The Tragedy of MacBeth | A True Story

Everyone knows Macbeth from the Shakespeare story, but who was the real Macbeth? In this video, we will be delving into the life of a real king, from whom Shakespeare based his writings on. Today, I will be taking you to 11th century Scotland. For centuries, Scottish clans had been waging war with each other. Then, an even greater threat came when the Vikings emerged from the sea and began ravaging their lands. Need it be said that this was a time of everlasting war, bloodshed and death? Eventually, the Vikings would finally conquer England and Canute the Great would become the king of all the land, ending the Viking raids and battles. King Canute, however, demanded that his neighbours in Scotland and all their citizens would need to recognise him as supreme. So Canute travelled north to accept the submission of King Malcolm II. Macbeth too would submit to him. Macbeth had just witnessed his king kneel to another man, and the presence of such power may have had an effect on him, fuelling him with ambition. This is his story. First, let's have a look at his early life. Macbeth was born in around the year 1005. His father was Fiendleach of Moray, who was the thane of Angus and king of Moray, an ancient Celtic province, northeast of the country. His mother, Dowader, was the second daughter of Malcolm II, the king of Scots. At the age of seven, Macbeth was sent to a Christian monastery to be educated by monks. This was a requirement at the time for the sons of all chieftains and thanes. At the monastery, he would have a fine education, learning to read, write and becoming familiar with Latin. However, at the tender age of 15, tragedy would strike and Macbeth's father would be murdered by his own cousins. The speculation around his death is that he was killed due to him being too close with the king and perhaps having his ear in many matters. Macbeth was then elected as the Moor Mayor of Moray. A Moor Mayor is a steward of an ancient Celtic province. A man named Gil Congane participated in the death of Macbeth's father. For his crime, the king of Scots arrested him and 50 of his men who were also responsible for the killing. They were then tied to stakes over great pyres and were burned to death for murder and treachery. A young Macbeth had already endured much from a young age. He would then go on to marry Gil Congane's widow named Grouch. It is unknown if he did this for love or simply because the marriage would strengthen his claim to the throne as king of all Scots. Macbeth was described as tall, fair-haired and handsome. Macbeth was now a feudal lord and was the ruler of his own lands and would have a taste of power. But rumour was that a great Viking king who had conquered England was making his way north, demanding the fealty of all Scots. In 1031, Malcolm II, the king of the Scots and all his lesser lords were summoned to pay fealty to Canute the Great, the Viking conqueror of England. Malcolm, Macbeth and everyone else would kneel to pay homage to Canute, who was the king of England, Denmark and Norway. This would be an astonishing show of power to Macbeth. On November 24th 1034, King Malcolm II died of natural causes. One month later, his son Duncan I was crowned as king of the Scots. King Duncan however did not have the strong character of his father and was said to be weaker in spirit. In a time of non-stop war and betrayal, such a change would make men visualise themselves in power and would open the doors to scheming, treachery and chaos. The early period of Duncan's reign was uneventful but uneasy, as most Scottish feudal lords did not fear Duncan as they feared his father. This became more apparent in 1038, when Ildred, the Earl of Northumbria, took his army and attacked southern Scotland. Duncan's feudal lords and chiefs would encourage him to lead a counter-attack. The king had now been tested, but not only this, Northumbria, a vassal of the English crown, had insulted the king of the Scots. The attack on Duncan's position changed him somewhat. This gave him the urge to conquer. His ambition grew and he wanted to invade the Orkney Islands to the north, even with the objections from his advisors. So in the year 1040, King Duncan separated his army into two forces. One force would attack the Orkneys and this army was led by his nephew, Modern, and Duncan would personally lead his force against the Northumbrians. Macbeth would join forces with the reputed Thorfinn the Mighty, who was described as an unusually tall and strong and ugly looking man, with a black head of hair, sharp features, a big nose and bushy eyebrows. A forceful man, greedy for fame and fortune. He did well in battle, for he was both a good tactician and full of courage. Macbeth and Thorfinn would annihilate the army of Modern and would then kill him. Now only Duncan's army remained and their attack on Northumbria was a disaster, causing him to retreat north. Contrary to Shakespeare's writings, it wasn't Macbeth who murdered Duncan in his bedroom due to treachery and scheming. Duncan sowed the seeds of his own destruction by his arrogance, weak will and simply because he chose to oppose powerful men, who as well as being warriors, also knew how to command men. Duncan would then lead his army further north into Moray, which was Macbeth's domain. In August of 1040, King Duncan and his army would face off against the forces of Macbeth and his allies. Macbeth's forces laid waste to the King's army and Duncan was killed on the battlefield. Macbeth would then lead his army to the Scottish capital and at the age of 35, he was crowned the King of Scotland. So Macbeth didn't take the throne by brute force, he was forced into action by Duncan and happened to overpower his army and kill him. Since he was the leader of the force and had royal blood, it was only natural that he would become King, as he was Duncan's cousin and Thorfinn and many other feudal lords may have encouraged him to step up and become the King of all Scots. After Duncan's death, his son Malcolm would flee the country. However, Macbeth had still taken the country by bloodshed and the ghosts of his enemies were coming back to haunt him, as their memories were still very much alive in the minds of other powerful men. In 1045, there was a rebellion led by Duncan's supporters but that was soon suppressed. Crinnan, the abbot of Dunkeld, who was widely responsible for this disruption, would soon be killed along with many more men who opposed Macbeth's rule. Duncan's loyalists however still lived on, as did his son Malcolm III. In 1046, Siward, the to restore Duncan's direct bloodline to the throne. Their attempt to dethrone Macbeth was unsuccessful, cementing Macbeth's kinship and unopposed rule. Malcolm however, Duncan's son, still lived. After this, Macbeth would go on a pilgrimage to Rome, giving much money to the poor and donating to the church. However, whilst Macbeth was in Rome, Malcolm was scheming with whatever English lord would hear him, again trying to amass an army to take the Scottish crown. In time, Malcolm's labour would bear fruit and in 1054, once again Siward, the Earl of Northumbria and Malcolm would march north at the head of an army. Siward and Malcolm's army met hardly any resistance on their way north and they would soon appear near the capital. Macbeth would meet the invaders in the field and a battle would ensue. The battle was devastating, with thousands of men dead and dying on the battlefield. Macbeth lost 3,000 men and Siward lost around 1,500. This caused Macbeth to ride north with the remnants of his army, whilst Siward and Malcolm would take control of southern Scotland. For three long years, Macbeth and his army were under constant threat and assault by Malcolm and Siward, but Macbeth was able to resist them. Macbeth knew that soon he would have to ride to war and that one decisive battle was necessary. However, in 1057, one of Macbeth's most powerful and closest allies, Thorfinn the Mighty, would die. Regardless, on August the 15th 1057, Macbeth rode into battle with his army and there, he met his end. This climactic battle was known as the Battle of Lumphannan. Later, in 1058, Malcolm the son of Duncan became the High King of Scotland. Unlike Shakespeare's writings, the real Macbeth seems to have ascended to the throne out of circumstance. Perhaps ambition fuelled him to accept the crown, but not many men would turn down such an opportunity. In addition, he was no tyrant. In the old sources, he was described as the red, tall, golden-haired one. He was pleasant and Scotland will be brimful from the east to the west during the reign of the furious red one. This was the life of the real Macbeth. If you enjoyed the video, make sure to like and subscribe and make sure you have that notification bell turned on, so you don't miss out on any upcoming videos. Anyway, I'll see you all soon for another history profile.