Battle of Lunfanan

The Battle of Lunfanan was fought on August 15, 1057, with King Macbeth's forces countering the invading English.

In the lead up to the battle, the Hunter and his allies destroyed Demona's Clan and Castle Moray was sacked following Demona's desertion. All in all, Macbeth's forces were outnumbered five-to-one. Escaping from the castle, Macbeth and Gruoch travel as far as Lunfanan Hill, but were ultimately cornered by the Hunter, who revealed himself to be Canmore. Canmore ignored Macbeth's offer for mercy, fully intent on avenging his father's death by taking back the crown. Demona arrived shortly after, revealing her preemptive betrayal to Macbeth, only to be scolded by her ally of thirty-seven years. Canmore took the opportunity to stab the King, (which revealed Demona and Macbeth's link) killing them both.

Following Macbeth's "death", Bodhe took his crown and declared his grandson Luach High King of Scotland, who proceeded to avenge his father on the battlefield. As Grouch mourned her dead husband, the Weird Sisters appeared and revealed the details of Macbeth and Demona's pact, reviving the two: They are immortal and forever linked, feeling each other's pain whenever they are near. For either of them to ultimately die, one must kill the other.

The first to wake up, Demona was chastised by Gruoch who shared the news of her slaughtered clan. Outraged, the gargoyle stormed off. Once Macbeth came to, he fully intended to join his son on the battlefield, but Gruoch explained that having now been accused of sorcery, even his own men would fear him. For there to be any hope for their son, Gruoch told Macbeth to leave Scotland. Luach proceeded to rally his father's forces and drive back Canmore's that night. He was able to maintain the throne until Canmore overthrew him the following year. ("City of Stone" Part Four)

Real World Background

The Battle of Lunfanan (also spelled Lumphanan) did, in fact, take place on August 15, 1057, with key events playing out in real life as they did in "City of Stone" Part Four, including Malcolm Canmore (later Malcolm III) having the support of the English and his mortal wounding of Macbeth there.

See Also

• Battle of Lunfanan at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia