Macbeth lived during brutal times. He defeated Duncan I in 1040 and reigned for seventeen years. His story differs from Shakespeare’s play written six centuries later.
Macbeth belonged to the hereditary aristocracy of Moray, with a claim to the Scottish throne. His mother was closely related to Malcolm II. (Sources claimed she was one of his daughters.) He was born c 1005 in Moray, where he learnt the necessary martial arts for a boy of noble birth.
Moray
War was a necessary part of life, as survival depended upon it. No doubt Macbeth watched his father’s preparations, led men into battle and he himself heard tales of heroic deeds from returning war veterans.
Royal successions were usually determined by violence. The incumbent king’s death was usually a temporary end to the conflict.
His father, Findlaech, was the mormaer (earl) of Moray. Two nephews killed Findlaech in 1020. They became mormaer in turn. The latter, Gillacomgain, died violently in a fire with fifty men. Macbeth was probably responsible, as he had a very strong motive—to avenge his father’s death.
He married Gillacomgain’s widow, Gruoch. They had no children so Macbeth’s stepson, Lulach, became his heir. Gruoch was also royalty. She was a granddaughter of Kenneth III (997-1005).
Malcolm II and his successor
Macbeth was part of the royal court after his father’s death. He became a prominent political figure in his mid-twenties. He was also present at the historic meeting between Malcolm II and England’s Cnut in 1031.
Malcolm II (1016-1034) ruled for twenty-nine years as a ruthless and despotic king. He was eventually ambushed and mortally wounded at Glamis. He died three days later. Malcolm was over eighty years old.
His grandson Duncan I became king. However, Duncan was no war leader. He was rash, immature and incompetent. His succession caused widespread anger.
Duncan invaded England’s north with a disastrous attack at Durham in 1039.
Macbeth becomes king
He tried imposing his authority in Scotland’s north. Macbeth fought Duncan near Pitgaveny. Duncan was killed on 10 August 1040, aged 39 years. Macbeth became king. He was immediately crowned at Scone to legitimise his position.
Gruoch became queen in her own right, rather than a consort.
His sons Malcolm and Donald Bane went into exile. Malcolm fled to England where he became Edward the Confessor’s protégé, whilst Donald Bane went into hiding in the Western Isles.
Macbeth and Gruoch granted lands to the Culdees of Loch Leven. He even travelled on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1050—a long hazardous journey of approximately 2,000 km—as a committed act of piety and devotion.
More Trouble
However, Macbeth faced rebellion from Duncan’s father, Crinán, abbot of Dunkeld, in 1045. Crinán was defeated and killed.
He maintained mostly peaceful relations with his southern neighbours. He was less successful with his wars with Earl Thorfinn of Orkney whilst defending his northern borders.
Malcolm Canmore attempted to regain his father’s throne in 1054, with help from Earl Siward of Northumbria. It was a long battle with numerous casualties on both sides. Siward returned to quash an uprising in Northumbria. He died a year later. Edward the Confessor installed Malcolm as ruler only in Strathclyde and the Lothians. Macbeth meanwhile had retreated north to Moray.
He gradually lost support so Malcolm tried again in 1057. Malcolm was defeated but Macbeth was fatally wounded at Lumphanan, in Aberdeenshire. He died a few days later, on 15 August. Macbeth’s burial site remains a mystery. Some chroniclers claim he was buried on Iona.
The throne passed to Macbeth’s stepson, Lulach, instead. He was killed in an ambush seven months later. Malcolm Canmore finally became king. He ruled from 1058 to 1093, as Malcolm III.
Sources
Aitchison, Nick, Macbeth: Man and Myth, Sutton Publishing Limited, Stroud, 1999
Lynch, Michael, The Oxford Companion to Scottish History, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2001
Maclean, Fitzroy, A Concise History of Scotland (1970), Thames & Hudson Ltd, London UK. Second Revised Edition 2000
Magnusson, Magnus, Scotland: The Story of a Nation, HarperCollins Publishers, Hammersmith, 2000
Shama, Simon, A History of Britain 3000BC-AD1603, Volume 1, BBC Worldwide Ltd, London, 2000
Starkey, David, Monarchy Volume 1, Chatto & Windus, London, 2004
Wilkinson, Philip, The British Monarchy for Dummies, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester, 2006
© 2008 Carolyn M Cash
This article was originally published by Suite 101 on 19 August 2008.
