Gruoch of Scotland
| Gruoch | |
|---|---|
| Queen of Alba | |
| Spouse | Gille Coemgáin, Mormaer of Moray Macbeth, King of Alba |
| Issue | Lulach, King of Alba |
| Father | Boite mac Cináeda |
Gruoch ingen Boite (fl. 1020–1054) was the daughter of Boite mac Cináeda son of Cináed III.[1] She is most famous for being the wife and queen of Mac Bethad mac Findlaích (Macbeth). The dates of her life are not certainly known.
Before 1032 Gruoch was married to Gille Coemgáin mac Maíl Brigti, Mormaer of Moray, with whom she had at least one son, Lulach mac Gille Coemgáin, later King of Scots. Gille Coemgáin was killed in 1032, burned in a hall with fifty of his men.[2] The next year one of her male relatives, probably her only brother, was murdered by Malcolm II.[3]
Gruoch is named with Boite and also with Mac Bethad in charters endowing the Culdee monastery at Loch Leven. The date of her death is not known.
In fiction
- Gruoch is the model for the character Lady Macbeth in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth.
- She appears, named Groa, as a major character in Dorothy Dunnett's 1982 novel of Macbeth, King Hereafter, which topped the New York Times besteller list.
- Susan Fraser King wrote Lady Macbeth, a 1982 historical novel about Gruach. King asserts that the book is as deeply rooted in fact as possible.
- Gloria Carreño's 2009 play A Season Before the Tragedy of Macbeth premiered by British Touring Shakespeare 2010, also sheds new light on the central character, Gruach Macduff. The play considers events up to the opening of the letter from the three witches in Shakespeare's tragedy.
- David Greig's 2010 play Dunsinane, in which she is known as Gruach and outlives Macbeth.
Notes
- ↑ It is not entirely certain that the Cináed father of Boite was Cináed mac Duib rather than Kenneth II. Both possibilities are admitted by Duncan, p. 345, table A, although most sources, e.g. Woolf, favour Cináed mac Duib.
- ↑ Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1032.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
References
- Annals of Ulster (translation ) at University College Cork's CELT project.
- Duncan, A. A. M., The Kingship of the Scots 842–1292: Succession and Independence. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2002. ISBN 0-7486-1626-8
- Woolf, Alex, "Macbeth" in Michael Lynch (ed.), The Oxford Companion to Scottish History. Oxford UP, Oxford, 2001. ISBN 0-19-211696-7
- Playwright Gloria Carreño
- Une Saison Avant La Tragédie de Macbeth, by Gloria Carreño. Les Editions Persée, 2010. ISBN 978-2-35216-684-9.
| Preceded by | Queen consort of Alba c. 1040 – 1057 |
Succeeded by Ingibiorg Finnsdottir |
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