The Campbells by Stephen Boardman
If not perhaps the most popular Highland clan, the Campbells are undoubtedly one of the most successful. The Campbell earls of Argyll have traditionally enjoyed a rather unsavoury historical reputation, viewed by their rivals with a mixture of fear, envy and respect. The spectacular advance of Campbell power in the medieval Scottish kingdom has normally been explained in terms of the family's ruthless and duplicitous suppression of their fellow-Gaels in Argyll and the Hebrides at the behest of the Scottish crown. In particular, Clan Campbell's success is seen to be built on the destruction of older and more prestigious regional lordships in the west, such as those of the MacDougall lords of Argyll and the MacDonald lords of the Isles. This book reassesses these negative images and interpretations of the growth of Campbell authority. The lords who dominated the medieval Clan Campbell emerge more as individuals enjoying complex and ambiguous relationships with the Scottish crown and the culture and politics of Gaelic-speaking Scotland, rather than as unquestioning agents of the Stewart monarchy and committed converts to the aristocratic culture of lowland Scotland.
Steve Boardman taught at Aberdeen University before joining the Department of Scottish History at University Edinburgh. His first book, The Early Stewart Kings: Robert II and Robert III, won the Agnes Mure Mackenzie prize. A lively writer as well as an intrepid researcher, he is widely regarded as one of the finest Scottish historians of his generation.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780859766623 |
| ISBN 10 | 0859766624 |
| Title | The Campbells |
| Author | Stephen Boardman |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | John Donald Publishers Ltd |
| Year published | 2006-10-31 |
| Number of pages | 400 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |