Duncan, Macbeth and Lulach

Duncan I

Duncan I of Scotland is the first of the kings of the House of Dunkeld and ruled what would become Scotland from 1034 – 1040. It is believed that he is the inspiration behind King Duncan in Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

Quick Facts:
Born:  15^th August 1001, Atholl, Scotland
Died:  14^th August 1040, Elgin
Reign:  1034-1040
Parents: Crinan of Dinkeld and Bethoc of House Alpin
Predecessor:  Malcom II
Successor:  Macbeth
Spouse:  Suthen
Children:  Malcom III, Donald II, Mael Muire
Royal House:  Dunkeld

Though the inspiration behind Shakespeare’s King Duncan, the actual King Duncan was a fairly young king. He is also a character in the animated series Gargoyles. Both these depictions appear to differ from historical texts from the time. The Duncan in Macbeth is elderly and was killed in his sleep, in Gargoyles he is depicted as being weak and conniving and tries to assassinate Macbeth.

In reality, he ascended the throne in his early thirties following the death of his maternal grandfather without opposition, leading him to found the House of Dunkeld, named for his father. The early period of Duncan’s reign was believed to be fairly uneventful, which is thought to be because of his youth and inexperience. It is believed that Macbeth, who was also based on a real life Duke, was his right hand man and historians suggest that he might have been the true power behind the throne.

In 1039, Duncan led a large Scots army south into England to capture Durham, but was unsuccessful. Duncan survived but died the following year in another attempt to gain more territory, this time in the North against Macbeth. He left three sons, two of whom would later be kings and one the Earl of Atholl.

He was succeeded by Macbeth.

Macbeth

Though best known as the lead character from the Shakespeare play, Macbeth was an actual historical figure. Though there is little known about his early life, modern historians think he might have been a grandson of Malcom II.

Quick Facts:
Born:  1005
Died:  15^th August 1057
Reign:  1040-1057
Parents: Findlaech and Donada
Predecessor:  Duncan I
Successor:  Lulach
Spouse:  Gruoch
Children: none
Royal House:  Moray

Although initially believed to have been a Duke working alongside King Duncan, towards the end of Duncan’s reign, Macbeth was in Moray and led troops against Duncan’s expedition into the North. Duncan was killed in action and Macbeth succeeded him with little opposition, reigning for 17 years. His reign was mostly peaceful, though he did battle the English when Edward the Confessor attempted an invasion.

In his final years, Macbeth was involved in the issues taking place in England, particularly between the Earl of Wessex and Edward the Confessor. He is considered to be the first king to introduce feudalism to Scotland.

Much like in the Shakespeare play, Malcom III had the support of the English, though he would have to wait for his chance to sit on the throne.

Macbeth was eventually killed in a battle in 1057 against the future Malcom III, son of Duncan I, as part of an English invasion. He was initially succeeded by his stepson, Lulach, who in turn was also killed by Malcom, whose descendants would rule Scotland until well into the 13^th century.

Lulach

Quick Facts:
Born:  1033, Moray, Scotland
Died:  17^th March 1058, Strathbogie
Reign:  1057-1058
Parents: Gille, Comegain of Moray and Gruoch of Scotland
Predecessor:  Macbeth
Successor: Malcom III
Spouse:  unknown
Children:  unknown
Royal House:  Moray

Lulach, the stepson of Macbeth was known as the Unfortunate, the Simple-minded and the Foolish, which shows his popularity as King of Scotland.

He was the son of Macbeth’s wife and on the death of his stepfather, was placed on the throne by Macbeth’s supporters. It is believed that he is the first King of Scotland of whom there are coronation details available, he was crowned on 8^th September 1057 at Scone.

According to historians, he was seen as being a weak king and only held the throne for a few months before being assassinated by Malcom III.

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