Time Macbeth

Time of Macbeth

Over the course of history, Scotland has had many kings. Some have been heroes, some have been villains, and some have been so useless and weak that we've forgotten everything about them.

The greatest of them all, however, was Macbeth - a figure so powerful and larger than life that even now, 1000 years after his reign on the throne, we all still instantly recognise his name.

Macbeth was a towering, dashing figure who managed to keep a grip on Scotland for a remarkable 17 years at a time when kings were deceived, betrayed and slaughtered more often than most nobles ate wild boar for dinner.

Because he combined utter brutality with real compassion, and because ordinary people saw him as a ruler who was firm but fair, he outshines even William Wallace or Robert the Bruce in terms of romantic appeal.

Like Wallace, Macbeth ends up as an ultimately tragic figure, dying a heroes' death on the field of battle. Yet, like Bruce, his reputation as a fighter meant that he ultimately won the respect of Scotland's great enemies, the English.

Of course, most of our modern awareness of Macbeth comes from Shakespeare's famous play, which made him a legend not by showing his strengths, but by painting him as the bad guy.

In the play, Macbeth begins as a trusted and brave soldier in King Duncan's army. But he is gripped by blind ambition and egged on by his equally ambitious wife, Lady Macbeth, murders Duncan. She later dies, Macbeth is killed in battle by his rival Macduff, and Malcolm becomes the rightful king.

Shakespeare's play is wonderful drama - it was by far one of his most successful works, and Elizabethan crowds flocked to see it - but it bears little resemblance to historical reality.

The real Macbeth was undoubtedly a plotter and had no scruples about murdering opponents, but then you had to be tough and ruthless to survive in those days. However, he was also clever, confident, just and deeply religious, taking care to look after his subjects and giving away some of his wealth to the poor.

In fact, he was so settled as King of Scots and loved by his subjects that he left Scotland for the better part of a year to go on a pilgrimage to Rome - the only Scottish ruler to this day to do so. If there had been any question of anyone seeking to overthrow him, he wouldn't have dared step outside the country.

Sadly, there is an awful lot about Macbeth which we simply don't know. At the time of his reign, which was from AD1040 to 1057, only the most rudimentary details about the way Scotland was ruled was written down. It wasn't until the time of David I, after 1124, that proper records and documents began to be kept.

Some journals and chronicles of that time have survived, however - many of them originating in Ireland, which had a close affinity with Scotland. They tell of Macbeth's legendary capacity for keeping the peace at home, of his compassion, and of his desires to help the poor.

Macbeth is thought to have been born around the year 1005, probably in the north east, His father Findlaech was High Steward - ruler - of Moray, which at the time was a semi autonomous kingdom.

It probably looked after its own affairs, though it may well have had an agreement with the rest of Scotland, known then as Alba, to share foreign policy. In fact, the arrangement may have been similar to Scotland's relationship with the rest of Britain under the devolved Scottish parliament to be established later this year!

Macbeth's mother's name is unknown, though she was almost certainly a royal and may have been the daughter of King Kenneth II or Malcolm II. In 1020, when Macbeth was 15, his father was murdered by his nephews Gillacomgain and Malcolm. Malcolm then succeeded to the throne of Moray until the year 1029, when he died and in turn was succeeded by Gillacomgain.

As Macbeth grew older, however, he swore revenge for the murder of his father. His chance finally came in 1032, when he is believed to have rounded up Gillacomgain along with 50 others and burned them all to death.

Having carried out this barbarous act of mass murder, he then assumed the throne of Moray himself. At the same time, he married Gillacomgain's widow. Shakespeare, of course, calls her Lady Macbeth, though in reality, she wasn't - her real name was Gruoch.

There is absolutely no evidence that Gruoch was the scheming, plotting, fearsome woman that the bard painted her to be - though she is thought to have had royal blood and must have been pretty feisty to consider marrying a character as single minded as Macbeth.

She also brought her son from her first marriage, Lulach, with her. Incredibly, despite having slaughtered his father, Macbeth seems to have taken to the boy, adopting him as stepson even though he was nicknamed Lulach the Simple - in other words, he wasn't very bright.

By all accounts, Macbeth was a good King of Moray. He is said to have been fair, and to have looked after his subjects - though, like most rulers and politicians of the time, the thought of having to kill someone to retain power didn't bother him at all.

His chance to seize the throne of all Scotland (or Alba, as it was then known) came when Duncan I, who held the throne, mounted a raid on Durham in Northumbria in 1039.

The battle turned out to be a disaster, and Duncan was quickly driven back over the border and into Scotland. The next year - perhaps in an attempt to assert his authority, or perhaps because his counterpart in Moray was laughing at him - he decided to march north and mount an attack on Macbeth.

The two armies clashed near Elgin and this time, Duncan failed to escape with his life. He was killed in the battle and Macbeth, who had a legitimate claim to the Scottish throne through his mother's line, assumed rulership of all Scotland.

Once king, Macbeth and Gruoch would have adopted all the traits of monarchy. Rather than having one palace, They would have moved around Scotland with their court and armed retinue - probably amounting to at least some dozens of people - and stayed in one place until they had exhausted the food supplies of the long suffering locals. Then they would have moved on, probably constantly travelling between places such as Scone, Dunkeld, St Andrews and Forteviot in Perthshire.

David Brown, a lecturer in Scottish history at Glasgow University and an expert on the period, says that Macbeth's court would have been a fairly impressive sight. "It would have been a pretty grand affair, and the size of the gathering would have been pretty substantial. On special days such as feast days, others would have arrived and it would have been even greater."

As well as being a good king, Macbeth was also a clever politician. He quickly formed an alliance with a Norseman, Thorfinn of Orkney and the son of the wonderfully named Sigurd the Fat, who was otherwise known as Thorfinn Skullsmasher. The two men often formed a common front, and in 1050 decided to go on a pilgrimage to Rome together.

It is this pilgrimage - a journey of more than 3000 miles which took nearly a year to compete - which tells us about Macbeth's compassion and concern for his fellow man. According to one of the writers of the time, the Irish hermit Marianus Scotus, when Macbeth arrived in Rome he "scattered money to the poor like seed."

This visit is thought to have been hugely important. Macbeth would almost certainly have met the Pope and told him all about Scotland. It was probably the first time that a reigning Pontiff had learned much about this small and wild country at the far north of Europe - and about which subsequent Popes were to hear much in the coming centuries.

Alex Woolf, a lecturer in Celtic and early Scottish history at the University of Edinburgh, believes that Macbeth may have gone to Rome as a penance for killing Duncan.

"In England, King Canute had been there about 15 years before, and it was beginning to get quite popular. Macbeth may have felt that killing Duncan was a sin", he says. "The Bishops may have suggested the trip to him as a form of repentance."

Four years later, Macbeth suffered a serious challenge to his kingdom when Earl Siward of Northumberland - with which Scotland was almost perpetually at war - invaded Scotland. He defeated Macbeth at the battle of Birnam Wood near Dunkeld in Perthshire - again, mythologised by Shakespeare in his version.

The truth, though, is that Macbeth was not slain during this encounter. He suffered a heavy defeat and most of his army were slaughtered, but he slipped away and continued to rule.

By this stage, though, the writing was on the wall. After another three years, Macbeth was finally killed in a battle at Lumphanen in Aberdeenshire by Duncan's son Malcolm, and his rule was over.

Strangely, though, Malcolm didn't take the throne. Instead it went to Macbeth's stepson Lulach, though he survived only a few months before being ambushed and killed by Malcolm at Strathbogie. Malcolm then took the throne as Malcolm III or Canmore.

Isn't this a bit odd? David Brown believes there may be a plausible explanation. "It may be that Lulach and Malcolm had done a deal whereby Lulach got the throne but Malcolm followed him. However, one contemporary account describes Lulach's death as treachery, which perhaps means Malcolm did the dirty on him too.

"You have to remember that these were bloodthirsty times, and that politics often involved murdering your opponent. When they talked about stabbing someone in the back in those days, they really meant it."

Meanwhile...

*1020 The Shetlands, Orkneys and Faroes recognise Olaf Haraldsson as their king

1027

Omar Khayyam, Persian scientist and poet - writer of the Rubaiyat - is born

1035

King Canute divides his kingdom between his three sons, giving England to Harold

1016

King Canute takes the throne of England

1041

The Lombards and the Normans defeat the Greeks at the Battle of Montemaggiore

1045

One of Spain's national heroes, El Cid, is born

1050

The astrolabe arrives in Europe from the East

1053

The Normans conquer Southern Italy and found an empire there

1054

There is no Pope during this year, and there is a permanent schism between the Roman and Eastern churches

1066

William of Normandy invades and conquers England, taking the throne from King Harold who is killed at the Battle of Hastings

1070

The Order of St. John is founded in Jerusalem

*1000 Around this time artistic and literary expression in Japan was at its peak.

1054

Orthodox and Catholic Churches split apart.

0997

St Stephen, King of Hungary began his reign.

1013

The Danes conquer all of England.

0997

From 0976-1026, Basil II rebuilds the Byzantine Empire.

*1000 Southwestern and Mississipi cultures begin to peak in North America.

1056

Henry IV begins conflict with the Pope.

1000

Tiahuanaco and Huari abandoned in the Americas.

1038

Seljuks conquer Khorasan (Afghanistan).

1055

Seljuks conquer Baghdad.

1000

Culture and economy thrive in China (Song dynasty begins in 0960).

1068

Wang Ashi's reforms begin (1068-1086).

1066

The Normans, led by Duke William, conquer England.

1071

Seljuks defeat the Byzantines at Manzikert.

1081

Founding of the Seljuk sultanate of Rum.

*1014 Brian Boru, King of Munster, defeats Vikings at the Battle of Clontarf, Ireland.

1081

Venetians gain trade privileges in Byzantium

1450

Mississippi towns depopulated

1500

Europeans Begin to arrive on east coast

1291

End of the Crusades in Palestine

1308

Bohemia and Moravia become dominated by Germany

1440

Holy Roman Empire passes to the Austrian Hasberg dynasty

*1218 Fifth Crusade - A failure (1218-1281)

1228

Sixth Crusade - Partly successful (1228-1229)

1291

Palestine taken by Sultan of Egypt

1291

Teutonic Crusades against pagan Lithuania

1312

Knights Templars dissolved by the French King

*1166 Legal reforms in England (1166-1176)

1170

Murder of Thomas a Becket

1171

Henry becomes King of Ireland

1173

Thomas a Becket made a Saint

1174

Rebellions by Henry's sons

1189

Henry dies in France

1366

Irish-Normans revolt against English orders banning Gaelic and mixed marriages

1530

Around the 1530s, Henry VIII reimposes English control

1381

Venice defeats Genoa, to dominate all trade

1400

Around the 1400s, the economic centre of Europe shifts north

*1225 The Magna Carta becomes the law of England

1227

Henry III, now aged 20, now begins to rule

1258

Law reforms - The Provisions of Oxford

1265

Simon de Montfort's Parliament is called

1272

Edward I becomes King of England

1295

Edward I's Model Parliament

1307

Edward II becomes King of England

1388

The Merciless Parliament (against Richard II)

*1137 Founding of Ethiopia by the Zagwe Dynasty

1190

Around this time, Lalibela built as the capital of Ethiopia

1240

Sundiata Keita founds the state of Mali

1270

Yekuno Amlak founds the Solomonic Dynasty; Ethiopia expands

1307

Mansa Musa, Mali's greatest ruler (1307-1337)

1350

Mali goes into slow decline

1300

1300-1400 highpoint of Ethiopian culture

1500

Around this time Songhai overwhelms Mali

*1340 Battle of Sluys at sea. England v France (1-0)

1346

Battle of Crecy. England v France (1-0)

1347

Battle of Calais. England v France (1-0)

1356

Battle of Poitiers. England v France (1-0)

1372

Battle of La Rochelle at sea. England v France (0-1)

1415

Battle of Agincourt. England v France (1-0)

1428

Battle of Orleons. England v France (0-1)

1450

Battle of Formigny. England v France (0-1)

1451

Battle of Bordeaux. England v France (0-1)

*1353 1353-1354 The Black Death breaks out across China

1368

The Ming Dynasty is founded by Zhu Yuanzhang

1403

The reigh of Ming Emperor Yongle begins (1403-1424)

1424

The reign of Ming Emperor Yongle ends

1517

The arrival of the first European traders in Southern China

1552

1552-1555: Major attacks on shipping by pirates off the China coast

1582

Growing corruption and decline of China

1592

The Japanese invade Korea, threatining China's security

*1644 Fall of the Ming Dynasty

1261

Byzantines recapture Constantinople

1280

The Ottomans in Anatolia move close to Constantinople

1389

Ottomans defeat the Serbs in Kosovo

1391

Ottomans defeat European Crusaders in Romania

1453

The final fall of Constantinople

1050

The Khmer Empire at its high point under Suryavarman I and Suryavarman II (1050-1150)

*1113 Building of Angkor Wat commences (1113-1150)

1215

Death of last Angkor King, Jayavarman VII; Empire starts to fall into decline

1444

Angkor abandoned after Thai invasions led by Ayutthaya

1100

Returning Crusaders bring Arabic knowledge back to Europe

1202

Fibonacci, an Italian mathematician, writes about Hindu-Arabic numbering

1260

Englishman Roger Bacon describes the laws of reflection and refraction

1275

First human dissection carried out

1397

Fist moveable type produced in Korea

*1200 Manco Capac establishes the Inca Dynasty and capital of Cuzco

1350

Local expansion of the Incas under Mayta Capa

1438

Pachacuti becomes the Sapa Inca

1466

Pachacuti greatly increaces the Inca Empire

1466

Topa Inca overruns the Chimu Empire

1485

Topa Inca conquers Chile and Peru

1493

Quito becomes the second capital

1525

Huayna Capa dies and civil war breaks out between Cuzco and Quito

*1532 The Spaniards invade the Inca Empire

1535

Spaniards destroy the Inca Empire

1248

The Christians reconquer most of Spain

1469

The marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella

1474

Isabella inherits Castile

1478

The Spanish Inquisition is established (no-one expected it)

1479

Aragon and Castile are united

1504

The conquest of Granada - end of Muslim rule in Southern Spain. Christopher Columbus' expedition to India is financed by Isabella

*1504 Isabella dies

1515

Navarre joins Castile - Spain is finally united

1516

Ferdinand dies

1471

The Portuguese reach Madeira

1471

The Portuguese reach Asante and Benin

1487

Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope

1498

Vasco da Gama reaches India

1500

Cabral explores the coast of Brazil

*1505 Asian trading posts founded in Goa and Malacca

1520

Magellan discovers the Moluccas (Spice Islands)

1530

First Portuguese colony established in Brasil

1534

First African Slaves are landed in Brazil

1517

Luther's 95 Thesis, announced at Wittenberg, Germany

1522

Luther's Bible is published in German

1523

Zwingli's Programme of Reform established in Switzerland

1530

Around this time, Protestant social movements and revolts occur in Germany

*1534 England separates from the Roman Church

1540

Around this time, Calvin establishes Protestant Church in Geneva

1545

The first Council of Trent - The Counter Reformation begins

1562

The Huguenot Wars in France begin (1562-1598)

1566

Calvanist Church founded in the Netherlands

1580

Around this time, tension increaced between European rulers

1618

Outbreak of Thirty Years' War (until 1648)

1453

The Ottomans take Constantinople

1460

Around this time, Greece, Serbia and Bosnia taken by the Ottomans

1512

Selim I takes Syria, Arabia and Egypt (1512-1520)

1522

Suleiman takes Rhodes from the Knights of St John

1526

Battle of Mohacs: Hungary taken

1529

Seige of Vienna (fails)

*1534 Suleiman takes Baghdad and Armenia

1538

Suleiman takes the Holy City of Mecca

1540

Around this time, the Ottoman culture begins to flower

1566

Death of Suleiman

1600

Ottoman begins slow decline

1504

The Moghuls seize Kabul

1526

Delhi becomes the Moghul capital in India

1556

Akbar the Great, the greatest Moghul Emperor begins his reign

1571

Fatehpur Sikri becomes the new capital

1605

Jahangir becomes the Moghul Emperor (Nur Jahan rules 1611-1622)

1658

Sahan Jahan, Moghul Emperor

1658

Aurangzeb, the last great Moghul Emperor

*1707 Beginning of the decline of the Moghuls

1803

The fall of the last Moghul stronghold to the English

1020

Habichtsburg, the family home of the Hadsburgs, is built

1459

Maximilian I begins to expand the Habsberg influence (1459-1519). One of his methods was to arrange advantageous marriages for his relatives. He married his son, Philip of Burgandy, to Joanna the Mad!

1506

Charles V inherits Burgandy and the Netherlands

1516

Charles V inherits Spain and Naples

1519

Charles V becomes Holy Roman Emperor (1519-1556)

1546

War between the Habsburgs and the Protestants

*1618 Thirty Years' War between the Catholics and the Protestants (1618-1648)

1533

Catherine de Medici marries Henry II of France

1559

Henry II dies and is succeeded by Francis II, who dies the year after; Catherine is regent

1560

Charles IX becomes King, at the age of 10; Catherine again acts as regent

1562

The massacre of Vassy marks the beginning of the Hugenot Wars

1570

Peace and limited rights are agreed for the Hugenots

1572

The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Day - as many as 20,000 Protestants are killed

1574

The moderate Henry III becomes King of France

1576

Edict of Beaulieu - a pact that imposes the tolerance of the Hugenots

*1585 War of the Three Henrys (1585-1589)

1593

Henry of Navarre (later Henry IV) converts to Catholicism

1589

Henry IV becomes King of France (1589-1610)

1598

The Edict of Nantes grants religious freedom and equality for all

1238

Invasion of Russia by the Moghuls

1263

Muscovy begins to grow larger

1238

Invasion of Russia bt the Mongols

1462

Ivan III, the Great, begins to strengthen Moscovy

1472

Ivan III appoints himself Proctor of Eastern Orthodox Church

*1480 End of Tartar dominance of Russia

1505

Vasili rules as Tsar (1505-1533)

1533

Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible) expands Russia (1533-1584)

1584

Fyodor is Tsar and Boris Gudunov is Regent (1584-1598)

1598

Boris Gudunov rules as Tsar (1598-1605)

1605

Civil war breaks out between rival Boyars (1605-1613)

1613

Mikhail Romanov, first of the Romanovs, becomes Tsar

1477

The Netherlands become a Habsburg possession

1516

The Spanish take control of the Netherlands

1568

The Dutch revolt begins

1576

The sack of Antwerp - a turning point

*1581 The Northern Provinces declare independence

1609

Truce - The Dutch effectively win the war

1648

Dutch independence fully recognised

1520

Portuguese traders first arrive in China

1548

Mongol invasion of China

1548

First Jesuit mission to Japan

1568

Nobunaga takes Kyoto and central Japan

1582

Corruption breaks out in the Ming Government

1590

Hideyoshi gains control of Northern and Eastern Japan

*1592 Japan begins invasion of Korea (1592-1598)

1641

Rebels take over parts of China

1644

Manchus take over Beijing: The Ming Dynasty falls

1492

Martin Behaim makes the first Globe

1504

Peter Heinlein invents the watch (and you thought it was Casio)

1512

Nicolaus Copernicus suggests that the Earth moves around the Sun (and was laughed at)

1518

Royal College of Physicians founded in London

1528

First manual on surgery is published

1546

Michael Servetus disovers the circulation of the blood (Presumably after reading the first manual on surgery - 1528)

*1546 Map-Maker Mercator identifies the Earth's magnetic poles

1600

Gilbert writes about magnetism and electricity

1603

Ieyasu founds the Tokugawa Shogunate

1609

Small Dutch trading base established on the Island of Deshima in Nagasaki Bay

1612

Persecution of Nagasaki Christians begins

1637

Portugese traders banned and expelled

1638

The Shimabara rebellion in Nagasaki

1684

Hardship after Tokugawa Tsunayoshi's reforms

1703

Edo destroyed by earthquake (wind) and fire

1716

Yoshimute, a reformer, comes to power

*1603 James I becomes King of England

1605

The Gunpowder Plot to blow up Parliament (5th Nov)

1608

James disagrees with Parliament over money

1625

Charles I becomes King

1629

Charles closes Parliament

1637

Charles's court splits after crises

1640

Charles recalls Parliament - Clashes follow

1642

The English Civil War begins

1649

Charles I is executed by the Parlimentarians

1492

Columbus arrives in the Americas

1497

Cabot lands in Newfoundland

*1513 Spanish Ponce de Leon explores Florida

1540

Coronado (Spanish) enters New Mexico

1534

Cartier (French) explores the St Lawrence (1534-1541)

1584

Raleigh's English Roanole colony (Fails) 1584-1590

1607

Jamestown, Virginia (English), founded

1608

Champlain establishes Quebec and New France

1625

Arrival of the Pilgrim Fathers in New England

1625

Dutch settle in New Amsterdam (New York)

1636

A college was founded at Harvard (Boston)

*1520 Sweden gains independance fromDenmark

1523

Gustavas Vasa modernises Sweden

1580

Sweden conquers Estonia

1611

Gustavus Adolphus begins reign as King of Sweden (1611-1632)

1620

Around this time, Sweden becomes the leading Northern power

1630

Sweden successful in the Thirty Years War (1630-1634)

1643

Swedish victories against Denmark and Austria (1643-1645)

1697

During the years 1697-1708, Sweden had many victories thruought Europe

1709

Swedes defeated by the Russians

1721

Sweden in retreat - the end of its time of dominance. Industry begins to concentrate on watchmaking and pen-knives

1618

Bohemian revolt against Austria (1618-1620)

1625

Denmark joins the Protestants (1625-1627)

*1629 Protestant Germans losing the war

1630

Gustavas Adolphus of Sweden joins the war, overrunning Northern Germany

1631

Tilly storms and destroys Magdeburg

1631

Protestant victories at Breitenfeld and Lutzen (1631-1632)

1634

Protestants are defeated at Nordlingen. Count Wallenstein is murdered

1635

Protestant Germans make peace - France joins the war

1645

French and Swedish victories in Germany

1648

The Peace of Westphalia Treaty ends the war

1598

Spain loses the war with France after interfering in French affairs

*1598 Philip III is King of Spain (1598-1621)

1606

Expulsion of the Moriscos from Spain

1621

Spain loses the Netherlands (1621-1665)

1621

Philip IV becomes King of Spain (1621-1665)

1640

Portugal and its Empire separate from Spain

1648

Spain finally accepts Dutch independence

1665

Charles II begins his reign as the last Spanish Habsburg King (1665-1700)

1701

The war of Spanish Succession begins (1701-1713). Spain loses posessions i Italy, Belgium and Gibraltar

1700

Philip V is the first Bourbon King of Spain (1700-1746)

1644

The Manchus found the Quing Dynasty in Beijing

1644

Manchu forces conquer most of China (1644-1660)

1661

The Island of Formosa is captured from the Dutch by supporters of the defeated Ming

1674

Rebellions start in the South of China, but are quickly suppressed (1674-1681)

1683

Manchu forces capture the Island of Formosa from the supporters of the defeated Ming

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