<P> Shakespeare borrowed the character of Banquo from Holinshed's Chronicles, a history of Britain published by Raphael Holinshed in 1587 . In Chronicles Banquo is an accomplice to Macbeth in the murder of the king, rather than a loyal subject of the king who is seen as an enemy by Macbeth . Shakespeare may have changed this aspect of his character to please King James, who was thought at the time to be a descendant of the real Banquo . Critics often interpret Banquo's role in the play as being a foil to Macbeth, resisting evil where Macbeth embraces it . Sometimes, however, his motives are unclear, and some critics question his purity . He does nothing to accuse Macbeth of murdering the king, even though he has reason to believe Macbeth is responsible . </P> <P> Shakespeare often used Raphael Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland--commonly known as Holinshed's Chronicles--as a source for his plays, and in Macbeth he borrows from several of the tales in that work . Holinshed portrays Banquo as a historical figure: he is an accomplice in Mac Bethad mac Findlaích's (Macbeth's) murder of Donnchad mac Crínáin (King Duncan) and plays an important part in ensuring that Macbeth, not Máel Coluim mac Donnchada (Malcolm), takes the throne in the coup that follows . Holinshed in turn used an earlier work, the Scotorum Historiae (1526--7) by Hector Boece, as his source . Boece's work is the first known record of Banquo and his son Fleance; and scholars such as David Bevington generally consider them fictional characters invented by Boece . In Shakespeare's day, however, they were considered historical figures of great repute, and the king, James I, based his claim to the throne in part on a descent from Banquo . The House of Stuart was descended from Walter fitz Alan, Steward of Scotland, and he was believed to have been the grandson of Fleance and Gruffydd ap Llywelyn's daughter, Nesta ferch Gruffydd . In reality Walter fitz Alan was the son of Alan fitz Flaad, a Breton knight . </P> <P> Unlike his sources, Shakespeare gives Banquo no role in the King's murder, making it a deed committed solely by Macbeth and his wife . Why Shakespeare's Banquo is so different from the character described by Holinshed and Boece is not known, though critics have proposed several possible explanations . First among them is the risk associated with portraying the king's ancestor as a murderer and conspirator in the plot to overthrow a rightful king, as well as the author's desire to flatter a powerful patron . But Shakespeare may also simply have altered Banquo's character because there was no dramatic need for another accomplice to the murder . There was, however, a need to provide a dramatic contrast to Macbeth; a role that many scholars argue is filled by Banquo . Similarly, when Jean de Schelandre wrote about Banquo in his Stuartide in 1611, he also changed the character by portraying him as a noble and honourable man--the critic D.W. Maskell describes him as "...Schelandre's paragon of valour and virtue"--probably for reasons similar to Shakespeare's . </P> <P> Banquo's role in the coup that follows the murder is harder to explain . Banquo's loyalty to Macbeth, rather than Malcolm, after Duncan's death makes him a passive accomplice in the coup: Malcolm, as Prince of Cumberland, is the rightful heir to the throne and Macbeth a usurper . Daniel Amneus argued that Macbeth as it survives is a revision of an earlier play, in which Duncan granted Macbeth not only the title of Thane of Cawdor, but the "greater honor" of Prince of Cumberland (i.e. heir to the throne of Scotland). Banquo's silence may be a survival from the posited earlier play, in which Macbeth was the legitimate successor to Duncan . </P>

Who does banquo have the most loyalty to