The Battle of the Clans took place - On this day in history

The Battle of the Clans, or Battle of the North Inch, took place on 28 September 1396. The battle was a mass trial by combat organised by King Robert III, who had tried (and failed) to get members of Clan Chattan and Clan Mackay to settle their differences peacefully.

The battle was watched by King Robert and members of the public, who were kept behind barriers at the combat site, in North Inch, Perthshire. Each side was allowed thirty men and legend tells that the Chattans were one man short and called upon the services of a local saddler (pictured here in an illustration from Sir Walter Scott's 'The Fair Maid of Perth') to join in the fighting.

Victory went to the Chattans - who lost nineteen men in the fighting - the saddler survived. All of the thirty Mackay combatants were killed with the exception of one man, who fled to safety across the River Tay.