Geoffrey_9876
An adaptation of the historical Macbeth and Gruoch, with some influences from other historical novels about the Moravian Interlude.
Sources:
Annals of Tigernach
Orkneyinga Saga
Heimskringla, Snorri Sturluson
History of Scotland, Hector Boece
Rerum Scotiarum Historia, George Buchanan
Macbeth, by William Shakespeare
History of Scotland, P. Hume Brown
Nigel Tranter, MacBeth the King
Susan Fraser King, Lady Macbeth
Wikipedia
Note:
1.Gruoch's name in standard Scottish Gaelic is unknown.
2.A few Shakespearean verses are included, but adapted into historical context: "O never shall sun that morrow see" here would fit to Malcolm II, as he would be dead when his other two grandsons attacked his successor; while the verse attributed to Donalbain in Shakespeare's Macbeth would be given to Sybil, as historically Donald Ban was still very little at the time of Battle of Bothnagowan. Two variants of Norn stories would be shown here, one for Gruoch and another for Macbeth.
3.Neither Nigel Tranter nor other sources could explain the origin of Clan MacDuff. Here I take the opinion that Clan MacDuff is an offshoot of Clan MacAlpin but was excluded from succession to the throne for their ancestor's illegitimacy.
4.The basic principle for a historical novel, play or other forms of adaptation of historical stories should be based on the principle of "fill the blanks with reasonable imagination while keeping historical accounts intact", and this story follows the principle.
5.Modern Scottish Gaelic with archaized names are extensively used in the story.