, Great Chain of Being
Holinshed’s Chronicle
,Who was the real Macbeth and why was he portrayed
so badly by Shakespeare?
0 Banquo a direct ancestor of King James I.
0 Macbeth was Banquo’s rival at the time.
0 The real-life Macbeth ruled well, unified Scotland under
one king (in quite a bloody way) and improved Scotland’s
reputation in Europe – Shakespeare portrays him as
ruining the country. It is believed though that he set fire to
a building containing all of his rivals to the throne of Moray,
roasting them alive, so not pure and innocent!
0 The events of King Duncan’s murder are all fictional –
Duncan was killed in battle.
0 Shakespeare used excerpts from Holinshed’s Chronicle to
create his play about Macbeth – though the events are
twisted and fictionalized to be palatable to the King.
, How were Medieval ladies
expected to behave?
0 They were regarded as the ‘property’ of their husbands.
0 Often arranged marriages to secure power and influence
between wealthy and noble/royal families.
0 Women were expected to fulfill all their duties as wives, as well
as ensure the household was up to standard for the husband –
directing servants, etc.
0 Women had no rights at the time, were unlikely to be educated
and were seen as ‘below’ their husbands.
0 Rules of accession – unless the woman was the ONLY heir, or
that there were only women heirs, she could not rule as Queen
in her own right.
0 Women that transgressed these social expectations were seen
as immoral or evil and shunned by society.
0 However, Holinshed does mention that Scottish women were
not as genteel as English women, often going out to fight
alongside their men, and were just as vicious and brutal.
Holinshed’s Chronicle
,Who was the real Macbeth and why was he portrayed
so badly by Shakespeare?
0 Banquo a direct ancestor of King James I.
0 Macbeth was Banquo’s rival at the time.
0 The real-life Macbeth ruled well, unified Scotland under
one king (in quite a bloody way) and improved Scotland’s
reputation in Europe – Shakespeare portrays him as
ruining the country. It is believed though that he set fire to
a building containing all of his rivals to the throne of Moray,
roasting them alive, so not pure and innocent!
0 The events of King Duncan’s murder are all fictional –
Duncan was killed in battle.
0 Shakespeare used excerpts from Holinshed’s Chronicle to
create his play about Macbeth – though the events are
twisted and fictionalized to be palatable to the King.
, How were Medieval ladies
expected to behave?
0 They were regarded as the ‘property’ of their husbands.
0 Often arranged marriages to secure power and influence
between wealthy and noble/royal families.
0 Women were expected to fulfill all their duties as wives, as well
as ensure the household was up to standard for the husband –
directing servants, etc.
0 Women had no rights at the time, were unlikely to be educated
and were seen as ‘below’ their husbands.
0 Rules of accession – unless the woman was the ONLY heir, or
that there were only women heirs, she could not rule as Queen
in her own right.
0 Women that transgressed these social expectations were seen
as immoral or evil and shunned by society.
0 However, Holinshed does mention that Scottish women were
not as genteel as English women, often going out to fight
alongside their men, and were just as vicious and brutal.
