James Douglas, the Lord of Douglas earnt his reputation and fortune in the Scottish wars for independence. A staunch ally of Robert the Bruce, he was one of the Scots main commanders and soon earnt the name the Blak amongst his English foes.
His ancestral home and title was stripped from him, so in 1307-08, he mounted a campaign to harry the English forces in Douglas castle. Ambushing the garrison at church on Palm Sunday, he took them prisoner and then slew them all inside the castle. This incident was called the Douglas Larder and spread fear amongst the English. Knowing the fate of the previous occupants, who would want to garrison Douglas castle with the Blak still at large?
