Rise of the Clans
Scotland's ancient clans are renowned as some of the most legendary warriors in history - fierce tribes forged by the country's wild mountains and glens. This is their thrilling story of heroism and villainy, featuring Scotland's most iconic characters - from Robert the Bruce to Mary, Queen of Scots. Find out how the united clans defeated Europe's greatest military power to claim Scottish independence, and how they used their influence to topple rulers and change the course of history. This is the real-life Scottish game of thrones: an epic struggle for power, told from the point of view of the feuding clans.
- 2018-2018
- 1 season
- Documentary, Action & Adventure
- TV-14
Scotland's ancient clans are renowned as some of the most legendary warriors in history - fierce tribes forged by the country's wild mountains and glens. This is their thrilling story of heroism and villainy, featuring Scotland's most iconic characters - from Robert the Bruce to Mary, Queen of Scots. Find out how the united clans defeated Europe's greatest military power to claim Scottish independence, and how they used their influence to topple rulers and change the course of history. This is the real-life Scottish game of thrones: an epic struggle for power, told from the point of view of the feuding clans.
Season 1 Episode Guide
3 Episodes 2018
Episode 1
The Bruce Supremacy
58 mins
Neil Oliver follows the clans as they rallied behind Robert the Bruce in his against-all-odds bid to win Scotland's crown. After their crucial role in crushing the English at Bannockburn in 1314, Bruce rewarded the loyal chiefs with land and titles. They rise to shape the fate of the kingdom in the centuries to come.
Episode 2
Brothers at War
59 mins
Neil Oliver follows the rise of Clan Stewart to become Scotland's Royal dynasty. It's the blood soaked tale of a bitter family feud. In a vicious contest, using clan power to plot, maneuver and murder their way to power, the story culminates with the dramatic assassination of King James I below a tennis court in Perth, 1437. Neil traces this family feud through clan combat, royal romances and spectacular Renaissance courts to the brutal torture and execution of the last rival Stewart, Walter Atholl, when the king's widowed Queen Joan wreaks a terrible revenge for his treachery.
Episode 3
A Queen Betrayed
59 mins
Neil Oliver reveals how the clans plotted against the Stuart Queen - Mary, Queen of Scots, ultimately leading to the beheading of the most charismatic queen in Scottish history. The tale turns on a brother's plot to overthrow his sister in a ruthless bid for power. James Stewart, Earl of Moray, uses clan power to first control and then rid Scotland of his sister Mary. As she battles conspiracies, plots and counter plots, Mary is trapped in the cruel and tumultuous world of clan blood feuds. After they murder her husband Lord Darnley and Mary flees into the arms of the Earl of Bothwell, the most ruthless of Scotland's clan chiefs, civil war breaks out. Mary escapes to England, never to return again.
