Page 55 - All About History 58 - 2017 UK

The Real Macbeth

Mighty’s widow, whose past conflicts with Moray their forces to take vengeance on Macbeth, the
Duncan I was killed in
battle, not in his bed would see no love lost between the two. Macbeth’s man who had killed both their fathers. After his
enemies were uniting against him. death, Malcolm may have then rounded on his ally
With his forces Malcolm cornered Macbeth and taken the throne for himself. Whatever the
at Lumphanan and after a fierce fight saw the actions, Malcolm III emerged victorious and ended
former fall on the battlefield. It seems fitting that Macbeth’s line for good.
Macbeth’s death came by the Macbeth’s actions were not
sword of Duncan I’s son, the very “WITH HIS unusual for a Scottish king in this
man he killed to take the crown. era of blood and strife, but his
Perhaps this overwhelming sense FORCES, story is certainly made all the more
of poetic justice is what convinced famous as a result of Shakespeare’s
Shakespeare to choose just this MALCOLM dramatic attentions. While not
king to write his play about. the tyrant portrayed in the play,
But Malcolm didn’t take the CORNERED Macbeth claimed the throne
throne straight away. Lulach, through ruthless force, carving out a
Macbeth’s stepson with the noble MACBETH AT reign in a bloody and turbulent time
heritage, was taken to Scone by LUMPHANAN” in Scottish history.
loyal followers and crowned king We get a feel that Macbeth was
after his stepfather. However, the reign of Lulach a capable ruler and a man of ambition, taking
— known as ‘the Unlucky’ or by less generous revenge against his father’s killers to rule Moray by
chroniclers, ‘the Idiot’ — was destined to be exploiting the political stage and using his military
short-lived, as just four months later Malcolm might to take the Scottish throne. While he
would slay him at Essie in 1058 and take the was able to rule with impunity for a number
throne as Malcolm III. of years, the feuds created by his actions came
However, Medieval Scottish history is murky. An back to haunt him and he died at the hands of
alternative tale sees Lulach and Malcolm combine men hellbent on revenge.

Macbeth and Banquo
meeting the witches,
another invention
Shakespeare lifted from
Holinshed’s Chronicles

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