So we all know Shakespeare wrote ‘Macbeth’ for King James I. We all probably know that James wrote a book about witchcraft called Daemonologie and survived the Gunpowder Plot. But James also had one of the most mad childhoods you’ve ever heard of and it's not hard to see how it impacted Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'.
His Childhood
James was born in 1566 in Edinburgh Castle, Scotland. No surprise then that this is the country where Shakespeare sets 'Macbeth'. James was the son of Mary Queen of Scots and her second husband, Henry Stuart. History agrees that without doubt he was an absolutely terrible bloke; arrogant, offensive and quite keen on a spot of murder.
When James was only 8 months old, his father himself though was murdered by assassins. A proper "blood will have blood" moment. At the time Henry was staying just outside of Edinburgh recovering from “smallpox” (he almost certainly actually had syphilis). The murderers had placed barrels of gunpowder outside his bedchamber (bedroom).
A loud explosion rocked the surrounding countryside and woke his neighbours. James' father was found dead outside having fled with a “cloak, a dagger, a chair, and a coat” with his servant dead next to him. The very image of the murdered King Duncan in ‘Macbeth’. Who murdered James’ father isn’t clear, but suspicion is that Mary (James’ mother/his own wife) was involved with the lead suspect the Earl of Bothwell.
Henry and Mary’s relationship had broken down. If the syphilis wasn't bad enough, this toxic relationship took a dark turn when Henry and his mates murdered Mary’s closest advisor and friend, David Rizzio. At the same time he secretly sided with rebels wanting to overthrow her. Henry's crew stabbed Rizzio 56 times in front of Mary. We can’t be sure if Mary was involved in her husband’s death, but she was afraid and upset after the murder of her advisor. It also doesn’t look great that Mary married the lead suspect Bothwell three months after her husband's murder.
It didn’t last long though for Mary and her third husband, they were defeated in battle by Scottish rebels and James (now without a father) would never see his mother again. The rebels imprisoned his mother on a Scottish island and at age 1 they made young James the King of Scotland. The theme of warring rebels in Macbeth is something that James would know only too well from his childhood.
A Man Who Had To Watch His Back
The men who had overthrown and imprisoned his mother were now the ones who raised him as a child. They knew they would have control of Scotland until he was older. His childhood had been one of a brutal education where he was subject to some severe beatings. This cruel education was all about religion. He was raised a strict Protestant Christian by those in power who had overthrown his Catholic Christian mother. This is something he kept throughout his whole life and the reason why Guy Fawkes (a Catholic) tries to blow him up when he’s King of England. Shakespeare throws in lots of jokes about Catholics throughout the play – especially the drunken Porter. James was declared the “adult” ruler of Scotland at aged 13 and he then had absolute power.
His luck didn't change much though. After 2 years as King, James was kidnapped when he was 15 by the Lords (Thanes) Gowrie and Angus. This plot failed but there was a second attempt on James’ life in 1600 when he was assaulted by Gowrie’s younger brother. The brother was run through with a sword straight away though and Gowrie was later beheaded. Whilst most people remember the Gunpowder Plot as the attempt on James’ life, let’s just remember that this is a lad who survived two attempts on his life by the age of 15. And his father was murdered. Maybe by his mother. And then his mother was kidnapped never to see him again. It’s worth noting at this point, to make it worse, his cousin Queen Elizabeth of England, had just had his mother Mary beheaded. Though by now James seems so unfazed by it all he didn’t even protest, perhaps because he had his sights on being King of England. More of that in a different blog. But let’s face it, when Shakespeare puts in the theme of regicide (killing a king) in the play, James sat in the audience knowing all too well about this subject already.
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