Battle of Lumphanan | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Scottish Crown | Rebels | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
King MacBeth † | Malcolm Canmore | ||||||
The Battle of Lumphanan was fought on 15 August 1057, between Macbeth, King of Scots, and the future King Malcolm III. Macbeth would die from wounds sustained in the battle, which came after his defeat at the battle of Dunsinane in 1054. According to tradition, the battle took place at Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire. Macbeth's Stone, a large boulder at the site, is said to mark the spot where Macbeth was mortally wounded. Following the battle Lulach, Macbeth's stepson was crowned King, before being killed by Malcolm who then took the throne.
Since the death of his father, King Duncan, in battle with Macbeth, Malcolm had been sheltered by Earl Siward of Northumbria, [1] his uncle. [2] It was with Siward's backing that Malcolm first attacked Macbeth leading to the battle of Dunsinane in 1054, where Malcolm failed to win the crown, but had his own lands restored to him. [1] Some sources say it was Edward the Confessor, King of England, who ordered Siward to launch this invasion of Scotland. [2]
After retreating North, Macbeth would again face Malcolm in battle at Lumphanan, [3] in modern day Aberdeenshire. [4] The battle itself appears to have been a comparatively minor affair, except for Macbeth being mortally wounded and later dying. [3] Sources describe the battle as taking place "in a wood". [4]
Macbeth's Stone, a large boulder at the site, is traditionally held to mark the location where Macbeth was wounded. [4]
Following the death of Macbeth, his stepson Lulach was initially crowned king. 18 weeks later, in 1058 Malcolm killed him by 'treachery' at Essie, near Aberdeen. [1] Upon assuming the throne, Malcolm, with the help of his English queen, Margaret, began the long task of removing Gaelic culture from mainstream Scotland. [3]
Lulach mac Gille Coemgáin was King of Alba (Scotland) between 15 August 1057 and 17 March 1058.
Macbethad mac Findláech, nicknamed the Red King, was King of Scotland (Alba) from 1040 until his death. Little is known about Macbeth's early life, although he was the son of Findláech of Moray and may have been a grandson of Malcolm II, presumably through his daughter Donada. He became Mormaer (Earl) of Moray – a semi-autonomous province – in 1032, and was probably responsible for the death of the previous mormaer, Gille Coemgáin. He subsequently married Gille Coemgáin's widow, Gruoch, but they had no children together.
Malcolm III was King of Scotland from 1058 to 1093. He was later nicknamed "Canmore". Malcolm's long reign of 35 years preceded the beginning of the Scoto-Norman age. Henry I of England and Eustace III, Count of Boulogne were his sons-in-law, making him the maternal grandfather of Empress Matilda, William Adelin and Matilda I, Countess of Boulogne. All three of them were prominent in English politics during the 12th century.
Year 1057 (MLVII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.
Year 1054 (MLIV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar.
Edward the Confessor was an Anglo-Saxon English king and saint. Usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, he ruled from 1042 until his death in 1066.
Donnchad mac Crinain was king of Scotland (Alba) from 1034 to 1040. He is the historical basis of the "King Duncan" in Shakespeare's play Macbeth.
Máel Coluim mac Cináeda was King of Alba (Scotland) from 1005 until his death in the year 1034. He was one of the longest-reigning Scottish kings of that period.
Lord Macduff, the Thane of Fife, is a character and the heroic main antagonist in William Shakespeare's Macbeth (c.1603–1607) that is loosely based on history. Macduff, a legendary hero, plays a pivotal role in the play: he suspects Macbeth of regicide and eventually kills Macbeth in the final act. He can be seen as the avenging hero who helps save Scotland from Macbeth's tyranny in the play.
Dunsinane Hill is a hill of the Sidlaws near the village of Collace in Perthshire, Scotland. It is mentioned in Shakespeare's play Macbeth, in which a vision informs Macbeth that he "shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him."
Siward or Sigurd was an important earl of 11th-century northern England. The Old Norse nickname Digri and its Latin translation Grossus are given to him by near-contemporary texts. It is possible Siward may have been of Scandinavian or Anglo-Scandinavian origin, perhaps a relative of Earl Ulf, although this is speculative. He emerged as a regional strongman in England during the reign of Cnut. Cnut was a Scandinavian ruler who conquered most of England in the 1010s, and Siward was one of many Scandinavians who came to England in the aftermath, rising to become sub-ruler of most of northern England. From 1033 at the latest, he was in control of southern Northumbria, present-day Yorkshire, governing as earl on Cnut's behalf.
Moray was a province within the area of modern-day Scotland, that may at times up to the 12th century have operated as an independent kingdom or as a power base for competing claimants to the Kingdom of Alba. It covered a much larger territory than the modern council area of Moray, extending approximately from the River Spey in the east to the River Beauly in the north, and encompassing Badenoch, Lochaber and Glenelg in the south and west.
Lumphanan is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland located 25 miles (40 km) from Aberdeen and 10 miles (16 km) from Banchory.
Events from the 1050s in England.
Osbeorn, also spelled Osbjorn and Osbert, given the nickname Bulax, was the son of Siward, Earl of Northumbria. He is one of two known sons of Siward, believed to be the elder. While it is normally assumed he was the son of Siward's Bamburgh wife Ælfflæd, it has been suggested by William Kapelle that Osbeorn's mother was not Ælfflæd. The nickname "Bulax" probably represents the Old Norse term for "Poleaxe".
Dunsinane is a 2010 play by David Greig. It premiered in a Royal Shakespeare Company production at the Hampstead Theatre from 10 February to 6 March 2010, directed by RSC Associate Director Roxana Silbert and with leads including Siobhan Redmond and Jonny Phillips.
The Treaty of Abernethy was signed at the Scottish village of Abernethy in 1072 by King Malcolm III of Scotland and by William of Normandy.
Malcolm is a character in William Shakespeare's Macbeth. The character is based on the historical king Malcolm III of Scotland, and is derived largely from the account in Holinshed's Chronicles (1587), a history of Britain. He is the elder son of King Duncan, the heir to the throne, and brother to Donalbain. In the end, he regains the throne after mustering support to overthrow Macbeth.
The Battle of Dunsinane, also known as the Battle of the Seven Sleepers, was fought between the forces of Macbeth, King of Scotland and forces led by Siward, Earl of Northumbria and Malcolm Canmore on 27 July 1054. The battle was part of a campaign launched by Siward in support of Malcolm's claim to the Scottish throne, which Macbeth had gained after killing Malcolm's father, Duncan I of Scotland, at the Battle of Pitgaveny in 1040. Ending in victory for Siward and Malcolm the battle of Dunsinane was fought in Perthshire, traditionally on Dunsinane Hill.
The Battle of Pitgaveny, also called the Battle of Bothnagowan, was fought between the forces of Duncan I of Scotland and Macbeth, at the time the ruler of Moray, on 14 August 1040. The battle was part of a campaign by Duncan into Moray against Macbeth. It was fought at Bothganown, modern day Pitgaveny, near Elgin. The battle was a victory for Macbeth and resulted in Duncan's death.