Macbeth was not the ambitious, cold-blooded murderer Shakespeare described in his play but a popular king who ruled over a peaceful land, a group of Scottish parliamentarians said on Thursday. They want to restore the reputation of the 11th century king of Scotland, who has been stained with villainy ever since Shakespeare's play was first performed 400 years ago.

"He (Macbeth) was perceived as a good king who stabilised the country and has since been maligned by Shakespeare's play," said Scottish Member of Parliament, Alex Johnstone.

"In a time of war, he unified the country and promoted Christianity," Johnstone told Reuters. "He was even able to leave, visit Rome and return without trouble, something almost unthinkable in those times."

In the play, Macbeth is tormented by the prophesies of three witches, murders the king in his sleep to steal the throne and then succumbs to madness before being killed himself.

Mostly inaccurate, says Johnstone, who has tabled a motion in parliament commemorating the 1,000th anniversary of the birth of Macbeth, who reigned between 1040 and 1057.

He says Shakespeare wrote the play to appeal to the superstitious Scottish king James VI, who had just succeeded to the English throne.

"Apparently King James believed in witches and Shakespeare want to appeal to that," Johnstone said.

Superstition still surrounds the work. Actors refer to it only as "the Scottish play," fearing bad luck if they call it by its real name.

Copyright Reuters, 2005