The Highland Clans

Alistair Moffat

Alistair Moffat has been extremely busy of late. He not only has two books out this summer, The Highland Clans and The faded Map, but is also walking the Highland Line with James Naughtie to explore the importance of this Line through history and its current influence.

The Highland Clans is a compelling and very accessible history of Scottish clans, their leaders and years of rivalry in the Highlands. It is told with a fluency and freshness - the much recounted tales of Culloden and the Clearances recounted in some stimulating new first-hand voices.

Many claims of the Scottish Gaelic nation arriving here from Central Asia and the Caucuses have been met with derision but Alistair introduces an air of scientific truth through the findings of recent DNA studies.

He also explains how a thousand years ago extended family groups, the descendants of Picts (Clan Chattan), Vikings (MacLeod), Gaels (MacDonald) and Anglo-Normans (Fraser), sought to maintain their line and defend their land. They evolved into a society which combined the ability to herd animals, grow crops, trade, fight and steal!

That society was well adapted to life in the Highlands and Islands until the 16th century. It even managed to produce the economic surpluses necessary to enable the culture of the bardic tradition, which we are celebrating here at the book festival, as well as metalwork, sculpture and music.

Alistair also gently mocks the invented traditions of the last 200 years such as adopting the tartan as a clan uniform, the pretentious ‘Highlanding’ of the whole of Scotland, high society's adoption of the reel and the sword-dance while all about the north and west of Scotland an original culture was being scattered to the wind like thistle seeds..

Alistair Moffat is a freelance writer and television producer for Scottish television. He also directed the Edinburgh Fringe festival and now runs the Borders Book Festival and chairs the Scottish Book festival group. His previous books include Before Scotland, The Borders, Tuscany, The Sea Kingdoms and The Reivers. He will be in conversation with local author and historian Jim Miller.