Nigel Tranter 
Tapestry of the Boar 

During the reign of Malcolm IV, King of the Scots, Hugh de Swinton andhis fellow mosstroopers helped keep the rampaging Galloway rebels atbay. But it was for his expertise in the killing of wild boars, asprotector of the Swintons’ sheep flocks, that young Hugh was brought to Malcolm’s attention.But Malcolm was a pious man much concerned with the well-being of hispeople. And he handpicked Hugh de Swinton to mastermind a very specialproject close to his heart: to establish Scotland’s first real hospitalfor the sick and poor, at Soutra in Lauderdale.Action, chivalry and romance in the 12th century: the story of Hugh de Swinton and his thrilling life that encompassed fighting, farming andthe foundation of Scotland’s first hospital.