Mac Bethad mac Findlaích (ca. 1031 – 1057) King of Scotland, Eponym of Shake-speare’s “MacBeth”

Post author By Steven Wood Collins
Post date November 16, 2021
137 Comments on Mac Bethad mac Findlaích (ca. 1031 – 1057) King of Scotland, Eponym of Shake-speare’s “MacBeth”

MACBETH
“If it were done when ’tis done, then ’twere well
It were done quickly: if the assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch
With his surcease success; that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all here,
But here, upon this bank and shoal of time,
We’ld jump the life to come. But in these cases
We still have judgment here; that we but teach
Bloody instructions, which, being taught, return
To plague the inventor: this even-handed justice
Commends the ingredients of our poison’d chalice
To our own lips. He’s here in double trust;
First, as I am his kinsman and his subject,
Strong both against the deed; then, as his host,
Who should against his murderer shut the door,
Not bear the knife myself. Besides, this Duncan
Hath borne his faculties so meek, hath been
So clear in his great office, that his virtues
Will plead like angels, trumpet-tongued, against
The deep damnation of his taking-off;
And pity, like a naked new-born babe,
Striding the blast, or heaven’s cherubim, horsed
Upon the sightless couriers of the air,
Shall blow the horrid deed in every eye,
That tears shall drown the wind. I have no spur
To prick the sides of my intent, but only
Vaulting ambition, which o’erleaps itself
And falls on the other.”

– The Tragedy of Macbeth Act 1, Scene VII

The Tragedy of Macbeth is based on a rather faulty tale of the life and times of King Macbeth that William Shake-speare read before he wrote the play. Macbeth did, however, succeed as King of Scots after he slew his cousin King Duncan (1001 – 1040). The first to rule Scotland from the House of Dunkeld, Duncan was the son of Crínán of Atholl, Lay Abbott of Dunkeld (980 – 1045) Primogenitor of the Dunkeld Dynasty.

At Pitgaveny, near Elgin, on 15 August 1040, Duncan was killed in battle against the army led by Macbeth, with the support of Thorfinn “the Black”, 18th Jarl of Orkney (1009 – 1064). Duncan and Macbeth. They were first cousins, once removed through their maternal grandfather Malcolm II MacKenneth of Alba (954 – 1034) by three of his daughters (Duncan-Bethoc, Macbeth-Donada, and Thorfinn-Anleta).

Macbeth was an agnatic cousin of Niall Mor Noígíallach of the Nine Hostages (380 – 454) High King of Ireland, the eponymic founder of the Ui Néill clan. They were both agnatic descendants of the Eber Fionn, the first High King of Ireland, son of Galamh mac Bile “Míl Espáine” (1853 – 1806 BC) Father of the Irish Race, the eponymic founder of the Milesian dynasty.

Macbeth was the maternal great-grandson of Brian Boru (941 – 1014) Founder of the O’Brien Dynasty of Irish High Kings. Himself an agnatic descendant of Eber Fionn, in conquering Ireland, he ended the domination of the Ui Néill Irish High Kings dynasty and thereupon started the Ó Briain dynasty of Irish High Kings.

MacBeath Y-DNA Project

By Steven Wood Collins

I spent most of my life unaware of my ancestral heritage. Sure, I knew of the personal history of my more immediate relatives; but beyond that, I never had any inkling as to my ancestral heritage. Then one day many years ago my sister said to me, “I sometimes wonder about our family background.” And so my quest to discover our genealogical roots commenced.

I started building my family tree with the very basic relationships, going back in time from my grandparents, one ancestor at a time. That initial effort proved to be the hardest part of the pursuit, mainly due to my lack of expertise as a novice genealogical researcher. As I gained familiarity with the databases and how to efficiently mine them, my progress gained ever-increasing momentum. Today, The Patricians! tree (Ancestry.com) contains nearly 120,000 individuals, stretching over 135 generations, 5,800 of which are my direct ancestors in a genealogical sense.

During this trek back in time, I encountered fascinating figures in both history and obscurity. This blog contains many stories about their genealogical relationship to me (and many of you). By far and away, as a student of history, the historically obscure individuals are of particular interest to me. I cite Baron “Blue Beard” Montmorency-Laval de Rais (1405 – 1440) as an example of a historically maligned personage whose real contribution to history, as both a playwright and hero of France, has yet to be properly recognized. Another example is Earl Edward de Vere (1550 – 1604), who’s yet to gain widespread recognition as the actual author of the body of literary work wrongly ascribed to William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616).

My life-long interest in international economics and finance continues unabated. I primarily demonstrate this professional involvement as a contributor to the Long Room, the members-only international finance professionals' forum hosted by the Financial Times of London.

I'm an avid recreational scuba diver who enjoys traveling to exotic dive sites. My love of the sea and marine life gives me an unbounded appreciation and support of “green” issues, especially those devoted to the conservation of endangered species and coral reefs.

He continually posts results of his personal genealogical research to his Goodreads Authors Blog. Entitled The Patricians - The Ancestral Heritage of Steven Wood Collins, the work represents thousand of hours of his research efforts and related commentary.

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