Macbeth Macfinlay (aka Mac Bethad mac Findláig) reigned as the king of Scotland from 1040 to 1057 CE. The ruler of Moray, he took the throne via the battlefield from his predecessor Duncan I of Scotland (r. 1034-1040 CE). Macbeth reigned over a relatively prosperous kingdom, but Scotland's lack of unity proved fatal. The English king Edward the Confessor (r. 1042-1066 CE) joined forces with Duncan I's exiled son Malcolm, and their army defeated Macbeth at Dunsinane in 1054 CE. Macbeth then died in a skirmish with rebels in 1057 CE. He was briefly succeeded by his stepson Lulach (r. 1057-1058 CE) and then by his great rival and cousin Malcolm who became Malcolm III of Scotland (r. 1058-1093 CE). William Shakespeare (1564-1616 CE) made the Scottish king infamous in his early 17th-century CE play Macbeth but the character has little to do with the historical figure, even if he became one of the most memorable of all the playwright's creations.
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Definition
Timeline
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c. 1005Macbeth Macfinlay, future king of Scotland, is born.
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1032Macbeth Macfinlay becomes the Mormaer of Moray in northern Scotland.
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c. 1032Macbeth Macfinlay marries Gruoch, the granddaughter of Kenneth III of Scotland.
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1034 - 1040Reign of Duncan I of Scotland.
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1040 - 1057Reign of Macbeth Macfinlay, king of Scotland.
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14 Aug 1040Duncan I of Scotland is killed in battle at Pitgaveny and so Macbeth Macfinlay takes the throne.
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1045Macbeth, king of Scotland, defeats a rebel army at Dunkeld led by Duncan I’s father Crinán.
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1046Siward, Earl of Northumbria, invades and defeats an army of Macbeth, king of Scotland.
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1050Macbeth, king of Scotland, goes on a pilgrimage to Rome.
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1054An English army invades Scotland.
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27 Jul 1054An English army defeats Macbeth, king of Scotland at Dunsinane.
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12 Aug 1057Macbeth, king of Scotland, is fatally wounded in a skirmish at Lumphanan against supporters of future Malcolm III of Scotland.
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15 Aug 1057Macbeth, king of Scotland, dies from battle wounds.
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Sep 1057 - 1057Lulach, stepson of Macbeth Macfinlay, becomes the king of Scotland.
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Sep 1057 - Mar 1058Reign of Lulach as king of Scotland.
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1058 - 1093Reign of Malcolm III of Scotland.
