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Macduff (thane)
Lord Macduff, the Thane of Fife, is a character and the main antagonist in William Shakespeare's '' Macbeth'' (c.1603–1607) that is loosely based on history. Macduff, a legendary hero, plays a pivotal role in the play: he suspects Macbeth of regicide and eventually kills Macbeth in the final act. He can be seen as the avenging hero who helps save Scotland from Macbeth's tyranny in the play. The character is first known from '' Chronica Gentis Scotorum'' (late 14th century) and '' Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland'' (early 15th century). Shakespeare drew mostly from ''Holinshed's Chronicles'' (1587). Although characterised sporadically throughout the play, Macduff serves as a foil to Macbeth and a figure of morality. Origin The overall plot that would serve as the basis for ''Macbeth'' is first seen in the writings of two chroniclers of Scottish history, John of Fordun, whose prose '' Chronica Gentis Scotorum'' was begun about 1363, and Andrew of Wyntoun's Scots verse '' Oryg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macbeth
''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those who seek power. Of all the plays that Shakespeare wrote during the reign of James I, ''Macbeth'' most clearly reflects his relationship with King James, patron of Shakespeare's acting company. It was first published in the Folio of 1623, possibly from a prompt book, and is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy. A brave Scottish general named Macbeth receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders King Duncan and takes the Scottish throne for himself. He is then wracked with guilt and paranoia. Forced to commit more and more murders to protect himself from enmity and suspicion, he soon becomes a tyrannical ruler. The bloodbath and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andrew Of Wyntoun
Andrew Wyntoun, known as Andrew of Wyntoun (), was a Scottish poet, a canon and prior of Loch Leven on St Serf's Inch and, later, a canon of St. Andrews. Andrew Wyntoun is most famous for his completion of an eight-syllabled metre entitled, ''Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland'', which contains an early mention of ''Robin Hood''; it is also cited by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as the earliest work in English to use the word "Catholic": pelling modernised"He was a constant Catholic;/All Lollard he hated and heretic." Wyntoun wrote the 'Chronicle' at the request of his patron, Sir John of Wemyss, whose representative, Mr. Erskine Wemyss of Wemyss Castle, Fife, possessed the oldest extant manuscript of the work. The subject of the 'Chronicle' is the history of Scotland from the mythical period to the death of Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany in 1420. The nine original manuscripts of the ''Orygynale Cronykil of Scotland'' still subsist today and are preserved within various fac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunsinane Hill
Dunsinane Hill ( ) is a hill of the Sidlaws near the village of Collace in Perthshire, Scotland. It is mentioned in Shakespeare's play ''Macbeth'', in which Macbeth is informed by a supernatural being, "Macbeth shall never vanquished be, until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill Shall come against him." The hill has a height of and commands expansive views of the surrounding countryside. It consists of a late Iron Age hill fort, the ramparts of which remain obvious. The site was damaged by undocumented amateur excavations in the 19th century by antiquarians attracted to the site by its Shakespearean connection. Little of value was learned about the history of the monument from these unscientific endeavours. Dunsinane is the traditional site of a 1054 battle in which Siward, Earl of Northumbria defeated Macbeth of Scotland. The much earlier Iron Age hill fort has long been known as Macbeth's Castle, though there is no archaeological evidence that it was in use by him or a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife
James Duff, 2nd Earl Fife (29 September 1729 – 1809) was a Scottish aristocrat and Member of Parliament. Heritage James Duff was second son of William Duff, 1st Earl Fife, and Jean Grant (daughter of Sir James Grant of Pluscardine, Baron of Luss and Grant), his father's second wife. His father, son of William Duff of Dipple, co. Banff, was M.P. for Banffshire 1727–34, was created Lord Braco in the peerage of Ireland 28 July 1735, and was advanced to the dignity of Earl of Fife and Viscount Macduff, also in the peerage of Ireland, by patent dated 26 April 1759, on proving his descent from Macduff, Earl of Fife.. Politics In 1754, he became Member of Parliament for Banffshire, was re-elected in 1761, 1768, 1774, and 1780, and in 1784 elected to represent Elginshire until 1790. He gave the Banff town of Macduff its name, having changed it by Crown Charter from Doune in 1783. He extended the town and built a harbour at a cost of £5,000 ensuring economic prosperity. Duff ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barons In Scotland
In Scotland, a baron or baroness is the head of a feudal barony, also known as a prescriptive barony. This used to be attached to a particular piece of land on which was situated the ''caput'' (Latin for "head") or essence of the barony, normally a building, such as a castle or manor house. Accordingly, the owner of the piece of land containing the ''caput'' was called a baron or baroness. According to Grant, there were around 350 identifiable local baronies in Scotland by the early fifteenth century and these could mostly be mapped against local parish boundaries. The term baron was in general use from the thirteenth century to describe what would have been known in England as a knight of the shire.Alexander Grant, "Franchises North of the Border: Baronies and Regalities in Medieval Scotland", Chapter 9, Michael Prestwich. ed., ''Liberties and Identities in Medieval Britain and Ireland'' (Boydell Press: Woodbridge, 2008) The 1896 edition of ''Green's Encyclopaedia of the Law of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Duff, 1st Earl Fife
William Duff, 1st Earl Fife (1697 – 30 September 1763), of Braco, Perth and Kinross, Braco, Banff, was a Scottish landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons from 1727 to 1734. Early life Duff was the eldest surviving son of William Duff, merchant, of Dipple and Braco, and his wife Jean Gordon, daughter of Sir George Gordon, Shire Commissioner in the Parliament of Scotland, of Edinglassie, Aberdeen.The Complete Peerage (V. Gibbs & H. A. Doubleday (eds.), 1926) Vol. V, p. 376 In 1719 he married Lady Janet Forbes, widow of Hugh Forbes, Younger of Craigievar, and second daughter of James Ogilvy, 4th Earl of Findlater, James Ogilvy, Earl of Findlater. She died in 1720 and in 1723 he married Jean Grant, second daughter of Sir James Grant, 6th Baronet, of Pluscardine. He inherited substantial estates from his father on his death in 1722. Career Duff was returned unopposed as Member of Parliament for Banffshire (UK Parliament consti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert III Of Scotland
Robert III (c. 13374 April 1406), born John Stewart, was King of Scots from 1390 to his death in 1406. He was also High Steward of Scotland from 1371 to 1390 and held the titles of Earl of Atholl (1367–1390) and Earl of Carrick (1368–1390) before ascending the throne at about the age of 53 years. He was the eldest son of King Robert II and Elizabeth Mure and was legitimized by the second marriage of his parents and by papal dispensation in 1349. John joined his father and other magnates in a rebellion against his great-uncle David II early in 1363 but submitted to him soon afterward. He was married to Anabella Drummond by 1367. In 1368 David created him Earl of Carrick. His father became king in 1371 after the unexpected death of the childless King David. In the succeeding years, Carrick was influential in the government of the kingdom but became progressively more impatient at his father's longevity. In 1384 Carrick was appointed the king's lieutenant after having ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
East Wemyss
East Wemyss () is a village situated on the south coast of Fife, Scotland. According to the 2011 census, the village has a population of 1,928. History East Wemyss was traditionally one of several coal mining communities along the south coast of Fife. The pit was its main employer for many years until it was closed in 1967 due to a fire which resulted in the deaths of nine men. The mine has since been demolished, however a memorial to the pit and the men who died has been erected. This coastal area is known for its caves (the place-name derives from Gaelic ''uamh'', 'cave'); there are eleven caves, several of which contain Pictish incised carvings. The caves were documented by the archaeological television programme ''Time Team'' in 2005, in an episode then broadcast in February 2005. The excavations uncovered evidence of prehistoric, Middle Iron Age, Pictish, Medieval and post-medieval activity, including a new Pictish carving. In April 2010, the caves became the subject ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macduff's Castle
MacDuff's Castle is a ruined castle near East Wemyss, in Fife, Scotland. The site is associated with the MacDuff Earls of Fife, the most powerful family in Fife in the middle ages, although nothing survives from this period. The present ruins are the remains of the home of the Wemyss family, who lived here from the 14th century, and their successors in the 16th century. History It is thought that a castle may have been built here by the MacDuff Mormaers, or Earls, of Fife in the 11th century, at the time of King Macbeth of Scotland (d. 1057). The Wemyss family, descendants of the MacDuffs, owned the property from the 14th century, and built the earliest part of the present castle. Edward I of England paid a visit here in 1304, staying with Sir Michael Wemyss. However, Wemyss later joined forces with Robert the Bruce, and Edward ordered the castle to be destroyed. After the Wemyss family moved to nearby Wemyss Castle, it passed to the Livingstones, and then in 1530 it was take ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralized authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the Middle East—most recently part of the Eastern Ro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clan MacDuff
Clan MacDuff or Clan Duff is a Lowland Scottish clan.Way, George and Squire, Romily. (1994). ''Collins Scottish Clan & Family Encyclopedia''. (Foreword by The Rt Hon. The Earl of Elgin KT, Convenor, The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs). pp. 419 - 420. The clan does not currently have a chief and is therefore considered an Armigerous clan, which is registered with the Lyon Court. The early chiefs of Clan MacDuff were the original Earls of Fife, although this title went to the Stewarts of Albany in the late fourteenth century. The title returned to the MacDuff chief when William Duff was made Earl Fife in 1759. His descendant Alexander Duff was made Duke of Fife in 1889. History Origins of the clan The Clan Duff claims descent from the original Royal Scoto-Pictish line of which Queen Gruoch of Scotland, wife of Macbeth, King of Scotland, was the senior representative. After the death of MacBeth, Malcolm III of Scotland seized the Crown and his son, Aedh, married the daughter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
