pardoned him. Whether the Wolf of Badenoch's attack on Moray had simply been a case of getting even with the Bishop: or whether it was in reality intended to be the start of a power play for Scotland more widely, immediately after the death of his father Robert II, is a matter of debate among historians. No-one for a moment, however, believes that he was truly repentant afterwards.

Alexander Stewart died in 1394 (or, according to some sources, 1405) and he was then buried in Dunkeld Cathedral. His tomb, topped by an effigy in armour, is one of the few Scottish royal monuments to have survived from the Middle Ages. The details of the death of the Wolf of Badenoch are unclear. Perhaps it is best to stick withthe popular legend: that on 24 July 1394 a visitor dressed all in black arrived at Ruthven Castle and challenged the Wolf of Badenoch to a game of chess. That night the castle was beset by a terrible storm of thunder and lightning. The following morning there was no sign of the visitor, but the castle servants were discovered outside the castle walls, apparently killed by lightning. The Wolf of Badenoch himself was found in the banqueting hall: his body unmarked, though the nails in his boots had been torn out. Such, it would seem, are the perils of playing chess with the Devil.