland.
0:14:32 > 0:14:37Wealthy and well travelled, the chiefs of Clan Donald
0:14:37 > 0:14:40were a real power to be reckoned with in the British Isles.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45And here, in the Highlands and Islands, they created a Gaelic empire,
0:14:45 > 0:14:49at the heart of which was a vibrant and unique culture.
0:14:49 > 0:14:51SINGING IN GAELIC
0:14:56 > 0:14:59The MacDonalds didn't write much of their history down.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04Instead, events and personalities were immortalised in poems and songs
0:15:04 > 0:15:07that were handed down from generation to generation.
0:15:07 > 0:15:11This great oral tradition can still be heard on Islay today.
0:15:14 > 0:15:19Iseabail MacTaggart is leader of the Islay Gaelic Choir
0:15:19 > 0:15:23whose repertoire includes songs written by the bards of Clan Donald.
0:15:23 > 0:15:29Originally performed hundreds of years ago they still resonate today.
0:15:30 > 0:15:35Iseabail, that was a really beautiful song and beautifully sung. What's the story behind it?
0:15:35 > 0:15:42That's a song written by one of the last remaining Bards of Clan Donald about him as Bard
0:15:42 > 0:15:48being able to really extol the virtues of Clan Donald, but in a very loud and proud way.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52He's comparing himself to the songbird of Clan Donald
0:15:52 > 0:15:56and the songbird was always a really important symbol in Gaelic society
0:15:56 > 0:16:00about being able to sing loud and proud about things and that's what he's doing.
0:16:00 > 0:16:04The third verse, for example, Cheern and Coory.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07He's talking about this land of heroes
0:16:07 > 0:16:11having this influence in society and being a real force.
0:16:12 > 0:16:17SINGING IN GAELIC
0:16:24 > 0:16:28In what way were bards important to Gaelic society in the past?
0:16:28 > 0:16:32Hugely important. They recorded everything. They were the people that communicated the history.
0:16:32 > 0:16:36They were the tradition bearers and because the culture was oral
0:16:36 > 0:16:40they were the people that basically passed it down through generations
0:16:40 > 0:16:42and generations, so hugely important people.
0:16:42 > 0:16:46What's it like singing these songs today? Does it connect you to the past?
0:16:46 > 0:16:50It's quite remarkable to think that we're singing songs that were written
0:16:50 > 0:16:55by people that were here hundreds of years ago that are talking about the physical place that we're in,
0:16:55 > 0:17:00and they're celebrating our culture and I think that's fantastic.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03SINGING CONTINUES
0:17:11 > 0:17:17Throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, the MacDonalds ruled the Hebridean Islands.
0:17:17 > 0:17:20And from Lochalsh in the north to Kintyre in the south,
0:17:20 > 0:17:25they controlled vast areas of the Scottish mainland.
0:17:25 > 0:17:32To defend their territory they built a series of impressive castles right across the west of Scotland.
0:17:32 > 0:17:39Now just a ruin, Dunyvaig Castle overlooks Lagavulin Bay on the south coast of Islay.
0:17:39 > 0:17:44It was once an important MacDonald stronghold and naval base.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48Successive generations of Clan Donald chiefs would have stood here
0:17:48 > 0:17:55to survey a huge empire that at one point surpassed even that of their great ancestor, Somerled.
0:17:56 > 0:18:01The music and song served as a reminder that here on Islay
0:18:01 > 0:18:08far from the reach of the Scottish kings, the MacDonalds truly were Lords of the Isles.
0:18:17 > 0:18:24The most convincing evidence of MacDonald supremacy can be found in the most unexpected of places.
0:18:26 > 0:18:30Loch Finlaggan lies right in the middle of Islay and is miles from the sea.
0:18:32 > 0:18:40Surprisingly, it was here that Clan Donald, rulers of a great maritime empire, built their seat of power.
0:18:40 > 0:18:48Dr David Caldwell of the National Museums of Scotland has spent 10 years excavating this historic site.
0:18:48 > 0:18:54His findings have given him a unique insight into Finlaggan's importance.
0:18:54 > 0:18:57David, this is obviously a very ancient site?
0:18:57 > 0:18:58Yes, it is.
0:18:58 > 0:19:03We have evidence going back to the time of Somerled in the 12th Century
0:19:03 > 0:19:06and the evidence carries right through for the Lords of the Isles
0:19:06 > 0:19:09being here right to the end of the 15th Century.
0:19:09 > 0:19:12A whole impressive series of buildings here.
0:19:12 > 0:19:16You've got the chapel which dates to the 14th Century,
0:19:16 > 0:19:21and over here we found evidence for quite extensive kitchens
0:19:21 > 0:19:25and then this building that we're standing in was the Great Hall.
0:19:27 > 0:19:33But what's even more surprising is the significance of the smaller of the two islands in the loch.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37What's the name of the wee island?
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Eilean na Comhairle which is Gaelic for the Council Island,
0:19:40 > 0:19:43and that's where they had their council meetings
0:19:43 > 0:19:46and that's where the administration of the Isles took place.
0:19:46 > 0:19:52Every summer vast numbers of people came here and they could see their betters meeting on the island,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55but yet they couldn't actually get in the way.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57They had to see it from a distance.
0:19:57 > 0:20:00This is really a parliament. It's a government, is it not?
0:20:00 > 0:20:07This lordship of the MacDonalds was like a separate state which had the same government apparatus
0:20:07 > 0:20:10as other great states in Europe,
0:20:10 > 0:20:13and it's what really marks out the importance of the Lordship.
0:20:13 > 0:20:16Does a Lordship in a sense represent an alternative Scotland?
0:20:16 > 0:20:22The Gaelic title, Lord of the Isles, can also be translated as King of the Isles.
0:20:22 > 0:20:28They saw themselves as a Celtic Society and more importantly,
0:20:28 > 0:20:35I think that they were challenging the Stewarts as being potential kings for the whole of Scotland.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43The Lords of the Isles had a deeply troubled relationship
0:20:43 > 0:20:45with the Stewart kings of Scotland,
0:20:45 > 0:20:49who were intent on imposing their authority on the whole country.
0:20:49 > 0:20:52But the MacDonalds' formidable military strength
0:20:52 > 0:20:56allowed them to keep the Crown at bay.
0:20:58 > 0:21:05Being a thorn in the side of the Scottish kings was almost second nature to the Lords of the Isles,
0:21:05 > 0:21:11who saw themselves as independent in their own right and did everything in their power to stay that way.
0:21:11 > 0:21:16This struggle for independence came to a head in 1462
0:21:16 > 0:21:21when John MacDonald, the 4th Lord of the Isles and Chief of Clan Donald,
0:21:21 > 0:21:25entered into an alliance with Scotland's number one enemy.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30England was at war with Scotland.
0:21:30 > 0:21:35John MacDonald made a secret pact to support the English against the Scots.
0:21:35 > 0:21:40This reckless alliance would trigger a bitter family feud.
0:21:40 > 0:21:45It was here at Bloody Bay, just off the coast of Mull,
0:21:45 > 0:21:50that John MacDonald clashed with his son and heir Angus Og.
0:21:50 > 0:21:55Historian Domhnall Uilleam Stiubhart has researched how their struggle
0:21:55 > 0:22:00ultimately lead to the demise of Clan Donald's Lordship of the Isles.
0:22:00 > 0:22:03- What a wonderful view.- Ardnamurchan all the way along here...
0:22:03 > 0:22:08Ben Hiant, the sacred mountain over there, and here we've got Bloody Bay.
0:22:08 > 0:22:13500 years ago this seemingly peaceful stretch of water
0:22:13 > 0:22:20would have been a scene of carnage as father and son fought each other for the very soul of Clan Donald.
0:22:20 > 0:22:26What on earth were the Lords of the Isles doing in supporting the ancient enemy, England?
0:22:26 > 0:22:30It's one of these things that seemed a good idea at the time.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32But looking back on it,
0:22:32 > 0:22:34maybe it wasn't such a good idea after all.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Both sides had very good reasons for making a treaty at the time.
0:22:37 > 0:22:42The King of England is planning an invasion. He needed help in the north of Scotland.
0:22:42 > 0:22:45Who better to give him help than the Lord of the Isles?
0:22:45 > 0:22:48But surely, John, Lord of the Isles was a traitor at this time?
0:22:48 > 0:22:51Really you could say what the Lord of the Isles was doing
0:22:51 > 0:22:58was merely trying to protect his own state, if you like, or a state within a state, against a very aggressive
0:22:58 > 0:23:02and perhaps rather brutal bunch of gangsters down in Edinburgh that were trying to take it away from him.
0:23:02 > 0:23:06Did John, Lord of the Isles, pay any penalty for this treachery?
0:23:06 > 0:23:10Well, the King of Scotland, James III and the King of England, Edward IV,
0:23:10 > 0:23:14they had a sort of love-in in the early 1470's.
0:23:14 > 0:23:19Edward the IV decided to dob in the Lord of the Isles.
0:23:19 > 0:23:22Lord of the Isles was found out. King of Scots had to do something about it.
0:23:22 > 0:23:29He was stripped of his titles and very much put under the thumb of the King of Scotland.
0:23:29 > 0:23:36And also, henceforth, the title, The Lord of the Isles, is now in the power of the King of Scots to grant
0:23:36 > 0:23:41and not in the power of the islanders themselves. That was a big change.
0:23:41 > 0:23:47He fell out with an awful lot of people in the Lordship, most notably his own son, Angus Og MacDonald.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Angus drove him out of the house and, oral tradition tells us,
0:23:51 > 0:23:57made his father sleep under an old rotten boat on the seashore, things had got that bad.
0:23:57 > 0:24:03Where does Angus fit into this picture? Is he trying to take over as Lord of the Isles?
0:24:03 > 0:24:08Yes, it was getting to a point where he was seeing his inheritance being taken away from him piece by piece.
0:24:08 > 0:24:14So Clan Donald is deeply divided at this point with father and son at each others' throats?
0:24:14 > 0:24:19Yeah, the tensions grow and this is where it all explodes. The battle of Bloody Bay.
0:24:19 > 0:24:22One of the greatest sea battles that Scotland has ever seen,
0:24:22 > 0:24:27perhaps one of the greatest sea battles of its time in the whole of western Europe.
0:24:27 > 0:24:31- And who won?- In a sense Angus Og MacDonald won because he beat his father,
0:24:31 > 0:24:36but the long term losers were Clan Donald as a whole.
0:24:36 > 0:24:43There's a lot of very expensive state of the art medieval naval technology at the bottom of this bay.
0:24:47 > 0:24:52It's estimated the MacDonalds lost up to half of their fleet at the Battle of Bloody Bay.
0:24:55 > 0:25:02And with the loss of this naval might, the Lordship of the Isles would never be the same again.
0:25:02 > 0:25:08Without the backing of his clan, John remained Lord of the Isles only in name.
0:25:08 > 0:25:14Angus Og continued his campaign to reclaim his inheritance for another ten years,
0:25:14 > 0:25:19but in 1490, he was mysteriously murdered in his sleep.
0:25:21 > 0:25:27His body was brought to Iona, the spiritual and intellectual centre of the Lordship of the Isles.
0:25:27 > 0:25:35It's here that the mighty chiefs of Clan Donald are buried and, many believe, the great Somerled himself.
0:25:36 > 0:25:42In ancient times funeral processions carried the dead along this road
0:25:42 > 0:25:48which is still called The Way Of The Dead, up here to the burial ground of Reilig Odhrain.
0:25:48 > 0:25:54Now, St Oran's chapel is a very beautiful, very simple building overlooking the Sound of Iona
0:25:54 > 0:25:58and traditionally it's here that the great MacDonald chiefs,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01the Lords of the Isles, have their final resting place.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06But John MacDonald never made this journey.
0:26:06 > 0:26:11In 1493, he was finally stripped of his title by the King of Scotland.
0:26:11 > 0:26:18Poverty stricken, the fourth and last Lord of the Isles died a few years later in Dundee,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21far from Clan Donald's ancestral heartland.
0:26:22 > 0:26:29These are some of the grave slabs of the Lords of the Isles, and here's a great sword
0:26:29 > 0:26:34and up here a traditional symbol of sea power - a Highland Galley.
0:26:34 > 0:26:39But of course, John MacDonald, the very last Lord of the Isles,
0:26:39 > 0:26:43never made it here to lie amongst the bones of his ancestors.
0:26:43 > 0:26:51And somehow this exile in death, if you like, symbolises for me not just the end of a great dynasty,
0:26:51 > 0:26:58but the end of a possibility or dream of a Gaelic-centred, Gaelic-speaking Scotland.
0:27:01 > 0:27:05But the story of Clan Donald didn't end here.
0:27:08 > 0:27:13Somerled's ancestors still gather from all over the world
0:27:13 > 0:27:17to celebrate their ties of kinship here on the Isle of Skye.
0:27:19 > 0:27:24I've always wanted to come back here since I was a wee chap, even though I live on the other side of the world.
0:27:24 > 0:27:32This is our ancestral home and when we come here to the Isle of Skye, we feel that we've come home.
0:27:33 > 0:27:36These men are the current chiefs of Clan Donald.
0:27:36 > 0:27:44Recent research suggests that one in four MacDonalds can trace their origins back to Somerled.
0:27:44 > 0:27:48I am actually a direct descendant from Somerled, King of the Isles.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51How are you sure you are related to him?
0:27:51 > 0:27:56I know I'm related to Somerled through agreeing to have a DNA test,
0:27:56 > 0:27:59and was quite relieved to know I am related to Somerled.
0:28:00 > 0:28:05Only one man, Genghis Khan, has more living descendents.
0:28:05 > 0:28:09The MacDonalds are no longer a great power, but they remain perhaps
0:28:09 > 0:28:15the most famous and certainly the largest of all the Highland Clans.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18Do you know how many there are worldwide?
0:28:18 > 0:28:19- Millions...- 3 million...
0:28:19 > 0:28:24- 15 million, it is by far the largest clan.- We're everywhere.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29And 800 years after he conquered the west,
0:28:29 > 0:28:34perhaps this is the most lasting legacy of the King of the Isles.