Macbeth

Nearly a thousand years after her death ‘Lady MacBeth’ reflects on that play, her portrayal and how storytellers have treated women throughout history.

I'll be honest with you right from the start I really can't stand that play. The first time I saw it, I was livid. Who does that man think he is? And now, four hundred years later, I'm still livid. He destroyed the truth of my life, of MacBethad’s, for his own selfish gain.

MacBethad doesn't care, he thinks it's funny how ridiculous the play is. That if anyone believes it, more fool them. He doesn't understand why it bothers me.

But it's okay for him, and men like him. History records theirlives.It doesn't matter what Shakespeare wrote History will record that his name was Macbethad, that he was Mormaer of Moray, and one of the king's most senior nobles. It will record that Duncan was killed at Pitgaveny in 1040 after he invaded Moray because he felt threatened by Macbethad's power and influence.

Shakespeare can write that MacBeth only reigned for a year, history will record that MacBethad was King of Scotland for seventeen years from 1040-1057, that he saw the country through troubles with England and Orkney, and saw off a rebellion from Duncan's kin in 1045, and that he was the first Scottish king to make a pilgrimage to Rome and meet the Pope.

The chronders of the time recorded that under MacBethad Scotland experienced extended periods of peace and prosperity.

And they recorded that in 1057 Duncan's son Malcolm launched another rebellion and Macßethad was killed in battle at Lumphanen. He was succeeded by my son Lulach until he was killed in battle against Malcolm's forces at Strathbogie the following year.

And anyone who reads Scottish history will quickly notice that MacDuffs crowned Scottish monarchs. they did not sit on the throne.

But when it comes to me those history books are almost silent. They record my birth, both marriages, the birth of Lulach and becoming Queen of Scotland They don't even record when I died.

Why? When I died it didn't affect the life of any man.

At least they record one thing, even if Shakepeare ignored it: my name. Gruoch daughter of Bodhe, wife of MacBethad, mother of Lulach and Queen of Scotland.

I've always assumed Shakespeare and the company couldn't pronounce Gruoch. so I became Lady MacBeth.

Because god forbid a group of Englishmen learn something to ensure they are respectful of a Scottish woman.

I've watched for hundreds of years as Gruochwas almost forgotten. Except for those who studied Scottish history, people learned about Lady MacBeth. not Gruoch. And she became a synonym for the vilest of women, someone who would scheme, fight and even murder to gain status and power.

I had no great thirst for power, I had enough power and responsibility as wife of the Mormaer of Moray. And I never killed anyone.

The idea that a king of Scotland would come to any harm in my home, especially from me, is despicable. The violation of hospitality alone would ve meant complete ruin for me.

And I would've never have harmed Duncan. I loved and respected him, he was my king and my kin. MacBethad was loyal to Duncan until the day that he invaded Moray. He wasn't scheming to gain the throne, he was content as Mormaer of Moray.

And honestly, the idea of either of us being influenced by any group of strangers, nevermind witches, is absolutely ridiculous.

We had people within our household who claimed to have ‘the gift' and while we listened to them, we never made major decisions based solely on what they said.

They certainly couldn't drive either of us to commit murder.

But then that play was never about my story or MacBethad's. It was all about Shakespeare trying to sook up to James VI and gain his favour.

And James was such a shallow creature that it worked perfectly.

James grew up in Scotland surrounded by scheming nobles desperate for power, so he assumed Duncan must've had the same experience.

And the witches were there to show James he was right. But anyone with commonsense could see that he was wrong, and we now know that for sure. He led a crusade that ended up with thousands of people, most of them women, being falsely accused, tortured, and executed across Scotland.

Do I think Shakespeare would have done better if he'd known? No. If he would slander a Scottish queen for his own ends, then I doubt he would care about ordinary Scottish women. He would trample over anyone for his own ends.

It comes down to power and privilege.

Being a storyteller is a privilege that gives you power. And too often, throughout history, men have used that power to destroy the character of women. It's not just me. look at what ancient Greek writers did to Helen of Troy and her sister Clytemnestra. Or how writers in ancient Rome treated Cleopatra, Messalina and Aggripina. How Theodora was treated by writers in Byzantium. Like me, Margaret of Anjou had her character destroyed by Shakespeare.

And these were women like me, they were privileged, they had influence and power. What about women like Agnes Sampson, Gellis Duncan or Jenny Horne? We know so little about these women that it is almost impossible to tell the true story.

Women are starting to retell my story…

There are some where they just retell my story, MacBethad's story using what history is available and making an educated guess about the rest. I like that. 

Sometimes | wish some women hadn't bothered. I don't find it empowering to say I was the villain written by Shakespeare but somehow that's a good thing. And I was definitely not a complete airhead who had no understanding of how the world worked.

Of course my favourite depiction is by a Scottish woman. She wrote MacBethad and | as genuinely in love. As monarchs who were loved and respected by their subjects. She even ended with him secretly surviving Lumphanen. I wish we'd been able to live that story.

Do I wish that l'd faded into history like the queens before me. No. But I wish I was remembered as someone who was loyal, respectful and trustworthy. That took the power and responsibility I had seriously and did not long for more.

And I really wish that people remembered my name. I was never Lady MacBeth.

I am Gruoch.