The Legend of Macbeth

Around the year 1033, Scotland was ruled by the kind and elderly King Duncan. He had two sons, Malcolm and Donalbain. At that time, Scotland suffered from raids by the warlike Danes. The Danish warriors, landing on the British shores, destroyed everything in their path. They burned houses and castles, even churches, took their plunder, boarded their sailboats, and sailed away.

Once again, a large Danish fleet anchored off the coast of Scotland and landed near Fife. The Scots gathered a mighty army to oppose the foreigners, but since King Duncan was too old and his sons too young, the army was led by his closest relative, Macbeth, as commanded by the king.

Macbeth was the son of the Thane of Glamis. A thane was a landowner in Glamis. Everyone considered Macbeth a brave warrior. Leading the Scottish army, alongside his loyal companion Banquo, the Thane of Lochaber, he repelled the Danes. The Scots won a great battle, defeating the Danes and forcing them to retreat to their boats, abandoning their wounded and leaving their dead unburied.

After driving the Danes away, Macbeth returned with his victorious army to Forres in northern Scotland.

It was rumored that in Forres lived three witches—three old women who could cast spells and predict fate. Even fearless warriors like Macbeth believed in witches back then.

The three witches hid in a swamp by the road and waited for Macbeth. When he appeared at the head of his army, the first witch boldly stepped forward and said:

— Hail to you, Macbeth, hail to you, glorious Thane of Glamis!

The second witch followed and said:

— Hail to you, Macbeth, hail to you, glorious Thane of Cawdor!

The third witch stepped forward and exclaimed:

— Hail to Macbeth, who is destined to be King of Scotland!

Before Macbeth could recover from his astonishment, a messenger arrived on horseback to inform him that his father had died. Thus, Macbeth had indeed become the Thane of Glamis.

Soon after, a second messenger arrived with good news from King Duncan. The king thanked Macbeth for his victory and announced that the Thane of Cawdor had rebelled against him, so all his lands now belonged to Macbeth, the victor. Thus, Macbeth became the Thane of Cawdor as well.

Two of the witches' prophecies had already come true. Macbeth began to ponder how to fulfill the third—how to become king.

It must be said that Macbeth had a cunning and ambitious wife. She used her influence over him, persuading, reproaching, and threatening him until he believed that he could seize the crown by killing the kind old king. Macbeth resisted her persuasion for a long time. He had no desire to kill the old king, his good friend. But what can a cunning and ambitious woman not achieve? And with the witches' prophecy... Macbeth finally gave in. He plotted to kill the king.

He invited King Duncan to his castle near Inverness as a guest. Along with his wife, he warmly welcomed the king and his entourage, hosting a grand feast.

Late at night, the king wished to leave the feast and retire to bed. Macbeth escorted him to the luxurious chambers prepared in advance.

In those wild and distant times, it was customary for two brave warriors to stand guard at the door of the king's bedchamber. Lady Macbeth knew who the guards were that night and had earlier given them wine laced with a sleeping potion. When the king retired to his chambers and fell asleep, the guards collapsed in a deep slumber by his door. Not even a war trumpet could wake them.

That night, a storm raged, but neither the howling wind nor the thunder disturbed the king's sleep, for he was old and exhausted after the long journey and the lavish feast.

Naturally, the guards did not wake either.

Only Macbeth remained awake, unable to sleep. He was tormented by doubts about whether he should proceed with such a dangerous plan. After all, if the king was to die, it had to happen that very night. Lady Macbeth was by his side.

— Shame on you, — she said, — it is not conscience troubling you, but cowardice! Be a man! If your courage fails you, I, a weak woman, will do it myself.

Macbeth could no longer bear her reproachful words and made his way through the long corridors of the castle to the king's chambers.

He drew the daggers from the belts of the sleeping guards and, bursting into the king's chambers, plunged them into the heart of old Duncan. Afterward, Macbeth placed the bloodied daggers in the hands of the guards and smeared their faces with blood, so that everyone would think they had killed the kind king.

The next morning, all the noble lords and courtiers of the king's entourage gathered in the great hall of the castle, along with his two sons, Malcolm and Donalbain. Awaiting Duncan's appearance, they discussed the terrible storm that had raged the night before.

— Did you hear the wind howling? As if all the devils of hell were singing.

— Shadows flickered, shutters creaked, and somewhere nearby, an owl hooted.

— And the dogs barked. King Duncan's horses broke free and tore each other apart. They must have gone mad.

— This bodes ill.

— It bodes ill...

The king still did not emerge from his chambers, and the worried nobles sent one of their own to check on him. With all due respect, the nobleman approached the king's chambers, opened the doors, and—oh, horror!—before him lay Duncan, dead and motionless. Beside him were the two guards, their hands clutching bloodied daggers.

The alarm bell rang, and mournful cries filled the castle as the nobles and friends saw the evil that had been done. Macbeth, the lord of the castle, seemed the most enraged of all. Before anyone could react, he drew his sword and struck down the sleeping guards.

— It is clear to all that they are the murderers! — he exclaimed. — And they deserve punishment.
But Duncan's sons, Malcolm and Donalbain, found the murder strange and suspicious. They hurried to leave Macbeth's ominous castle in Inverness. Donalbain headed to Ireland, while Malcolm went to the court of the English king to seek his support and restore the law under which he, Malcolm, was to inherit the throne of his father, Duncan.

Macbeth became the King of Scotland, as the witches had prophesied. It seemed that everything had come true, but he knew neither joy nor happiness. His mind was plagued by obsessive thoughts of his heinous crime. Fear crept into his soul: what if an ambitious man like himself would do the same to him?

But who?

His troubled conscience would not be silenced, and suspicion fell on Banquo. "Banquo, he is the one who is dangerous now!" Macbeth decided and sent an assassin after him.

But even this brought him neither happiness nor peace. He noticed that some had begun to suspect him. He feared that someone would seek revenge. If not, then Malcolm would find support from the English king and wage war against him.

And so Macbeth decided to return to Forres to consult the witches again. After all, it was they who had planted the dream of becoming King of Scotland in his mind! He was eager to learn more about his fate.

"You are invincible and will not lose your crown until Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill," the witches told him.

Macbeth now usually held his court in Dunsinane. Birnam Wood was a good twelve miles away from Dunsinane.

"Fairy tales, nonsense—trees don't move on their own," Macbeth reassured himself. "I am completely safe in the castle."

Yet, after the nighttime meeting with the witches, Macbeth ordered his castle on the hill at Dunsinane to be fortified. He commanded the nobles and thanes to send him stones and logs, which mighty oxen were to haul up the hill.

Among the noble thanes whom Macbeth ordered to deliver stones, logs, and other materials to Dunsinane Castle was Macduff of Fife. Macbeth had long suspected that if Prince Malcolm ever returned to Scotland with aid from the English king, Macduff would support him. For this, Macbeth both feared and hated Macduff.

All the thanes, all the Scottish nobles, gathered at Dunsinane Castle—as Macbeth had commanded. Among them was the brave Thane of Fife, Macduff, who at other times tried to avoid Macbeth's court as much as possible.

One clear day, King Macbeth rode out with his retinue beyond the castle walls to see how the oxen were managing their load. He saw that many were struggling to haul stones and logs uphill—the burden was too heavy, the day too hot, and the slope too steep.

Then Macbeth noticed that one pair of oxen had become so exhausted that they lay down to rest. The king flew into a rage and demanded to know who had dared to send him such lazy oxen that refused to work for him. The answer came:

"Their owner is Macduff, the Thane of Fife."

"Then let the Thane of Fife himself," the king said in great anger, "take the place of his lazy oxen and haul the precious load."

Among the king's retinue was a friend of Macduff's. Unnoticed, he slipped away from the hill and hurried to Macduff, who was in the castle hall preparing for a feast. Upon hearing what the king had said, Macduff immediately realized that there was no time to waste.

After bidding farewell to his friend and grabbing a round loaf of bread from the table, Macduff called for his horses and servants and rode swiftly to his native Fife. He hurried to reach it before Macbeth returned to the castle for the feast.

Macduff's horses flew faster than the wind. But alas! In his haste to escape the treacherous Macbeth's castle, he had forgotten to take any money with him. When he arrived at the large ferry crossing the River Tay, he had nothing to pay the ferryman. Well, the ferryman agreed to take the round loaf of bread as payment.

And since then, that crossing has been known as the Bread Ferry.

Finally, Macduff arrived at his castle of Kennoway near Fife. The first thing he did was embrace his wife and children, then ordered the guards to close the castle gates, raise the drawbridge, and admit neither King Macbeth nor anyone from his retinue. He then went to the small harbor near the castle and ordered a sailboat to be prepared quickly. After bidding farewell to his wife and giving her strict instructions, Macduff was ready to flee from Macbeth.

But Macbeth did not delay either. With his warriors, he was at the gates of Kennoway Castle before Macduff could set sail. The king demanded that Lady Macduff open the gates and hand over her husband. However, Lady Macduff, being not only brave but also wise, offered so many excuses and pretexts that the sailors had enough time to set sail.

Only then did she climb onto the castle wall and boldly declare to the king:

"Do you see the white sail on the sea? That is my husband Macduff sailing to the King of England. You will not see him until he returns with Prince Malcolm to overthrow you from the throne and put you to death. Rage and fume, but you will never succeed in placing the yoke of oxen on the neck of the noble Macduff, Thane of Fife."

Indeed, Macduff safely reached the shores of England and appeared at the king's court to join the retinue of Prince Malcolm, son of the good Duncan. He convinced the prince that the Scots were already weary of Macbeth's cruelty and would gladly join Malcolm's ranks if he hurried back to his homeland. Without delay, the English king provided an army of brave warriors, led by the great Siward, Earl of Northumbria, to help Malcolm, the heir of the slain Duncan, reclaim his crown.

And everything happened as Macduff had predicted. The thanes of Scotland and other nobles abandoned Macbeth and joined Malcolm and Macduff. Macbeth was left with only a small retinue of those who had sworn never to leave him. He locked himself in the fortified castle of Dunsinane. He did not lose heart or fear anything, trusting in the witches' prophecy.

Finally, the army of Malcolm and Macduff entered Birnam Wood. At dawn, by Macduff's order, each warrior broke off a large branch from a tree and, under its cover, marched toward Dunsinane. The branches concealed the warriors, and the enemy could not see whether a large or small army was approaching the castle.

Macbeth was informed that the enemy had encamped in the forest. Even then, his heart did not falter; he believed he was still safe. However, closer to noon, a sentry standing on the castle wall noticed that Birnam Wood was slowly, steadily advancing toward Dunsinane. He rushed to inform the king. The fearsome Macbeth at first refused to believe it and even threatened to hang the frightened messenger.

He himself climbed the castle ramparts and, seeing what he saw, realized that his hour had come.

But courage and bravery did not abandon him. With a handful of equally brave men, he marched out of the castle gates and faced his fate. He fell in battle, crossing swords with Macduff himself.

Malcolm ascended the throne of Scotland. He ruled long and successfully. He richly rewarded Macduff and decreed that from then on, Macduff and all his descendants would always lead the Scottish army—a great honor. And they would place the crown on future Scottish kings—an honor and a trust.

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The Legend of Macbeth

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