Clann MACBETH

According to tradition: MacBethad, son of Findláech, son of Ruadrí, son of Domnall, son of Morggán, son of Cathamal, son of Ruadrí, son of Ailgelach, son of Uraad, son of Uurgust, son of Nehhtonn, son of Colmán, son of Báetán, son of Eochaid, son of Muiredach, son of Loarn, son of Erb, son of Eochaid Muinremuir.  MacBeth (1005-1057), Mormaer of Moray, married Gruoch, daughter of Boedhe, who was the son of Kenneth III.  So MacBeth, who had ancestral roots in Moray,  was the grandson of King Malcolm II, and his wife was the granddaughter of King Kenneth III.

Under the ancient law of the Picts, he had as much claim to the throne of Scotland as did King Duncan I.   He was commander for Duncan I, whom he defeated and slew, thereby becoming king.  MacBeth was proclaimed king, and Scotland prospered during his reign.   He was later defeated by Malcolm, the son of Duncan.  Malcolm had gone to England to raise funds and an army to bring about MacBeth's downfall.  His debt to the English would have disastrous effects on Scotland for years to come.

It is a generally held opinion by Scottish historians that if MacBeth had not been killed by the future King Malcolm III, Scotland would probably have remained a separate nation until this day and might have conquered England.  Records show that he used his power for the good of his country.  His reign verifies that Picts actually ruled Albann after Kenneth MacAlpin.  . 

In Angus, 'MacBeths' received a charter from David II in 1369, but this family was of the ancestral line of the Fife Bethunes, who anciently held lands in the area. The later history of the MacBeths, the Highland Beatons and Bethunes has become hopelessly confused for, in the various lands with which they are associated, both forms were used, often referring to the same family, sometimes even to the same person.  Others duly removed to the shires of Inverness, Sutherland & Easter Ross and the name was also found in Moray where they had association with the Macbeans.

The name of this clan will always have overtones of Shakespeare's tragic Scottish king.  The real MacBeth ruled 1040 to 1057,and had little in common with the villainous figure portrayed in he play.  He had a valid claim to the throne and slew his rival on he battlefield, not in the bed chamber.  He ruled wisely and generously, finding time to make a pilgrimage to Rome, where he scattered money among the poor like seed.  He did in fact die in battle, at Lumphanan - not when Birnam Wood moved to Dunsinane as Shakespeare wrote.  

The MacBeths of Moray were the principle branch of the clan, while the Bethunes and Beatons were secondary.  The king  was christened with 'MacBeth' (anglicized) as his Christian name, as surnames were not mandatory at that time.  Mac Beatha means son of life in Gaelic, so the official Scottish version at the time would have been MacBeathad mac Findláich.  MacBeth was the last Celtic Ruler of Albann/Scotland.  After him, a series of anti-Celtic programs were initiated to forcibly  transplant Northern Picts to Welsh speaking areas of Scotland.

 Upon MacBeth's death, the name of his beloved Albann was changed to 'Scotland'

as the title of Monarch was changed from the P-Celtic 'Ri Albainn' to the Latin 'Rex Scotorum'.