‘In the nurseries of northern England, mothers would hush their crying children with a simple rhyme: “Hush ye, hush ye, little pet ye, the Black Douglas will not get ye.” But this was no fairy tale monster – this was a real man, a Scottish knight whose name became a legend of terror across the known world.

This is the story of Sir James Douglas – known to his fellow Scots as “James the Good,” the loyal companion of Robert the Bruce, but to his English enemies as “the Black Douglas” – a name that made grown men cross themselves in fear.’

This episode has been written by Nick Stewart, a New Zealander of Scottish and Māori descent – Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Huirapa, Ngāti Māmoe and Ngāti Waitaha –

Nick is a financial adviser and CEO of Stewart Group, a Hawke’s Bay and Wellington based, CEFEX and B Corp certified financial planning and advisory firm serving clients in New Zealand and abroad. He writes a weekly Canny View column for the NZ Herald and Hawke’s Bay Today, and is a frequent guest on The Adviser Talk podcast, amongst others. History is his lifelong love – and through his Scottish ancestry, this particular story is a family one.