It's a saying in Scotland even today- “Never trust a Campbell.” The infamous Campbells are the clan everyone loves to hate, the black sheep of Scottish history. There are two reasons for this sinister reputation.

One is simply that the Campbells had a real knack for picking the right side at the right time. They weren't the sorts to pick the doomed yet idealistic crusade- they'd size up the odds correctly and back the winner every time.

Another reason is that some of the Campbell chiefs were masters of manipulation, Machiavellian schemers of the first order. They would talk the MacGregors into raiding the the Lamonts, which would naturally result in the Lamonts hitting back at the MacGregors instead of the Campbells. Then they would offer to chastise both clans on behalf of the government, and end up with all their land. One of these scheming Campbell chieftains was described in his own lifetime as being “wise as a serpent, cunning as a fox and slippery as an eel.”

They raised huge dogs trained specifically to hunt and kill MacGregors, feeding them only on milk from MacGregor nursemaids so they would know the scent. They overthrew the MacDonalds and butchered the Lamonts. They were blamed for the Massacre of Glencoe. They fought for the British at Cullloden. The Campbells were a clan that would seemingly do anything to protect their own power and interest at the expense of anyone and everyone else.

Paradoxically, that gives them a certain dark appeal, and many a Campbell today takes a perverse pride in his connection to the wildest and wickedest of all the Highland clans.