From the Bloody Heart: The Stewarts and the Douglases

by Oliver Thomson

In early medieval Scotland bitter rivalry grew up between two immigrant families from Flanders in their struggle for the the Stewarts and the Douglases. This work covers the period from 1286 to what may be thought of as the "final" defeat of the Stewarts at Culloden in 1745.

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Oliver Thomson read history at Cambridge and later added a PhD at Glasgow University where he has been a part-time lecturer for many years. Though his main career was in advertising he has written twelve books, one of which was also published in Japanese and two in Portuguese. His books include The Great Feud: The Campbells and the MacDonalds, The Impossible Bourbons and The Other Kaisers.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Balliol, Bruce, Douglas & Stewart, four immigrant families that came from what is now Belgium during the reign of David I, King of Scots. Three of the four families would claim the Scottish crown while one would accrue enough power and land to threaten later kings of Scots. Balliol was chosen by Edward I, King of England to be his puppet king. When Balliol finally stood up against his master he was humiliated in front of his people. Robert de Bruce took the throne by combat but the Bruce dynasty only lasted through his son David II who died childless. So the crown passed to the Robert Stewart, the son of Walter, the 6th Steward and his wife Marjorie Bruce and would remain with the Stewarts for 344 years and Great Britain for another 100 years. The Douglas family had married into the Royal Stewarts twelve times by the time of James V and in that time they missed their chance to take the crown and so despite weak and minor kings the Stewarts maintained an unbroken line until the death of Queen Anne despite Douglas scheming. An interesting book.