His thirst for power coupled with incompetence in the battlefield resulted in troubled times for Scotland. One month later, on Christmas Day, Duncan MacCrinan, whom Malcolm had previously named his successor, was elected High King at the age of thirty-three. Scarcely two years later his candidacy was legitimized when Malcolm II, at the age of eighty, passed away of natural causes on November 25, 1034. MacBeth now became a candidate to the kingship. Gillecomgain died on a raid on his castle ordered by Malcolm II. After being elected Mormaer he married Gillecomgain's widow, Gruoch (6) and adopted her son, Lulach. (5) MacBeth reappears once again in the chronicles around the year 1032 when elected Mormaer of Moray upon his cousin Gillecomgain's death. As for MacBeth, not much is known about him at this time, it is possible he was far away in his studies. The reason escaped history, but it could have been that Findlaech MacRuaridh had established a warm relationship with the House of Atholl. (4) In 1020, at age fifteen, his cousins Malcolm and Gillecomgain killed MacBeth's father. The term of study usually lasted about ten years. ruddy countenance." (3) At the age of seven MacBeth was sent away to be educated, a requirement for the children of important chieftains, under the tutelage of a Christian monk- as set by law. MacBeth, meaning "son of life" in Gaelic, was described by contemporary chroniclers as being a handsome man, "the liberal king. His mother Doada was the second daughter of Malcolm II. His father, Findlaech MacRuaridh, controlled the province of Moray as Mormaer (2). MacBeth MacFindlaech was born in 1005 AD (1), the same year his grandfather (Malcolm II) became king. At the hands of later chroniclers- mostly English- and ultimately by the pen of William Shakespeare, MacBeth changed into a despicable ruler, a far cry from the real person. "MacBeth, King of Scotland, ruled a peaceful kingdom from 1040 to 1057." Considered by many historians as the last of the Gaelic kings of Scotland, MacBeth has become less of a historical figure and more a fictional character.
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