The bloody tale of “Scotland’s greatest warrior” will be heard in the evocative setting of Balhousie Castle next month.
James Graham, the first Marquis of Montrose, was one of the foremost military commanders of the 17th Century and a leading figure in the civil war that engulfed Scotland, England and Ireland.
Born in 1612 at Kinnaird in Angus, he was well educated and well travelled, and became keenly involved in the country’s religious disagreements, which developed into bloodshed in the 1630s.
Still in his twenties, he became hugely successful on the battlefield, leading disparate forces to victory time and again, before finally meeting his end as a martyr on an Edinburgh gallows in 1650.
Held in greater renown than William Wallace as a commander by historians, his is by far the lesser-known story.
Now his rise and fall will be recounted on Wednesday at The Black Watch Castle and Museum in Perth as it plays host to a screening of a special BBC documentary.
In his youth, the nobly-born Montrose was known as an adventurer and a gambler but also a generous soul who often distributed his winnings among the poor.
He experienced life on both sides of the civil war, initially signing the National Covenant but becoming disenchanted when it became clear the Covenanters wanted the church to have complete control.
He switched sides and united the Scots clans to lead a Royalist army. But when King Charles I was defeated, tried and executed in England, Montrose was forced to flee to Norway.
He returned to Scotland to support the exiled Charles II but he was defeated on the field of battle at Carbisdale in 1650.
Captured by opposition forces, he was taken to Edinburgh, where he was tried and publicly hanged. He was then drawn and quartered and his limbs sent to Stirling, Perth, Aberdeen and Glasgow.
Eleven years later his head, torso, arms and legs were brought to Edinburgh and his body reassembled, before being reverently placed in a lavish coffin.
Tickets for the 6.30pm screening are £6 for adults, £4 for Friends of the Museum.
mmackay@thecourier.co.uk