Maccus

Maccus is a personal name which is first attested and possibly coined in the tenth century, the name Maccus, later also written as Mac(c)hus, was especially common in the Border country:

• Maccus mac Arailt (d. 980's), also Maccus Haraldsson.
• Maccus son of Anlaf, named as Eric Bloodaxe's murderer.
• A minor thane who fought at the Battle of Maldon and is mentioned in the poem of the same name.
• Element in place-names of the Scottish borders, e.g. Longformacus (Scottish Gaelic Longphort Maccus), Maxton (English Maccuses tun) and Maxwell(town) (Maccuses wylle).

For a discussion of the origin and development of the name, see David E. Thornton, "Hey Mac! The name Maccus, tenth to fifteenth centuries." Nomina 20 (1997-9): 67-94, with appendix by O.J. Padel on Talkarn Mackus, 95-8.

Fictional character

• A hammer-headed member of the Flying Dutchman crew in the film series Pirates of the Caribbean, played by Dermot Keaney (IMDB).
• Maccus or Macchus:
  • a stock character in Atellan Farce
  • a related, long-nosed figure in puppetry, similar to the stock character Pulcinella