The Corruption of the Thane of Glamis & The History of Banquo: Shakespeare's Macbeth: History's Greatest Bard's Great Scottish Play

Love this play

The Meeting of Men & Evil Continues…

“BANQUO
Good sir, why do you start and seem to fear
Things that do sound so fair?—I’ th’ name of truth,
Are you fantastical, or that indeed
Which outwardly you show? My noble partner
You greet with present grace and great prediction
Of noble having and of royal hope,
That he seems rapt withal. To me you speak not.
If you can look into the seeds of time
And say which grain will grow and which will not,
Speak, then, to me, who neither beg nor fear
Your favours nor your hate.”

This is Banquo’s response to Macbeth starting as two of them happen upon the Three Wyrd Sisters. This being the point which we left off with the last essay on the topic of Shakespeare’s great Scottish play that was honestly a masterstroke of literary writing, by one of the greatest writers of all times.

If you wish to see my prior essay (since it was some time ago) here it is;

So anyways on with the analysis. Most regard Banquo with more than a little fondness, thinking him the true hero of the tale and there’s some merit to this perspective. Yet if one looks closely there’s something going on here that adds layers to this perspective.

The first thing to pay attention to is that Banquo calls these sisters fantastical which shows he didn’t expect them to appear so suddenly before him. This is an example of how they may well hide themselves and keep themselves hidden in some fashion from preying eyes only to reveal themselves alone when they wish to.

The question that Banquo asked is one that often escapes the attention of most who analyse Shakespeare’s famous play as it is asked I would say out of greed and hope for similar fortunes to those of Macbeth.

He notes that Macbeth is pleased, and that he hopes to have a similarly high place he might reach. It is quite unsettling how he goes from observing how hideous and vile these wishes are to being jealous and hungry for that which Macbeth has been favoured with. I daresay that while he’s never corrupted quite like Macbeth is in this play, he was quite susceptible to their corruptive influence.

That he later resisted speaks however to an element that cannot be dismissed. It speaks to his character that lies below the surface.

The only funny thing about this dialogue is that he claims he’s not begging even as he is doing exactly that.

Banquo’s query is answered by the promise of future successes in his lineage, so that he’s given the greater promise than that given over to his friend.

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Macbeth’s Queries

“MACBETH
Stay, you imperfect speakers. Tell me more.
By Sinel’s death I know I am Thane of Glamis.
But how of Cawdor? The Thane of Cawdor lives
A prosperous gentleman, and to be king
Stands not within the prospect of belief,
No more than to be Cawdor. Say from whence
You owe this strange intelligence or why
Upon this blasted heath you stop our way
With such prophetic greeting. Speak, I charge you.”

Macbeth eager to hear more and confused by their talk of him being the Thane of Cawdor presses them about how this could be. He has no idea that Cawdor is already dead and that the King has decided to award him the title and lands of his compatriot. The Thane of Glamis though has no idea of this fact so that he questions them further keen as he is to know more about the matter of the title of King which he comments ‘stands not within the prospect of belief’ so that he’s saying in 17th century style ‘impossible!’.

The response from the Wyrd Sisters? They simply vanish. They are evidently taunting the duo.

This greatly astonishes the pair so that they comment on the strangeness of this occurrence. What is more is that they are so perplexed by the suddenness of their disappearance that they do what even people to-day would do; they question their own senses and if they truly heard what they heard as you can see in the text down below.

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“BANQUO
The earth hath bubbles, as the water has,
And these are of them. Whither are they vanished?
MACBETH
Into the air, and what seemed corporal melted,
As breath into the wind. Would they had stayed!
BANQUO
Were such things here as we do speak about?
Or have we eaten on the insane root
That takes the reason prisoner?
MACBETH
Your children shall be kings.
BANQUO You shall be king.”

But if you pay attention you’ll notice that the both of them once they have confirmed between themselves that the other did indeed hear and see what they themselves did, they remark upon what the three crones had spoken of.

This leads to them remarking between one another about the fact that to the amazement of Macbeth that the children of Banquo will be Kings. This is an incredible revelation.

Banquo is supposed to have been an ancestor of the Stewart clan from which James VI was begat. The thing about the Stewart lineage is that it is in reality not descended from a man by the name of Banquo, but rather from someone named Alan fitzFlaad. This Flaad may well have been the inspiration for Fleance, or so I’ve heard (I should do a series of essays and podcasts on the history of the FitzAlan family that became the Stewart family, might prove interesting to people once the Capetiens family podcast reaches 1066). Alan fathered someone by the name of ‘Gaultier’ or Walter FitzAlan, who was a Breton noble who crossed the Channel during the Conquest of England, at which time the lineage of FitzAlan in time made its way north.

What happened to it then? Well they ended up becoming Stewards to the Dunkeld lineage of Kings of Scotland who ruled after Macbethad MacFindlaech. The FitzAlans’ in time became known instead as the Stewarts which is itself a name derived from the position of Steward. So that in this way they became associated with the position, as they became hereditary Stewards to the Royal Line of Kings of Scotland.

Now what exactly is it that a Steward did? Well it was a kind of Chief of Staff, a man who helped to manage someone’s household, in this case the King. So he manages the household so that everything runs smoothly.

He manages finances on behalf of the monarch, on top of which he oversees household staff management, managing the castle’s affairs, feasting arrangements among other personal matters for the King.

As to estate matters he’d see to the administration of the kingdom, assizes/legal matters, to the ceremonial dignity of the crown, which involved preparing certain rituals (such as coronations), they also oversaw the defence of the realm and to the running of domestic affairs (as already stated) of various sorts and to diplomatic matters.

In all the Stewarts for several centuries before they became Kings were in some ways kind of like ‘co-Kings’ to the ruling Dunkelds and then later to the Bruce. They were beyond integral. No King could have possibly run Scotland without them.

And yet it is so much less romantic than the history of Banquo. Understand that for one such as I, the history of the FitzAlans/Stewarts is so much more interesting. But I’m a historian, I love gradual histories, I love cultural changes in the story of nations. Romantic legends have their own appeal but long lineages are so much better in my eyes.

That said in the eyes of most people the idea of Banquo escaping the clutches of his greedy and evil best friend is so much more ‘cool’ so to speak. It is also infinitely more ‘cinematic’ and that’s not only true for to-day but for back in the 16th & 17th centuries also.

Naturally this change appealed to James VI, who preferred to romanticize his ancestors whilst scorning poor old Macbethad.

So Macbeth saying ‘you’re children shall be kings’ is a kind of acknowledgement. It is in some ways him bending the knees, it is him recognizing in some form that he is destined to usurp him in a manner of speaking.

Of course Macbeth doesn’t know that by taking the words of the Crones at face value he is setting himself on the path towards conflict with Banquo. But he also in a way becomes the author of the tale who pushes for Banquo or more specifically the line of Fleance to succeed him. It is as said fascinating how Shakespeare sets up foreshadowing, acknowledgement and also the first seeds of corruption all in one single scene.

To call it brilliant doesn’t even begin to sum up what he just did.

It is the King of to-day speaking to the King of tomorrow. It is an acceptance on some level of the inevitable. He cannot win. It is a GREAT literary technique. One that I plan to utilize alongside Dan down the road (specifically in Crown of Blood Part 2).

The Thanes of Ross & Angus arrive and begin to dress Macbeth to his surprise in the robes of the Thane of Cawdor acknowledging him as the new laird of the region of Cawdor. Naturally Macbeth asks for an explanation to which the two men are prompt to inform him that Cawdor is currently behind bars and likely to be killed.

ROSS
The King hath happily received, Macbeth,
The news of thy success, and, when he reads
Thy personal venture in the rebels’ fight,
His wonders and his praises do contend
Which should be thine or his. Silenced with that,
In viewing o’er the rest o’ th’ selfsame day
He finds thee in the stout Norweyan ranks,
Nothing afeard of what thyself didst make,
Strange images of death. As thick as tale
⌜Came⌝ post with post, and every one did bear
Thy praises in his kingdom’s great defense,
And poured them down before him.
ANGUS 105 We are sent
To give thee from our royal master thanks,
Only to herald thee into his sight,
Not pay thee.
ROSS
And for an earnest of a greater honor,
He bade me, from him, call thee Thane of Cawdor,
In which addition, hail, most worthy thane,
For it is thine.
BANQUO What, can the devil speak true?
MACBETH
The Thane of Cawdor lives. Why do you dress me
In borrowed robes?
ANGUS Who was the Thane lives yet,
But under heavy judgment bears that life
Which he deserves to lose. Whether he was
combined
With those of Norway, or did line the rebel
With hidden help and vantage, or that with both
He labored in his country’s wrack, I know not;
But treasons capital, confessed and proved,
Have overthrown him.
MACBETH, ⌜aside⌝ Glamis and Thane of Cawdor!
The greatest is behind. ⌜To Ross and Angus.⌝ Thanks
for your pains.
⌜Aside to Banquo.⌝ Do you not hope your children
shall be kings,
When those that gave the Thane of Cawdor to me
Promised no less to them?
BANQUO That, trusted home,
Might yet enkindle you unto the crown,
Besides the Thane of Cawdor. But ’tis strange.
And oftentimes, to win us to our harm,
The instruments of darkness tell us truths,
Win us with honest trifles, to betray ’s
In deepest consequence.—
Cousins, a word, I pray you.”

The term ‘cousins’ in this age could mean anything from close relations to close friends just fyi.

As to the line by Banquo of note is that of ‘might yet enkindle you unto the crown’ is him muttering that the giving over the post of Cawdor is strange.

This is obviously him growing uneasy and uncertain of the ‘gift’ of prophecy of the Three Wyrd Sisters. Evidently he’s begun to have misgivings about the whole matter, and well he should given how strange, corruptive and dire this encounter was.

Now if you want more of the Wyrd Sisters, their pervasive influence and tales of corruption and evil and of the struggle of good men versus those of evil, look no further than that of Crown of Blood which is intended to cling tightly tot he stylistic choices, ideas and legends from which Shakespeare drew inspiration on top of which they are intended to be a love letter to his great Play!

And so I exeunt from this essay dear Readers, and until next time!

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Also Crown of Blood has a new edition, with maps, character bios and more!