Macbeth got bad press

Far from being the murderous monarch with a devious wife portrayed by William Shakespeare, Macbeth was a wise and popular Scottish king who simply got a bad write-up, Scottish MPs have insisted.

Lawmakers from Scotland have launched a campaign to remember the real 11th-century king during 2005, the 1000th anniversary of his birth, the Times newspaper reported.

In Shakespeare's famous tragic play of 1606, Macbeth's crimes include killing King Duncan at his wife's insistence to seize the throne, and ordering the murder of the wife and children of nobleman Macduff.

The real Macbeth ruled Scotland between 1040 and 1057 and is viewed as a relatively benevolent monarch who resisted lawlessness and encouraged Christianity.