Terms

Thane This is the title for the Scottish thane: a local official of the Crown in medieval Scotland, who answered for a region in the king's name. The title takes the name of the place, as Glamis, Cawdor, or Fife does. King David I introduced the thanes to replace... Prince of Cumberland The title with which, in the play, King Duncan marks his son as heir, as the Prince of Wales does today in England. Cumberland is a region of northwest England, ceded in 945 to the Scottish king Malcolm I. In Gaelic Scotland the successor was chosen among the... Chamberlain A servant of the king's household attached to the chamber, the room where he sleeps. The word comes from the Latin camerarius, and the dictionary defines it as a nobleman in the service of royal persons. Among the duties of those who served in the monarch's... Scone A locality in central Scotland, the closest the early kingdom came to a capital, and the place where kings were inaugurated. In the 9th century, Kenneth MacAlpin is said to have brought the Stone of Scone there, central to the coronation rituals. The ceremony... Hecate A goddess of ancient Greek religion linked to magic, witchcraft, boundaries, and the passage between worlds. She first appears in Hesiod's Theogony, around 700 BC, and is usually represented with torches, a key, or serpents, or accompanied by dogs. Her link... Acheron One of the five rivers of the underworld in Greek mythology, sometimes called the river of lamentation. According to classical sources, it is the entrance to Hades, and the ferryman Charon carries the souls of the dead across it. There is also a real river of... The King's Evil The old name for scrofula, today described as tuberculosis of the lymph nodes of the neck. It was believed that the king's touch cured it, a rite of English and French monarchs that included a gold coin and prayers. In England, the gift was attributed to... Earl A noble title above viscount and below marquess, which in English is earl, from Old English eorl. In Scotland, the oldest counties arose from the office of mormaer, a regional Gaelic official, and they kept great power through the Middle Ages. Over time, the...