Ross, nobleman of Scotland

Ross is Macduff's cousin. He acts as a messenger in the play, bringing good news of Macbeth's military victory and bad news about Macduff's family.

Editors opinion
Shakespeare speaks of one called Ross in the play but from history we know that Macbeth was in fact the Thain of Ross. Whether the character for Ross was real or not is open to debate. Shakespeare took a lot of his information from the works of earlier writers, but as history has proved, they were not exactly the most reliable of sources. On reading some of the writings of these men, one wonders what their agenda was. Perhaps they were too close to the Canmore family throne.
Their reputations have not been enhanced by their scurrilous works on the life of an exceptionally good King.