Context

11 CENTURY SCOTLAND - KINGS POSITION
- At this time, the government was run through the Feudal System - a ranking order meaning the nobles were at the top, merchants in the middle and the servants at the bottom

WHO IS JAMES I?

- James was the king of Scotland when Elizabeth past, and he was the closest relative to Elizabeth. James had never took over the control of the country fully. Scotland was claimed as ungovernable in parts of that country.James was proclaimed king of Scotland in 1567, aged 1, after his mother enforce abdication and she was Mary, Queen of Scots. In 1589, he married Anne of Denmark, which she claim herself a Flimsy and shallowed person. James was a fervent believer in the Divine Right of Kings. He had a high opinion as to his academic ability. He also held in high regard his ability to be a king. King James I thought he was a witchcraft expert - he was very interested in this.

Mens and Woman role:

How woman's look like.

This is a time when men were men, and women were bearded witches, unsexed nags, or dead. That is why, at the end of the play Macbeth, there were no women’s alive. Medieval women invariably had a hard time in an era when many men lived harsh lives. A few women lived comfortable lives but Medieval society was completely dominated by men and women had to know 'their place' in such a society.The women in the play, Lady Macbeth and the witches, defy their gender expectations and act as cruel as the men.

How mens look like.

Another picture of how mens look like.

Witches & Witchcraft

During Shakespears's time, witches and witchcraft were the objects of morbid and fevered fascination - a nonsense that wasn't supposed to be real. People suspected of bring witches were cruelly persecuted. Even though there were superstitions and negative talks about witches, people still believed in witches.

It was believed that witches allowed the Devil to suck their blood in exchange of familiars - black cats, rats, owls, bats, toads, etc... These animals were used as evil servants.

Accused witches were examined for the 'Devil's mark' - a red mark on their body from where Satan had had sucked their blood. Some of Shakespear's audience interpreted that Lady Macbeth's 'damned spot' was an evidence of the Devil's mark.

People also believed that witches had supernatural power - being able to predict the future, fly, sail in sieves, bring on night in daytime, cause fogs and tempests, etc...

The execution of witches were brutual - burned, hung, drowned, catherine wheels - a spiky wheel and the witch is tied on it as it's rolled down the hill.

To test if a person is a witch, they were drowned and if they floated, they're a witch as people believed that they had the magic to float.

Religion:

The church was lead by the Pope. The vast majority of European citizens were followers of the Catholic faith. Religion had played a really important jobs in the daily life of that time. Many of the laws were enforced by the Church and people lead their life by a rigorous moral code; punishments for going against these laws were extremely severe. Religious conflict in the medieval era is well documented.

The Crusades, which occurred in the early part of the 11th century, are perhaps one of the most famous religious conflicts of all time; this event involved the invasion of Eastern Muslim lands and the capture of Jerusalem. There were five crusades in total; eventually the Muslims took Jerusalem back and the soldiers retreated back to Britain.