Assassination of Duncan I
Led an army north into Moray, traditionally seen as Macbeths domain, there he is killed, at Pitgaveny near Elgin, by his own men led by Macbeth
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
1040 in Scotland
Explore 18 historical events and records for Scotland in 1040.
Historical records for Scotland in 1040
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 18 of 18 unique records.
18Unique records
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12Named events on this page
3Named people on this page
6Places on this page
August
Death of Duncan I
Led an army north into Moray, traditionally seen as Macbeths domain, there he is killed, at Pitgaveny near Elgin, by his own men led by Macbeth. Duncan is depicted as an elderly King in Macbeth by William Shakespeare & is killed in his sleep by the protagonist, Macbeth
Death of Macbeth
Duncan is depicted as an elderly King in Macbeth by William Shakespeare & is killed in his sleep by the protagonist, Macbeth
Succession
Succeeds as King of Scotland, elected without any opposition
Battle of Pitgaveny
Duncan is killed & his army defeated by Macbeth
Battle of Pitgaveny
Encounters Duncan whi is then killed in battle
Coronation
A usurper who seizes the throne, probably after killing Duncan
Invasion of Moray
Duncan led an army into Moray, where he was killed by Macbeth on 15 August 1040 at Pitgaveny (then called Bothnagowan) near Elgin
Succession
Duncan led an army into Moray, where he was killed by Macbeth on 15 August 1040 at Pitgaveny (then called Bothnagowan) near Elgin
Assassination of Duncan I
Macbeth kills Duncan I because Duncans father had killed Macbeths wifes grandfather
Death of Malcolm III
Malcolm takes refuge in the Court of Edward the Confessor. Macbeth kills Malcolms father in battle
Exile of Malcolm III
Malcolm takes refuge in the Court of Edward the Confessor
Exile of Malcolm III
Goes into exile with his uncle Siward of Northumbria after the defeat of Duncan I
Other events (month unknown)
Burial
Buried in Iona
Invasion of Moray
Led an army north into Moray, traditionally seen as Macbeths domain, there he is killed, at Pitgaveny near Elgin, by his own men led by Macbeth
Invasion of Strathclyde
Strathclyde is attacked by the Northumbrians, and a retaliatory raid led by Duncan against Durham in 1040 turns into a disaster
Siege of Durham
Fails to capture Durham
Siege of Durham
Strathclyde is attacked by the Northumbrians, and a retaliatory raid led by Duncan against Durham in 1040 turns into a disaster
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.