Page 53 - All About History - Issue 58-17

The Real Macbet

During the 11th century Scotland was not a single
THE FOUR KINGDOMS entity — rather a collection of independent kingdoms

MORAY
A fiercely independent kingdom
within Scotland, it inhabited THE VIKINGS
most of the Highlands and
servedasabufferbetweenthe Occupying the Outer
king of Scotland and the lords of Hebrides and the
the Isles. Although its rulers were northern tip of the
usuallysubservienttotheking, Scottish mainland, the
many Moray rulers fought on rulers of this region were
until the region was suppressed descended from Viking
for good by David I in 1130. raiders and had ties to
Scandinavia. Thorfinn the
Mighty, the powerful Jarl
of Orkney, fought with
Macbeth, and his widow
married into the Gaelic
ALBA royal family.
Another name for the kingdom
of Scotland, this was the seat
of the king. Ongoing tensions
betweenAlbaandMoraywould
shapethepoliticallandscape
of the territories until their SCONE
unification in 1130. The kings of The traditional coronation
Alba were also in a near-constant placeofthekingsof
stateofwarwiththeirsouthern Scotland. The Stone of
neighbours in England. Destiny, also known as
the Stone of Scone, is
the coronation stone on
which the king would
sit.Thestonewastaken
by Edward I and only
BATTLE OF returned to Scotland in
LUNFANNON the 20th century.
ThesiteofMacbeth’sfinalbattle.
Retreating from the onslaught
of Malcolm III’s forces, Macbeth
andhismenwerecaughtoff
guard and made their last stand. BATTLE OF
His body was laid to rest at Iona, DUNSINANE HILL
the traditional resting place of
The battle made famous
the kings of Scotland.
bytheplaysawSiwardof
Northumbria march north
and threaten Macbeth’s
southern borders. Even
with Norman mercenaries
on his side, Macbeth
STRATHCLYDE was defeated and lost
Brought into the king of possession of the southern
part of his kingdom.
Scotland’s sphere by Malcolm
II,Strathclydehasbeendubbed
‘the kingdom of the M74’ due to
the modern motorway running
through the historic territory. It
wasalsoknownasthekingdom NORTHUMBRIA
of Cumbria and was fully part of
Scotland by 1066. During Macbeth’s reign,
Earl Siward, a powerful
supporter of King Cnut,
KEY ruled the vast and
powerful kingdom of
Northumbria. Although
Strathcylde
Siward defeated Macbeth
Moray andinstalledhisallyin
southern Scotland, he
Alba lost his son on the field
of battle.
Jarldom of
Orkney
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