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On the Trail of the Real Macbeth, King of Alba
Shakespeare's memorable Macbeth is one of the best known literary icons in the English language, but few know that he was a real person with his own story off stage. On The Trail of the Real Macbeth brings this 11th century tale alive with a detailed touring itinerary enabling readers to explore Macbeth's Scotland. From early childhood Macbeth fought real-life treachery to protect his birthright to the throne and ruled successfully from 1040 to 1057. Travel what is now Scotland with a touring itinerary as you follow On Trail of the Real Macbeth.
192 pages, Paperback
First published September 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 24, 2023
My local library (it’s 14 miles away, but that counts as local where I live) is a fairly small scale affair, serving a scattered rural population. However users can order books via inter-library loans. It’s a good system though books can often take a while to appear, and sometimes they take so long you have almost forgotten that you ever placed the order. Anyway this book was ordered a while ago but appeared suddenly last week, so I needed to fit it in with the books I was already reading.
If an author is going to tackle the subject of the historical Macbeth, they always have to refer to the “real” Macbeth, since the actual Scottish king is so completely overshadowed by the Shakespearian version. Incidentally the book’s subtitle “King of Alba” refers to a medieval kingdom that formed the core of the territory of modern-day Scotland, but which was a bit smaller and centred to the north of the Forth-Clyde line that today contains most of Scotland’s population. “Alba” is still used today in Scottish Gaelic as the name for Scotland. It’s usually pronounced with an extra vowel in the middle, so that it sounds a little like “Al-a-ba”.
This book is a mixture of history, biography and travel guide. It’s a short book, the bulk of which is the biography of Macbeth together with the historical background, but there’s also a short section at the end that suggests places to visit, connected to Macbeth’s life.
The problem with a biography of Macbeth is that he ruled from 1040-1057, and we have precious little documentation to rely on from that period. It’s not mentioned in this book, but I’ve read elsewhere that only 7 events are recorded from Macbeth’s reign. One of those is a supposed pilgrimage to Rome which some modern historians are sceptical about, although the authors of this book do not question it. There are other aspects of Macbeth’s life which the authors present as fact, which I know are disputed by other historians.
Even the authors concede that a chunk of this book is based on events that they have inferred from the slimmest of evidence, and to be honest some of it can fairly be described as guesswork. The reader encounters plenty of phrases like “Perhaps we can imagine…” and “We can assume that…”
On the plus side the authors do quite a good job describing the medieval Celtic society that Macbeth would have inhabited and later ruled over.
I also liked the tour guide at the end, which provides detailed descriptions of how to visit the sites identified. Most are in the north-east of Scotland, the heartland of the Kingdom of Alba, and the guide assumes you will have access to a car. Fans of Shakespeare will be pleased to hear that Cawdor Castle, Birnam Wood and Dunsinane Hill all feature! I’ve been to all of the general localities mentioned, but there are a number of specific sites that I haven’t been to. I have made a note of about half-a-dozen to visit in future.
If an author is going to tackle the subject of the historical Macbeth, they always have to refer to the “real” Macbeth, since the actual Scottish king is so completely overshadowed by the Shakespearian version. Incidentally the book’s subtitle “King of Alba” refers to a medieval kingdom that formed the core of the territory of modern-day Scotland, but which was a bit smaller and centred to the north of the Forth-Clyde line that today contains most of Scotland’s population. “Alba” is still used today in Scottish Gaelic as the name for Scotland. It’s usually pronounced with an extra vowel in the middle, so that it sounds a little like “Al-a-ba”.
This book is a mixture of history, biography and travel guide. It’s a short book, the bulk of which is the biography of Macbeth together with the historical background, but there’s also a short section at the end that suggests places to visit, connected to Macbeth’s life.
The problem with a biography of Macbeth is that he ruled from 1040-1057, and we have precious little documentation to rely on from that period. It’s not mentioned in this book, but I’ve read elsewhere that only 7 events are recorded from Macbeth’s reign. One of those is a supposed pilgrimage to Rome which some modern historians are sceptical about, although the authors of this book do not question it. There are other aspects of Macbeth’s life which the authors present as fact, which I know are disputed by other historians.
Even the authors concede that a chunk of this book is based on events that they have inferred from the slimmest of evidence, and to be honest some of it can fairly be described as guesswork. The reader encounters plenty of phrases like “Perhaps we can imagine…” and “We can assume that…”
On the plus side the authors do quite a good job describing the medieval Celtic society that Macbeth would have inhabited and later ruled over.
I also liked the tour guide at the end, which provides detailed descriptions of how to visit the sites identified. Most are in the north-east of Scotland, the heartland of the Kingdom of Alba, and the guide assumes you will have access to a car. Fans of Shakespeare will be pleased to hear that Cawdor Castle, Birnam Wood and Dunsinane Hill all feature! I’ve been to all of the general localities mentioned, but there are a number of specific sites that I haven’t been to. I have made a note of about half-a-dozen to visit in future.
August 27, 2016
A well-written work on the real Macbeth (who was definitely different from Shakespeare's version). It was very readable for a popular audience but still holds the seriousness of being written by historians. Interestingly, the authors (an actual history education only for one), wrote this from the perspective of history scholars and travel agents. As a result, they invite you to visit the places associated with the man and descriptively piece together his life as a whole as best they can, even though not much is known about the real man. This work is good for not only the physical traveler but also for the mental one as well.
February 23, 2025
Too short
I wish more could be researched and written about macbeth and his scottish contemporaries but as the author repeatedly states, there is just lack of written material and other sources to go on.
I wish more could be researched and written about macbeth and his scottish contemporaries but as the author repeatedly states, there is just lack of written material and other sources to go on.
March 28, 2016
Challenging to follow the names (like reading through the begats in the Bible and trying to keep everyone straight), but an otherwise fascinating look at Scotland's colorful history. It opens with a reminder that Shakespeare was an entertainer, not a historian, then delves into the real life and times of Macbethad mac Findlaech (and his wife, who was not a power-hungry witch afterall). Worth reading if you're a fan of the Scottish play.
June 14, 2012
Part history, part travel guide. The authors starts out with a table that compares the real MacBeth to Shakespeare's creation then takes you through the history and events surrounding him. The end of the book is a guidebook and if you're so inclined you can walk in MacBeth's footsteps. Loved it!
July 10, 2015
Very interesting read, as the real Macbeth deserves a bit more research/scholarship beyond Shakespeare!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews