Latest / The Story of Scotland: Clans, Crowns, and the Fight for Identity — Fexingo History / The Scottish Play: Macbeth and the Real King Behind the Legend
Transcript
- Lucas: So we've covered quite a bit of Scottish history — wars of independence, the clearances, the Enlightenment — but there's one story that's probably more famous as fiction than as fact, and it's worth pulling apart. I'm talking about Macbeth. Luna: The Shakespeare play. Lucas: Exactly. The 'Scottish play,' as actors call it. But the real Macbeth — his name in Gaelic was Mac Bethad mac Findlaích — was a king of Scotland in the 11th century, and he ruled for seventeen years. That's a pretty solid reign for the time. And the story of how he got there is much more complicated than a prophecy from three witches. Lucas: To understand Macbeth, you have to understand the political landscape of 11th-century Scotland. It wasn't a unified kingdom. There were multiple power centres — the House of Alpin in the south, and the Mormaers of Moray in the north. Macbeth was the Mormaer of Moray, which meant he controlled a huge swath of territory from the Highlands to the Moray Firth. Luna: So he was a regional ruler, not a usurper from nowhere. Lucas: Right. And his claim wasn't just ambition — he had a lineage. His father, Findláech, had been Mormaer before him, and his mother was possibly a daughter of Malcolm II, one of the High Kings. So Macbeth's claim to the throne was through blood, not just conquest. But the king at the time was Duncan I, and Duncan was… not a strong leader. Lucas: Duncan I became king in 1034, after the death of his grandfather Malcolm II. The problem was, Malcolm II had killed off a lot of potential rivals to secure Duncan's succession, but that created a lot of resentment. And Duncan was young, maybe in his early twenties, and he immediately made enemies. In 1039, he launched a disastrous campaign against Durham, which weakened his standing. Luna: So Duncan was already vulnerable by the time Macbeth moved against him. Lucas: Exactly. In 1040, Duncan led an army into Moray to confront Macbeth directly. They met at a place called Bothnagowan, near what is now Elgin. And Duncan lost — he was killed in the battle. Now Shakespeare has Macbeth murder him in his sleep, which is dramatic, but the reality is a battle. And after Duncan's death, Macbeth became king. Luna: And Lady Macbeth — her name in history? Lucas: Gruoch. She was a formidable figure in her own right. She was the granddaughter of Kenneth III, who had been king before Malcolm II. And she had been married before — to a man named Gille Coemgáin, the Mormaer of Moray before Macbeth. Gille Coemgáin was killed in 1032, burned to death in a hall with 50 of his men. Some say it was Duncan I's father who ordered it. So Gruoch had reason to hate the House of Dunkeld. Luna: So the marriage was partly political, but also deeply personal. Lucas: Absolutely. And Gruoch had a son from her first marriage, Lulach, who would later become king after Macbeth. Anyway, Macbeth and Gruoch ruled for seventeen years, and by most accounts, it was a relatively stable period. Macbeth did something unusual — he went on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1050, and there are records of him 'scattering money like seed to the poor.' He also strengthened ties with the Church, donating to the monastery at Dunkeld. Luna: A pilgrimage to Rome — that's not something a tyrant would do. Lucas: No, it suggests he was a pious man, or at least wanted to be seen as one. But his reign was not without challenges. Duncan I had sons, and they had been sent to safety in England and Norway. The eldest, Malcolm, grew up in the court of Edward the Confessor. And in 1054, with English support, Malcolm invaded Scotland. The chronicles say there was a battle at Dunsinane — that's the hill fort Shakespeare used — but the historical battle was probably near Scone. Luna: And Macbeth didn't die there, right? That's another difference from the play. Lucas: Right. After the battle, Macbeth retreated to the north, to Moray. He held out for three more years. In 1057, Malcolm's forces finally caught up with him at Lumphanan, in Aberdeenshire. Macbeth was killed in the fighting. But even then, Malcolm didn't become king immediately — Macbeth's stepson Lulach was crowned instead. Lulach was known as 'the Simpleton' or 'the Fool,' but he lasted only a few months before Malcolm had him killed at Essie in Strathbogie. Luna: So the real story is a cycle of vengeance, not just one man's ambition. Lucas: It really is. And the character of Macduff, in the play, is based on the historical figure of Macduff, who was the Mormaer of Fife — but in reality, he wasn't the one who killed Macbeth. The 'Macduff' role was probably conflated with Malcolm's generals. Shakespeare took a lot of liberties, but he wasn't starting from scratch. He used the chronicles of Raphael Holinshed, which themselves relied on earlier Scottish historians like John of Fordun and Hector Boece. Luna: And those chronicles were written long after the events, with their own agendas. Lucas: Exactly. Fordun wrote in the 14th century, and he was trying to legitimise the House of Dunkeld — the dynasty that Malcolm III founded. So portraying Macbeth as a murderous usurper served that purpose. The real Macbeth was a product of his time, but he wasn't particularly more brutal than anyone else. In fact, his reign was remembered in some sources as a time of plenty. The Orkneyinga Saga even mentions him as a generous host. Luna: So how do we know what's real and what's propaganda? Lucas: We have a few contemporary or near-contemporary sources. The Annals of Ulster record Macbeth's death as 'Mac Bethad son of Findláech, King of Scotland.' The Prophecy of Berchán, a poem from the 11th or 12th century, describes him as 'the generous king.' There's also Sueno's Stone, a massive Pictish stone near Forres that may depict a battle involving Macbeth, though that's debated. And we have archaeological evidence from places like Scone and Dunkeld. Luna: So the stone might show the real Battle of Bothnagowan? Lucas: It's possible. The stone shows a battle scene with decapitated heads, which could be Macbeth's victory over Duncan. But it could also be a later battle. We don't know for sure. What we do know is that Macbeth was the last Gaelic king of Scotland from the line of Moray. After him, the House of Dunkeld — descendants of Malcolm III — ruled for two centuries. And that dynasty produced figures like David I and Alexander III, who shaped medieval Scotland. Luna: It's fascinating how a figure who ruled so long and even went to Rome got reduced to a caricature. Lucas: Well, Shakespeare's play is brilliant, but it's not history. And the name 'Macbeth' itself became so tainted that in Scottish folklore, it was considered unlucky even to say it. But the real Macbeth, Mac Bethad mac Findlaích, Rìgh Alban — King of Scotland — deserves to be remembered as more than a villain. He was a complex warlord in a violent, shifting world. Lucas: And honestly, if today's episode was worth a coffee to you, that's the link — buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It helps keep this show ad-free and going. Luna: Yeah, it's a small thing that makes a big difference for us. Lucas: Anyway, back to Macbeth. One more fascinating detail — after his death, his body was supposedly buried on the holy island of Iona, where many Scottish kings were laid to rest. But there's no surviving grave marker. So even in death, he's a bit of a mystery. Luna: Maybe one day archaeologists will find it. Lucas: Maybe. And that's the thing about history — there's always more to discover. Next time, we'll look at another figure who's been mythologised: William Wallace. Not just the Braveheart version, but the real man.