February 18-- 7:00pm Macbeth

(con't ) Other Annals

There are other annals—such as Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland, the Annals of Ulster, and the Annals of Tigernach—that, together, tell a somewhat different story. Again, the main outlines are the same: Macbeth kills Duncan and assumes the throne, and he is eventually killed and Duncan’s son, Malcolm III, assumes the throne. But there are no witches, no prophecies, and no slaughter of innocents.

Macbeth’s wife, however, is named. She is Gruoch, the widow of Gille Coemgáin, who may have preceded Macbeth as king of Moray and who was apparently burned to death with 50 others (possibly by Macbeth). Whatever the case, Macbeth married Gruoch and adopted her son by Gille Coemgáin, Lulach. Duncan, who succeeded his grandfather (Malcolm II) as king of the Scots and Macbeth’s overlord, was killed by Macbeth in 1040 after leading a raid into Moray. Macbeth then succeeded Duncan as king.

Macbeth’s reign appears to have gone as smoothly as reigns went in those tumultuous times. He even made a pilgrimage to Rome (1050), where he made generous offerings to the poor. Siward’s invasion of Scotland, four years later, appears to have been prompted by Macbeth’s interference in the power struggle between Edward the Confessor and Godwin, Earl of Essex. Macbeth survived the invasion, but was killed approximately three years later in battle with Malcolm III. His stepson, Lulach, was put on the Scottish throne by Macbeth’s allies but was deposed by Malcolm III after only seven months.

To read a translated version of the Annals of Ulster, see http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T100001A/

An early 16th century edition of the Annals can be viewed @ http://image.ox.ac.uk/show?collection=bodleian&manuscript=msrawlb489

The untranslated text of the Annals of Tigernach can be found at http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/G100002/index.html

Macbeth’s Context: James I and the Gunpowder Plot

Macbeth was probably written to celebrate James I’s accession to the English throne in 1603. James was descended from Elizabeth I’s grandfather, Henry VII, on both his mother’s and father’s side. His mother was the famous Mary, Queen of Scots, the granddaughter of Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII and older sister to Henry VIII. Although James became the first monarch to reign over both Scotland and England, his life was marked by violence, including the infamous Gunpowder Plot, and there must have been many times that his ability to rule seemed imperiled. James' triumph over multiple and varied attempts to kill or control him likely contributed to his belief that he was divinely chosen to lead.

James’ Early Life and Accession to the English Throne

James’ Parents. James’ mother, Mary, was the only child of the Scottish king, James V, and his French wife, Mary of Guise. Mary became Queen of the Scots when she was only six days’ old and was crowned at nine months. She spent the next 13 years in France as the Dauphin's wife (and later Queen Consort), returning to Scotland after her husband's death in 1560. Mary was then 19.

Her rule was difficult. She was a devout Catholic, and, by this time, Protestants were the ascendant faction, led by Mary’s illegitimate half-brother, James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray. Mary kept her brother on as her chief advisor and tolerated the Protestants. She made several attempts to convince Elizabeth to name Mary her heir, but Elizabeth always found a way to avoid declaring Mary her successor.

In 1565, four years after her return to Scotland, Mary married her first cousin, the 19 year-old Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, an English noble and Catholic who surreptitiously fled to Scotland in order to wed Mary. Elizabeth was infuriated by this marriage because Darnley was a grandson of Margaret Tudor. Any children born of this marriage would inherit both of their parents’ claims to the English throne. This marriage also prompted Moray to revolt, but Mary successfully defended her throne, and he fled.

Other than producing an heir, the marriage was a disaster. After Mary became pregnant with James, Darnley began demanding power commensurate with his status as “King.” At one point, he attacked Mary in an attempt to provoke a miscarriage. Jealous of Mary’s relationship with her Italian secretary, David Riccio, Darnley and other nobles murdered Riccio in front of the pregnant Mary. Although Darnley abandoned his conspirators, the marriage was irretrievably broken down.

Darnley’s Murder and Mary’s Abdication. After James’ birth (1566), Darnley became ill (possibly from syphilis), and, in 1567, was recuperating in a house outside Edinburgh. Mary visited him frequently, apparently seeking a reconciliation, but a conspiracy was brewing to remove Darnley permanently. That February, an explosion tore through the house, and Darnley was found outside in the garden, apparently strangled. Suspicion immediately fell on the Earl of Bothwell and Mary, who married within three months (Bothwell allegedly abducted and raped Mary, forcing the marriage, but many believed this to be just pretense).

The Bothwell marriage proved to be the beginning of the end for Mary. The nobles revolted and imprisoned Mary (Bothwell fled and later died a captive of the Danish king). Mary was forced to abdicate in favor of the one-year old James, and—after failing to defeat the nobles—she fled to England, where she was imprisoned by Elizabeth until her execution 18 years later.

The Regencies. By the time James was six, his father had been murdered, his mother deposed and imprisoned in England, and his life and crown controlled by four different men. James was crowned king of Scotland at the age of 13 months (1567), and his uncle, Moray, was regent. Within two years,

Moray was assassinated, succeeded by Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox, the uncle of Moray's assassin. Within a year (1571), Matthew Stewart was dead, fatally wounded in a raid by Mary's supporters. He was replaced by John Erskine, 1st Earl of Mar, who died a year later (1572) after becoming violent ill following a banquet probably-not-so-coincidentally held by Erskine's successor as regent, James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton.

Douglas remained in power for almost nine years before being replaced by James' French cousin and favorite, Esmé Stewart, Sieur d'Aubigny, who was made Duke of Lennox in 1581. The 15 year-old king was enthralled by Lennox, but this attachment raised the ire of the Protestant faction, which accused Lennox of drawing James into "carnal lust." Lennox was banished in 1582 and James imprisoned in Ruthven Castle. When he was freed a year later, James began to consolidate his power, assuming increasing control over his government. One more attempt (1600) was made to either control or kill James, but this attempt was unsuccessful.