HISTORICAL TIMELINE FOR MACBETH
Events in English history in boldface
1040 - Scottish general Macbeth kills King Duncan in battle, becomes king
1057 - King Macbeth slain by Duncan’s son Malcolm, who becomes king
1066 - Norman invasion of England
1296 - King Edward I of England (“Longshanks”) conquers Scotland
1297 - William Wallace (“Braveheart”) leads Scottish revolt against English
1328 - Robert the Bruce unites Scotland, forces English to recognize Scottish independence, becomes King Robert I of Scotland
1371 - Robert the Royal Steward becomes first of Stuart kings
1485 - Henry Tudor kills Richard III, becomes King Henry VII
1520 - King James IV of Scotland authorizes paid historians to create a legendary founder of Stuart kings, Banquo, to bolster his claim to the Scottish throne
1556 - Elizabeth becomes Queen of England, the last Tudor monarch
1567 - Mary, Queen of Scots, flees to England, her infant son become King James VI of Scotland
1577 - Holinshed publishes his Chronicles, including history of Scotland
1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots, foments Catholic conspiracy, is executed by her cousin, Elizabeth I
1603 - Elizabeth dies, James VI becomes James I of England, names Shakespeare’s theater company the “King’s Men”
1604 - Gunpowder Plot by Catholic terrorists foiled on November 5
1605 -
Shakespeare writes Macbeth as a tribute to King James