Shakespeare’s play Macbeth is one of the best known works of drama in the English language. Many people studied it at school and several of the lines in the play are instantly recognisable, re-used in everyday speech.
Macbeth was not simply a product of Shakespeare’s active imagination. Historically, Macbeth was Mormaer or Duke of Moray, a powerful figure who did indeed become King of Scotland. He ruled Scotland for 17 years and was regarded by chroniclers as a popular king. A probable timeline for his life is –
| 1000-1005 | Born in Province of Moray |
| 1020 | Death of his father at the hands of Gillacomgain |
| 1027/31 | Met Cnut at Malcolm’s court |
| 1032 | Kills Gillacomgain and becomes Mormaer of Moray |
| 1033 | Marriage to Gruoch |
| 1040 | Kills Duncan and becomes King of Alba |
| 1045 | Defeats rebellion by Crinan, Duncan’s father and Abbott of Dunkeld |
| 1046 | Repels invasion by Earl Siward of Northumbria |
| 1050 | Pilgrimage to Rome |
| 1054 | Defeated by Earl Siward at Battle of the Seven Sleepers in Perthshire |
| 1057 | Defeat and death at Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire |
Few people know that much of the action in Macbeth takes place in Moray, some of it in a palace or castle in Forres, and some of it in the wider area. While all that remains of the castle are place-names and some documentary records, Forres does have one iconic monument known as Sueno’s Stone. It is the tallest carved stone monument in Britain and has many interpretations connected to the Pictish, Viking and Medieval history of the region. The stone stood in its present location before Macbeth’s time, but there can be little doubt that the historical Macbeth would himself have visited it.
A local group has created a Macbeth audio tour and an accompanying web site www.kingmacbeth.com
There is additional Wikipedia information about Shakespeare’s play Macbeth here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbeth) and about King Macbeth here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macbeth_of_Scotland)