King Macbeth is killed at the Battle of Lumphanan by the forces of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada.
The Battle of Lumphanan was fought on 15 August 1057, between Macbeth, King of Scots, and Mel Coluim mac Donnchada, the future King Malcolm III. Macbeth was killed, having drawn his retreating forces north to make a last stand. According to tradition, the battle took place near the Peel of Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire. Macbeth's Stone, some 300 metres (980 ft) south-west of the peel, is said to be the stone upon which Macbeth was beheaded.
Macbeth (Medieval Gaelic: Mac Bethad mac Findlaích; Modern Scottish Gaelic: MacBheatha mac Fhionnlaigh; English: Macbeth son of Findlay, nicknamed Rí Deircc, "the Red King"; c. 1005 – 15 August 1057) was King of Scots from 1040 until his death. He ruled over the Kingdom of Alba.
Little is known about Macbeth's early life. Although modern historians state he was the son of Findláech of Moray and may have been a grandson of Malcolm II, the 17th century historian, Frederic van Bossen, who collected various historical accounts from all over Europe, stated Macbeth was the son of Sigell, the Thane of Angus and Glamis and "Princes Daboada, the second and youngest daughter to King Malcolm 2nd". The existence of the Macbeth who was the son of Finalch is known from an undated agreement that transferred various lands to the Culdees of Lochleven. However, there are two problems with this document that argue against this Macbeth being King Macbeth. The first problem is the Lochleven agreement mentions King Malcolm the son of Duncan, who Earl Siward of Northumberland placed on the Strathclyde Throne (King Malcolm only became king after the death of King Macbeth), and the second problem is the title "king" is only given to "Macbeth the son of Finlach" in latter 19th century transcripts of this agreement. In the two earliest known transcripts of the Lochleven agreement, which date to 1714 and 1726, the text differs from the 19th century transcripts in stating Queen Gruoch was the Queen of Scots and she was the daughter of King Bodhe [the King of Scots]. In contrast, the latter 19th century transcripts add an extra comma, which then made Queen Gruoch the daughter of an untitled Bodhe, and the comma transferred the king title to Macbeth.Based on the latter Lochleven transcripts, it is said that Macbeth the son of Finlach became Mormaer 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. In the Frederic Van Bossen 1688 review, which was based on a study of early documents and historical reviews held in various libraries throughout Europe, King Macbeth was married to Sinill, the daughter of Godreth the King of Mann and Isles "who was surnamed Crowban, who was the son of Harrall, the Black prince of Ireland. Sinill's mother was Astrida, the daughter of Donald Grahame, the thane of Montrose. They had one son called "Luctews" or "Lutlar" who reigned for three months after the death of Macbeth.In 1040, Duncan I launched an attack into Moray and was killed in action by Macbeth's troops. Macbeth succeeded him as King of Alba, apparently with little opposition. His 17-year reign was mostly peaceful, although in 1054 he was faced with an English invasion, led by Siward, Earl of Northumbria, on behalf of Edward the Confessor. Macbeth was killed at the Battle of Lumphanan in 1057 by forces loyal to the future Malcolm III. He was buried on Iona, the traditional resting place of Scottish kings.
Macbeth was initially succeeded by his stepson Lulach, the son of Gruoch, but Lulach ruled for only a few months before also being killed by Malcolm III, whose descendants would rule Scotland until the late 13th century. Macbeth is today best known as the main character of William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth and the many works that it has inspired. However, Shakespeare's Macbeth is based on Holinshed's Chronicles (published in 1577) and is not historically accurate.