Feb. 9, 2026

Scooby Doo of Scotland: The Black Dinner of 1440

Scooby Doo of Scotland: The Black Dinner of 1440
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A royal feast inside Edinburgh Castle promised safety, friendship, and a reset between a child king and the heirs of Scotland’s most powerful clan. Instead, the Black Dinner of 1440 delivered a brutal omen, a midnight judgment, and two young Douglases beheaded under the crown’s roof—an unforgivable breach of hospitality that rippled across the realm.

We follow the power lines behind the spectacle: how the Black Douglases rose through land, war, and royal marriages to rival the throne; why Chancellor William Crichton and Sir Alexander Livingston formed a fragile alliance to stop a teenage earl; and how James Douglas of Avondale, the beneficiary in the shadows, turned catastrophe into control. The plot that aimed to decapitate a dynasty only sharpened it—until a king who had watched in silence as a boy decided to act.

Years later at Stirling Castle, James II invited the eighth Earl of Douglas to talk peace. What began as reconciliation ended with a dagger, a poleaxe, and a body on the floor. The king’s strike ignited civil war, crushed the Black Douglas network at Erkinholm, and brought their estates into royal hands. Along the way we unpack the symbolism of the black bull’s head, the sacred logic of medieval hospitality, and how broken oaths reshaped Scottish politics.

If you love gripping medieval history, clan rivalries, and the hard choices behind state power, this story has it all: betrayal at table, a child monarch forged by trauma, and a final reckoning that redrew Scotland’s map. Listen now, subscribe for more deep-cut history, and tell us—was the crown saving the kingdom or staining it forever? Rate and review to help more curious minds find the show.

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00:00 - Welcome & Winter Olympics Banter

03:28 - Setting The Stage: Scotland In Turmoil

07:45 - Rise Of The Black Douglases

12:10 - Crichton, Livingston, And A Deadly Alliance

16:35 - The Invitation To Edinburgh Castle

19:50 - The Black Bull’s Head And Arrest

22:30 - Summary Executions And Shock

25:10 - Siege, Stalemate, And Political Fallout

29:20 - Avondale’s Ascent And Consolidation

33:40 - James II Comes Of Age

37:10 - Stirling Castle: The King Strikes Back

41:30 - Civil War And The Fall Of The Black Douglases

45:05 - Aftermath, Legacy, And James II’s Fate

49:15 - Closing Notes & Where To Find Us

WEBVTT

00:00:15.839 --> 00:00:16.960
Oh hey there.

00:00:17.199 --> 00:00:18.160
Oh hey there.

00:00:18.399 --> 00:00:19.280
How are you?

00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:20.239
I am well.

00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:21.120
How are you?

00:00:22.239 --> 00:00:23.280
It's Abbott.

00:00:29.359 --> 00:00:30.399
Oh hey there.

00:00:30.640 --> 00:00:31.519
Oh hey there.

00:00:31.760 --> 00:00:32.479
I'm Kate.

00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:33.600
And I'm Bradley.

00:00:33.840 --> 00:00:35.439
And this is History Buffoons.

00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:37.359
Welcome to History Buffoons.

00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:37.920
Yeah.

00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:42.479
So today we're gonna talk about the Black Dinner of 1440.

00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:44.719
Black Dinner of 1440.

00:00:45.759 --> 00:00:55.679
It was a friendly meal between King James II of Scotland and the young heirs of the really powerful Douglas family.

00:00:55.920 --> 00:00:56.240
Okay.

00:00:56.399 --> 00:01:00.799
And it turned into a cold and calculated act of betrayal.

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Oh dear, hence the blackness.

00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:03.600
Yes, the blackness.

00:01:03.920 --> 00:01:04.159
All right.

00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:04.799
Yeah.

00:01:05.040 --> 00:01:05.920
How are you doing today?

00:01:06.239 --> 00:01:06.640
I'm well.

00:01:06.719 --> 00:01:07.359
How are you?

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I'm doing good.

00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:09.280
Excellent.

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It's uh Olympics time.

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Oh, so much fun.

00:01:13.680 --> 00:01:15.920
I I rather enjoy the Winter Olympics.

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So I wish they weren't on like opposite schedules because, you know, I work during the day.

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Yeah.

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But I mean, they'll they'll replay a lot of stuff if you want to actually, you know, watch it and whatever.

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But yeah.

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Yeah.

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What's one of your favorites?

00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:39.599
Uh Winter Olympics-wise, I man, it's hard to pinpoint one, but I I really like like skiing, like high jump and the high jump, yeah.

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Or is that the high jump or like the acrobatic jumps?

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Whatever they're called.

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Is high jump the right thing to call it?

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I feel like no, because isn't that track and field?

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Yeah.

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So it's like the one where they jump really high on skis.

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We're super educated in this.

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I'm really not, but you know.

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I enjoy watching the Winter Olympics.

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It's fun.

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Yeah.

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So, anyways, what's for asking me what I like.

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What do you like?

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I'm just following your style.

00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:09.039
You never asked me.

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Oh.

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Um, I like the figure skating.

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Yeah.

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Watch the couple's figure skating, which I've never I don't think I've ever seen that before.

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I usually just see like a one-off person.

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A one-off person?

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You mean the individual?

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Yeah.

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The one-off person.

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The individual.

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Hey, when is the one-off person skating?

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What?

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Yeah.

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Um, but I like the acrobatic jumping skiing thing as well.

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Or snowboarding when you see those guys do that.

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I mean, similar, but yeah, no, it's pretty cool.

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Pretty amazing.

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They're pretty fantastic athletes.

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So what are you uh drinking today?

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I am having a one-off cocktail.

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I have a one-off cocktail too.

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So I have uh some bullet bourbon and some good old-fashioned montoo.

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Not to be confused with actual old fashions.

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No.

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Touche.

00:03:04.479 --> 00:03:04.560
Yeah.

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What do you got?

00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:07.919
Um I have, well, there was a random Dr.

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Pepper Zero in my fridge, so I took advantage of that.

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And I've got um some crown apple.

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Well, cheers.

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Cheers.

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And then we have some beers because we didn't want a lot of cocktails.

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No, we just wanted a cocktail.

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So anyways, that was delicious.

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Yes.

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All right, let's get into this.

00:03:29.120 --> 00:03:39.599
Okay, so in late uh November of 1440, there was a big fancy banquet that was held inside the stone walls of Edinburgh Castle.

00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:40.319
Oh, okay.

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Okay.

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And at the head of the table was King James II of Scotland, who was just 10 years old.

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Uh, baby king.

00:03:49.120 --> 00:03:50.159
Yeah, child king.

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And of course, he was surrounded by his adult advisers and other noble guests.

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Yep, yep, yep.

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And among those guests were two members of Scotland's most powerful family.

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The Douglas family.

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The Douglas family.

00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:04.400
Yes.

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We have William Douglas, who is the sixth Earl of Douglas.

00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:08.960
Okay.

00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:15.520
Um, who he was about 16 years old, and then his younger brother David, um, who was around 12, give or take a year.

00:04:15.759 --> 00:04:16.399
Oh dear.

00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:20.720
So on the surface, it looked to be like a happy formal occasion.

00:04:20.879 --> 00:04:25.680
Um, the king was really excited that there were people like more his age.

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Right.

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Um, that came around, so he was really happy.

00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:39.759
Um, and it was there was a royal feast meant to bring the king and the heirs together in the Douglas heirs together in friendship.

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Right.

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Okay.

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Hey, Oliver.

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So Scotland hadn't exactly been a call and place leading up to this dinner.

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Okay.

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About three years earlier, in February of 1437, King James the First of Scotland had been assassinated by a group of conspirators trying to grab power for themselves.

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Oh dear.

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And his murder threw the whole kingdom into chaos.

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So the crown passed to his only living son, James II, who was just six years old at the time.

00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:18.560
And in medi medieval Scotland, a child on the throne pretty much guaranteed one thing: rival no nobles fighting tooth and nail to run the country in his name.

00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:19.360
Yeah, right.

00:05:19.839 --> 00:05:23.279
With him as their leader, but we know who's leading it.

00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:23.839
Exactly.

00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:24.480
For sure.

00:05:24.800 --> 00:05:34.720
So at first, Queen Joan, who was James the Second's mother and an English born princess, tried to step in and act as regent to protect her son.

00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:35.199
Okay.

00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:42.639
Um, she even went so far as to avenge her husband's death by tracking down his killers and making sure that they were executed.

00:05:42.959 --> 00:05:44.399
Like badass woman.

00:05:44.639 --> 00:05:53.439
Um, good on her for uh avenging her husband's death.

00:05:53.600 --> 00:05:54.160
Jesus, okay.

00:05:54.399 --> 00:05:54.639
Yeah.

00:05:54.720 --> 00:05:59.439
But of course, Scotland didn't want an English born woman ruling Scotland.

00:05:59.759 --> 00:06:00.959
Right, which I get.

00:06:01.680 --> 00:06:08.319
So before long, her authority kind of faded, and other powerful men moved in to take control of the young king instead.

00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:09.120
Right.

00:06:11.360 --> 00:06:12.000
Bubbles.

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Burping, sorry.

00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:13.680
Bubbles.

00:06:13.839 --> 00:06:14.319
My bad.

00:06:14.560 --> 00:06:15.439
It's all right.

00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:20.079
So the most important of these men was Archibald Douglas.

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Archibald.

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He was the fifth Earl of Douglas.

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Okay.

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And head of the famous Douglas family.

00:06:26.800 --> 00:06:27.120
Right.

00:06:27.360 --> 00:06:32.319
Archibald wasn't just another noble, he was very powerful in Scotland.

00:06:32.639 --> 00:06:37.199
So did you come across why the Douglas family was so prevalent?

00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:37.680
Yes.

00:06:37.759 --> 00:06:37.920
Okay.

00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:40.319
Yes, I will get into that very quickly, actually.

00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:41.279
Okay, cool.

00:06:41.600 --> 00:06:47.360
So um Archibald Douglas also happened to be the cousin of the young king.

00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:48.000
Oh.

00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:48.480
Yes.

00:06:48.639 --> 00:06:51.839
And after James II, he would be next in line.

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Oh, sure, yeah.

00:06:53.519 --> 00:06:55.839
Because, well, obviously the kid wouldn't have an heir.

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Mm-hmm.

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And then they look for the next male.

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Yes.

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Okay.

00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:05.040
So he had massive lands, private armies, political influence.

00:07:05.199 --> 00:07:12.560
So Archibald became the lieutenant general of the realm, basically acting the acting regent while James was still a child.

00:07:12.879 --> 00:07:13.279
Gotcha.

00:07:13.519 --> 00:07:18.079
So under Archibald's leadership, the Douglas family's power only grew stronger.

00:07:18.399 --> 00:07:19.360
I would think, yeah.

00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:40.800
So by the 1400s, the Douglasses, especially um a senior branch of them called the Black Douglases, because they were just kind of brutal in their um armies and everything, um, they had become so abundant, nope, a dominant, that many people started to see them as a genuine threat to the stability of the kingdom.

00:07:41.040 --> 00:07:41.279
Right.

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Cause I mean, they had such influence.

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Influence and backing and all that stuff.

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So I would I could see how that would be like, oh shit, these people could do some real damage really to get control, I guess we'll say it.

00:07:57.360 --> 00:07:57.680
Yeah.

00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:03.920
And they were the biggest landowners in Scotland and deeply woven into royal politics.

00:08:04.160 --> 00:08:10.319
How much land do you think they owned if they were so I think it was like a lot of like southern Scotland.

00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:10.879
Really?

00:08:11.040 --> 00:08:11.279
Yeah.

00:08:11.519 --> 00:08:11.839
Okay.

00:08:12.480 --> 00:08:19.199
So um the title of Earl of Douglas wasn't just important, it rivaled the power of the crown itself.

00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:19.920
That's crazy.

00:08:20.160 --> 00:08:33.519
But Archibald Douglas's time at the top didn't last long because on June 26th, 1439, about two years effectively running Scotland on the king's behalf, yeah, Archibald suddenly died supposedly from a fever.

00:08:33.679 --> 00:08:34.159
Uh-oh.

00:08:34.559 --> 00:08:43.039
And his death left like this huge power vacuum almost immediately, and the political infighting started started.

00:08:43.279 --> 00:08:43.600
Gotcha.

00:08:43.919 --> 00:08:50.559
So the control of the government shipped shifted to a group of competing guardians and advisors around the boy king.

00:08:50.799 --> 00:08:53.759
So how did you say how old Archibald was when he passed?

00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:56.240
Um, I didn't, and I don't think I saw.

00:08:56.799 --> 00:09:00.080
Because I mean, I know things can socially back in the 1400s.

00:09:00.399 --> 00:09:07.200
Yeah, what I'm gonna guess is between um the 20s and fours, between 20 years old and 40 years old, like somewhere in there.

00:09:07.440 --> 00:09:09.039
Yeah, I mean because he does have two kids.

00:09:09.279 --> 00:09:09.519
Right.

00:09:09.679 --> 00:09:13.360
So he wasn't probably too young, but he also probably wasn't too old.

00:09:13.519 --> 00:09:15.679
So I also have a beard that's open.

00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:16.879
Yeah, we know.

00:09:16.960 --> 00:09:17.519
You said that.

00:09:17.840 --> 00:09:18.639
Oh, okay.

00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:19.600
Jeez.

00:09:20.240 --> 00:09:31.039
So one the the infighting, yeah, one group was um formed around Sir William Crichton, who was the Lord Chancellor of Scotland.

00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:32.799
Oh, good old Lord Chancellor.

00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:38.240
Yeah, he was clever, ambitious, um, and he controlled Edinburgh Castle.

00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:38.799
Oh.

00:09:39.039 --> 00:09:52.480
And another faction centered on Sir Alexander Livingston of Callendar, the warden of Stirling Castle, Jesus, and the man who physically had custody of King James II at Sterling.

00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:53.840
Oh, okay.

00:09:54.159 --> 00:10:00.080
So uh Queen Joan tried to stay relevant in all of this, but she was already losing ground.

00:10:00.240 --> 00:10:06.240
And in August of 1439, Livingston made a bold move against her and arrested her.

00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:07.440
On what grounds?

00:10:07.679 --> 00:10:17.759
And her new husband, Sir James Stewart, known as Black Knight of Lorne, and forced her to hand over custody of the king.

00:10:20.159 --> 00:10:22.399
That's yeah, that's that's a lot going on in the city.

00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:23.279
It's uneasy.

00:10:23.360 --> 00:10:24.000
I know.

00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:29.039
So the Queen was punished almost completely out of was pushed completely out of power.

00:10:29.279 --> 00:10:29.519
Right.

00:10:29.679 --> 00:10:36.879
And Scotland then was effectively run by these par this weird partnership between Crichton and Living Livingston.

00:10:37.279 --> 00:10:40.639
Okay, so they just didn't want her to have any influence on her son.

00:10:40.879 --> 00:10:41.120
Yes.

00:10:41.360 --> 00:10:42.879
So they wanted her to get the fuck out.

00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:43.440
Yes.

00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:50.240
Especially because she was English first and foremost, and then okay, so they're just and she technically is Queen Regent.

00:10:50.399 --> 00:10:51.519
Oh correct, yeah.

00:10:51.679 --> 00:10:55.679
So I mean she doesn't really have much power, honestly.

00:10:55.919 --> 00:10:56.080
Yeah.

00:10:56.320 --> 00:10:58.320
In the grand scheme of things, especially back then.

00:10:58.399 --> 00:10:59.360
But okay.

00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:03.039
So for a while, these two men were rivals.

00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:08.240
They were each suspicious of the other and jealous over who had more influence over the king.

00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:08.799
Okay.

00:11:09.279 --> 00:11:11.200
But they agreed on one thing.

00:11:11.440 --> 00:11:12.639
Oh, what was that?

00:11:12.879 --> 00:11:15.519
The Douglas family was a massive problem.

00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:23.679
Well, like you said earlier already, they they could they had a lot of influence, so they could certainly sway which way the shit would go.

00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:24.159
Mm-hmm.

00:11:24.320 --> 00:11:24.960
So, okay.

00:11:25.279 --> 00:11:36.960
And with Archibald Douglas's death, um, it had passed down the entire Douglas Empire, the land, the wealth, the armies to his teenage son, William Douglas.

00:11:37.519 --> 00:11:39.120
And that's one of the first ones you meant.

00:11:39.200 --> 00:11:42.480
He was the 16-year-old in the beginning, you said yes.

00:11:42.559 --> 00:11:48.720
And now William, who is just a teenager, found himself to be the head of the most powerful family in Scotland.

00:11:49.120 --> 00:11:51.600
Which is funny to say he's the most powerful family in Scotland.

00:11:51.679 --> 00:11:52.559
And he's not even king.

00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:52.960
Yeah.

00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:54.720
But I mean, makes sense.

00:11:55.120 --> 00:12:02.720
And to experienced political operators like Crichton and Livingston, a boy Earl of Douglas wasn't super comforting.

00:12:02.960 --> 00:12:04.159
He was a wild card.

00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:04.960
Well, yeah.

00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:05.840
Yeah.

00:12:06.159 --> 00:12:12.720
Someone who might grow up to be even, you know, a bigger threat to the crown than his father had been, they had no idea.

00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:13.200
Yeah.

00:12:13.519 --> 00:12:14.480
So interesting.

00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:18.480
In their eyes, William Douglas wasn't just a noble teenager.

00:12:18.639 --> 00:12:28.799
He had the potential rival power who could challenge not only the authority of the king, but the authority of the men currently running the kingdom in the king's name.

00:12:29.279 --> 00:12:33.519
And it's just funny, like we've heard so many stories, and we've done a few ourselves.

00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:36.720
King James the Sixth of Scotland.

00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:37.039
Yeah.

00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:44.320
But like how these people are are running it with the best interest of the king.

00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:48.639
But it's like it's not, it's never for their best interest.

00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:55.600
It's for the people who are putting their input into the king for their interest that they gain shit, whatever.

00:12:55.840 --> 00:13:00.320
So to say it's for the country and it's for the king is like go fuck yourself.

00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:03.360
You are totally being feeding a line of bullshit.

00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:04.000
Yeah.

00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:10.559
So so the house of Douglas didn't just pop up out of nowhere in the 1400s.

00:13:10.639 --> 00:13:12.799
They had been building power for generations.

00:13:13.039 --> 00:13:13.200
Sure.

00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:16.799
Because I mean it's not like I'm one family and all these things are happening.

00:13:17.039 --> 00:13:26.000
Well, no, they obviously had many years to be uh a notable family, gain their power, their lands, and such, and whatever.

00:13:26.080 --> 00:13:29.840
So it's yeah, it's not like they popped up overnight and be like, hey man, did you hear about Douglas?

00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:30.799
No, who are they?

00:13:30.879 --> 00:13:31.200
Yeah.

00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:32.720
They they've been around for a while.

00:13:32.960 --> 00:13:33.360
They have.

00:13:33.519 --> 00:13:33.919
So yeah.

00:13:34.080 --> 00:13:34.399
Yeah.

00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:45.519
And um he so back in the wars that they were kind of dealing with, um, there was Sir James Douglas who went by James the Good.

00:13:45.600 --> 00:13:48.320
I think like after the fact, like he was called James the Good.

00:13:48.559 --> 00:13:51.840
It's usually usually this seems like those people get the names after the fact.

00:13:52.159 --> 00:14:01.600
Yeah, so he um so he becomes um the legendary black Douglas, and he's one of Robert the Bruce's closest companions.

00:14:01.840 --> 00:14:03.120
Oh, Robert the Bruce, yes.

00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:10.559
Known for being fearless in battle and basically a walking reputation, and that lots and lots of loyalty.

00:14:10.879 --> 00:14:11.120
Right.

00:14:11.200 --> 00:14:11.440
Okay.

00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:17.279
So the family gets land, they get influence, they get status, and that just kind of snowballs over time.

00:14:17.679 --> 00:14:21.039
Well, yeah, because I mean, definitely have heard of him.

00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:24.320
Yeah, and I don't know much about him, but I've definitely heard of him.

00:14:24.399 --> 00:14:25.120
So yeah, okay.

00:14:25.360 --> 00:14:25.759
Yeah.

00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:30.399
So by the mid-1300s, the Douglasses split into different branches.

00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:37.759
One is the Black Douglases, which is the senior line, and then there's also the red Dug Red Douglases of Angus.

00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:46.639
And the key point is that senior black Douglas line holds the Earldom of Douglas and has the biggest share of power.

00:14:46.879 --> 00:14:47.360
Oh, okay.

00:14:47.519 --> 00:14:50.480
So they're the main the main Douglass, if you will.

00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:50.960
Okay.

00:14:51.519 --> 00:14:52.000
Yes.

00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:54.240
So they also married well.

00:14:54.559 --> 00:14:55.039
I'm sure.

00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:59.600
So the Sega Earl of Douglas married into the royal Stuart family.

00:14:59.840 --> 00:15:00.080
Right.

00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:05.120
Which means that Douglass didn't just have that influence, they also had blood ties to the throne.

00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:12.879
Well, yeah, and obviously they're not dumb, they're gonna situate themselves with you know the best prospect they can.

00:15:13.200 --> 00:15:19.919
And adjacent to the crown instead of just being like, well, we're just some random family, we have also ties because we're married into your fucking family.

00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:20.879
Yeah, exactly.

00:15:21.200 --> 00:15:23.200
Even if they're cousins or whatever, it doesn't matter.

00:15:23.519 --> 00:15:32.559
Because back then, line of succession went, like you said, the cousin was the next in line if something happened to James II, right?

00:15:32.720 --> 00:15:32.960
Correct?

00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:34.720
Yes, yeah, the boy king.

00:15:34.879 --> 00:15:35.200
Yeah.

00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:40.240
So by the 1430s, they're basically at the top of Scottish nobility.

00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:43.679
They control large stretches of southern Scotland, as I said.

00:15:43.840 --> 00:15:44.000
Yep.

00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:53.279
And they've got private armies, they have uh important castles, they're not just wealthy nobles, they're the kind of nobles where the crown has to like plant around them as well.

00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:58.720
No, they had they had power, and it wasn't just like bow to the king.

00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:01.200
It's like, no, bow to the fucking Douglases, too.

00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:08.559
So even chroniclers at the time make the point that they'd become so powerful it was a threat to stability.

00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:09.279
Sure.

00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:15.519
So after James I is killed, Archibald Douglas basically runs the show as regent.

00:16:15.759 --> 00:16:16.159
Right.

00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:22.000
So that alone is proof of how much the family could overshadow the crown when the crown was vulnerable.

00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:22.559
Mm-hmm.

00:16:22.720 --> 00:16:23.120
Makes sense.

00:16:23.360 --> 00:16:34.879
So when Archibald dies and his teenage son William inherits everything, it's not so hard to imagine what is happening at court and their mood and their their worry.

00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:35.600
Right.

00:16:35.679 --> 00:16:43.600
And and did obviously the the the boy Douglas um inherits that because you know that's how it works.

00:16:44.159 --> 00:16:52.240
I'm sure he had other like uncles and and whatever and such that probably still were prevalent in the family, right?

00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:52.879
Yes.

00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:55.039
Uh okay, so do we get into some of that?

00:16:55.679 --> 00:16:57.200
We get into one in particular.

00:16:57.759 --> 00:16:58.159
Awesome.

00:16:58.639 --> 00:16:59.200
Yes.

00:16:59.440 --> 00:17:08.240
Um, I I looked at the family line of the Douglasses, and there are either James's, Williams, or Archibalds.

00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:10.240
And just to find the flow.

00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:11.920
Oh my gosh, it's so confusing.

00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:16.960
Well, because yeah, back then, I mean, it was it was how they named their their kids a lot.

00:17:17.200 --> 00:17:20.799
I mean, that's why there's so many James the Sixth and all that, whatever.

00:17:21.119 --> 00:17:24.240
It's just funny how they didn't venture off very far.

00:17:24.960 --> 00:17:31.599
Um, so I would imagine that and again, I'm sure you probably didn't come across as just a random question.

00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:34.880
Douglas still around today in Scotland, I would imagine.

00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:36.240
In some degree.

00:17:36.880 --> 00:17:37.119
Yeah.

00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:37.599
Okay.

00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:38.400
Yeah.

00:17:38.720 --> 00:17:39.359
Yeah.

00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:40.319
Yeah.

00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:43.359
Would you like to say yeah one more time?

00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:44.880
Yeah.

00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:45.279
Yeah.

00:17:45.599 --> 00:17:45.920
Okay.

00:17:46.240 --> 00:17:59.279
So people are watching closely because now this enormous Douglas, Douglas, Douglas um machine has a 16-year-old at the steering wheel and he doesn't know how to drive.

00:17:59.599 --> 00:18:01.759
Well, and plus they didn't even know what a steering wheel was.

00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:02.240
No.

00:18:02.640 --> 00:18:11.920
So some later right writers try to paint William as like this arrogant or meddling kind of a kid, but there's no solid evidence of that.

00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:12.480
Right.

00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:17.680
He's young, he's new to the role, and he's probably still being guided by older relatives and advisors.

00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:20.799
So it's funny you say meddling kid.

00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:23.279
I just think of Scooby-Doo.

00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:24.319
Why?

00:18:24.640 --> 00:18:27.599
I would have got away with it too if it wasn't for you, meddling kids.

00:18:27.920 --> 00:18:28.640
What's that from?

00:18:28.880 --> 00:18:29.680
Scooby-Doo.

00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:33.920
Like the the cartoon show or like the oh yes, the especially the cartoon.

00:18:34.240 --> 00:18:34.960
Meddling kids.

00:18:35.119 --> 00:18:35.519
Yes.

00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:37.039
That's what they were kind of called.

00:18:37.279 --> 00:18:39.119
Yeah, because they always were, you know.

00:18:39.759 --> 00:18:40.240
Meddling.

00:18:40.640 --> 00:18:41.599
Meddling, yeah.

00:18:41.759 --> 00:18:43.599
So they got in the people's way.

00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:44.799
So, anyways.

00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:49.680
So he's like, the Scooby-Doo of Scotland.

00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:51.839
Scooby-Doo of Scotland.

00:18:55.119 --> 00:18:56.079
Maybe.

00:18:56.799 --> 00:18:57.759
That's so great.

00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:01.680
Driving the mystery machine with that steering wheel he can't drive.

00:19:02.720 --> 00:19:04.799
Operating the mystery carriage.

00:19:06.640 --> 00:19:07.440
He's trying to.

00:19:08.000 --> 00:19:08.559
Yes.

00:19:08.799 --> 00:19:09.279
100%.

00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:13.759
Scooby-Doo of Scotland is our front runner for the title.

00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:16.079
That is fucking fantastic.

00:19:16.480 --> 00:19:16.799
Okay.

00:19:17.119 --> 00:19:28.559
So the idea of a teenage Earl of Douglas freaked quite a few people out.

00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:40.720
And because he had the name, the land, the loyalty, the money, the soldiers, all the ingredients to make a very powerful name, he didn't need to be a villain to be seen as dangerous.

00:19:41.039 --> 00:19:41.359
Okay.

00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:42.000
Yes.

00:19:42.319 --> 00:19:50.079
So once William Douglas inherits, the men running things around the boy king start making some decisions.

00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:51.039
I bet.

00:19:51.279 --> 00:19:56.240
So we've got Sir William Creighton, who hates Sir Alexander Livingston.

00:19:57.200 --> 00:20:00.000
But they do agree on one thing.

00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:02.880
There's a bigger threat sitting in this room.

00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:06.720
I wrote, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

00:20:07.039 --> 00:20:08.160
Jesus Christ.

00:20:10.079 --> 00:20:11.359
Well, I mean, yeah.

00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:21.119
So in their eyes, the bigger threat is this Douglas family, especially a teenage Earl of Douglas who could grow into someone with impossible who's impossible to control.

00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:22.000
Yeah.

00:20:22.319 --> 00:20:25.440
So Creighton and Livingston, they start canoodling.

00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:31.440
I mean, I don't think canoodling is the right word there.

00:20:31.920 --> 00:20:33.039
Well, what's it called?

00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:34.640
Conspiring?

00:20:37.279 --> 00:20:38.160
Canoodling.

00:20:39.119 --> 00:20:39.440
Oh.

00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:42.240
Oh, c or they're in cahoots.

00:20:42.640 --> 00:20:45.359
I mean that too, but canoodling.

00:20:46.799 --> 00:20:47.519
Not bad.

00:20:47.759 --> 00:20:50.000
They're like, hey, that's canoodle.

00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:51.920
Okay, so canoodling.

00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:53.279
Well played.

00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:58.240
So they form an alliance and they're not alone.

00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:00.240
Ooh, joints.

00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:03.839
Enter Williams' great uncle.

00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:09.680
Oh, so this is the James Douglas, because of course there's another James.

00:21:09.839 --> 00:21:15.680
He is the Earl of Avondale and his Arch and Archibald Douglass's brother.

00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:16.880
Oh, okay.

00:21:17.039 --> 00:21:22.000
So he's very close, but just not you know didn't inherit.

00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:22.799
Yes.

00:21:23.119 --> 00:21:24.880
James Douglas, Jimmy Doug.

00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:25.839
All right.

00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:30.559
So he's positioned in a way that does matter.

00:21:30.720 --> 00:21:37.119
As a senior Douglas, he's next in line to inherit if something happens to his teenage great nephew.

00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:38.960
Oh, I'm sure he's all about that.

00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:42.079
So Avondale well, Mr.

00:21:42.400 --> 00:21:44.720
James Douglas, I'll just say Avondale.

00:21:45.200 --> 00:21:45.519
Okay.

00:21:45.839 --> 00:21:48.000
He had a very, very strong motive, right?

00:21:48.240 --> 00:21:48.480
Well, yeah.

00:21:48.880 --> 00:21:59.680
So by linking up Crichton and Livingston, Avondale seems to throw his support behind any anti William camp, possibly because he expects that the Douglas Earldom could end.

00:22:00.160 --> 00:22:01.119
End up in his hands.

00:22:01.440 --> 00:22:01.839
Well, yeah.

00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:04.160
And back then he didn't care about his nephew.

00:22:04.559 --> 00:22:07.920
He's like, I'd rather just have all the power and the money and the lands and whatever.

00:22:08.160 --> 00:22:10.240
He's like, I'll canoodle with you.

00:22:12.160 --> 00:22:21.599
So the frustrating part for historians is that the contemporary chronicles don't give you the neat, like, here's the secret meeting that everyone's planning.

00:22:21.680 --> 00:22:23.519
And things just started happening.

00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:24.079
Okay.

00:22:24.240 --> 00:22:26.960
So a lot of behind the scenes We don't know.

00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:28.400
Yeah, it's inferred.

00:22:28.720 --> 00:22:29.279
Well, of course.

00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:37.920
There's a couple things in this story, and I'll kind of point them out as I come to it, that are either like la and lavished.

00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:39.440
Enlavished?

00:22:39.680 --> 00:22:40.319
Embellished.

00:22:40.559 --> 00:22:41.039
Embellished?

00:22:41.119 --> 00:22:41.759
That's the word.

00:22:43.279 --> 00:22:44.480
Embellished.

00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:48.559
Oh my these words are golden.

00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:50.240
Canoodling and lavish.

00:22:50.640 --> 00:22:51.440
Unlavished.

00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:52.880
Wow.

00:22:53.279 --> 00:22:55.519
So all right, yeah, go ahead.

00:22:55.759 --> 00:22:56.000
Okay.

00:22:56.160 --> 00:23:08.880
So by later accounts, um, it makes it hard to ignore that these men um these men are acting in coordination, and that goal is to remove the young Earl of Douglas before he becomes too powerful to deal with.

00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:09.599
Right.

00:23:09.920 --> 00:23:15.119
So William and David, the younger brother, aren't minor figures.

00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:16.720
They're very high ranking, right?

00:23:16.880 --> 00:23:17.200
Yes, yes.

00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:21.759
So going after them is very risky, and they could start a civil war.

00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:23.440
Oh, no doubt.

00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:30.400
I mean, you're you're literally family members trying to oust other family members just for power.

00:23:30.640 --> 00:23:30.880
Yeah.

00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:34.720
I mean, it's uh like Beauty and the Beast, Tales of Old's Time.

00:23:34.880 --> 00:23:43.759
So um, it could trigger a massive retaliation and it breaks some major social rules of the time.

00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:44.319
Okay.

00:23:44.480 --> 00:23:52.079
Because if you harm noble use, especially under some kind of protected setting, it's going to be seen as treacherous.

00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:52.640
Sure.

00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:56.640
So whatever the plan has is, it has to be carefully staged.

00:23:56.799 --> 00:23:57.039
Right.

00:23:57.200 --> 00:23:59.519
It needs a cover story, like a dinner.

00:23:59.759 --> 00:24:00.559
Oh my god.

00:24:00.799 --> 00:24:02.160
Or a banquet of sorts.

00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:08.880
Ideally, something that looks legitimate, or at least like something that looks like it happened under royal authority.

00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:09.440
Yeah.

00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:12.079
So this is where Crichton's advantage comes in.

00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:15.039
He's Chancellor and he controls Edinburgh Castle.

00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:15.759
Right.

00:24:16.480 --> 00:24:20.880
So he comes up with a plan that looks like goodwill instead of an attack.

00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:24.000
Invite the Douglas boys to Edinburgh to visit the king.

00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:24.480
Uh-huh.

00:24:24.720 --> 00:24:29.200
Make it sound like reconciliation, trust, friendship, unity.

00:24:29.519 --> 00:24:30.559
We're all friends here.

00:24:30.720 --> 00:24:30.960
Yes.

00:24:31.119 --> 00:24:37.759
Give them a reason to come in without raising alarms and without having an army nearby.

00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:38.240
Right.

00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:38.880
Yes.

00:24:39.200 --> 00:24:42.160
So yeah, because you want to invite them, but like, hey, leave leave your army.

00:24:42.400 --> 00:24:43.039
Leave everybody behind.

00:24:43.440 --> 00:24:44.240
Leave your army at home.

00:24:44.799 --> 00:24:45.599
They don't need to come.

00:24:45.680 --> 00:24:46.400
We're we're good.

00:24:46.640 --> 00:24:47.039
Yes.

00:24:47.279 --> 00:24:47.599
Okay.

00:24:47.920 --> 00:24:56.079
So once they're inside the castle on Crichton's turf under the crown's roof, everything is set up for the moment when the friendly visit stops.

00:24:56.400 --> 00:24:56.720
Yes.

00:24:57.119 --> 00:24:58.319
Being friendly.

00:24:58.640 --> 00:24:59.359
Friendly.

00:25:00.240 --> 00:25:04.799
So do you have all who came to this with the Douglas?

00:25:05.119 --> 00:25:07.440
So it was obviously William and sorry, what was Doug?

00:25:07.759 --> 00:25:07.920
David?

00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:08.319
David.

00:25:08.640 --> 00:25:09.920
I think it was just a small number.

00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:12.000
I'm sure probably under 10.

00:25:12.240 --> 00:25:15.519
I'm sure it wasn't just, hey, two young kids.

00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:16.880
They can't drive.

00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:18.480
How are you going to get there?

00:25:18.960 --> 00:25:20.720
The horse remembers.

00:25:21.599 --> 00:25:25.119
No, they had they just had a really small amount of people.

00:25:25.440 --> 00:25:25.599
Yeah.

00:25:26.240 --> 00:25:26.559
Okay.

00:25:27.599 --> 00:25:30.799
Yeah, they didn't want to canoodle with a lot of people.

00:25:31.680 --> 00:25:39.599
So sometime in the late autumn of 1440, a message was sent out to 16-year-old William Douglas Douglas and his younger brother David.

00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:40.079
Okay.

00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:45.599
And they were formally invited to come to Edinburgh Castle to dine with King James the Second.

00:25:45.839 --> 00:25:46.000
Oh.

00:25:46.319 --> 00:25:50.799
And on the surface, it was perfectly normal gesture.

00:25:51.119 --> 00:25:53.119
Do you think David's like, I hope they serve Duck?

00:25:53.440 --> 00:25:53.920
Probably.

00:25:54.240 --> 00:25:54.640
I mean.

00:25:54.960 --> 00:26:01.200
The king was a boy, the Douglas' brothers were boys, and bringing them together could be a nice show of unity.

00:26:01.519 --> 00:26:03.119
Do you think they brought their dolls with?

00:26:04.160 --> 00:26:05.359
I think train said.

00:26:05.599 --> 00:26:07.359
But yeah, they're all boys.

00:26:07.519 --> 00:26:07.839
Yeah.

00:26:08.400 --> 00:26:14.319
The invitation almost certainly came with promises of safety and royal goodwill.

00:26:14.640 --> 00:26:14.880
Right.

00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:15.440
Of course.

00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:22.160
In medieval Scotland, sharing a meal under the king's roof was supposed to be one of the safest places you could be.

00:26:22.559 --> 00:26:23.359
One would think.

00:26:23.680 --> 00:26:27.519
And everything suggests that William and David accepted this on good faith.

00:26:27.759 --> 00:26:28.000
Sure.

00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:34.720
So they traveled to Edinburgh with a small group of attendants, including Sir Malcolm Fleming of Cumbernauld.

00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:36.000
Cumbernauld.

00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:39.359
He's a longtime ally and advisor to the Douglas family.

00:26:39.599 --> 00:26:40.079
Oh, okay.

00:26:40.319 --> 00:26:46.880
There's even a chance that they spent a few days at the court um before the actual dinner, like getting comfortable meeting people.

00:26:47.200 --> 00:26:51.359
I mean, that was typical of the time because, like, obviously, travel's long.

00:26:51.519 --> 00:26:51.839
Yeah.

00:26:52.079 --> 00:26:55.920
Back then, because again, no cars, no, no mystery machine to drive them there.

00:26:56.079 --> 00:26:56.319
Right.

00:26:56.480 --> 00:26:58.240
And so they would have to get there.

00:26:58.319 --> 00:27:01.759
They settle into their their quarters and like blah, blah, blah.

00:27:01.920 --> 00:27:04.880
So yeah, they were probably there for at least a day or two prior to this.

00:27:05.359 --> 00:27:14.319
And one um account that I read said that the three boys would all play together for a little bit and like form this cute little friendship right away.

00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:16.000
Cute little friendship.

00:27:16.799 --> 00:27:17.519
Oh dear.

00:27:17.839 --> 00:27:18.000
Okay.

00:27:18.480 --> 00:27:30.480
So there's um, so from from Crichton and Livingston's point of view, the whole point was to get the Douglas boys away from their own territory.

00:27:30.720 --> 00:27:31.039
Yes.

00:27:31.359 --> 00:27:42.559
Back on Douglas lands, William could call on hundreds of loyal men at a moment's notice inside Edinburgh Castle, surrounded by royal guards and official loyals to Crichton.

00:27:42.640 --> 00:27:43.759
He was very vulnerable.

00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:44.400
Sure.

00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:49.200
And the young king himself was essentially part of the plan, whether he knew it or not.

00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:51.519
Well, he was he was their Patsy.

00:27:51.759 --> 00:27:52.400
Yeah, exactly.

00:27:52.720 --> 00:27:57.519
He might not have been a hundred percent in on it, but they used him to get the kids there and such and whatever.

00:27:57.599 --> 00:27:58.000
So yeah.

00:27:58.160 --> 00:27:58.720
Yeah.

00:27:59.119 --> 00:28:01.039
So miscuse.

00:28:01.519 --> 00:28:11.200
Later stories say that James II was genuinely happy to have these companions because they were his own age, and he welcomed the Douglas brothers um warmly.

00:28:11.440 --> 00:28:15.440
If William Douglas had any doubts, he seemed to have pushed them aside.

00:28:15.599 --> 00:28:15.759
Okay.

00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:20.799
Um the Douglasses had been at the center of Scottish politics for years.

00:28:21.039 --> 00:28:24.880
His own fat f uh father had effectively run the country.

00:28:25.119 --> 00:28:25.359
Right.

00:28:25.599 --> 00:28:28.240
So why would he be betrayed at with the king?

00:28:28.319 --> 00:28:29.440
You know, like he had heard.

00:28:29.599 --> 00:28:30.480
Yeah, he thought he was safe.

00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:30.720
Yeah.

00:28:31.599 --> 00:28:34.720
I mean, and it's very warranted why he would think that way.

00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:53.440
So and and back then in in Scotland, um, being invited over to for dinner and being in someone's house as a guest was considered very, very um the tradition of that was was honored.

00:28:53.599 --> 00:28:59.599
Like there there shouldn't be anything bad happening because the the hospitality was such a big deal in Scotland.

00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:00.559
Yeah, exactly.

00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:01.119
Yeah.

00:29:01.359 --> 00:29:06.640
So on November 24th, the planned feast took place in the Great Hall of Edinburgh Castle.

00:29:06.880 --> 00:29:06.960
Okay.

00:29:07.279 --> 00:29:09.519
And everything went exactly as it should.

00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:13.200
There was food, there was drink, maybe there was music, maybe a little ceremony, we don't know.

00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:14.160
Maybe a little dancing.

00:29:14.400 --> 00:29:16.079
Maybe a little dancing, we don't know.

00:29:16.319 --> 00:29:18.960
Somebody's getting high on mushrooms.

00:29:19.039 --> 00:29:19.279
I don't know.

00:29:19.519 --> 00:29:20.079
Oh, wow.

00:29:20.960 --> 00:29:21.359
We don't know.

00:29:21.440 --> 00:29:22.079
We don't know.

00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:27.759
What the f but why would you think that?

00:29:28.240 --> 00:29:30.000
Wow, you're making me cough.

00:29:31.039 --> 00:29:32.000
Excuse me.

00:29:32.319 --> 00:29:37.599
They're getting high on mushrooms, little psychedelic trip in the Scottish castles.

00:29:38.640 --> 00:29:39.839
What the fuck?

00:29:40.079 --> 00:29:52.400
So the hall would have been full of conversation and laughter, torches like on the stone walls, and goblets being refilled of warm wine and clanking together.

00:29:53.200 --> 00:29:55.839
And you know, it's you know, it's Silva as well.

00:29:56.079 --> 00:29:58.960
So what the fuck?

00:30:00.160 --> 00:30:02.079
Do I do do I know that?

00:30:02.160 --> 00:30:09.119
Or but later, writers like to emphasize how relaxed and happy the Douglas boys seemed that night.

00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:11.119
They were said to be enjoying themselves.

00:30:11.279 --> 00:30:12.240
I mean, why not?

00:30:12.480 --> 00:30:14.160
Well, yeah, they're having a grand old time.

00:30:14.400 --> 00:30:19.119
All the while Crichton and Livingston watch from the sidelines, waiting for their right moment.

00:30:20.319 --> 00:30:25.119
Guards loyal to them quietly took up their positions, ready to act as soon as they were needed.

00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:28.799
And then in the middle of the meal, dessert happened.

00:30:29.279 --> 00:30:30.400
They deserted?

00:30:30.960 --> 00:30:31.920
No, dessert.

00:30:32.400 --> 00:30:32.720
Okay.

00:30:33.599 --> 00:30:35.279
Was it terrima sous that night?

00:30:35.359 --> 00:30:36.880
I mean, I will tell you.

00:30:37.119 --> 00:30:38.559
Oh, you have you have you have it.

00:30:38.640 --> 00:30:39.519
Alright, let's do this.

00:30:39.839 --> 00:30:40.880
I do have the dessert.

00:30:41.119 --> 00:30:41.599
Do you really?

00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:42.079
I do.

00:30:42.319 --> 00:30:42.799
That's funny.

00:30:42.960 --> 00:30:50.160
So at some point during the banquet, uh, servants carried in a covered platter and placed it directly in front of young the young Earl of Douglas.

00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:50.799
Okay.

00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:56.160
When the lid was lifted, everyone saw the dessert.

00:30:56.480 --> 00:31:00.720
Which was the severed head of a black bull.

00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:01.680
Oh.

00:31:02.160 --> 00:31:04.559
That doesn't sound like a delicious dessert at all.

00:31:04.880 --> 00:31:06.160
And it was dripping in blood.

00:31:06.480 --> 00:31:08.240
Well, yeah, because it's severed.

00:31:08.799 --> 00:31:15.359
Scottish tradition says that that image carried a very clear meaning.

00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:16.240
Oh, really?

00:31:16.640 --> 00:31:19.920
A black bull's head was this symbol of death.

00:31:20.480 --> 00:31:21.599
Oh dear.

00:31:22.079 --> 00:31:26.000
So it's like they gave them a hint before they did the deed.

00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:30.799
Like, hey, in case you didn't know, you're gonna die.

00:31:31.519 --> 00:31:31.920
Yeah.

00:31:32.160 --> 00:31:32.480
Wow.

00:31:32.640 --> 00:31:32.880
Yeah.

00:31:33.119 --> 00:31:38.240
I didn't know the black severed black bull head was uh Wow, okay.

00:31:38.559 --> 00:31:44.319
So the the black bull was one of those quote unquote facts that could have been embellished.

00:31:44.720 --> 00:31:48.319
Oh, of course, because no one no one was really there.

00:31:48.640 --> 00:31:58.880
They probably wanted to glorify the story and make it a little more Scottish, you know tradition, tradition, lore omen, bad omen thing, whatever.

00:31:59.119 --> 00:32:02.079
Oh, let's throw the the black bullhead and or whatnot.

00:32:02.319 --> 00:32:02.559
Yeah.

00:32:02.960 --> 00:32:04.160
So I mean, yeah.

00:32:04.319 --> 00:32:08.960
P writers did that all the time back then because you had no fucking proof and no one to question you on it.

00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:09.200
Yeah.

00:32:09.359 --> 00:32:10.079
So, anyways.

00:32:10.400 --> 00:32:14.559
So in that moment, William and David Douglas finally realized the truth.

00:32:14.799 --> 00:32:16.240
They're like, oh snap.

00:32:16.400 --> 00:32:17.440
It's a trap.

00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:19.839
I love Admiral Ackbar.

00:32:20.720 --> 00:32:21.599
It's a trap.

00:32:22.000 --> 00:32:27.920
At a signal from the Chancellor, armed guards rushed forward and seized the two brothers right there at the table.

00:32:28.079 --> 00:32:28.880
Oh boy.

00:32:29.119 --> 00:32:34.799
The boys were dragged away just as the 10-year-old king watched in utter shock.

00:32:35.200 --> 00:32:35.599
Right.

00:32:35.839 --> 00:32:42.799
Later accounts say that James II begged for their lives, pleading with the adults around him to not harm his new friends.

00:32:43.119 --> 00:32:46.480
See, and that's really sad because he's the fucking king.

00:32:46.720 --> 00:32:49.359
By him saying that, you should have just let him go.

00:32:49.519 --> 00:32:49.759
Yep.

00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:56.079
But they can't now because since they started this, they have to see it through because they are fucked otherwise.

00:32:56.319 --> 00:33:04.640
Because if they let these kids go, they are gonna get retaliated against and they're gonna get fucked, most likely.

00:33:05.119 --> 00:33:10.000
So they have to go through with it now, no matter what little uh little James says.

00:33:10.160 --> 00:33:11.519
So that's sad.

00:33:11.839 --> 00:33:18.319
So William and David were hauled out of the hall and into the courtyard outside to a place known as Castle Hill.

00:33:18.480 --> 00:33:18.799
Okay.

00:33:19.039 --> 00:33:23.119
There was a a trial that was staged, but nobody even calls it that.

00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:23.519
No.

00:33:23.680 --> 00:33:28.960
The Douglas brothers were accused of treason, though there's no evidence that they did anything wrong.

00:33:29.200 --> 00:33:29.839
Of course not.

00:33:30.079 --> 00:33:32.880
Their ch charges were obviously made up on the spot.

00:33:33.119 --> 00:33:33.440
Yep.

00:33:33.680 --> 00:33:38.079
Contemporary records of what happened were actually fairly brief.

00:33:38.319 --> 00:33:38.559
Sure.

00:33:38.720 --> 00:33:40.880
Which is probably why there's some embellishments.

00:33:41.200 --> 00:33:41.920
Of course, yeah.

00:33:42.079 --> 00:33:47.279
Um, one um near contemporary source notes that the Douglasers were put to dead.

00:33:48.160 --> 00:33:49.119
Put to dead?

00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:50.720
Spelled D-E-I-D.

00:33:51.119 --> 00:33:51.680
Put to death.

00:33:52.720 --> 00:33:54.000
I'm sure it's Scottish.

00:33:54.799 --> 00:33:55.599
They were unalive.

00:33:55.920 --> 00:33:59.599
Later chronicles filled in the scene with with the more dramatic touches.

00:33:59.920 --> 00:34:00.400
Flares.

00:34:00.559 --> 00:34:00.799
Yeah.

00:34:01.279 --> 00:34:01.599
Okay.

00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:02.319
Yes.

00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:02.960
Okay.

00:34:03.440 --> 00:34:12.800
As night fell, torches were lit, the executioner like pulls down his hood, he gets out his pickaxe or whatever he uses to scythe or whatever.

00:34:13.440 --> 00:34:14.719
He doesn't use his scythe.

00:34:16.320 --> 00:34:17.360
Oh my god.

00:34:17.760 --> 00:34:18.639
The executioner.

00:34:19.599 --> 00:34:24.800
Could you well and that's at least the most relevant thing you said for an executioner.

00:34:24.960 --> 00:34:26.159
A pickaxe?

00:34:26.480 --> 00:34:28.559
Let's go mining, boys.

00:34:28.960 --> 00:34:30.000
What the hell?

00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:32.239
Okay, what why not the scythe?

00:34:32.559 --> 00:34:36.159
Because usually you're gonna go cut wheat with that.

00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:40.320
What does the Grim Reaper carry?

00:34:40.559 --> 00:34:42.239
That's but that's a little more, you know.

00:34:42.559 --> 00:34:44.480
The grim reaper likes head uh wheat?

00:34:44.719 --> 00:34:46.960
Yeah, he's a farmer at heart.

00:34:51.199 --> 00:34:55.119
No, it's just usually it's gonna be a sword or a fucking axe.

00:34:55.440 --> 00:34:55.760
Okay.

00:34:58.639 --> 00:35:00.239
A pickaxe.

00:35:00.559 --> 00:35:01.360
Jesus.

00:35:02.000 --> 00:35:09.599
So William Douglas, 16-year-old, and his brother David, likely only about 12, were beheaded that very night.

00:35:10.239 --> 00:35:10.559
Fuck.

00:35:10.719 --> 00:35:11.840
What the hell, man?

00:35:12.079 --> 00:35:12.559
Yes.

00:35:12.800 --> 00:35:16.159
And of course, this shocked Scotland to the core.

00:35:16.480 --> 00:35:17.199
Of course.

00:35:17.519 --> 00:35:20.800
These were not criminals caught in open rebellion.

00:35:20.880 --> 00:35:27.840
They were guests of the king, invited under the promise of safety and killed without a fair trial.

00:35:28.079 --> 00:35:28.559
Wow.

00:35:28.800 --> 00:35:37.679
So, in a culture that placed enormous importance on that honor of hospitality, what happened that night was seen as unforgivable.

00:35:37.760 --> 00:35:41.519
And from that point on, people called that dinner the Black Dinner.

00:35:41.760 --> 00:35:42.639
Sure, makes sense.

00:35:42.800 --> 00:35:42.960
Yeah.

00:35:43.119 --> 00:35:43.440
Wow.

00:35:43.679 --> 00:35:49.760
In just a few hours, the most powerful noble house in Scotland had effectively been decapitated.

00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:50.480
Literally.

00:35:50.719 --> 00:35:54.079
Its young leader and brother wiped out in one stroke.

00:35:54.320 --> 00:35:55.360
That's so fucking wild.

00:35:55.519 --> 00:35:59.679
And over the centuries, like I said, some of these details were kind of blurred.

00:35:59.840 --> 00:36:00.719
And embellished, yeah.

00:36:01.199 --> 00:36:06.239
The bloodies the bloody bull's head had been potentially added to heighten their drama.

00:36:06.400 --> 00:36:06.800
Yep, yep.

00:36:06.960 --> 00:36:08.960
But the core facts are not in doubt.

00:36:09.119 --> 00:36:21.039
William and David Douglas were betrayed at the castle, condemned without a trial, and executed under royal authority, even though young King James said nothing, did nothing, couldn't do anything.

00:36:21.360 --> 00:36:22.639
Well, he said, Don't hurt my friends.

00:36:22.880 --> 00:36:23.519
Well, he did.

00:36:23.679 --> 00:36:25.360
And that should have been the the end.

00:36:25.679 --> 00:36:26.400
It should have been enough.

00:36:26.559 --> 00:36:29.679
But again, like I said, they had to go through with it now because of what they did.

00:36:29.840 --> 00:36:33.360
Yes, and he was just a pawn in their political games.

00:36:33.519 --> 00:36:34.000
Yeah.

00:36:34.239 --> 00:36:40.639
And he was forced to watch his little childhood brand new friends were taken from his table and killed before his eyes.

00:36:40.880 --> 00:36:41.440
That's crazy.

00:36:41.679 --> 00:36:48.480
By the end of that night in November 1440, the goal of Crichton and Livingston and potentially Archibald had been achieved.

00:36:48.639 --> 00:36:48.880
Right.

00:36:49.039 --> 00:36:55.039
The House of Douglas was left um leaderless, and its future suddenly uncertained.

00:36:55.199 --> 00:36:55.519
Right.

00:36:55.679 --> 00:36:56.000
Okay.

00:36:56.480 --> 00:37:00.400
Now, news of what happened at Edinburgh Castle spread very fast.

00:37:00.639 --> 00:37:01.039
I'm sure.

00:37:01.199 --> 00:37:02.000
Like, wow, huh?

00:37:02.159 --> 00:37:06.239
And the reaction across Scotland was immediate and furious.

00:37:06.480 --> 00:37:06.880
I bet.

00:37:07.199 --> 00:37:10.000
The Douglas clan was furious.

00:37:10.239 --> 00:37:10.639
Sure.

00:37:10.800 --> 00:37:17.199
Their young leader and his brother were killed under the king's own roof, and they had no intention of letting that pass.

00:37:17.440 --> 00:37:18.079
No, good.

00:37:18.239 --> 00:37:22.079
So within days, Douglas supporters began to rally.

00:37:22.320 --> 00:37:22.719
Wow.

00:37:22.960 --> 00:37:26.239
The new head of the family was the uncle?

00:37:26.639 --> 00:37:31.920
Great Uncle James Douglas of Avondale, the very man who had the most to gain from this.

00:37:32.159 --> 00:37:33.199
Yes, Jimmy Doug.

00:37:33.599 --> 00:37:47.039
So with the teenage Earl gone, Avondale stepped neatly into that place of seventh Earl of Douglas, inheriting the lands, the titles, the wealth, the influence that belonged to his grandnephews.

00:37:47.920 --> 00:37:53.039
And as soon as he took control, the Douglas faction moved to retaliate.

00:37:53.280 --> 00:37:53.599
Okay.

00:37:54.400 --> 00:38:03.119
Um, forces loyal to the family marched on Edinburgh and laid siege to the castle, determined to punish Crichton and undo what had been done there.

00:38:03.280 --> 00:38:04.400
Well, you can't undo that shit.

00:38:04.639 --> 00:38:05.199
You really can.

00:38:05.280 --> 00:38:07.039
I mean, hey, can you stitch their heads back on?

00:38:07.199 --> 00:38:08.960
I mean, how are you gonna undo this?

00:38:09.280 --> 00:38:13.760
Inside the fortress, Sir William Crichton suddenly found himself in some serious trouble.

00:38:14.320 --> 00:38:20.719
He had eliminated the Douglas boys, and now he was surrounded by Angley Douglas supporters with an army at his gates.

00:38:20.880 --> 00:38:22.320
Why didn't he think things through?

00:38:22.559 --> 00:38:24.320
Well, I mean, what did he think was gonna happen?

00:38:24.960 --> 00:38:25.280
Obviously.

00:38:25.599 --> 00:38:28.079
Well, we killed the Douglas boys, so they're gone.

00:38:28.400 --> 00:38:36.639
No, there's more, they have loyal fucking people to them, so it's not just gonna disappear, man.

00:38:37.199 --> 00:38:42.480
You had to expect some fucking retaliation from all of the Douglas followers.

00:38:42.880 --> 00:38:44.159
Follow followers?

00:38:44.400 --> 00:38:44.880
There he is.

00:38:45.199 --> 00:38:47.840
Loyalists, loyalists, yeah, yeah.

00:38:48.400 --> 00:38:52.000
So Crichton did have one very important advantage.

00:38:52.239 --> 00:38:53.440
Oh, he was in a castle?

00:38:53.679 --> 00:38:54.880
He had King James II.

00:38:55.280 --> 00:39:00.800
Well, that's true that the 10-year-old king was effectively Crichton's hostage inside Edinburgh Castle.

00:39:00.960 --> 00:39:01.199
Yeah.

00:39:01.360 --> 00:39:06.079
The Douglas forces were furious, but they were also still loyal to the crown.

00:39:06.639 --> 00:39:11.679
And they simply could not storm the castle without risking the life of the king.

00:39:11.920 --> 00:39:12.239
Sure.

00:39:12.480 --> 00:39:15.920
So both sides were stuck in this weird stalemate.

00:39:16.159 --> 00:39:17.199
Yeah, no kidding.

00:39:17.519 --> 00:39:26.000
And in the end, Crichton decided not to test his luck, and rather than try to hold out under siege, he actually surrendered Edinburgh Castle.

00:39:26.239 --> 00:39:26.480
Oh.

00:39:26.719 --> 00:39:34.880
To save himself, he handed the fortress and the person of the king over to the royal faction, now allied with the Douglases.

00:39:35.119 --> 00:39:35.360
Okay.

00:39:35.599 --> 00:39:42.320
So by doing that, he managed to defuse the immediate crisis without turning the situation into an open civil war.

00:39:43.199 --> 00:39:45.360
Crichton's gamble ended up working.

00:39:45.519 --> 00:39:49.280
Instead of being executed for treason, he managed to survive.

00:39:49.920 --> 00:39:50.960
That's fucking wild.

00:39:51.280 --> 00:39:58.639
Before long, he was even rewarded for his service and raised, raised to the peerage as Lord Crichton.

00:39:58.960 --> 00:40:00.239
What the fuck?

00:40:00.559 --> 00:40:02.719
I mean, wow, it benefited him, I guess.

00:40:03.039 --> 00:40:09.360
Sir Alexander Livingston, who had helped this whole thing as well, also stayed in power for several more years.

00:40:09.679 --> 00:40:09.920
Okay.

00:40:10.239 --> 00:40:14.960
To a lot of people at the time, it looked like the men responsible for the killings had gotten away with murder.

00:40:15.360 --> 00:40:17.280
But one question still hung.

00:40:17.679 --> 00:40:18.400
Gotten away with what?

00:40:18.639 --> 00:40:18.800
Murder.

00:40:19.039 --> 00:40:20.719
Okay, because it sounded like you said, woulda.

00:40:21.039 --> 00:40:21.440
Woulda!

00:40:22.960 --> 00:40:25.679
Who had really been behind it all?

00:40:25.920 --> 00:40:26.400
Right.

00:40:26.719 --> 00:40:32.800
Because many in Scotland believed that the true mastermind was James Douglas of Avondale.

00:40:32.960 --> 00:40:33.199
Right.

00:40:33.360 --> 00:40:35.280
The new seventh Earl of Douglas.

00:40:35.599 --> 00:40:35.920
Yeah.

00:40:36.079 --> 00:40:40.320
The man who benefited directly from his grandnephew's deaths.

00:40:40.480 --> 00:40:40.960
Yep.

00:40:41.280 --> 00:40:47.119
So his behavior outward, afterward, only made him look more suspicious.

00:40:47.440 --> 00:40:48.960
Oh, what did he start doing?

00:40:49.199 --> 00:40:57.840
Well, he made no serious attempt to avenge William and David, which in that violent and honor-driven world was highly unusual.

00:40:58.079 --> 00:40:58.480
Yes.

00:40:58.719 --> 00:41:06.960
If Avondale had quietly encouraged Crichton's actions from the start, his calm acceptance of the outcome suddenly made a lot more sense.

00:41:07.199 --> 00:41:07.440
Right.

00:41:07.599 --> 00:41:14.159
So, in a strange little twist, the Black Dinner didn't weaken the Douglas family at all.

00:41:14.400 --> 00:41:14.639
No.

00:41:14.880 --> 00:41:17.280
It actually helped them, at least in the short term.

00:41:17.440 --> 00:41:17.679
Right.

00:41:17.920 --> 00:41:20.079
So power didn't leave the Douglases.

00:41:20.159 --> 00:41:24.800
It just shifted to an older, more experienced branch of the family.

00:41:24.960 --> 00:41:25.360
Yep.

00:41:25.599 --> 00:41:34.320
By the early 1440s, under Jave A James of Avondale's leadership, the Douglasses were right back at the center of Scottish politics.

00:41:34.639 --> 00:41:34.960
Okay.

00:41:35.280 --> 00:41:41.679
They filled key government positions, surrounded the young king with their allies, and dominated court life.

00:41:41.920 --> 00:41:42.079
Oh.

00:41:42.400 --> 00:41:47.119
So the entire plot to break Douglas' power had ended up doing the exact opposite.

00:41:47.360 --> 00:41:54.159
It removed two inexperienced teenagers and replaced them with a seasoned political operator.

00:41:54.480 --> 00:41:55.119
Yeah.

00:41:55.519 --> 00:41:58.079
So didn't do what they planned at all.

00:41:58.559 --> 00:41:58.880
No.

00:41:59.280 --> 00:42:02.159
Except for Avondale got the job.

00:42:02.719 --> 00:42:09.840
That and the Crichton dude became lord and didn't seem to have any really repercussions of what the fuck you did.

00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:13.440
And Livingston was just like, I'll just stay in my job for a while, yeah.

00:42:13.679 --> 00:42:15.920
I mean, uh, I don't have a couple more years till I retire.

00:42:16.320 --> 00:42:16.639
That's fine.

00:42:16.719 --> 00:42:17.440
We're good.

00:42:17.760 --> 00:42:22.159
So for the rest of the 1440s, Scotland stayed unstable.

00:42:22.480 --> 00:42:26.079
The killings at Edinburgh Castle had not solved anything.

00:42:26.320 --> 00:42:26.559
No.

00:42:26.800 --> 00:42:28.800
They had just rearranged who was in charge.

00:42:29.039 --> 00:42:29.360
Sure.

00:42:29.679 --> 00:42:32.639
Two main factions formed around the young king.

00:42:32.800 --> 00:42:40.400
On one side were the Douglases, now led by James of um Avondale, and allied with the Livingston family.

00:42:40.880 --> 00:42:49.920
On the other side were the remnants of the royal household party, which still included William Crichton, though his influence kind of come and came and went.

00:42:50.079 --> 00:42:50.400
Yeah.

00:42:50.639 --> 00:42:55.760
For several years, the Douglas Livingston Alliance clearly had the upper hand.

00:42:56.000 --> 00:42:56.320
Right.

00:42:56.480 --> 00:43:02.639
In 1445, when James II was now 14, he was officially declared old enough to rule.

00:43:03.039 --> 00:43:04.000
On his own, okay.

00:43:05.039 --> 00:43:08.079
On paper, his minority was over.

00:43:08.320 --> 00:43:08.639
Yeah.

00:43:08.960 --> 00:43:12.000
Um, but he's still very much the figurehead, right?

00:43:12.159 --> 00:43:12.719
So Crichton.

00:43:12.880 --> 00:43:13.679
Oh, of course, yeah.

00:43:13.920 --> 00:43:22.239
Crichton was pushed out of his chancellor chancellorship, and the Livingstons and the Douglases family remained the dominant force at court.

00:43:22.480 --> 00:43:22.800
Right.

00:43:23.039 --> 00:43:27.199
But James II was growing up and he hadn't forgotten what he had seen as a child.

00:43:27.519 --> 00:43:28.719
I was hoping you were gonna say that.

00:43:29.280 --> 00:43:29.519
Okay.

00:43:29.760 --> 00:43:32.480
He had watched the Black Danner unfold right in front of him.

00:43:32.639 --> 00:43:37.599
He had seen friends dragged from his table and killed while he was powerless to stop it.

00:43:37.760 --> 00:43:38.159
Yep.

00:43:38.320 --> 00:43:41.360
Of course, these memories stayed with him and shaped him.

00:43:41.679 --> 00:43:42.159
Sure.

00:43:42.719 --> 00:43:54.880
In 1449, at 18 years old, James married Mary of Gelders, a Burgundian princess, which was part of the Roy Roman Empire at the time.

00:43:55.039 --> 00:43:55.760
Oh, okay.

00:43:55.920 --> 00:43:59.760
Um, that which is why Burgundy, France is now a city, like.

00:44:00.159 --> 00:44:01.519
Burg Burg Burgundian.

00:44:01.840 --> 00:44:01.920
Oh.

00:44:02.239 --> 00:44:02.960
Burgundian?

00:44:03.119 --> 00:44:03.360
Yeah.

00:44:03.519 --> 00:44:03.840
Okay.

00:44:04.079 --> 00:44:08.400
So the marriage gave him new prestige and more importantly, a sense of independence.

00:44:08.559 --> 00:44:08.800
Right.

00:44:08.960 --> 00:44:13.760
So around the same time, he finally began to assert real authority of his own.

00:44:14.079 --> 00:44:18.159
And one of his first moves was to break the power of the Livingstons.

00:44:18.480 --> 00:44:18.960
Oh, okay.

00:44:19.519 --> 00:44:26.639
Later in 1449, James and had Sir Alexander Livingston and several of his relatives, I don't know why relatives.

00:44:26.800 --> 00:44:27.440
Well, you know.

00:44:27.679 --> 00:44:30.880
But he was arrested and they were charged with treason.

00:44:31.119 --> 00:44:31.519
Wow.

00:44:31.760 --> 00:44:38.159
Their estates were confiscated, and the faction that had dominated his childhood was suddenly swept away.

00:44:38.400 --> 00:44:38.719
Okay.

00:44:38.960 --> 00:44:41.599
But the biggest obstacle was still standing.

00:44:41.920 --> 00:44:42.559
Jimmy Douglas.

00:44:42.960 --> 00:44:44.719
The Douglas family, exactly.

00:44:44.960 --> 00:44:50.960
So at this point, James of Avondale, the seventh Earl, had died actually in 1443.

00:44:51.199 --> 00:44:53.119
Oh, so quite a few years earlier.

00:44:53.360 --> 00:44:53.519
Yeah.

00:44:53.840 --> 00:44:55.199
It was of natural causes.

00:44:55.360 --> 00:44:55.599
Sure.

00:44:55.760 --> 00:44:59.920
Um, and the Douglas title had passed then to his son, William Douglas.

00:45:00.239 --> 00:45:01.360
So another William.

00:45:01.679 --> 00:45:09.920
The the James Douglas, he actually didn't rule as leader of the Douglas clan for two, three tops, right?

00:45:10.079 --> 00:45:12.559
So wow, that's that sucks for him.

00:45:12.719 --> 00:45:12.880
Yeah.

00:45:13.039 --> 00:45:19.360
But so now his son is another William Douglas, and he is the eighth Earl of Douglas at this time.

00:45:19.599 --> 00:45:19.840
Right.

00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:20.239
Okay.

00:45:20.639 --> 00:45:26.000
So this new Earl, William, was close in age to the king and inherited everything.

00:45:26.159 --> 00:45:28.000
The lands, the wealth, the soldiers, the army.

00:45:30.960 --> 00:45:31.519
Yes.

00:45:31.840 --> 00:45:36.159
But most importantly, loyal, loyalty of their clan.

00:45:36.480 --> 00:45:36.800
Sure.

00:45:37.039 --> 00:45:42.239
So by the late 1440s, it was clear that the Douglasses had bounced back completely.

00:45:42.880 --> 00:45:55.679
As one historian put it, when James II finally took control of the government, he discovered that the Douglas clan still had a strong hold hold on power and had no intention of letting it go.

00:45:55.920 --> 00:45:56.480
Why would you?

00:45:56.719 --> 00:46:00.400
So tension between the king and the earl steadily grew.

00:46:01.039 --> 00:46:01.840
Oh boy.

00:46:02.159 --> 00:46:09.760
William Douglas began acting more and more like an independent ruler as opposed to a royal follow or a loyal follower.

00:46:09.920 --> 00:46:10.239
Yeah.

00:46:10.400 --> 00:46:15.519
He made alliances, negotiated on his own, and generally trusted royal authority.

00:46:15.760 --> 00:46:20.559
Sorry, treated a ro royal authority as something optional rather than absolute.

00:46:20.880 --> 00:46:21.199
Okay.

00:46:21.440 --> 00:46:32.639
So the breaking point came when the eighth earl secretly entered into a pact with two other major nobles, the Earl of Crawford and John, Lord of the Isles.

00:46:32.960 --> 00:46:33.440
Oh, geez.

00:46:33.840 --> 00:46:41.360
And together they formed a powerful alliance that looked dangerously close to a rival government within Scotland.

00:46:41.599 --> 00:46:42.239
Oh shit.

00:46:42.480 --> 00:46:49.119
And when James II learned about this in early 1452, he decided, enough's enough.

00:46:49.360 --> 00:46:50.880
Yeah, I'm gonna take out the Douglas.

00:46:51.360 --> 00:46:56.400
The king who had once been powerless at the Black Dinner was now a full grown man.

00:46:56.559 --> 00:47:00.719
He was ready to deal with the Douglases once and for all on his own accord.

00:47:01.119 --> 00:47:08.400
Which is funny that he wanted to deal with them because his friends, quote unquote childhood friends for a short time.

00:47:08.639 --> 00:47:08.880
Yeah.

00:47:09.039 --> 00:47:10.239
Were the Douglas kids.

00:47:10.320 --> 00:47:10.480
Yeah.

00:47:10.719 --> 00:47:15.199
But now he's like, well, they fucked me with those guys, so I'm gonna just wipe you out.

00:47:15.519 --> 00:47:15.840
Yeah.

00:47:16.079 --> 00:47:16.400
All right.

00:47:16.719 --> 00:47:24.000
So by February of 1452, the tension between King James II and the Douglas family had reached a breaking point.

00:47:24.239 --> 00:47:24.480
Right.

00:47:24.639 --> 00:47:31.199
So the king made a move that felt very familiar to everyone who remembered what had happened twelve years earlier.

00:47:31.440 --> 00:47:32.719
So you invited them to dinner?

00:47:32.960 --> 00:47:37.760
He invited William Douglas, the eighth Earl of Douglas, to Sterling Castle for a meeting.

00:47:38.079 --> 00:47:38.400
Okay.

00:47:38.639 --> 00:47:44.400
The idea was to sit down, talk things out, and settle their differences like reasonable grown men.

00:47:44.639 --> 00:47:45.039
Sure.

00:47:45.280 --> 00:47:56.239
James even issued Douglas a formal guarantee of safe conduct, reminding him that he would be the king's um guest and had nothing to fear.

00:47:56.559 --> 00:47:57.280
Oh dear.

00:47:57.519 --> 00:48:05.679
Uh honestly, on the surface, it was a normal political negotiation.

00:48:05.840 --> 00:48:06.320
Yep.

00:48:06.639 --> 00:48:08.559
But we all know what happened in the past.

00:48:09.440 --> 00:48:10.559
That's not hard to miss.

00:48:10.880 --> 00:48:12.239
No, that's very prevalent.

00:48:12.400 --> 00:48:17.280
So William Douglas, knowing the history of all this, I'd hope so.

00:48:17.599 --> 00:48:18.239
Accepted.

00:48:18.480 --> 00:48:19.119
Oh dear.

00:48:19.280 --> 00:48:19.679
I know.

00:48:19.840 --> 00:48:22.639
Maybe he was confident, maybe he didn't want to look weak.

00:48:22.880 --> 00:48:23.760
Maybe he was cocky.

00:48:24.079 --> 00:48:25.119
Maybe he was cocky.

00:48:25.360 --> 00:48:25.599
Yep.

00:48:25.760 --> 00:48:27.039
He's still accepted.

00:48:27.119 --> 00:48:31.760
He traveled to Stirling in late February to meet with the 21-year-old king.

00:48:31.920 --> 00:48:32.239
Yep.

00:48:32.400 --> 00:48:35.360
At first, everything seemed fine, just like the black deaner.

00:48:35.760 --> 00:48:43.920
In 1452, James hosted the early the Earl for a friendly evening meal, food, conversation, no signs of trouble.

00:48:44.239 --> 00:48:45.599
No black bull's head.

00:48:45.760 --> 00:48:46.000
Nope.

00:48:46.239 --> 00:48:46.639
Thank God.

00:48:46.960 --> 00:48:49.840
But the next day during a private meeting, oh dear.

00:48:50.159 --> 00:48:52.960
James confronted Douglas directly.

00:48:53.199 --> 00:48:53.519
Okay.

00:48:53.840 --> 00:49:03.519
He demanded that the Earl break his secret alliance with the Earl of Crawford and the Lord of the Isles, a pact this the king saw as a direct threat to his authority.

00:49:03.679 --> 00:49:04.000
Yep.

00:49:04.239 --> 00:49:05.519
Douglas refused.

00:49:05.840 --> 00:49:07.920
Oh, well, treason it is.

00:49:08.239 --> 00:49:14.880
According to later accounts, he told the king outright that he would not abandon his allies even at royal command.

00:49:15.119 --> 00:49:15.440
Okay.

00:49:15.760 --> 00:49:17.840
That did not go well.

00:49:18.079 --> 00:49:18.800
Why would it?

00:49:19.119 --> 00:49:27.679
James II lost his temper, and in a moment, the king pulled out his dagger and stabbed Douglas himself.

00:49:27.920 --> 00:49:28.880
Oh wow.

00:49:29.119 --> 00:49:32.559
Once the attack started, James's attendants stepped in.

00:49:32.800 --> 00:49:38.719
One courtier reportedly struck the Earl with a pole axe, splitting his skull.

00:49:38.960 --> 00:49:39.599
Oh shit.

00:49:39.840 --> 00:49:48.480
Others joined in with knives and swords, and within moments, the eighth Earl of Douglas lay dead on the floor, cut down in the king's presence.

00:49:48.719 --> 00:49:49.760
That's fucking wild.

00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:55.519
So to make the message even clearer, Douglass's body was supposedly thrown out of a castle window.

00:49:55.760 --> 00:49:56.559
Oh fuck.

00:49:57.599 --> 00:49:58.079
Not sure.

00:49:58.719 --> 00:49:59.519
Embellished, maybe.

00:49:59.679 --> 00:49:59.920
Maybe.

00:50:00.079 --> 00:50:00.320
Yeah.

00:50:00.960 --> 00:50:07.360
But a king murdering his own guest under his roof was unthinkable for them.

00:50:07.679 --> 00:50:12.559
Well, especially after he gave them a fucking guarantee that we're good, man, let's just talk.

00:50:12.960 --> 00:50:13.280
Yeah.

00:50:13.519 --> 00:50:17.119
So now James II wasn't this powerless child.

00:50:17.519 --> 00:50:18.960
He was the one holding the knife.

00:50:19.280 --> 00:50:20.800
A ruthless, ruthless killer.

00:50:21.119 --> 00:50:21.360
Yes.

00:50:21.519 --> 00:50:21.840
Yeah.

00:50:22.079 --> 00:50:25.920
So the killing at Sterling Castle threw Scotland into open conflict.

00:50:26.159 --> 00:50:26.639
Oh fuck.

00:50:26.880 --> 00:50:33.039
The Douglas family, now led by the dead Earl's brother, condemned James as a traitor and a murderer.

00:50:33.280 --> 00:50:38.800
They gathered their supporters and even made an alliance with the King of England in an attempt to bring James down.

00:50:39.840 --> 00:50:41.840
Who's King of England at this time?

00:50:42.239 --> 00:50:46.559
We're in the 1450s, so Oh fuck.

00:50:54.320 --> 00:50:54.719
Yeah.

00:50:55.199 --> 00:50:56.880
King Henry the Seventh.

00:50:57.119 --> 00:50:58.239
It was Henry the Seventh.

00:50:58.480 --> 00:50:58.719
Yes.

00:50:58.960 --> 00:50:59.199
Okay.

00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:00.400
Yes.

00:51:00.800 --> 00:51:03.920
Because that would have been Okay.

00:51:04.400 --> 00:51:04.719
Yeah.

00:51:05.039 --> 00:51:06.480
Because yeah, Henry VIII.

00:51:06.639 --> 00:51:07.119
Yeah, okay.

00:51:07.360 --> 00:51:07.920
Yes.

00:51:08.400 --> 00:51:13.920
So at this point, now we're on to Earl of Douglas number nine, I think.

00:51:14.400 --> 00:51:15.360
Yeah, that sounds right.

00:51:16.079 --> 00:51:22.719
So for the next three years, from 1452 to 1455, Scotland was essentially in a civil war.

00:51:23.119 --> 00:51:29.519
Battles broke out across the country as royal forces clashed with the remaining black Douglas supporters.

00:51:29.760 --> 00:51:29.920
Okay.

00:51:30.159 --> 00:51:33.280
But James II had learned from the chaos of his childhood.

00:51:33.360 --> 00:51:38.800
He moved carefully and ruthlessly, stripping the Douglas alliances one by one.

00:51:39.440 --> 00:51:45.840
Rewarding nobles who switched sides and isolating the family politically and militarily.

00:51:46.159 --> 00:51:46.719
Wow.

00:51:46.960 --> 00:51:53.119
The final blow came in May of 1455 at the Battle of Erkenholm.

00:51:53.360 --> 00:51:54.159
Erkenholm?

00:51:54.400 --> 00:51:55.679
My apologies to the Scottish.

00:51:55.920 --> 00:51:56.800
Yeah, we are.

00:51:57.039 --> 00:51:57.280
Yeah.

00:51:57.519 --> 00:52:05.199
Royal forces crushed the Douglas army, and with that defeat, the power of the black Douglases collapsed completely.

00:52:05.440 --> 00:52:06.239
Oh wow.

00:52:06.559 --> 00:52:11.760
Parliament declared their vast estates forfeit to the crown and their great castles.

00:52:12.079 --> 00:52:12.480
Jesus.

00:52:12.719 --> 00:52:16.800
Including the um they had like this stronghold.

00:52:16.880 --> 00:52:19.199
Um that was all seized and destroyed.

00:52:19.360 --> 00:52:19.679
Sure.

00:52:19.920 --> 00:52:27.920
The last head of the family, James Douglas, because of course there's another James Douglas, the ninth of Earl, fled to exile in England.

00:52:28.239 --> 00:52:28.960
The ninth Earl?

00:52:29.119 --> 00:52:29.760
The ninth Earl.

00:52:29.920 --> 00:52:30.800
Not ninth of Earl.

00:52:31.039 --> 00:52:33.360
Ninth Earl fled to exile in England.

00:52:33.599 --> 00:52:34.000
Sure.

00:52:34.159 --> 00:52:38.159
Um on the genealogy report, I saw that he died as a monk.

00:52:38.400 --> 00:52:38.880
Oh, wow.

00:52:39.039 --> 00:52:39.440
In England.

00:52:39.679 --> 00:52:40.000
Seriously?

00:52:40.320 --> 00:52:40.800
Holy shit.

00:52:40.880 --> 00:52:42.159
He's like, well, I got nothing.

00:52:42.320 --> 00:52:42.559
Yeah.

00:52:42.719 --> 00:52:44.719
Let's go make some beer at this monastery.

00:52:45.519 --> 00:52:52.320
So after a nearly hundred years of dominating scholars politics, the Black Douglas dynasty was finished.

00:52:52.480 --> 00:52:52.960
Wow.

00:52:53.119 --> 00:52:58.880
And in the end, King James II had done what the conspirators at the Black Dinner never managed to do.

00:52:59.119 --> 00:52:59.360
Yep.

00:52:59.519 --> 00:53:05.360
He had finally broken the power of the family that had overshadowed his throne for most of his life.

00:53:05.519 --> 00:53:08.320
And that is the 1440 Black Dinner.

00:53:08.719 --> 00:53:18.480
Well, and it's just funny because, like, you know, yes, it overshadowed his power on the throne and everything, but like at one point he's like, But my friends.

00:53:18.639 --> 00:53:19.039
Yeah.

00:53:19.280 --> 00:53:21.840
And then that all changed.

00:53:22.320 --> 00:53:22.719
I don't know.

00:53:22.800 --> 00:53:26.480
I mean probably because he started understanding what that was going on.

00:53:27.360 --> 00:53:34.960
Well, and like you said, that more or less kind of molded him and shaped him in terms of how he perceived things, probably.

00:53:35.119 --> 00:53:35.679
I don't know.

00:53:36.000 --> 00:53:40.079
But um he's like, Well, fuck, no one's safe in this world.

00:53:40.320 --> 00:53:40.559
Nope.

00:53:40.960 --> 00:53:43.280
Save yourself kind of mentality.

00:53:43.599 --> 00:53:48.800
I think it was maybe two centuries later something similar happened.

00:53:49.039 --> 00:53:49.360
Okay.

00:53:49.679 --> 00:53:54.000
Um, it's um call it's taking place at Glencoe.

00:53:54.239 --> 00:53:54.400
Sure.

00:53:54.639 --> 00:53:55.039
In Scotland.

00:53:56.800 --> 00:53:58.239
I I don't know the situation.

00:53:58.400 --> 00:54:03.280
I was actually gonna include it in this as like this happened and then this happened two centuries later.

00:54:03.519 --> 00:54:03.840
Right.

00:54:04.079 --> 00:54:08.239
Um, but soldiers were invited into somebody's home.

00:54:08.400 --> 00:54:13.519
Oh they dined with them and lived with them for a while, and then they killed like 30 some people.

00:54:13.920 --> 00:54:26.480
Well, that just reminds me of like uh and again, I don't know how embellished or true this is, but like I think it was even the real Dracula Vlad Tepesh or however you say his last name properly.

00:54:26.719 --> 00:54:28.000
I've heard it as Tepesh.

00:54:28.159 --> 00:54:28.960
Yeah, either way.

00:54:29.039 --> 00:54:29.440
Yeah.

00:54:29.920 --> 00:54:33.679
He invited this had this party.

00:54:33.920 --> 00:54:36.000
I might be getting I think it was him.

00:54:36.639 --> 00:54:43.840
But basically in this giant like barn type structure or whatever, and then locked it and burned it down with everybody inside or whatever.

00:54:44.159 --> 00:54:45.360
So similar kind of thing.

00:54:45.760 --> 00:54:47.679
It's like the is it the Patriot?

00:54:48.159 --> 00:54:52.000
The Patriot where everybody's locked in the church and I've never seen that movie.

00:54:52.639 --> 00:54:59.840
I think the British locked people locked the Americans in a church and burned the whole church down with everyone in it.

00:55:01.199 --> 00:55:01.280
Yeah.

00:55:01.679 --> 00:55:03.360
Being a place of God and all.

00:55:03.599 --> 00:55:03.760
Yeah.

00:55:04.159 --> 00:55:12.800
That's just crazy though, because like the fact that you have these people trying to run the country through a boy king.

00:55:13.039 --> 00:55:17.760
They fuck some shit up, they kind of help mold the way he becomes and whatever.

00:55:18.079 --> 00:55:21.039
Did you come across how long he was king then?

00:55:21.519 --> 00:55:22.719
Like how long did he live?

00:55:22.800 --> 00:55:23.599
Did you see that at all?

00:55:23.920 --> 00:55:25.039
Oh shh shoot.

00:55:25.519 --> 00:55:26.320
It's fine if he didn't.

00:55:26.400 --> 00:55:27.039
I'm just curious.

00:55:27.119 --> 00:55:29.280
Like I I did, I don't remember.

00:55:29.519 --> 00:55:29.760
Okay.

00:55:29.920 --> 00:55:32.480
Because clearly he made it through all this shit.

00:55:33.119 --> 00:55:36.159
Yeah, I'm gonna look it up now because I did see it at one point.

00:55:36.400 --> 00:55:36.719
Okay.

00:55:37.440 --> 00:55:41.920
Because I'm just curious uh how long well he lasted really.

00:55:42.239 --> 00:55:47.679
But um he died at 29 years old in 1460.

00:55:48.000 --> 00:55:50.719
So now I'm only a little bit afterwards.

00:55:51.760 --> 00:55:52.559
Oh okay.

00:55:52.719 --> 00:55:57.679
Does it does it say what he died of by chance or um let's see.

00:55:58.400 --> 00:56:01.840
Only being 29, sounds like he got injured or something.

00:56:02.239 --> 00:56:02.719
Yes.

00:56:02.880 --> 00:56:10.000
Um, he was in a war and he was standing next to cannons and it exploded and it killed him.

00:56:10.239 --> 00:56:11.119
Oh shit.

00:56:11.440 --> 00:56:13.920
Why was the king standing next to cannons?

00:56:14.400 --> 00:56:15.519
That's fucking weird.

00:56:15.679 --> 00:56:16.320
I don't know.

00:56:16.480 --> 00:56:17.519
That's crazy.

00:56:17.840 --> 00:56:18.239
All right.

00:56:18.400 --> 00:56:20.320
Well, yeah, that'll that'll do it.

00:56:20.559 --> 00:56:21.920
Yeah, so that'll do.

00:56:22.400 --> 00:56:25.119
Yeah, I'm I'm surprised I didn't look into it, but I did not.

00:56:25.440 --> 00:56:26.079
That's all right.

00:56:26.239 --> 00:56:30.000
Well, maybe uh the the one that happened a couple centuries later could be a future story.

00:56:30.079 --> 00:56:31.840
So Glencoe.

00:56:32.480 --> 00:56:32.960
Welp.

00:56:33.360 --> 00:56:34.239
I suppose.

00:56:34.480 --> 00:56:35.519
All right, buffoons.

00:56:35.599 --> 00:56:36.880
That's it for today's episode.

00:56:37.199 --> 00:56:41.280
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00:56:41.519 --> 00:56:43.679
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00:56:43.840 --> 00:56:48.639
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00:56:48.880 --> 00:56:50.239
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00:56:50.400 --> 00:56:55.119
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00:56:55.280 --> 00:56:59.599
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00:56:59.679 --> 00:57:02.719
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00:57:02.880 --> 00:57:07.599
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00:57:11.360 --> 00:57:14.000
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