History Channel Documentaries

Battle of the Clans (1998x8)

Air date: Sep 12, 1998

The image of the Highland soldier, in his tartan kilt and sporran, is known and admired throughout the world. He has become the symbol of Scottishness: a heroic warrior, marching proudly to the skirl of the bagpipe, ready to fight and die for the honor of his regiment, his clan and his country. But history reveals a very different picture. Two hundred and fifty years ago, the Highlander was seen as a treacherous and barbaric savage. He was despised, even by his own countrymen, and hunted like an animal. Laws prohibited the wearing of his tartan, the playing of pipes - even his Gaelic language and his clan names were reviled. This program looks beyond the myth to tell the true and often tragic story of the Highland Clansman.