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....

Volume 1 of this history ended with the chief and his followers dead on Flodden field. Volume 2 describes the Clan's recovery. Within five years Colin, 3rd Earl, was Vice-Regent and Lieutenant of the kingdom. Within five decades the Clan had extended their possessions to the Western Isles, reinforced their Highland dominance, and become the most powerful family in the nation. How they managed to remain so for a century and a half, despite everything history could throw at them, is the subject of Alastair Campbell's fascinating, vivid and well-paced narrative.Religious conflict in Scotland...