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Macbeth (1040 - 1057) |
Scone Palace, Macbeth was
defeated in battle near here |
Macbeth (mac-Bethad 'Son
of Life'), son of Findlaech, mormaer of Moray, was actually
a competent monarch who suffered badly at the hands of William
Shakespeare. Although he had a sound claim to the throne of
Scotland he had to deal with many who would take his place,
including Crinan and Duncan's son Malcolm (later to become
Malcolm III 'Canmore'). The Irish
annals describe Macbeth as the "generous king of Fortriu"
and the "ruddy-complexioned, yellow haired tall one in
whom I shall rejoice".
He married Gruoch, widow of Gillacomgain, who had been mormaer
of Moray but was burned to death with his followers in 1032.
Gruoch herself was the grand-daughter of either Kenneth
II or Kenneth III and so was intimately connected with
the royal line. They had no children which is a recurring
problem for monarchs of Scotland. Both Macbeth and his wife
were generous to the Culdees and the Register of Priory of
St. Andrews notes that "Macbeth, son of Finlach, and
Gruoch, daughter of Bodhe, king and queen of Scots, granted
Kyrkenes to Almighty God and to the culdees of the island
of Lochleven for prayers and intercessions..." |
In 1040 he (or Thorfinn) killed Duncan at Pitgaveny, near Elgin, to become King of Scotland after the king had searched out Macbeth in his home territory of Moray. Duncan's sons, Malcolm and Donald Ban, were expelled and it is possible they ended up with their uncle, Maldred, in Northumbria. Macbeth was familiar with governing as he was the mormaer of the province of Moray, which throughout this period (and after) was a difficult area to control. In 1045 he killed Crinan in battle and thereby an internal problem was taken care of. However, Macbeth still had problem from over the English border and in 1046 Earl Siward of Northumbria is said to have pushed Macbeth out of Lothian "and appointed another, but Macbeth ... recovered the kingdom".
During his reign he visited Rome (1050) where it was said that he 'scattered alms like seed corn'. He must have felt secure in his position to undertake such a journey even though there had been trouble with Earl Siward of Northumbria in Lothian just the year before. It is known that he took in two Norman retainers of the English king in 1052 after they had been expelled from the English court. Earl Siward, a Viking warrior, on the orders of Edward the Confessor, king of England, returned in 1054 to press the claim of Malcolm III, son of Duncan to the Scottish throne. The English army had consisted of Scots as well as Scandanavians and English and Macbeth used the first Norman mercenaries in Scotland. Macbeth was defeated, but not killed, at Scone and was forced to give up large parts of the South of the kingdom to Malcolm.
Siward died in 1055 but by then Malcolm was strong enough to fight Macbeth on his own. He moved north in 1057 and on the 15th August defeated and killed Macbeth at Lumphanan. |
Macbeth is driven to murder King Duncan
in Shakespeare's ficticious play
This image is available to purchase
as a print from Scottish Realms |
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History Books on this time period:
| Author |
Title |
Published |
Price |
Order
Now From: |
| Duncan, A. A. M. |
The Edinburgh History of Scotland: Vol 1 The
Making of the Kingdom |
1975 |
£16.99 |
Amazon.co.uk |
| Scotland: the Making of the Kingdom is the first "straight"
history of Scotland from pre-history to 1286 to be published
since 1862. It starts with the evidence on pre-historic
and Roman Scotland and covers in some detail the incursions
and amalgamations of races who made up the Celtic Kingdom,
the impact of the Vikings and the forging of a single
kingdom. Professor Duncan looks at the Anglo-Norman influence
on Scotland and gives a full account of Anglo-Scottish
relations up to 1214. The growth of towns is discussed
together with the expansion of trade and the place of
Scottish evidence in the evolution of rural and urban
society in north-west Europe. The closing chapters narrate
the progress which made possible the establishment of
an efficient and unoppressive administrative system. |
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| Barrow, G. W. S. |
Kingship & Unity: Scotland 1000-1306 |
1989 |
£9.95
or
$16.50 |
Amazon.co.uk
or
Amazon.com |
| Professor Barrow takes up the history of a Scotland
which in the eleventh century already has the beginnings
of a clear sense of identity, and a successful expansion
policy. Emphasising in particular the kingdom's political
growth and the evolution of a distinct Scottish nation,
Professor Barrow narrates the story of Scotland's remarkable
Medieval kings and their development of a kingship and
the institutions of government which provided the unity
and administration to fend off Edward I's onslaughts in
the thirteenth century. This is a thoroughly readable
and comprehensive account of the building of medieval
Scotland, and a welcome reissue from the New History of
Scotland series (formerly published by Edward Arnold). |
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Historical Fiction on Macbeth:
| Author |
Title |
Published |
Price |
Order
Now From: |
| Tranter, Nigel |
Macbeth the King |
1998 |
£5.99 |
Amazon.co.uk |
| The real story of Macbeth and his struggle to unite
Scotland - a very different tale from the Shakespearean
fiction which has since blackened his name. |
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