The Real Macbeth: Scotland's Pious King Beneath the Myth

In 1040, a man named Macbeth mac Findláech killed King Duncan in battle and took the Scottish throne. Shakespeare turned him into a guilt-ridden murderer, but the real Macbeth ruled for seventeen years, went on pilgrimage to Rome, and gave money to the poor. This episode separates the plays from the chronicles, the propaganda from the charters. We look at how Duncan actually died, why Macbeth's reign was stable enough for him to travel abroad, and how his stepson Lulach and then Malcolm III undid his legacy. We also explore the sources: the Annals of Ulster, the Chronicle of the Kings of Alba, and the later writings of Andrew of Wyntoun and Hector Boece that fueled the myth. And we ask a simple question: if Macbeth was so bad, why did he rule so long? #Macbeth #ShakespeareVsHistory #ScottishMonarchy #MedievalScotland #MacbethMacFindlaech #DuncanI #Gruoch #PilgrimageToRome #AnnalsOfUlster #ChronicleOfKingsOfAlba #BattleOfPitgaveny #Lulach #MalcolmIII #KingOfAlba #EleventhCentury #History #FexingoHistory #Podcast Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo