XVI. MACBETH.

Shakespeare follows Holinshed, and that historian followed Hector Boethius. Buchanan, on the contrary, in his Scottish history (Rerum Scoticarum Historia, Edimburgi, 1528, fol. 60 et seq.), refuses to believe anything of the marvels and appearances which form the main part of the tale of Macbeth; but he cannot keep himself wholly clear of them. He turns the first appearance of the witches, and their prophetic greeting, into a nocturnal vision, which is afterwards fulfilled: the promised future greatness of the descendants of Banquo he considers as a report maliciously (per maleficos) spread abroad, which tempts Macbeth to have him murdered: the boughs which Malcolm's soldiers carried in their hands he considers as a sign of their joyful hope of conquering, by which, confidence being destroyed, Macbeth took to flight (ea perterritus hostium fiducia, Macbethus confestim in fugam se dedit); all the rest of the miraculous he gives up entirely―quia theatris aut Milesiis fabulis sunt aptiora quam historiæ.

Malone has noticed that there is a hint, in these words of Buchanan, that the tale of Macbeth is adapted to theatrical representation. But he prudently adds, that in Shakespeare's time there was no translation of Buchanan's work in existence. Though we are not of his opinion that Shakespeare was ignorant of the Latin language, still we think he had no need of the opinion of Buchanan to find that this subject was poetic and dramatical. Farmer is still more inconsistent. He suspects that Shakespeare may have become acquainted with his subject matter, not improbably, from a

small piece, of similar tendency, which was played in 1605 before King James at Oxford (Shakespeare's Macbeth, according to Malone, was written in 1606). Wake, in his Rex Platonicus,' says: "The subject of the play was an old tale of the Scots of their royal house, according to which three Sibyls appeared on a certain time to the two Scottish nobles, Macbeth and Banquo, and prophecied to them that the former would be King, but beget no King; the latter would not be King, but beget many. That the event had fulfilled this prediction, since the glorious King James was sprung from Banquo's race." Further on, Farmer adds, that he has been reproached with ascribing to Shakespeare an acquaintance with the Latin language; for the above-mentioned interlude was performed before the King in that language.2 But he perceives, from an old book by Anthony Nixon, 1605,

1 “Fabulæ ansam dedit antiqua de Regia prosapia historiola apud Scoto-Britannos celebrata, quæ narrat tres olim Sibyllas occurrisse duobus Scotia proceribus, Macbetho et Banchoni, et illum prædixisse Regem futurum, sed Regem nullum geniturum, hunc Regem non futurum, sed Reges geniturum multos. Vaticinii veritatem rerum eventus comprobavit; Banchonis enim è stirpe Potentissimus Jacobus oriundus. Tres adolescentes concinno Sibyllarum habitu induti, è Collegio prodeuntes, et carmina lepida alternatim canentes, Regi se tres esse illas Sibyllas profitentur, quæ Banchoni olim sobolis imperia prædixerant, jamque iterum comparere, ut eâdem vaticinii veritate prædicerent Jacobo, se jam et diu regem futurum Britanniæ felicissimum et multorum Regum parentem, ut ex Banchonis stirpe nunquam sit hæres Britannico diademati defuturus. Deinde tribus Principibus suaves felicitatum triplicitates triplicatis carminum vicibus succinentes, veniamque precantes, quòd alumni ædium Divi Johannis (qui præcursor Christi) alumnos Edis Christi (quo tum Rex tendebat) præcursoria hac salutatione antevertissent, Principes ingeniosa fictiuncula delectatos dimittunt; quos inde universa astantium multitudo, felici prædictionum successui suffragans votis precibusque ad portam usque civitatis Borealem prosequitur."-Wake, ibid. This work seems to have been popular. The fifth edition appeared at Oxford, in 1635.—ED.

2 A more particular account of this interlude will be found, by the curious reader, in Gwynne's Vertumnus, 4to., 1607.—ED.

that this piece was played first before the King, in Latin, and afterwards before the Queen and the English princes, in English; and so all is explained. We mention this merely for our reader's amusement.

The story of Boethius can hardly be founded on history, but certainly it has a deep foundation in popular story. The gaps in the story have here, too, been clearly supplied from popular tales. Grimm, in his remarks on the story of the Fisherman and his Wife, has compared Lady Macbeth with the Etrurian Tanaquil, who, also, like Eva, incites her husband to aim at high things. In Livy's relation, this appearance is repeated in Tullia, the wife of the gentle Tarquin, of which we have spoken in our chapter on King Lear. The incident of the wood is found related in fiction in various other ways. There is a great coincidence in the story of King Grünewald, which Professor Schwarz has preserved in his Hessian memorabilia from the mouth of old people. "A King had an only daughter, who possessed wonderful gifts. Now, there came once his enemy, a King named Grünewald, and besieged him in his castle; and, as the siege lasted long, the daughter continually encouraged her father in the castle. This lasted till May-day. Then all at once the daughter saw the hostile army approaching with green boughs: then she was in fear and trouble; for she knew that all was lost, and said to her father

'Father, give yourself for lost

The greenwood's coming here.'"

Compare Grimm's German Tales, i., 148. Here the connexion with the story of Macbeth is not to be mistaken. The daughter plays the same part as the witches. She knows, by means of her miraculous gifts, that her father cannot be conquered till the greenwood comes up to them; and, as she considers this impossible, she inspires him with confidence; but, when the supposed impossible incident comes to pass, she advises him to surrender. On the other hand, no

prophecy appears to have preceded the artifice of Fredegrund, who hung bells on her horses, and ordered each of her warriors to take a twig in his hand, and so to march against the enemy; whereby the sentinels of the hostile camp were deceived, believing their horses were feeding in the neighbouring wood; until the Franks let their boughs fall, and the wood stood bare of leaves, but thick with the shafts of glancing spears. (Compare Grimm's "German Popular Stories," ii., 91.) It was merely a military stratagem; just as Malcolm, when he commanded his soldiers, on their march, to take boughs in their hands, had nothing else in his mind, for he knew not what had been prophesied to Macbeth.

The following passage from Joh. Weyer de Præstigiis, Frankfurt, 1586, p. 329, is remarkable:-" If any one wishes to give himself the appearance of having about a thousand men or horse round him, he must have a year-old willow bough cut off at one stroke, with certain conjurations, repetion of barbarous words, and rude characters." A single man might find some difficulty in giving himself, by the use of this vaunted recipe, the appearance of a whole host; but the inventor evidently founded his pretension upon a popular story, according to which a bold army had, by this artifice, concealed its weakness from an enemy superior in number. According to Holinshed, however, Malcolm's army was superior in number to that of Macbeth, and the concealment with the twigs was only put in practice, so that, when they were thrown away, the superiority of numbers being suddenly seen might create more terror.

We cannot find the second prediction, "that none of woman born should harm Macbeth," in any other popular story; but, on the other hand, many men and demigods occur, who, like Macduff, "were from their mother's womb untimely ripped." This always indicates power and heroic strength. Such a one was Volsung, Sigurd's ancestor. (Volsungasaga, cap. 3, 4.)

K

Shakespeare makes the ghost of the murdered Banquo appear at the banquet to which Macbeth had invited the living man. There is nothing of this in the tale of Macbeth; for, according to Holinshed, the murder does not take place till after the feast. Here, however, the poet has amended the single story in its own sense; for it is well known, according to popular fiction, that the dead keep their word, even beyond the grave, and expect that as much should be done for them, even when it is destructive to the living. We may instance Leonora and the Bride of Corinth. That Banquo appears visibly to Macbethy only is of no importance to the story. This trait in Shakespeare has considerable resemblance with Don Juan's invitation of the marble guest.

Note by the Editor.

The incident of cutting down the branches of the trees is found in several histories not noticed by M. Simrock. A similar stratagem is related in the old romance life of Alexander the Great, thus translated in the Thornton MS., in the library of Lincoln Cathedral:-"In the mene tyme, Kyng Alexander remowed his oste, and drew nere the cité of Susis, in the whilke Darius was lengand the same tyme, so that he myzte see alle the heghe hillez that ware abowune the citee. Than Alexander commanded alle his mene that ilkane of thame suld cutte downe a brawnche of a tree, and bere thame furth with thame, and dryfe bifore thame alle manere of bestez that thay myzte fynde in the way; and when the Percyenes saw thame fra the heghe hillez, thay wondred thame gretly." Compare, also, Olaus Magnus, vii., 20, De Stratagemate Regis Hachonis per Frondes:-" Nec accelerationi prospera fortuna defuit: nam primam et secundam vigilum stationem suspenso tacitoque itinere prætervectus, cum ad extremas sylvarum latebras devenisset, jussit abscissos arborum ramos singulorum suorum manibus gestari. Quod cum milites in tertiâ statione constituti adverterant, mox Sigaro nuntiant se insolitam et stupendam rei novitatem admirantibus oculis subjecisse. Visum quippe erat nemus suis sedibus evulsum ad regiam usque properare. Tum Sigarus animo ad insidiarum considerationem converso, respondit, eo sylvarum accessu sibi extrema fata portendi."