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Margaret[1, 2]

Female 1045 - 1093  (48 years)


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  • Name Margaret  
    Nickname Queen Margaret of S... 
    Born 8 Sep 1045  Castle Reka Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    Mecseknádasd
    Mecseknádasd, Baranya
    Hungary 
    Christened Hungary Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Gender Female 
    Name Atheling 
    Name Margaret Saint 
    Occupation Princesse, d'Angleterre, Sainte, 1251 
    Occupation Queen consort of Scotland, Canonised 1250 and her feast day is 16th November, SAINT, кралица на Шотландия, Saint, Princesse, d'Angleterre, Sainte, 1251, Princess England Queen of Scotland, Queen, Quuen and a saint Canonised by Pope 1251 
    Occupation Saxon Princess who fled from the Normans 
    Residence England Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Died 16 Nov 1093  Edinburgh Castle Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    Edinburgh
    Edinburgh, Scotland 
    Buried 16 Nov 1093  Dunfermline Abbey Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Address:
    Dunfermline
    Dunfermline, Scotland 
    Notes 
    • {geni:about_me} '''Saint Margaret''' (c. 1045 – 16 November 1093), was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England.

      Spouse: Malcolm III, King of Scots

      Children:

      1. Edward, killed 1093.

      2. Edmund of Scotland

      3. Ethelred, abbot of Dunkeld

      4. King Edgar of Scotland

      5. King Alexander I of Scotland

      6. King David I of Scotland

      7. Edith of Scotland, also called Matilda, married King Henry I of England

      8. Mary of Scotland, married Eustace III of Boulogne

      LINKS

      * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Margaret_of_Scotland

      * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_R%C3%A9ka

      * http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/SCOTLAND.htm#MalcolmIIIdied1093B

      http://www.dunfermlineabbey.co.uk/index.php?ID=1853&CATEGORY=4-History

      MEDIEVAL LANDS

      MALCOLM, son of DUNCAN II King of Scotland & his wife [Sibylla of Northumbria] (1031-killed in battle near Alnwick, Northumberland 13 Nov 1093[241], bur Tynemouth St Albans[242], transferred to Dunfermline Abbey, Fife[243], transferred again to Escorial, Madrid). The 12th century Cronica Regum Scottorum names "Malcolaim filii Donnchada" in one of its lists[244]. The Chronicon of Mariano Scotti records that "Moelcol…filius Donchael" succeeded Lulach in 1058[245]. The Annales Dunelmenses record that "Siwardus" put "Macbeth" to flight in 1054 and installed "Malcolmum rege" in the following year[246]. The Annals of Tigernach record that “Lulach rí Alban” was killed by “Mael-Coluimb, son of Donnchad” in 1058[247]. The Chronicle of John of Fordun records that Malcolm recaptured his kingdom with the help of "Siward Earl of Northumberland" and killed "Machabeus" 5 Dec 1056[248].

      He succeeded in 1058 as MALCOLM III "Caennmor/Bighead" King of Scotland, crowned 25 Apr 1058 at Scone Abbey, Perthshire. Duncan cites sources which demonstrate that this nickname was first applied to King Malcolm III in the 13th century[249]. He suggests[250] that it was originally applied to King Malcolm IV who, he asserts, suffered from Paget's disease, involving a deformation of the bones particularly observable in the skull, and was later misapplied to King Malcolm III. King Malcolm supported the claim to the English crown of Edgar ætheling, whose sister he had married, and led plundering raids into England. Florence of Worcester records that he did homage to William I King of England at Abernethy in Aug 1072[251]. The same source records that King Malcolm invaded Northumberland in 1091, but did fealty to Willam II King of England after peace was negotiated between the two kings[252]. Florence of Worcester records that "rex Scottorum Malcolmus et primogenitus filius suus Eadwardus" were killed in battle in Northumbria "die S Bricii" [13 Nov] by the army of "Rotberti Northymbrorum comitis"[253]. William of Malmesbury records that he was killed, with his son Edward, by Morael of Bamborough, steward of Robert Mowbray Earl of Northumberland, while leading a raid into England[254]. The Annals of Ulster record that "Mael Coluim son of Donnchad, over-king of Scotland, and Edward his son, were killed by the French in Inber Alda in England"[255].

      m [secondly] (Dunfermline Abbey 1070) MARGARET of England, daughter of EDWARD ætheling of England & his wife Agatha --- ([in Hungary] [1046/53]-Edinburgh Castle 16 Nov 1093, bur Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, transferred to Escorial, Madrid, her head bur Jesuit College, Douai). Although Margaret's birth is often placed in [1045/46][257], a later birth would be more consistent with the "German" theory of her mother's origin (as discussed in ANGLO-SAXON KINGS). Margaret's birth as late as 1053 would still be consistent with her having given birth to four children before her daughter Edith/Matilda (later wife of Henry I King of England), whose birth is estimated to have taken place in [1079/80]. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Margaret left England with her mother in Summer 1067 and found refuge at the court of Malcolm King of Scotland[258]. Florence of Worcester records that "clitone Eadgaro et matre sua Agatha duabusque sororibus suis Margareta et Christina" left England for Scotland, in a passage which deals with events in mid-1068[259]. Florence of Worcester records that "regina Scottorum Margareta" died from grief after learning of the death of her husband and oldest son[260]. The Annals of Ulster record that "his queen Margaret…died of sorrow for him within nine days" after her husband was killed in battle[261]. She was canonised in 1250, her feast day in Scotland is 16 Nov[262].

      King Malcolm III & his second wife had eight children[287]:

      3. EDWARD (-Edwardsisle, near Jedburgh 16 Nov 1093, bur Tynemouth St Albans). Florence of Worcester records that "rex Scottorum Malcolmus et primogenitus filius suus Eadwardus" were killed in battle in Northumbria "die S Bricii" [13 Nov] by the army of "Rotberti Northymbrorum comitis"[288]. He is named, and his parentage given, by Roger of Hoveden, who lists him first of the sons[289]. The Chronicle of John of Fordun names "Edward, Edmund, Ethelred, Edgar, Alexander and…David" as the sons of King Malcolm and his wife[290]. The Chronicle of John of Fordun records that, according to "William", "Edmund…was privy to his brother Duncan´s death, having…bargained with his uncle [Donald] for half the kingdom" but was captured and "kept in fetters for ever"[291]. He died from wounds received at the battle of Alnwick during a raid on England led by his father. The Annals of Ulster record that "Mael Coluim son of Donnchad, over-king of Scotland, and Edward his son, were killed by the French in Inber Alda in England"[292]. Matthew of Paris reports that the remains of "regis Scotorum Malcolmi et Edwardi filii sui" were found at Tynemouth, commenting that both had been killed fighting "Robertus de Mumbrai"[293].

      4. EDMUND (-after 1097, bur [Montacute]). He is named, and his parentage given, by Roger of Hoveden, who lists him second of the sons[294]. The Chronicle of John of Fordun names "Edward, Edmund, Ethelred, Edgar, Alexander and…David" as the sons of King Malcolm and his wife, adding in a later passage that Edmund "was buried at Montacute in England"[295]. He succeeded in 1094 as EDMUND joint King of Scotland, jointly with his uncle King Donald III "Bane", ruling south of the Forth/Clyde. He was deposed in 1097 by his brother Edgar, and became a monk at Montacute Abbey. Edmund is not mentioned either by Orderic Vitalis in his brief account of the usurpation of King Donald "Bane"[296], or by Florence of Worcester in his account of the deposition of King Donald in 1097[297]. If Edmund was older than his brother Edgar, it is not clear why their uncle Edgar Ætheling, who led the English army which deposed their uncle, would have supported the accession of Edgar in place of Edmund. The Annals of Ulster record that he was involved in the killing of his half-brother King Duncan[298]. William of Malmesbury records that "Edmund was the only degenerate son of Margaret", that he "[partook] in his uncle Donald's crime and…had been accessory to his brother's death", was "doomed to perpetual imprisonment", and "on his near approach of death, ordered himself to be buried in his chains"[299]. The 12th century Cronica Regum Scottorum records that "Edmundus" was buried "apud Montem Acutum in…cella Cluniacensi"[300].

      5. EDGAR ([1074]-[Dundee or Edinburgh Castle] 6 Jan 1107, bur Dunfermline Abbey, Fife). He is named, and his parentage given, by Roger of Hoveden, who lists him third of the sons[301]. The Chronicle of John of Fordun names "Edward, Edmund, Ethelred, Edgar, Alexander and…David" as the sons of King Malcolm and his wife[302]. He succeeded in 1097 as EDGAR King of Scotland. Florence of Worcester records that "clitorem Eadgarum" led an army to Scotland in [1097] to place "consobrinum suum Eadgarum Malcolmi regis filium" on the Scottish throne after expelling "patruo suo Dufenaldo"[303]. The reign of Edgar is ignored by Orderic Vitalis, who says that Alexander succeeded when King Donald was deposed[304]. "Edgarus filius Malcolmi Regis Scottorum" made grants for the souls of "fratrum meorum Doncani et Edwardi" by charter dated 30 Aug 1095, subscribed by "Egeri regis, Alexandri fratri eius, Manyanium, Agulfi, filii Doncani, Eyluerti, filii Eghe Omani, Uhtredi, filii Magdufe, Constantini, Rodberti de humet, Ætele, A. gulfi, Alimoldi filii sui, David"[305]. The precise dating of this charter and the unusual list of subscribers suggest that it may be spurious. "Edgarus…Rex Scottorum" made grants for the souls of "Malcolmi patris nostri et Margaretæ matris nostræ…ac Edwardi et Duncani fratrum nostrorum" by charter dated 1095[306]. Robert of Torigny records the death in 1107 of "Edgarus rex Scotiæ"[307]. Florence of Worcester records the death "VIII Id Jan" in [1107] of "Eadgarus rex Scottorum"[308]. The Chronicle of the Picts and Scots dated 1251 records that "Edgar mac Malcolm" reigned for 9 years, died "in Dunedin", and was buried "in Dumferline"[309].

      6. ALEXANDER ([1077/78]-Stirling Castle 23, 25 or 27 Apr 1124, bur Dunfermline Abbey, Fife). He is named, and his parentage given, by Roger of Hoveden, who lists him fourth of the sons[310]. The Chronicle of John of Fordun names "Edward, Edmund, Ethelred, Edgar, Alexander and…David" as the sons of King Malcolm and his wife[311]. Robert of Torigny records that "Alexander frater eius" succeeded in 1107 on the death of "Edgarus rex Scotiæ"[312]. He succeeded his brother in 1107 as ALEXANDER I "the Fierce" King of Scotland. Florence of Worcester records that "Alexander frater eius" succeeded his brother King Edgar in [1107][313]. The Continuator of Florence of Worcester records the marriage "VII Kal Mai" [1124] of "Alexander rex Scottorum"[314]. The Chronicle of the Picts and Scots dated 1251 records that "Alexander" reigned for 17 years and 3 months, died "in Crasleth", and was buried "in Dumferline"[315].

      m ([1107]) SIBYL, illegitimate daughter of HENRY I King of England & his mistress --- ([1090/95]-Island of the Women, Loch Tay, Perthshire 12/13 Jul 1122, bur Island of the Women, Loch Tay). William of Malmesbury records the marriage of Alexander to the unnamed illegitimate daughter of King Henry, but adds "there was…some defect about the lady either in correctness of manners or elegance of person"[316], which appears to imply mental retardation. Her name is confirmed by various charters, including the charter dated to [1120] under which "Alexander…Rex Scottorum filius Regis Malcolmi et Reginæ Margaretæ et…Sibilla regina Scottorum filia Henrici regis Angliæ" made grants[317]. Considering the date of her marriage, it is unlikely that she was born much later than [1095]. The Complete Peerage[318] suggests that she was the daughter of Sibyl Corbet, both because of her name and also because of the possible co-identity between "…Willelmo fratre reginæ…", who witnessed the charter dated 1124 under which "Alexander…Rex Scottorum" granted jurisdiction to the prior of Scone[319], and "…Willielmo fratre meo…" who witnessed the charter dated to [1163/75] under which "Reginaldus, Henrici Regis filius, comes Cornubiæ" granted property to "Willielmo de Boterell, filio Aliziæ Corbet, materteræ meæ"[320]. However, this co-identity is not ideal from a chronological point of view. William, brother of Renaud Earl of Cornwall, died after 1187. If he was the same person as the brother of Sibyl Queen of Scotland, he could only have been a child when he subscribed the Scottish charters in which he is named. The documents give no indication of his youth, and in any case it is probable that the queen´s [full] brother would have been born in the same timeframe as she was. In addition, as noted in the document ENGLAND KINGS, it is possible that William, brother of Earl Renaud, may have been his uterine brother, in which case it is unlikely that he would have been chosen to accompany the queen to Scotland. Another factor is that the birth of Herbert FitzHerbert, son of Sibyl Corbet by her marriage, is estimated to [1125/35] (see UNTITLED ENGLISH NOBILITY), which is clearly inconsistent with his having been the half-sister of the Scottish queen. In conclusion, it is preferable therefore to show the queen´s mother as unknown.

      King Alexander I had one illegitimate son by an unknown mistress:

      a) MALCOLM ([1105/15]-after 1158). Orderic Vitalis names Malcolm as bastard son of King Alexander[321]. Robert of Torigny records that "Aragois comes Morefie cum Melcolmo notho filio Alexandri fratri regis David" invaded Scotland in 1130[322]. Malcolm fought two battles challenging his uncle David for the crown of Scotland. He was captured in 1134, imprisoned in Roxburgh castle until 1158[323]. same person as …? MALCOLM MacHeth (-23 Oct 1168[324]). Duncan suggests that Malcolm, son of King Alexander I, and Malcolm MacHeth were two different persons, the latter being the son of "Aed" or "Heth" who witnessed two charters in the early years of the reign of King David I[325]. He was reconciled with King Malcolm IV in 1157. Malcolm MacHeth was created Earl of Ross in 1162 or before[326].

      - EARLS of ROSS.

      7. ETHELRED (-before [1107], bur [St Andrew´s Church, Kilremont]). He is named, and his parentage given, by Roger of Hoveden, who lists him fifth of the sons[327]. The Chronicle of John of Fordun names "Edward, Edmund, Ethelred, Edgar, Alexander and…David" as the sons of King Malcolm and his wife, adding in a later passage that Ethelred "as some assert…lies buried in St Andrew´s church at Kilremont"[328]. Lay abbot of Dunkeld. "Edelradus…filius Malcolmi Regis Scotiæ Abbas de Dunkeldense et insuper Comes de Fyf" made donations to the Keledei of Loch Leven by undated charter, witnessed by "duo fratres Hedelradi…David et Alexander…Constantini comitis de Fyf et Nesse et Cormac filii Macbeath et Malnethte filii Beollani sacerdotum de Abyrnethyn et Mallebride alterius sacerdotis"[329].

      8. EADGYTH (1079-1 Jun 1118).

      Orderic Vitalis records that their mother sent Eadgyth and her sister Mary to be brought up by their maternal aunt Christina, nun at Romsey Abbey[330]. Florence of Worcester records the marriage of King Henry and "regis Scottorum Malcolmi et Margaretæ reginæ filiam Mahtildem" and her coronation as queen in a passage dealing with events in late 1100[331]. She adopted the name MATILDA on her marriage. Crowned Queen Consort of England 11 or 14 Nov 1100. The necrology of the abbey of Saint-Denis records the death "Kal Mai" of "Matildis Anglorum regina"[332]. The Continuator of Florence of Worcester records the death "Kal Mai " at Westminster of "Mahthildis regina Anglorum", and her burial at Westminster Abbey[333].

      m (11 Nov 1100) as his first wife, HENRY I "Beauclerc" King of England, son of WILLIAM I "the Conqueror" King of England & his wife Mathilde de Flandre (Selby, Yorkshire Sep 1068-Saint-Denis le Ferment, Forêt d’Angers near Rouen 1/2 Dec 1135, bur Reading Abbey, Berkshire).

      9. DAVID ([1080]-Carlisle 24 May 1153, bur Dunfermline Abbey, Fife). He is named, and his parentage given, by Roger of Hoveden, who lists him sixth of the sons[334]. He succeeded his brother in 1124 as DAVID I King of Scotland.

      - see below.

      10. MARY (-31 May 1116 or 18 Apr 1118, bur Bermondsey Priory). Orderic Vitalis records that their mother sent Mary and her sister Eadgyth to be brought up by their maternal aunt Christina, nun at Romsey Abbey[335]. Florence of Worcester records that Henry I King of England arranged the marriage of "Mariam reginæ sororem" and "Eustatio Bononensium comiti" in [1102][336]. Her marriage is also recorded by Orderic Vitalis, who also names her daughter[337]. The Genealogica comitum Buloniensium records that "Eustachius, frater Balduini regis Iheruslame" married "Mariam filiam regis Scotiæ"[338]. The 12th century Cronica Regum Scottorum records the death "II Kal Jun" in 1116 of "Maria…comitissa" and her burial "apud Bermundseiam"[339]. The Chronicle of John of Fordun records that "Mary countess of Bouillon" died in "the third year before her sister´s death"[340].

      m (1102) EUSTACHE [III] Comte de Boulogne, son of EUSTACHE [II] "Gernobadatus" Comte de Boulogne and Lens & his second wife Ida of Lotharingia (-after 1125).

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      WIKIPEDIA (Eng)

      Saint Margaret (c. 1045 – 16 November 1093), was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. She married Malcolm III, King of Scots, becoming his Queen consort.

      Early life

      Saint Margaret was the daughter of the English prince Edward the Exile, son of Edmund Ironside. She was probably born at Castle Réka, Mecseknádasd, in the region of Southern Transdanubia, Hungary.[citation needed] The provenance of her mother, Agatha, is disputed.

      Margaret had one brother Edgar and one sister Christina.

      When her uncle, Saint Edward the Confessor, the French-speaking Anglo-Saxon King of England, died in 1066, she was living in England where her brother, Edgar Ætheling, had decided to make a claim to the vacant throne.

      According to tradition, after the conquest of the Kingdom of England by the Normans, the widowed Agatha decided to leave Northumberland with her children and return to the Continent. A storm drove their ship to Scotland, where they sought the protection of King Malcolm III. The spot where she is said to have landed is known today as St. Margaret's Hope, near the village of North Queensferry.

      Malcolm was probably a widower, and was no doubt attracted by the prospect of marrying one of the few remaining members of the Anglo-Saxon royal family. The marriage of Malcolm and Margaret soon took place. Malcolm followed it with several invasions of Northumberland by the Scottish king, probably in support of the claims of his brother-in-law Edgar. These, however, had little result beyond the devastation of the province.

      Family

      Margaret and Malcolm has eight children, six sons and two daughters:

      Her husband, Malcolm III, and their eldest son, Edward, were killed in a fight against the English at Alnwick Castle on 13 November 1093. Her son Edmund was left with the task of telling his mother of their deaths. Margaret was ill, and she died on 16 November 1093, three days after the deaths of her husband and eldest son.

      Veneration

      St Margaret's Church in Dunfermline dedicated to her memory

      Saint Margaret was canonised in the year 1250 by Pope Innocent IV in recognition of her personal holiness, fidelity to the Church, work for religious reform, and charity. She attended to charitable works, and personally served orphans and the poor every day before she ate. She rose at midnight to attend church services every night. She was known for her work for religious reform. She was considered to be an exemplar of the "just ruler", and also influenced her husband and children to be just and holy rulers.

      The Roman Catholic Church formerly marked the feast of Saint Margaret of Scotland on June 10, because the feast of "Saint Gertrude, Virgin" was already celebrated on November 16, but in Scotland, she was venerated on November 16, the day of her death. In the revision of the Roman Catholic calendar of saints in 1969, November 16 became free and the Church transferred her feast day to November 16.[1] However, some traditionalist Catholics continue to celebrate her feast day on June 10.

      She is also venerated as a saint in the Anglican Church.

      Born c. 1045, Castle Réka, in the region of Southern Transdanubia, Hungary

      Died 16 November 1093 (aged c. 48), St Margaret's Chapel in Edinburgh Castle, Midlothian, Scotland

      Venerated in Roman Catholic Church; Anglican Communion

      Canonized 1250 by Pope Innocent IV

      Major shrine Dunfermline Abbey

      Feast November 16;

      June 10 (pre-1970 General Roman Calendar)

      Attributes reading

      Patronage Dunfermline; Scotland; The Queen's Ferry; Anglo-Scottish relations

      The wife of Malcolm III was Margaret the daughter of Edward “the Exile”a son of Edward Ironside and grandson of Ethelred II. When Cnut became King of England after Edmund death, Edward was banished and found his way to Hungary, when he married a German princess a had three children, Margaret, Christina and Edgar the Atheling. They return to England at the invitation of Edward uncle Edward the Confessor. The nephew Edward died with in few days or weeks after returning to England. His son Edgar claim to succeed Harold as King of England abt 1066. In about 1069 Edward “the Exile” family move to Scotland, where Margaret m’d Malcolm III. Margaret was canonized in 1249. Margaret died 16 Nov 1093 on hearing of her husband’s death.

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      %&%&%&%

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      1. Edward, killed 1093.

      2. Edmund of Scotland

      3. Ethelred, abbot of Dunkeld

      4. King Edgar of Scotland

      5. King Alexander I of Scotland

      6. King David I of Scotland

      7. Edith of Scotland, also called Matilda, married King Henry I of England

      8. Mary of Scotland, married Eustace III of Boulogne



      Citations

      1. ^ "Calendarium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 126

      Further reading

      * Chronicle of the Kings of Alba

      o Anderson, Marjorie O. (ed.). Kings and Kingship in Early Scotland. 2nd ed. Edinburgh, 1980. 249-53.

      o Hudson, B.T. (ed. and tr.). Scottish Historical Review 77 (1998): 129-61.

      o Anderson, Alan Orr (tr.). Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500-1286. Vol. 1. Edinburgh, 1923. Reprinted in 1990 (with corrections).

      * Turgot, Vita S. Margaretae (Scotorum) Reginae

      o ed. J. Hodgson Hinde, Symeonis Dunelmensis opera et collectanea. Surtees Society 51. 1868. 234-54 (Appendix III).

      o tr. William Forbes-Leith, Life of St. Margaret Queen of Scotland by Turgot, Bishop of St Andrews. Edinburgh, 1884. PDF available from the Internet Archive. Third edition published in 1896.

      o tr. anon., The life and times of Saint Margaret, Queen and Patroness of Scotland. London, 1890. PDF available from the Internet Archive

      * William of Malmesbury, Gesta regum Anglorum

      o ed. and tr. R.A.B. Mynors, R.M. Thomson and M. Winterbottom, William of Malmesbury. Gesta Regum Anglorum. The History of the English Kings. OMT. 2 vols: vol 1. Oxford, 1998.

      * Orderic Vitalis, Historia Ecclesiastica

      o ed. and tr. Marjorie Chibnall, The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis. 6 vols. OMT. Oxford, 1968-1980.

      * John of Worcester, Chronicle (of Chronicles)

      o ed. B. Thorpe, Florentii Wigorniensis monachi chronicon ex chronicis. 2 vols. London, 1848-9

      o tr. J. Stevenson, Church Historians of England. 8 vols: vol. 2.1. London, 1855. 171-372.

      * John Capgrave, Nova Legenda Angliae

      o Acta SS. II, June, 320. London, 1515. 225

      Secondary literature

      * This article incorporates text from the article "St Margaret" in the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

      * Baker, D. "A nursery of saints: St Margaret of Scotland reconsidered." In Medieval women, ed. D. Baker. SCH. Subsidia 1. 1978.

      * Bellesheim, Alphons. History of the Catholic Church in Scotland. Vol 3, tr. Blair. Edinburgh, 1890. 241-63.

      * Butler, Alban. Lives of the Saints. June 10.

      * Challoner, Richard. Britannia Sancta, I. London, 1745. 358.

      * Dunlop, Eileen, Queen Margaret of Scotland, 2005, NMS Enterprises Limited - Publishing, Edinburgh, 978 1 901663 92 1

      * Huneycutt, L.L. "The idea of a perfect princess: the Life of St Margaret in the reign of Matilda II (1100–1118)." Anglo-Norman Studies 12 (1989): 81–97.

      * Madan. The Evangelistarium of St. Margaret in Academy. 1887.

      * Parsons, John Carmi. Medieval Mothering. 1996.

      * Skene, W.F. Celtic Scotland. Edinburgh.

      * Stanton, Richard. Menology of England and Wales. London, 1887. 544.

      * Wilson, A.J. St Margaret, queen of Scotland. 1993.

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      Margaret was a daughter of Edward d'Outremer ("The Exile"), next of kin to Edward the Confessor, and sister to Edgar the Atheling, who took refuge from William the Conqueror at the court of King Malcolm Canmore in Scotland. The young prince Malcolm, who was to become Margaret's husband, was still a child when his father, King Duncan, was killed by Macbeth. It was not until 1054 that Macbeth was driven out and Malcolm established on the throne of Scotland, as readers of Shakespeare's Macbeth will remember.

      Margaret, as beautiful as she was good and accomplished, captivated Malcolm, and they were married at the castle of Dunfermline in the year 1070. Margaret was then twenty-four years old. Their marriage bestowed great blessings upon Malcolm as well as Scotland. Malcolm was rough and uncultured, but his disposition was good, and Margaret, through the great influence she acquired over him, softened his temper, polished his manners, and rendered him one of the most virtuous kings who have ever occupied the Scottish throne. To maintain justice, to establish religion, and to make their subjects happy appeared to be their chief objects in life.

      What she did for her husband Margaret also did in a great measure for her adopted country, promoting the arts of civilization and encouraging education and religion. She found Scotland a prey to ignorance and to many grave abuses, both among priests and people. At her instigation, church councils were held which passed enactments to meet these evils. She herself was present at these meetings, taking part in the discussions. Attendance at Mass on Sundays and holy days was made obligatory, and the rules for Easter communion and Lent were restored. Many scandalous practices, such as simony, usury and incestuous marriages, were strictly prohibited. St. Margaret made it her constant effort to obtain good priests and teachers for all parts of the country, and formed an embroidery guild among the ladies of the court to provide vestments and church furniture. With her husband she founded several churches, notably that of the Holy Trinity at Dunfermline.

      God blessed the couple with a family of six sons and two daughters, and their mother brought them up with the utmost care, herself instructing them in the Christian faith and superintending their studies. Their daughter Matilda married Henry I of England and was known as Good Queen Maud, while three of their sons, Edgar, Alexander, and David, successively occupied the Scottish throne, the last named being revered as a saint. St. Margaret's care and attention was extended to her servants and household as well as to her own family; yet in spite of all the state affairs and domestic duties in which she was involved, she kept her heart disengaged from the world and recollected in God. Her private life was most austere: she ate sparingly, and in order to obtain time for her devotions she permitted herself very little sleep. Every year she kept two Lents, the one at the usual season, the other before Christmas. At these times she always rose at midnight and went to the church for Matins. King Malcolm often shared her vigil. On her return, she washed the feet of six poor persons and gave them alms.

      She also had stated times during the day for prayer and reading the Holy Scriptures. Her own copy of the Gospels on one occasion was inadvertently dropped into a river, but sustained no damage beyond a small watermark on the cover. That book is now preserved among the treasures of the Bodleian Library at Oxford. Perhaps St. Margaret's most outstanding virtue was her love of the poor. She often visited the sick and tended them with her own hands. She erected hostels for travelers and ransomed many captives, mostly those of English nationality. When she appeared outside in public she was invariably surrounded by beggars, none of whom went away unrelieved, and she never sat down at table without first having fed the crowds of paupers and orphans. Often -- especially during Advent and Lent -- the king and queen would entertain three hundred poor persons, serving them on their knees with dishes similar to those provided for their own table.

      In 1093, King William Rufus surprised Alnwick castle, putting its garrison to the sword. King Malcolm and his son Edward were killed in the ensuing hostilities. St. Margaret at this time was lying on her deathbed. The day her husband was killed she was overcome with sadness and said to her attendants, "Perhaps this day a greater evil hath befallen Scotland than any this long time." When her son Edgar arrived back from Alnwick, she asked how his father and brother were. Afraid of the effect the news might have upon her in her weak state, he replied that they were well. She exclaimed, "I know how it is!" Then raising her hands toward Heaven she said, "I thank thee, Almighty God, that in sending me so great an affliction in the last hour of my life, thou wouldst purify me from my sins as I hope, by thy mercy." Soon afterward she repeated the words, "O Lord Jesus Christ, who by thy death hast given life to the world, deliver me from all evil!" and breathed her last. She died four days after her husband, on November 16, 1093, being in her forty-seventh year, and was buried in the church of the abbey of Dunfermline which she and her husband had founded. St. Margaret was canonized in 1250. Dunfermline was sacked in 1560, but the relics were safely removed. St. Margaret's body, together with that of Malcolm, was transferred to a chapel in the Escorial, outside Madrid. In 1673, St. Margaret was named a patron of Scotland.

      --------------------

      Saint Margaret was canonised in the year 1250 by Pope Innocent IV in recognition of her personal holiness, fidelity to the Church, work for religious reform, and charity. She attended to charitable works, and personally served orphans and the poor every day before she ate. She rose at midnight to attend church services every night. She was known for her work for religious reform. She was considered to be an exemplar of the "just ruler", and also influenced her husband and children to be just and holy rulers.

      The Roman Catholic Church formerly marked the feast of Saint Margaret of Scotland on June 10, because the feast of "Saint Gertrude, Virgin" was already celebrated on November 16. In Scotland, she was venerated on November 16, the day of her death.



      St Margaret's Church in Dunfermline dedicated to her memoryPer the revision of the Roman Catholic calendar of saints in 1969, the Church transferred her feast day to November 16, the actual day of her death. Traditional Roman Catholics continue to celebrate the feast day of "St Margaret, Queen of Scots, Widow" on June 10 as a Semi-Double feast, or a 3rd Class feast.

      Queen Margaret University (founded in 1875), Queen Margaret College (Glasgow), Queen Margaret Union, Queen Margaret Hospital (just outside Dunfermline), North Queensferry, South Queensferry, Queen Margaret Academy (Ayr), Queen Margaret College (Wellington) and several streets in Scotland are named after her.

      She is also venerated as a saint in the Anglican Church.

      --------------------

      St. Margaret was the wife of Malcolm III of Scotland and the daughter-in-law of King Duncan who was murdered by Macbeth in 1040. The history of the House of Wessex became the history of the English monarchy. King Egbert (802-839) was the founder of the dynasty. His mythical descent is from Woden. The English monarchy is the oldest European institution with the exception of the papacy.

      Queen Consort of Scotland, Patroness of Scotland, reforming the Church of Scotland

      * Born about 1045.

      * Married Malcolm III King of Scotland about 1070

      * Died November 16, 1093, Edinburgh Castle, Scotland

      Father of Margaret of Scotland was Edward the Atheling, also known as Edward the Exile. He was the son of King Edmund II Ironside of England, who was in turn son of Ethelred II "the Unready"

      Mother of Margaret of Scotland was Agatha of Hungary, who was related to Gisela, wife of St. Stephen of Hungary

      Margaret of Scotland's brother was Edgar the Atheling, the only of the Anglo-Saxon princes to survive the Norman invasion, acknowledged as King of England by some but never crowned.

      Margaret of Scotland met her future husband, Malcolm, when she was fleeing with her brother from William the Conqueror's invading army in 1066. Their ship was wrecked on the Scottish coast.

      Malcolm Canmore was the son of King Duncan. Duncan had been killed by Macbeth, and Malcolm in turn defeated and killed Macbeth after living for some years in England -- a series of events fictionalized by Shakespeare. Malcolm had been married previously to Ingibjorg, the daughter of the Earl of Orkney.

      Malcolm invaded England at least five times. William the Conqueror forced him to swear allegiance in 1072 but Malcolm died in a skirmish with the English forces of King William II Rufus in 1093. Only three days later, his queen, Margaret of Scotland, also died.

      Margaret of Scotland is known to history for her work to reform the Scottish church by bringing it into line with Roman practices and replacing Celtic practices. Margaret brought many English priests to Scotland as one method of achieving this goal. She was a supporter of Archbishop Anselm.

      Margaret of Scotland's Children:

      Of the eight children of Margaret of Scotland, one, Edith, renamed Matilda or Maud, married Henry I of England, uniting the Anglo-Saxon royal line with the Norman royal line. Three of her sons -- Edgar, Alexander I, and David I -- ruled as kings of Scotland. David, the youngest, reigned for almost 30 years. Her other daughter, Mary, married the Count of Boulogne and Mary's daughter Matilda became Queen of England as wife of King Stephen.

      --------------------

      Margaret "The Exile" Atheling, was the Queen of Scotland. Called St. Margaret. She was the wife of Malcolm III of Scotland and the daughter-in-law of King Duncan who was murdered by Macbeth in 1040. The history of the House of Wessex became the history of the English monarchy. King Egbert (802-839) was the founder of the dynasty. His mythical descent is from Woden. The English monarchy is the oldest European institution with the exception of the papacy.

      Queen Consort of Scotland, Patroness of Scotland, reforming the Church of Scotland

      Margaret Atheling was born of the ancient Saxon House of Wessex, she was the daughter of Edward Atheling, otherwise known as 'Edward the Exile' and Agatha (possibly a niece of Henry III, Emperor of Germany) and was born in Hungary in 1046.

      Her father was the eldest son of Edmund II known as 'Ironside', and grandson of Ethelred II 'the Redeless'. Edmund reigned briefly as King of England from April to November of 1016. After his father's death, and the accession to the English throne of the Danish King Canute, the young Edward and his brother Edmund were consigned to the safe-keeping of Canute's half-brother and ally, Olof King of Sweden. They were secretly sent to Kiev, where Olof's daughter Ingigerd was the Queen. They were then sent on to Hungary, probably in the retinue of Ingigerd's son-in-law, King András. The two children were placed under the care of the King of Hungary.

      The younger son, Edmund, died without issue. The elder brother, Edward, referred to as 'the Atheling' (Anglo-Saxon, meaning Prince or of noble birth), married Agatha, who according to some sources, was possibly a niece of Henry III, Emperor of Germany, the couple had three children. Besides Margaret the marriage produced a son, Edgar Atheling and a further daughter, Christina.

      Margaret returned to England with her parents and siblings towards the end of the reign of her great-uncle, Edward the Confessor , with a view to naming her father as his heir, fate however, intervened, and Edward Atheling died within months of his return to his native land. The Confessor took his nephew's grieving widow and children into his care and protection. After the Norman Conquest, the claims of the royal Saxon House devolved upon Margaret's brother, Edgar Atheling, but then aged about 13 or 14, but he submitted to the formidable William the Conqueror.

      In 1068, Edgar Atheling joined in rebellion with the northern Earls Edwin and Morcar against William's rule and shortly after the family were forced to flee, their ship was driven by storms to the Scottish coast, were welcomed at the court of King Malcolm Canmore.

      The spot where Margaret and her family are said to have landed, near North Queensferry, is still known as St Margaret's Hope. Malcolm Canmore, a widower, was attracted to the beautiful Saxon princess and no doubt the prospect of an alliance with the ancient Anglo-Saxon royal house was an added attraction. Following their marriage, Malcolm lead several invasions into Northumberland in support of his brother-in-law's claims to the English throne, which achieved little and culminated in the King of Scots having to pay homage to the Conqueror. William demanded assurance of this treaty by yaking Malcolm's eldest son Donald, by his previous wife Ingibjorg, as a hostage for his compliance.

      Margaret was highly respected for her piety and learning and for her knowledge of continental customs gained in the court of Hungary, and came to exert a great deal of influence with her husband, who frequently sought her advice on matters of state. Margaret instigated reforms within the Celtic church, as well as developing closer ties to the larger Roman Church. Mass was changed from the many dialects of Gaelic spoken throughout Scotland to Latin. The Queen became a patroness of the célidé, Scottish Christian hermits, and introduced Benedictine monks to Scotland. She was instrumental in the adoption of English-style feudalism in Scotland. Famed for her charity, Margaret frequently visited and cared for the sick, and had hostels constructed for the poor. At Advent and Lent, she held feasts for as many as three hundred commoners.

      The Queen reformed the manners of the Scottish court. Under her influence, ceremonies became more elaborate; tapestries came to adorn the walls; gold and silver dishes were used and court costumes were marked by the appearance of fur, velvet, and jewelry.

      Hostilities with England broke out again in the reign of William the Conqueror's son and succesor William Rufus. On 13th November, 1093, on accepting the surrender of the Castle of Alnwick, in Northumberland, Malcolm leaned forward from his horse to receive the keys from the point of the lance of its keeper, when the lance was treacherously thrust into his eye. He died in agony, his eldest son by Margaret, Edward, was also killed. The throne of Scotland was seized by Malcolm's brother Donald Bane.

      The disastrous news of her husband and eldest son's death was carried to Queen Margaret at Edinburgh Castle, the Queen was already mortally ill and the castle was under siege by her brother-in-law. She died three days later.

      While Margaret's body still lay within, Donald Bane and his ally the King of Norway besieged the Edinburgh Castle. Margaret's sons and her attendants managed to escape by a postern called the West Yhet, taking the body with them. A thick mist hid obscured them from the enemy's sight. They arrived at Dunfermline, where they buried Margaret, according to her own wishes, at Dunfermline Abbey. Her descendant, King Alexander II, petitioned Pope Innocent IV to canonize his devout ancestress. By Papal Bull of 1249 she was formally declared a saint in the Catholic church.

      On 19th June, 1250, her body and that of her spouse, Malcolm III, were exhumed and removed to a magnificent shrine. 19th June was thereafter celebrated in Scotland as the feast of St. Margaret. Her remains, along with those of her husband, were not allowed to rest in peace however. In 1560 St. Margaret's shrine was desecrated by Scots Calvinist iconoclasts. Mary, Queen of Scots had St. Margaret's head removed as a reliquary to Edinburgh Castle, as she hoped to call on the assistance of the saint in childbirth.

      In 1597 Margaret's earthly peregrinations continued, when her head was taken home by a pivate gentleman, it then embarked upon further journeyings, arriving in Antwerp and finally reaching the Scot's College at Douai, France. It disappeared completely during the French Revolution. Phillip II of Spain had the remains of Margaret and Malcolm Canmore translated to a shrine at El Escorial, seat of the Catholic Kings of Spain.

      Four of Margaret's sons were to become Kings of Scotland, while her eldest daughter, Edith, through her marriage to William the Conqueror's youngest son Henry I, was to become Queen Consort of England and following the example of her mother, came to be respected for her acts of piety and charity. Her youngest son, King David I, who was said to revere his mother, honoured her memory by building St. Margaret's Chapel at Edinburgh Castle on the spot where his mother died in 1093. The Chapel is the oldest building to survive in the Castle to the present day.



      --------------------

      Margaret was brought up at the Hungarian court, where her father, Edward, was in exile. After the Battle of Hastings, Edward's widow and children fled for safety to Scotland. Her brother Edgar the Aetheling, defeated claimant to the English throne, joined her there. In spite of her leanings toward a religious life, Margaret married (c. 1070) Malcolm III Canmore, king of Scotland from 1057 or 1058 to 1093. Through her influence over her husband and his court, she promoted, in conformity with the Gregorian reform, the interests of the church and of the English population conquered by the Scots in the previous century. She died shortly after her husband was slain near Alnwick, Northumberland. [Encyclopaedia Britannica

      later Cannonized and became St. Margaret [Ref: Holloway WENTWORTH p18]

      1250: canonized [Ref: Weis AR7 #1] 1251: canonized [Ref: DeVajay

      Agatha p85]

      Anglo-Saxon princess [Ref: Moncreiffe RoyalAnc p20]

      ---------------------------

      !English princess later cannonized as St. Margaret, who had been forced into exile in Scotland by the Norman Conquest in 1066. Under the influence of Margaret, a devout communicant of the church of Rome, many of the teachings of the Celtic church were brought into harmony with the Roman ritual. The hostility engendered among many of the Scottish chieftains by her activities flared into rebellion after Malcolm's death. Margaret, her stepson Duncan, later Duncan II, king of Scotland, and their English retainers were then driven from the country. Six sons. [Funk & Wagnalls]

      !One of the fairest and most accomplished maidens in England, and who, considering that her brother was weak both in mind and body, might be looked upon as the hope of the Saxon royal line. [WBH - Scotland]

      !She did all in her power, and influenced as far as possible the mind of her husband, to relieve the distresses of her Saxon countrymen, of high or low degree; assuaged their afflictions, and was zealous in protecting those who had been involved in the ruin which the Battle of Hastings brought on the royal house of Edward the Confessor. The gentleness and mildness of temper proper to this amiable woman, probably also the experience of her prudence and good sense, had great weight with Malcolm, who, though preserving a portion of the ire and ferocity belonging to the king of a wild people, was far from being insensible to the suggestions of his amiable consort. He stooped his mind to hers on religious matters, adorned her favorite books of devotion with rich bindings, and was often seen to kiss and pay respect to the volumes which he was unable to read. He acted also as interpreter to Margaret, when she endeavored to enlighten the Scottish clergy upon the proper time of celebrating Easter; and though we cannot attach much consequence to the issue of this

      polemical controversy, which terminated, of course, in favor of the cause adopted by the fair pleader and the royal interpreter, yet it is a pleasing picture of conjugal affection laboring jointly for the instruction of a

      barbarous people. [WBH - Scotland]

      !Died 3 days after her husband upon hearing the news of his death. [WBH - Scotland]

      !Many of the dispossesed and hunted proprietors and tenants of the northern counties of England found shelter in Scotland, under the protection of Margaret, following the arrival of William the Conqueror. [Knight's Popular History of England, Vol. 1, p. 228]

      She was a determined opponent of Celtic ecclesiastical particularism. [A History of Wales, p. 121]

      b. 1042, d. 16 Nov 1093; m. Malcolm Canmore, king of Scotland; mother of David I, king of Scotland. [Charlemagne & Others, Chart 2916]

      b. 1045, d. 16 Nov 1093; dau. of Edward the Atheling and Agatha of Hungary; canonized 1250; m. 1068/9, Malcolm III Canmore, king of Scots; mother of Matilda of Scotland. [Ancestral Roots, p. 2-3]

      Dau. of Prince Edward the Exile; descendant of Alfred the Great, Clovis I, Cerdic, and perhaps Hengist; ancestress of the royal line of England; m. Malcolm III Canmore; mother of David I the Saint. [Ancestral Roots, p. 147]

      Under her influence, court life became more civilized, and English fashions and customs were introduced. She ordered the rebuilding of the Monastery of Iona and for her benefactions to the Church she was canonized in 1251. [Scotland: A Concise History, p. 24]

      Margaret was about 10 years old when she arrived in England; the impression seems to have been that she was a tall handsome girl of Saxon type, but the early chronicles were so busy describing the beauty of her nature that they say little about her appearance.

      Margaret was about 20 years old when her family was again in exile, this time in Scotland. She would find a primitive style of life at Dunfermlin, the Tower by the Crooked Stream, but Dunfermlin nevertheless was now the burying place of the Scottish kings, and the royal residence, Iona having become too dangerous because of Scandinavian pirates.

      Malcolm was then about 40 and without the companionship of a wife. He soon began to yearn for Margaret, but her inclination and upbringing had prepared her for the cloister rather than the crown, and Malcolm, though he had many great and manly virtues, was a tempestuous monarch. It was only after long consideration, "yielding rather to the will of her friends rather than her own," that in 1070 Margaret was married to the King of Scotland. [St. Margaret]

      Margaret had 8 children, 6 sons and 2 daughters. Of the sons, Edward, the eldest, was killed in battle, Ethelred died young, Edmund "fell way from the good". But the three youngest sons were the jewels in the crown; Edgar, Alexander, and David are remembered among the best kings Scotland ever had. The two daughters were both brought up under the strict rule of their aunt Christian in the Abbey of Romsey. Matilda m. Henry I of England. Mary m. Eustace, Count of Boulogne, and their daughter became Queen of England as the wife of King Stephen. Margaret's children played a great part in the history of Scotland and of England and of Europe. She brought them up well.[St. Margaret Queen of Scotland and her Chapel, p. 13-20]



      --------------------

      Saint Margaret (c. 1045 – 16 November 1093), was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. She married Malcolm III, King of Scots, becoming his Queen consort.

      Saint Margaret was the daughter of the English prince Edward the Exile, son of Edmund Ironside. She was probably born at Castle Réka, Mecseknádasd, in the region of Southern Transdanubia, Hungary.[citation needed] The provenance of her mother, Agatha, is disputed.

      Margaret had one brother Edgar and one sister Christina.

      Margaret and Malcolm had eight children, six sons and two daughters:

      1. Edward, killed 1093.

      2. Edmund of Scotland

      3. Ethelred, abbot of Dunkeld

      4. King Edgar of Scotland

      5. King Alexander I of Scotland

      6. King David I of Scotland

      7. Edith of Scotland, also called Matilda, married King Henry I of England

      8. Mary of Scotland, married Eustace III of Boulogne

      Her husband, Malcolm III, and their eldest son, Edward, were killed in a fight against the English at Alnwick Castle on 13 November 1093. Her son Edmund was left with the task of telling his mother of their deaths. Margaret was ill, and she died on 16 November 1093, three days after the deaths of her husband and eldest son.

      Citations

      1. ^ "Calendarium Romanum" (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 1969), p. 126



      --------------------

      Saint Margaret (c. 1045 – 16 November 1093), was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. She married Malcolm III, King of Scots, becoming his Queen consort.

      Early life

      Saint Margaret was the daughter of the English prince Edward the Exile, son of Edmund Ironside. She was probably born at Castle Réka, Mecseknádasd, in the region of Southern Transdanubia, Hungary.[citation needed] The provenance of her mother, Agatha, is disputed.

      Margaret had one brother Edgar and one sister Christina.

      When her uncle, Saint Edward the Confessor, the French-speaking Anglo-Saxon King of England, died in 1066, she was living in England where her brother, Edgar Ætheling, had decided to make a claim to the vacant throne.

      According to tradition, after the conquest of the Kingdom of England by the Normans, the widowed Agatha decided to leave Northumberland with her children and return to the Continent. A storm drove their ship to Scotland, where they sought the protection of King Malcolm III. The spot where she is said to have landed is known today as St. Margaret's Hope, near the village of North Queensferry.

      Malcolm was probably a widower, and was no doubt attracted by the prospect of marrying one of the few remaining members of the Anglo-Saxon royal family. The marriage of Malcolm and Margaret soon took place. Malcolm followed it with several invasions of Northumberland by the Scottish king, probably in support of the claims of his brother-in-law Edgar. These, however, had little result beyond the devastation of the province.

      Family

      Margaret and Malcolm had eight children, six sons and two daughters:

      Edward, killed 1093.

      Edmund of Scotland

      Ethelred, abbot of Dunkeld

      King Edgar of Scotland

      King Alexander I of Scotland

      King David I of Scotland

      Edith of Scotland, also called Matilda, married King Henry I of England

      Mary of Scotland, married Eustace III of Boulogne

      Her husband, Malcolm III, and their eldest son, Edward, were killed in a fight against the English at Alnwick Castle on 13 November 1093. Her son Edmund was left with the task of telling his mother of their deaths. Margaret was ill, and she died on 16 November 1093, three days after the deaths of her husband and eldest son.

      Margaret and Scottish culture

      It is notable that while Malcolm's children by his first wife Ingibjörg all bore Gaelic names, those of Margaret all bore non-Gaelic names.

      Later tradition suggests that Margaret was responsible for reducing the importance of Gaelic culture in the lowlands and Scotland in general. She probably intended the forenames of her children to bear her claims to the Anglo-Saxon throne in the period before permanent Norman rule was recognized. Her first group of children were given Anglo-Saxon royal names. But, it is unlikely that Margaret's children were originally seen as successors to the Scottish throne. Malcolm had older (grown) sons by his first marriage, as well as brothers, who were much more likely to succeed him.[dubious – discuss] Furthermore, Margaret freely patronized Gaelic churchmen. The use of the Gaelic language continued to increase in northern Britain.

      Nevertheless, Margaret's sons regarded their Anglo-Saxon heritage as important. It was one of the main elements which later Scottish kings used to legitimize their authority in English-speaking Lothian and northern England.

      Margaret was known for having invited English Benedictine monks to Scotland, to establish the first holy orders in the nation. She admired their work and learning, and also encouraged Scottish holy men.

      Veneration

      Saint Margaret was canonised in the year 1250 by Pope Innocent IV in recognition of her personal holiness, fidelity to the Church, work for religious reform, and charity. She attended to charitable works, and personally served orphans and the poor every day before she ate. She rose at midnight to attend church services every night. She was known for her work for religious reform. She was considered to be an exemplar of the "just ruler", and also influenced her husband and children to be just and holy rulers.

      The Roman Catholic Church formerly marked the feast of Saint Margaret of Scotland on June 10, because the feast of "Saint Gertrude, Virgin" was already celebrated on November 16. In Scotland, she was venerated on November 16, the day of her death.



      St Margaret's Church in Dunfermline dedicated to her memory

      Per the revision of the Roman Catholic calendar of saints in 1969, the Church transferred her feast day to November 16, the actual day of her death.[1] Traditional Roman Catholics continue to celebrate the feast day of "St Margaret, Queen of Scots, Widow" on June 10 as a Semi-Double feast, or a 3rd Class feast.

      Queen Margaret University (founded in 1875), Queen Margaret College (Glasgow), Queen Margaret Union, Queen Margaret Hospital (just outside Dunfermline), North Queensferry, South Queensferry, Queen Margaret Academy (Ayr), Queen Margaret College (Wellington) and several streets in Scotland are named after her.

      She is also venerated as a saint in the Anglican Church.

      --------------------

      From http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ENGLAND,%20AngloSaxon%20&%20Danish%20Kings.htm#Margaretdied1093

      MARGARET ([in Hungary] [1046/53]-Edinburgh Castle 16 Nov 1093, bur Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, transferred to Escorial, Madrid, her head bur Jesuit College, Douai). Although Margaret's birth is often placed in [1045/46][1933], a later birth would be more consistent with the "German" theory of her mother's origin, as discussed above. Margaret's birth as late as 1053 would still be consistent with her having given birth to four children before her daughter Edith/Matilda (later wife of Henry I King of England), whose birth is estimated to have taken place in [1079/80]. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that Margaret left England with her mother in Summer 1067 and found refuge at the court of Malcolm King of Scotland[1934]. Florence of Worcester records that "clitone Eadgaro et matre sua Agatha duabusque sororibus suis Margareta et Christina" left England for Scotland, in a passage which deals with events in mid-1068[1935]. Florence of Worcester records that "regina Scottorum Margareta" died from grief after learning of the death of her husband and oldest son[1936]. The Annals of Ulster record that "his queen Margaret…died of sorrow for him within nine days" after her husband was killed in battle[1937]. She was canonised in 1250, her feast day in Scotland is 16 Nov[1938]. m (Dunfermline Abbey 1070) as his second wife, MALCOLM III "Caennmor/Bighead" King of Scotland, son of DUNCAN I King of Scotland & his wife Sibylla of Northumbria (1031-killed in battle near Alnwick, Northumberland 13 Nov 1093, bur Tynemouth, later transferred to Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, and later still to Escorial, Madrid).

      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

      --------------------

      Saint Margaret (c. 1045 – 16 November 1093), was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. She married Malcolm III, King of Scots, becoming his Queen consort.

      Early life

      Saint Margaret was the daughter of the English prince Edward the Exile, son of Edmund Ironside. She was probably born at Castle Réka, Mecseknádasd, in the region of Southern Transdanubia, Hungary.[citation needed] The provenance of her mother, Agatha, is disputed.

      According to popular belief, Margaret was a very serious person, so much that no one ever could recall seeing her laugh or smile.

      When her uncle, Saint Edward the Confessor, the French-speaking Anglo-Saxon King of England, died in 1066, she was living in England where her brother, Edgar Ætheling, had decided to make a claim to the vacant throne.

      According to tradition, after the conquest of the Kingdom of England by the Normans, the widowed Agatha decided to leave Northumberland with her children and return to the Continent. A storm drove their ship to Scotland, where they sought the protection of King Malcolm III. The spot where she is said to have landed is known today as St. Margaret's Hope, near the village of North Queensferry.

      Malcolm was probably a widower, and was no doubt attracted by the prospect of marrying one of the few remaining members of the Anglo-Saxon royal family. The marriage of Malcolm and Margaret soon took place. Malcolm followed it with several invasions of Northumberland by the Scottish king, probably in support of the claims of his brother-in-law Edgar. These, however, had little result beyond the devastation of the province.



      Family

      Margaret and Malcolm had eight children, six sons and two daughters:

      Edward, killed 1093.

      Edmund of Scotland

      Ethelred, abbot of Dunkeld

      King Edgar of Scotland

      King Alexander I of Scotland

      King David I of Scotland

      Edith of Scotland, also called Matilda, married King Henry I of England

      Mary of Scotland, married Eustace III of Boulogne

      Her husband, Malcolm III, and their eldest son, Edward, were killed in a fight against the English at Alnwick Castle on 13 November 1093. Her son Edmund was left with the task of telling his mother of their deaths. Margaret was ill, and she died on 16 November 1093, three days after the deaths of her husband and eldest son.



      Margaret and Scottish culture

      It is notable that while Malcolm's children by his first wife Ingibjörg all bore Gaelic names, those of Margaret all bore non-Gaelic names.

      Later tradition suggests that Margaret was responsible for reducing the importance of Gaelic culture in the lowlands and Scotland in general. She probably intended the forenames of her children to bear her claims to the Anglo-Saxon throne in the period before permanent Norman rule was recognized. Her first group of children were given Anglo-Saxon royal names. But, it is unlikely that Margaret's children were originally seen as successors to the Scottish throne. Malcolm had older (grown) sons by his first marriage, as well as brothers, who were much more likely to succeed him. Furthermore, Margaret freely patronized Gaelic churchmen. The use of the Gaelic language continued to increase in northern Britain.

      Nevertheless, Margaret's sons regarded their Anglo-Saxon heritage as important. It was one of the main elements which later Scottish kings used to legitimize their authority in English-speaking Lothian and northern England.

      Margaret was known for having invited English Benedictine monks to Scotland, to establish the first holy orders in the nation. She admired their work and learning, and also encouraged Scottish holy men.

      Veneration

      Saint Margaret was canonised in the year 1250 by Pope Innocent IV in recognition of her personal holiness, fidelity to the Church, work for religious reform, and charity. She attended to charitable works, and personally served orphans and the poor every day before she ate. She rose at midnight to attend church services every night. She was known for her work for religious reform. She was considered to be an exemplar of the "just ruler", and also influenced her husband and children to be just and holy rulers.

      The Roman Catholic Church formerly marked the feast of Saint Margaret of Scotland on June 10, because the feast of "Saint Gertrude, Virgin" was already celebrated on November 16. In Scotland, she was venerated on November 16, the day of her death.



      St Margaret's Church in Dunfermline dedicated to her memoryPer the revision of the Roman Catholic calendar of saints in 1969, the Church transferred her feast day to November 16, the actual day of her death.[1] Traditional Roman Catholics continue to celebrate the feast day of "St Margaret, Queen of Scots, Widow" on June 10 as a Semi-Double feast, or a 3rd Class feast.

      Queen Margaret University (founded in 1875), Queen Margaret College (Glasgow), Queen Margaret Union, Queen Margaret Hospital (just outside Dunfermline), North Queensferry, South Queensferry, Queen Margaret Academy (Ayr), Queen Margaret College (Wellington) and several streets in Scotland are named after her.

      She is also venerated as a saint in the Anglican Church.



      --------------------

      Saint Margaret (c. 1045 – 16 November 1093), was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. She married Malcolm III, King of Scots, becoming his Queen consort.

      Early life

      Saint Margaret was the daughter of the English prince Edward the Exile, son of Edmund Ironside. She was probably born at Castle Réka, Mecseknádasd, in the region of Southern Transdanubia, Hungary.[citation needed] The provenance of her mother, Agatha, is disputed.

      Margaret had one brother Edgar and one sister Christina.

      When her uncle, Saint Edward the Confessor, the French-speaking Anglo-Saxon King of England, died in 1066, she was living in England where her brother, Edgar Ætheling, had decided to make a claim to the vacant throne.

      According to tradition, after the conquest of the Kingdom of England by the Normans, the widowed Agatha decided to leave Northumberland with her children and return to the Continent. A storm drove their ship to Scotland, where they sought the protection of King Malcolm III. The spot where she is said to have landed is known today as St. Margaret's Hope, near the village of North Queensferry.

      Malcolm was probably a widower, and was no doubt attracted by the prospect of marrying one of the few remaining members of the Anglo-Saxon royal family. The marriage of Malcolm and Margaret soon took place. Malcolm followed it with several invasions of Northumberland by the Scottish king, probably in support of the claims of his brother-in-law Edgar. These, however, had little result beyond the devastation of the province.

      Family

      Margaret and Malcolm had eight children, six sons and two daughters:

      1. Edward, killed 1093.

      2. Edmund of Scotland

      3. Ethelred, abbot of Dunkeld

      4. King Edgar of Scotland

      5. King Alexander I of Scotland

      6. King David I of Scotland

      7. Edith of Scotland, also called Matilda, married King Henry I of England

      8. Mary of Scotland, married Eustace III of Boulogne

      Her husband, Malcolm III, and their eldest son, Edward, were killed in a fight against the English at Alnwick Castle on 13 November 1093. Her son Edmund was left with the task of telling his mother of their deaths. Margaret was ill, and she died on 16 November 1093, three days after the deaths of her husband and eldest son.

      Margaret and Scottish culture

      It is notable that while Malcolm's children by his first wife Ingibjörg all bore Gaelic names, those of Margaret all bore non-Gaelic names.

      Later tradition suggests that Margaret was responsible for reducing the importance of Gaelic culture in the lowlands and Scotland in general. She probably intended the forenames of her children to bear her claims to the Anglo-Saxon throne in the period before permanent Norman rule was recognized. Her first group of children were given Anglo-Saxon royal names. But, it is unlikely that Margaret's children were originally seen as successors to the Scottish throne. Malcolm had older (grown) sons by his first marriage, as well as brothers, who were much more likely to succeed him.[dubious – discuss] Furthermore, Margaret freely patronized Gaelic churchmen. The use of the Gaelic language continued to increase in northern Britain.

      Nevertheless, Margaret's sons regarded their Anglo-Saxon heritage as important. It was one of the main elements which later Scottish kings used to legitimize their authority in English-speaking Lothian and northern England.

      Margaret was known for having invited English Benedictine monks to Scotland, to establish the first holy orders in the nation. She admired their work and learning, and also encouraged Scottish holy men.

      Veneration

      Saint Margaret was canonised in the year 1250 by Pope Innocent IV in recognition of her personal holiness, fidelity to the Church, work for religious reform, and charity. She attended to charitable works, and personally served orphans and the poor every day before she ate. She rose at midnight to attend church services every night. She was known for her work for religious reform. She was considered to be an exemplar of the "just ruler", and also influenced her husband and children to be just and holy rulers.

      The Roman Catholic Church formerly marked the feast of Saint Margaret of Scotland on June 10, because the feast of "Saint Gertrude, Virgin" was already celebrated on November 16. In Scotland, she was ven
    • {geni:hair_color} Auburn
    • Alias: /Atheling/
      Ancestral File Number: 9FTX-SR
      REFN: 1294
      [Alex ander to Godfrey.FTW]
      Margaret was canonised at Lyons in 1249 by Pope Innocent IV and ever
      since has been known, as Queen Margaret, but as St. Margaret of Scotland.
      She introduced the Roman Catholic Church to Scotland in the 11th cen tury,
      sweeping away the practices of the Celtic church.
      Legend says that it was Margaret who introduced buttons onto the sleeves
      of mens clothing-----not because it made them elegant, but because it
      stopped the
      nobles from blowin g their noses on their sleeves.
      Margaret was not a scot by birth. She was half Saxon and half Hungarian.
      Her grandfather had been King Edmund Ironsides, ha lf-brother of Edward
      the Confessor.[alexander8.FTW]
      Margaret was canonised a t Lyons in 1249 by Pope Innocent IV and ever
      since has been known, as Queen M argaret, but as St. Margaret of Scotland.
      She introduced the Roman Catholic Ch urch to Scotland in the 11th century,
      sweeping away the practices of the Celt ic church.
      Legend says that it was Margaret who introduced buttons onto the sl eeves
      of mens clothing-----not because it made them elegant, but because it
      stopped the
      nobles from blowing their noses on their sleeves.
      Margaret was n ot a scot by birth. She was half Saxon and half Hungarian.
      Her grandfather ha d been King Edmund Ironsides, half-brother of Edward
      the Confessor.[739490.FT W]
      Margaret was canonised at Lyons in 1249 by Pope Innocent IV and ever
      sinc e has been known, as Queen Margaret, but as St. Margaret of Scotland.
      She intr oduced the Roman Catholic Church to Scotland in the 11th century,
      sweeping aw ay the practices of the Celtic church.
      Legend says that it was Margaret who in troduced buttons onto the sleeves
      of mens clothing-----not because it made th em elegant, but because it
      stopped the
      nobles from blowing their noses on th eir sleeves.
      Margaret was not a scot by birth. She was half Saxon and half Hun garian.
      Her grandfather had been King Edmund Ironsides, half-brother of Edwar d
      the Confessor.[Mary Stewart.FTW]
      MARGARET "ATHELING", PRINCESS21 England, [Queen of Scotland (Edward20,
      Edmund II19, Aethelred18, Edgar the Peaceful17, E dmund I the
      Magnificent16, Edward I the Elder15, Alfred14, Aethelwulf13, Egbe rt12,
      Eahlmund11, Eafa10, Eoppa9, Ingeld8, Cenred7, Ceolwald6, Cutha5,
      Cuth wine4, Ceawlin3, Cynric2, Cerdic1) of Wessex, of Scotland, England,
      EUROPE, daughter of (24) Edward20 the Aetheling and Agatha, was born in
      1045, died on 16 Nov. 1093 in Edinburgh Castle and was buried in
      Dunfermline, Fifeshire, Scotland. She married in Dunfermline, Atholl, in
      1068/9, (M-4) MALCOLM III CAN MORE, (KING) of Atholl, son of (M-2) Duncan
      I, (King) and (CD-2) (wife), who was born in 1031, died on 13 Nov. 1093
      in Alnwick, Northumberland, England, EUROPE, and was buried in Holy
      Trinity Chu, Dumferline, Fifeshire. [25]
      St. Margaret of Scotland
      AR: (1-22)
      Children: See (M-4) Malcolm III CANMORE, (Kin g)Atheling, Margaret (St.)the Exile

      Born: 1045, Hungary
      Died: 16 NOV 1093, Edinburgh Castle,Scotland
      Interred: Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland
      Notes:
      Canonised 1250 and her feast day is 16th November. In 1057 she arrived atthe
      English court of Edward the Confessor. Ten years later she was in exileafter
      William defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings. She fled to Scotlandwhere
      she was married against her wishes to King Malcolm to whom she bore sixsons
      and two daughters. Her unlearned and boorish husband grew daily moregraceful
      and Christian under the queen's graceful influence.
      Her remains were removed to Escorial Spain and her head Douai, France.

      Father: Atheling, Edward the Outlaw, b. ABT 1016


      Mother: , Agatha


      Father: Atheling, Edward the Outlaw, b. ABT 1016


      Mother: , Agatha


      Married 1068, Dunfermline Abbey, Fife, Scotland to , Malcolm III Caennmorof Scotland, King of Scotland


      Child 1: , Edward
      Child 2: , Edmund I of Scotland, King of Scotland
      Child 3: , Ethelred, Abbot of Dunkeld
      Child 4: , Edgar of Scotland, King of Scotland, b. ABT 1074
      Child 5: , Alexander I the Fierce of Scotland, King of Scotland, b. 1078
      Child 6: , Matilda (Edith) of Scotland, b. 1079/80
      Child 7: , David I the Saint of Scotland, King of Scotland, b. ABT 1084
      Child 8: , Mary of Scotland


      sole heiress of the Saxon royal line, married Malcolm III Canmore, Kingof Scotland, descended from a long line of Scottish royalty. See theScottish lineage elsewhere in Volume I. She died in 1093. They had thefollowing children:


      1. Edward , died November 16, 1093, slain with his father near Alnwick.

      2. Edgar, born about 1074, King of Scotland, ascended 1097, died inJanuary 1107. He was absent from Scotland with William Rufus in England,about 1099-1100; with Henry I. in England, about 1101-1102.

      3. Edmund.

      4. Ethelred, who was bred a churchman and became Aldee, abbot of Dunkeld.

      5. Alexander I., the Fierce, born about 1077, King of Scotland, ascendedJanuary 8, 1107, died April 25, 1124. He was absent from Scotland in theinvasion of Wales in the summer of 1114, and in cooperation with Henry Iof England. He married Sybilla.

      6. David I. (St. David), King of Scotland, married Matilda (Maud). Seebelow in the Section on Scottish Kings.

      7. Edith - Margaret (Matilda) of Scotland. See below.

      8. Mary, died May 31, 1115, married Eustace, Count of Boulogne. They wereparents of Matilda, who married Stephen, King of England

      grey sky overhead; a cold bitter wind sweeping the spray from off thecrests of the great grey waves; a grey inhospitable-looking landstretching north and south. This was what the dim morning light showed tothe eyes of the anxious watchers in the little boat which was battlingits way along the shores of the Firth of Forth. Truly it was but a darkoutlook, and the hearts of the little company on board were as heavilyovershadowed by the clouds of misfortune, doubt, and foreboding, as thegloomy shores were wrapped in their folds of rolling mist.
      It was a royal burden that the little boat bore up the waters of theFirth that wintry day of wind and mist. Edgar the Etheling, grandson ofEdmond Ironside, driven from his kingdom by the all-conquering William,had fled northwards with his mother and two sisters, Margaret andChristina. Some faithful followers had thrown in their lot with the royalfugitives, but it was but a small company all told. No wonder that theirhearts were heavy that wintry morning. Obliged to flee from their owncountry, driven out of their course by the raging tempest, what welcomeawaited them in this bleak land, of which they had heard many a savagetale?

      Would they be treated as friends or looked upon as enemies? The royalfamily had meant to return to Hungary, where Edgar and his sisters hadspent the days of their happy childhood, but the winds and waves hadproved as furious and unkind as those subjects from whom they had fled,and there seemed nothing to do now but to seek some landing-place alongthe rocky shore, some shelter from the pitiless storm.
      Among the weary, spent travellers there was one who was calm anduntroubled, whose face reflected none of the gloom of the skies overhead,on whom the dreary foreboding of the future cast no shadow. Fair andstately as a lily the Princess Margaret stood gazing across the angrywaters, marking the desolate rocky shores, watching the white sea-birdsas they swooped and rose again, as confident and unruffled as one ofthose white birds herself. For Margaret knew that a greater than anearthly king was with her, and that He, her Lord and Master, held thegrey waters and their uncertain fortunes in the hollow of His hand, ableas ever to calm the winds and waves of this troublesome world with thatcomforting command, 'Peace, be still.'

      'To the right, to the right,' shouted a sailor on the look-out; 'yonderis a little bay where methinks we should find shelter and means to land.'

      'Ay, if there be no rocks to guard the way,' said the captain cautiously.But nevertheless he turned the boat landwards, and eager eyes scanned theshore as they approached. It seemed indeed a haven of refuge, a peacefullittle bay, gathered in from the angry waters by a little wooded arm ofland that guarded it so securely that the rough breakers went sweepingpast, and the sandy beach sloped gently down to meet the little dancingwaves, while the wet sand reflected the swooping white wings of thesea-birds that hovered about the shore.

      The little company were thankful indeed to land at last, and to feel thefirm earth under their feet once more. The mist too had begun to rollaway, and a gleam of sunshine touched into warmer colour the bare hillsaround. Surely this was a good omen, and they might hope that the cloudsof their evil fortune were also about to break. It is more than eighthundred years since that little company landed at the sheltered cove, andit might seem as if their very names were long since forgotten, but afaint memory of far-off romance is still linked to the place by the nameit bears, Saint Margaret's Hope.

      With weary steps the travellers began to journey inland, where they hopedto find some town or village close by. The few country people they metstared at them with round eyes of wonder. Who could these people be? Theywere without doubt of high rank. Even the King did not wear such finegarments. The beautiful ladies did not look fit to walk such rough roads.They must have landed from yon boat which lay in the cove beneath. Theone thing to be done was certainly to hasten to the court and tell of thearrival of the strangers.

      Up hill and down dale the little company journeyed on, until at last evenMargaret's brave spirit grew weary, and she begged them to rest awhile inone of the green fields, where there was a great stone that would make acomfortable seat for the tired ladies. ' Saint Margaret's Stone' thepeople call it still, and many a poor wayfarer, tired out with the trampalong dusty roads, sits and rests there now, as did the Princess Margaretlong ago.

      Perhaps in happier days afterwards, Margaret, looking back, may haveoften thought of that stone when she read the old story of Jacob and hisstony pillow. Had not she, like him a weary fugitive driven from home,chosen a stone to rest upon? Had not a golden link with heaven beenformed there too, and had not God's kind angels spread around her theirtender care, leading her into the peaceful paths of light and happiness?

      It was as they sat resting there that they were startled by the sound ofmany feet approaching, and a company of horsemen were seen coming towardsthem. Did they come as friends or enemies, was the swift thought thatpassed through each anxious mind. But fears were soon dispelled by thewords of welcome that greeted them, and the rough men behaved themselvesmost reverently and courteously. They were come in the name of theirKing, Malcolm of Scotland, to bid the travellers welcome, they said. Theroyal palace close by at Dunfermline was at their disposal. Their lordhimself was far away in England fighting against the usurper, but hewould ere long be back to give them his own royal welcome.

      So with lightened hearts and less weary feet the travellers went on, andsoon caught sight of the town, built like an eagle's nest upon the steephillside.

      Now the King, Malcolm Canmore or Great Head, had made up his mind tobefriend the fugitive Prince, and to uphold his cause against theusurping Norman. He himself knew what it meant to be a homeless wanderer,for when but a boy, the treacherous Macbeth had seized his kingdom, andit was by the strength of his own right arm and dauntless courage that hehad won back his crown. He had never forgotten the kindness he hadreceived at the Saxon court at the hands of Edward the Confessor, andperhaps there too he had seen the boy Edgar and his beautiful sisterMargaret. Margaret's beauty was not a thing to be lightly forgotten, andthe Scottish King, with his lionlike head and lionlike nature, had alarge heart which was very easily touched by beauty of any kind.

      It was soon seen, after the King's return to his palace at Dunfermline,that he loved the gentle Margaret with all the devotion of his greatheart. She seemed to him something so precious, so delicately fair, thathe hardly dared dream of winning her. It was like roughly plucking aharebell which had bravely lifted its head among the stones on hismountain path, linked to earth only by that slender stem which one roughtouch might break. But he did most truly love her, and as his Queen hewould be able to shield and guard from any harm the flower of his heart.

      Margaret, however, was sorely troubled. This was not the life she hadplanned. She had thought to leave behind her the cares and troubles of acourt, and to find peace and quietness in a convent home, where she mightserve God. Far away in Hungary, where she had spent her childhood, and inthe peaceful old home in England, she had loved to listen to stories ofthe lives of the saints, and especially had she pondered over the life ofSaint Margaret, and longed to follow in her namesake's steps.

      But there are more ways than one of serving God, and Margaret dimly sawthat perhaps the path beset with most difficulties might be the one thather Master would have chosen. It would be sweet to serve Him in thepeaceful shelter of a convent cell, but faithful and brave soldiers donot seek the safest posts, where duties are easy and dangers few. Theyseek to endure hardness and not ease. To be a good Queen might be ahigher and more difficult task than to be a devout nun.

      So Margaret at last consented to be wed, and when the first primroseswere beginning to star the woods, and spring hastened to breathe a softerwelcome to the English bride, the royal marriage took place atDunfermline in the happy Eastertide.

      But although the King had now attained the wish of his heart, he did notyet fully understand how pure and precious a gift had been bestowed uponhim. Not very long after his marriage with Margaret, evil tongues beganto whisper secret tales to which the King should never have given heed.They told how the Queen, when he was absent, stole out from the palace tomeet his enemies in a certain cave not very far off in the woods.

      Angry and suspicious, the King determined to find out the truth of thestory, and one day, pretending to go out to the hunt, he returnedsecretly to the palace. With a heavy heart he watched his fair Queenquietly slip through the postern gate, and make her way through the woodsto the fatal cave. He followed her silently, and when she disappeared,crept close to the opening and listened. Yes, it was true! A great waveof fury surged up in his heart as he heard the voice he loved so wellspeaking to some one inside the cave. Too angry to stir for a moment, hestood there listening to the words she spoke; but as he listened a lookof bewilderment flashed across his face, the red flush of anger faded,and he hung his head as if ashamed. For the voice he heard was indeedMargaret's, but it was to God she spoke. 'King and Lord of all,' sheprayed, ' teach my dear King to serve Thee truly, to love Thee perfectly,and to walk in Thy light.'

      There were no more suspicious thoughts, no more listening to evil gossipafter this, but the heart of Malcolm was bound more closely by the goldenthread of love to his dear Queen, and thus through her was linked to God.

      The news of the King's marriage with the beautiful English Princess wascarried far and near, and the people wondered greatly what manner ofQueen she would make. They watched her narrowly, and at first were notquite sure if her manners and customs were to their liking. Was it pridethat made this great lady dress herself in such fair robes kirtles ofrainbow hue that hung in graceful folds, mantles all broidered with gaydevices in colours borrowed from the peacock's plumes ? Yet as theylooked at their own strong useful garments, grey and dun-coloured as thewintry skies, they allowed that perhaps a little cheerful touch of colourmight not come amiss.

      Margaret's speech too was soft and courteous, and they were fain toconfess that her graciousness won their hearts, almost in spite ofthemselves. But they were suspicious at first of all the changes at thecourt. Why, even the King himself began to show more kingly manners andto live in greater state. The servants no longer did their work in aslovenly way; the common drinking- cups and platters were replaced bysilver goblets and golden dishes. The palace was royally furnished; allwas fitly set out and well ordered. And yet the people very clearly sawthat it could not be pride that made the gentle Queen insist on all thisstate. They soon found that a self-denying pitiful heart dwelt under hermagnificent robes, that she was ready to give even her own garments toclothe the poor, and if she fed off a golden platter, the food was assimple as that of the humblest of the land. But she was a Queen, and thesimple rule of her life was that all things should be fitly ordered.Neither in this did she stop at her own palace gates. The whole kingdomsoon felt the influence of the hand that could guide even thegreat-headed Malcolm.

      Many abuses had crept into the ancient Church, and Margaret longed to setthese right. It must have been a strange sight to see the Queen in herbeautiful robes, seated in the midst of all the clever men when they weregathered together to talk the matter over. If she was in earnest, so werethey. Many a frowning black look was cast at the maiden who daredsingle-handed to do battle for the right. But Margaret loved her Church,and like Sir Galahad 'her strength was as the strength of ten, becauseher heart was pure,' and in the end she triumphed. Little by little, too,she taught her people that Sunday was a holy day, a day of rest for manand beast a lesson sorely needed then, and never since forgotten.

      So it seemed as if the love of God which dwelt in Margaret's heart wasalready bringing light into the dark places, and making the crooked waysstraight, and she rejoiced to find that she could serve Him in the worldas well as in the cloister.

      It soon became known that any one in want or in trouble would find afriend in the new Queen. Her pitiful heart was linked to a helpful hand,and no one was ever turned empty away. Many were the ransoms she paid forpoor English prisoners carried off captive in the fierce raids of theScots. Widows and orphans flocked to the court, sure that the Queen wouldalways befriend them in their distress.

      Sometimes the King would laugh, and say that none of his possessions weresafe from those hands that were so ready to give. When her purse wasempty, the Queen would take off one of her own garments to clothe someshivering beggar, and when money was needed she would dip her hands intothe King's private store of gold, well knowing that he grudged hernothing.

      'Aha! I have caught thee now,' he cried one day as he found her hurryingfrom his treasure chest with well-filled hands. 'What and if I have theearrested, tried, and found guilty of robbery?'

      Margaret smiled as she looked up into those kind laughing eyes.

      'I plead guilty at once,' she said, holding out the gold.

      'Nay, dear heart,' said the King, closing her fingers over the goldenpieces. 'Thou canst not steal what is already thine own. All that I have,thou knowest, is thine.'

      How truly the great rough King loved this gentle maiden! Everything shetouched, everything she loved, was sacred to him. Often he would lift thebooks she had been using, and although he could not read the words sheloved, he would hold the volumes lovingly in his great strong hands, and,half ashamed, would bend to kiss the covers which her hands had touched.Nothing, he thought, was quite good enough for his Queen. He could notbear that even the bindings of her books should be only of rough leather,and when he found a cunning worker in metals, he would have the coversoverlaid with gold and precious stones, and with many a round whitepearl, fit emblem of his Margaret, the Pearl of Queens.

      It was one of these precious books, a book of the gospels, which Margaretloved above all the rest. Not only was its jewelled cover a token of theKing's love, but the precious words inside were fitly illuminated withgolden letters, and there were pictures of the four Evangelists most fairto look upon.

      Now it happened that one day when Margaret was journeying fromDunfermline, a careless servant, who carried the book, let it slip fromits wrappings into the midst of a river which they were fording. The mandid not perceive that the book was lost, and thought no more of it untilcalled upon by the Queen to deliver his precious burden. Long andsorrowfully he sought for it, retracing carefully each step he had comeuntil at last he reached the river. Then he grew hopeless indeed. If itshould have fallen into the stream, it would mean the end of the Queen'sprecious book. Ah ! it was too true; there, in a clear stretch of water,where the ripples scarcely stirred the surface, he saw the gleam of whiteparchment as the leaves were gently stirred to and fro by the movingwater. He bent down and lifted it carefully, and holding it safe in hishands, he gazed with wonder at the open leaves. The little coverings ofsilk which protected the golden letters had been loosened and swept away,but upon the pages themselves there was not a stain or blur. Not a singleletter was washed out; the fair illuminated pictures were as clear andunspoiled as ever; the gold shone undimmed upon the pure white parchmentleaves; the water had not injured one of the precious words of theQueen's book.

      It was not only with money, her own or the King's, that Margaret helpedthe poor. She served them with her own hands as well. Early each morningthe Queen, in her dainty robes, as fair as the dew-washed flowers thatwere just lifting their faces to the morning sun, came forth from herroom, where she too had been lifting her face to heaven. It was her wayto begin her daily work by caring for the little children who had no oneelse to care for them. Nine baby orphans were gathered there, poor anddestitute, and it always seemed to her as if her Master was so close thatshe could almost hear His voice as He bade her 'Feed My lambs.' Howjoyfully the babies stretched out their hands towards her, clutching atthe bonny coloured robe she wore with their little eager hands. Allchildren love fair colours, but it was not only the green embroideredkirtle, no, nor the steaming breakfast which she brought, that made themstretch out their arms to her. There was a kind mother smile in her eyeswhich drew them to her as if by magic, and as she gathered them by turnsinto her loving arms, they were perfectly happy. Then the bowl of softwarm food was placed at her side, and one by one she fed each littleorphan baby with her own golden spoon.

      Later on each day there were gathered three hundred poor hungry people inthe royal hall, and there the King, as well as the Queen, fed them andwaited on them, giving to each the help they needed. Margaret neverwearied of her work, for in helping the poor was she not waiting upon herMaster? And as she knelt to wash the feet of some poor beggar, was shenot washing the dust-stained weary feet of Him who had said ' Inasmuch asye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have doneit unto Me.'

      But there was other work besides caring for the poor that filledMargaret's days. As time went on, God sent her children of her own tocare for six brave strong boys and two fair little maidens. Verycarefully and very strictly were the children trained. Just because theywere princes and princesses, they needed even more than others to learnto be obedient, gentle, brave and true. No one knew better than Margaretthe truth of the old motto 'noblesse oblige.' Just as the hand of thegardener, who loves his garden, pulls up and destroys all the weeds, andprunes away everything that hinders the growth of his flowers, so thewise Queen tended her children, her special flowers. Thus it was that asher boys grew tall and strong and handsome, and her two little maidensbecame fair graceful women, it was not only the outward appearance thatmade such a brave show. In the garden of their hearts there were no evilweeds of selfishness, self-will and pride, but only the flowers ofgenerosity, pity, self-forgetfulness, and the sovereign herb of obedience.

      The gracious influence of the Queen was felt outside her household too,and the people around the court began to try and introduce the Queen'sways into their homes, and even to clothe themselves in gayer coloursthan their dull grey homespuns.

      They were a hardy warlike people, as strong and rugged as their own grimgrey mountain rocks, as wild and fearless as the mountain streams thatcame dashing down through the moorland waste.

      But there are times when the mountains are no longer grim and grey, buttender and soft, in the blue haze that shows each peak against a primrosesky; when the mountain torrents sink into merry murmuring burns dancingalong between the banks of fern and heather; when the bare moorlands area glory of purple and gold as the heather merges into the autumn-tintedbracken. So these rugged northern folk had also their softer side, anddeep in their hearts they felt the charm of fair colours and all thingsgracious and beautiful.

      The merchants that came from all lands, bringing their wares at thebidding of the Queen, found the people eager and willing to buy. Indeed,it is said by some that it was this love of colour, introduced byMargaret, which was the origin of the Scottish tartans.

      'But why,' asked the Queen, 'should we buy foreign wares? Why not weavethese softer fairer stuffs ourselves?'

      'The people know not the art of weaving such stuffs,' replied hercourtiers.

      'Then they shall learn,' replied the Queen. 'They have as good brains andas deft hands as any of these foreigners, why should they not weave aswell as others ? I will see that my people are taught the art.'

      The Queen was as good as her word, and sent abroad for workers to teachher people at Dunfermline how to weave the fair white linen, giving themthus an industry which has lasted to this day.

      But into this peaceful life of tending the poor, watching over herchildren and her people, sewing her wondrous embroideries and foundingmany churches to the glory of God, there came many a dreary time ofanxiety and distress. Malcolm the King loved his peaceful home, but hisstrong brave arm was often needed to defend his country and protect hispeople, and many an anxious hour did Margaret spend while he went forthto fight the enemy. Her two elder boys, Edward and Edgar, went with theirfather now, and that made the anxiety even harder to bear.

      Then came a time when it was more difficult than ever for Margaret to bebrave and fearless. She was weak and ill, and the fear of some calamityseemed to hang around her like a thick cloud. It was in the month ofJune, when tardy Spring was in no haste to make room for her sisterSummer, that the Queen sat alone in the castle of Edinburgh praying forthe safe return of her dear King and their two brave sons. But yesterdaythey had set out with blare of trumpets and roll of drums to punish theinvader who had dared to seize their castle of Alnwick, but already itseemed as if she had waited and watched for months.

      Margaret did not greatly love the rugged castle of Scotland~s capital. Itwas but a gloomy place compared to the dear home at Dumfermline, butstill she made it homelike too. Its old name, the Maydyn or MaidenCastle, with its legend of Sir Galahad, pleased the Queen's fancy even ifthe place was somewhat rough. Often, as she sat gazing from the rockyheight over the mistwrapped town to where the line of the Forth showedlike a silver thread, and across to where the great lion of Arthur's Seatand the Crags stood guard on one side of the city, she pictured thecoming of the perfect knight. She saw him ride up the steep hillside andenter the ruined chapel there. She watched him as he knelt beside thealtar praying for guidance, and heard too the voice that bade him ride onuntil he came to a great castle where many gentle maidens were imprisoned.

      'There too thou shalt find a company of wicked knights,' continued thevoice.
      'Them thou shalt slay, and set the Maydyn Castle free.'

      The Maydyn Castle was but a rough home for Queen Margaret, but even therethere were marks of her gracious presence. A little stone chapel wasbuilt upon the rock, and amidst the clang of weapons and sounds of war,the peaceful prayers of the Queen rose like sweet incense to heaven.

      It was with difficulty that the Queen had managed to walk with feeblesteps to the little chapel that sad June day; and as she prayed for thesafety of her dear ones, who had ridden forth to meet danger and death,something seemed to tell her that they would never return. She felt as ifeven now misfortune was descending like a thick cloud upon the smilingland.

      Her friend and counsellor Turgot, who writes the story of his Queen,tells how, when she had left the chapel, she turned to him and said withsad conviction: 'Perhaps on this very day such a heavy calamity maybefall the realm of Scotland as has not been for ages past.'

      It was while she was speaking these very words of sad foreboding that atthe castle of Alnwick the heavy calamity had indeed fallen.

      The gallant Malcolm with his two sons riding at the head of his men had
    • _P_CCINFO 1-7369
    • Name Suffix: [QUEEN OF SCOTLA
      Ancestral File Number: 9FTX-SR
    • The second consort of Malcolm III Canmore, King of Scots, who was the eldest child of Edward 'the Exile' (the son of Edmund II Ironside, King of England) and his wife Agatha, daughter of Liudolf, Margrave of Westfriesland. Through her mother, Margaret had widespread connections with many of the reigning families of Europe. Her parents were probably married in Kiev in 1043 or 1044 and a year or so later accompanied another exiled prince, Andrew, in his successful attempt to gain the throne of Hungary, which had been held by usurpers since the death of St. Stephen in 1038. It was at Andrew'scourt that Margaret was born in 1046 and her birth was followed by that of her sister Christina in 1052 and her brother Edgar ' the Atheling' in 1055 or early in 1056.
      In 1054 the childless Edward the Confessor sent a messenger to Hungary to recall his half-nephew and potential heir Edward and his family to England. The journey was delayed because of Agatha's pregnancy, and the family did not arrive in England unti 1056. The ship for their journey was provided by Agatha's half-uncle, the Emperor Heinrich III. Very soon after their return Edward 'the Exile' died, leaving his widow and three young children under the protection of Edward the Confessor. When the king died in January 1066,
      Margaret's brother Edgar was only 10 years old and, although the person with most right to the throne, was passed over, the powerful Harold II becoming king in his place. After the Norman Conquest in October 1066, there was an attempt to set Edgar on the throne, but his followers submitted to William I at Berkhamsted. Agatha's advisors thought it expedient for her and her children to seek refuge in Scotland, which was offered to them by King Malcolm and they set sail from Monkwearmouth in Northumberland in the summer of 1067, landing safely on the north shore of the Firth of Forth at a point subsequently known as St Margaret's Hope. The party set out on foot for the royal residence at Dunfermline, four and a half miles away. After they had journeyed for two miles, Margaret sat down torest on a stone later known as St Margaret's stone. In Dunfermline they were well received by the king and occupied an honoured place at his court.
      Malcolm's wife Ingibiorg died 9or in some accounts was repudiated) in 1069 and he asked Edgar for the hand of his elder sister. Margaret's thoughts were concentrated on becoming a nun and it took a little time to overcome her scruples, but Malcolm was persistent and she finally agreed to the marriage, which took place at Dunfermline in 1069 or 1070. Margaret and Malcolm were both persons of great piety and their marriage was evidently a happy one, producing six sons and two daughters, all of whom were carefully educated by their mother. Margaret was residing at Edinburgh Castle when she received the news of the death in battle at Alnwick of her husband and the mortal wounding of her eldest son Edward. The shock was too great and she died on 16 November 1093. She was buried in the Abbey Church of the Holy Trinity, which she had founded, at Dunfermline. St Margaret was canonized by Pope Innocent IV in 1250.
    • _P_CCINFO 1-20792
    • Daughter of Edward the exile. Son of Edmund Ironside.
      Source:
      Stuart Roderick, W.
      Royalty for Commoners, 3rd Edit. Published, Genealogical Publishing Co, Inc. Baltomore, MD. 1998,
      ISBN-0-8063-1561-X Text 324-40
      Source II
      Alison Weir, Britains Royal Family A Complete Genealogy 1999, ppg 41-44
    • KNOWN AS "QUEEN OF SCOTS"; A SAXON PRINCESS WHO HAD FLED FROM THE NORMANS;
      INTRODUCED ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND MONASTIC CUSTOMS; CANONIZED 1250
    • 28th great grandmother
    • 1 NAME Margaret of /Scotland/
      2 GIVN Margaret of
      2 SURN Scotland
      2 NPFX St.
    • 1 NAME Margaret of /Scotland/
      2 GIVN Margaret of
      2 SURN Scotland
      2 NPFX St.
    • 1 NAME Margaret of /Scotland/
      2 GIVN Margaret of
      2 SURN Scotland
      2 NPFX St.
    • She was the granddaughter of Edmund Ironsides.
    • Saint Margaret
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=7fde7077-205b-45c0-b6da-de7980ce81ce&tid=6650027&pid=-1180401792
    • According to popular belief, Margaret was a very serious person, so much that no one ever could recall seeing her laugh or smile. (...) Margaret was canonised in 1251 by Pope Innocent IV on account of her personal holiness and fidelity to the Church. She would personally serve orphans and the poor every day before she herself would eat, and would rise at midnight to attend church services every night. The Roman Catholic Church formerly marked the feast of Saint Margaret of Scotland on 10 June, but the date was transferred to 16 November, the actual day of her death.
    • Stained glass window image of Saint Margaret of Scotland
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=52d7b130-59bc-4e08-b483-a1e16632de52&tid=6959821&pid=-1168185431
    • Stained glass window image of Saint Margaret of Scotland
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=52d7b130-59bc-4e08-b483-a1e16632de52&tid=6959821&pid=-1168185431
    • Canonized a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.
    • Saint Margaret of Scotland and Malcolm I Malcum_Camnoir
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=a4340a26-5e08-4f8d-b3bd-34e9df82e14a&tid=8976248&pid=-762097927
    • Saint Margaret of Scotland, Queen Consort of Scotland
      h t t p : / / t r e e s . a n c e s t r y . c o m / r d ? f = i m a g e&guid=d3cfea6f-f914-4401-8847-d898da6612f0&tid=312040&pid=-1978492592
    • Margaret (født ca. 1045, død 1093) var dronning av Skottland fra ca. 1070 til sin død. Hun var gift med Malcolm III, og grunnla med ham Huset Dunkeld.

      Tidlig liv
      Margaret ble antagelig født i Reska ved Nádasd i Ungarn, og var den yngste av fire barn. Moren var den tyske prinsessen Agatha av Bulgaria, sannsynligvis en slektning av den tysk-romerske keiser Henrik III eller en datter av Yaroslav I av Kiev. Faren var den engelske prinsen Edward den landflyktige, bror av Edvard Bekjenneren og sønn av Edmund II av England. Edward søkte tilflukt hos Stefan av Ungarn etter at danene tok kontroll over Wessex. Margaret vokste opp ved det ungarske hoffet, hvor hun fikk en god utdannelse.

      I 1057 kalte Edvard Bekjenneren Margarets far tilbake til England, i håp om å gjøre ham til arving, og hele familien reiste. Allerede samme år døde Edward, men familien fikk bo ved kongens hoff. I januar 1066 døde Edvard Bekjenneren, og senere samme år invaderte normannerne. Som et av de siste gjenværende medlemmer av den angelsaksiske kongefamilien var Margaret i fare, og familien flyktet.


      Dronning
      Tradisjonen forteller at familien planla å reise til Ungarn, men skipet kom ut av kurs og drev i land i Skottland, på stedet som i dag heter St. Margaret's Hope. Der ble familien tatt imot av Malcolm III Canmore. En annen versjon er at Edgar Aetheling etter et mislykket opprør i 1068 flyktet med familien til Skottland.

      Malcolms første kone, Ingebjørg Finnsdatter, døde før 1070, muligens allerede i 1066. Kongen falt for den vakre og intelligente Margaret, og fridde til henne. De giftet seg i 1069 eller 1070 i Dunfermline Castle, og i 1070 ble hun kronet som dronning av Skottland.

      Paret fikk åtte barn:

      Edward (drept 1093)
      Edmund I
      Ethelred, abbed av Dunkeld
      Edgar I
      Alexander I
      David I
      Edith (Matilda), gift med Henrik I av England
      Mary, gift med Eustace III av Boulogne
      Gjennom hennes innflytelse ble Malcolm forandret fra å være grov og brutal til å bli en av Skottlands mest rettskafne konger. Han lærte aldri å lese, men likte svært godt å se i hennes illuminerte manuskripter. En av hennes bøker, en evangeliebok i lommeformat, er bevart i Bodleian Library i Oxford, mens noen andre bevarte bøker kanskje er hennes. Hittil hadde man snakket gælisk ved det skotske hoffet; Margaret fikk dette erstattet med engelsk. Hun arbeidet også aktivt for å få slutt på messeliturgi som hadde utviklet seg lokalt, og uteblivelse fra nattverden - noen keltiske munker hadde nemlig tatt til seg Paulus' ord om å ta imot nattverden på urett vis i slik grad at de helt hadde sluttet å ta imot den. [1]

      Hun gjorde mye for å spre den romersk-katolske formen for kristendom i Skottland, hvor den keltiske kirke fortsatt dominerte. Sammen med Malcolm grunnla hun Dunfermline Abbey i 1072, og dette tok over for Iona som gravsted for Skottlands konger. Hun fikk også vekket liv i klosteret på Iona, som hadde begynt å forfalle. Margaret var fascinert av eremittene i den keltiske kirken, og besøkte noen av dem i cellene deres; men ellers gjorde hun hva hun kunne for å fjerne de siste ulikheter mellom keltisk kristendom og den romersk-katolske versjonen.

      Hele tre av hennes sønner ble konger av Skottland: Edgar, Alexander I og David I. Datteren Edith giftet seg med Henrik I av England og ble kronet som Matilda av England, kjent som Good Queen Maudi. Hun ble stammor til det nåværende britiske kongehuset, som gjennom henne kan vise til røtter til de angelsaksiske kongene.

      Hun levde et asketisk liv, og unnet seg selv lite mat og søvn. I 1092 ble hun alvorlig syk, og man mener at utmattelse kan ha bidratt til dette. Hun døde 16. november 1093, fire dager etter at hun hadde fått vite at mannen og deres sønn Edward hadde falt i et bakhold. Hun ble gravlagt sammen med Malcolm i Dunfermline Abbey.


      Helgen
      Matilda sørget for at det ble skrevet en biografi om Margaret. Det var antageligvis Turgot av Durham som skrev den; han hadde vært en av Vilhelm Erobrerens fanger og hadde flyktet til Norge, hvor han underviste i kirkemusikk ved hoffet. Vita Margaretae Scotiae reginae ble skrevet mellom 1104 og 1108.

      Kort tid etter hennes død begynte skottene å ære henne som helgen, og det skal ha skjedd flere mirakler ved hennes grav. I 1250 ble hun helligkåret av Innocent IV, og 19. juni samme år ble hun skrinlagt. I 1560 ble klosteret plyndret under reformasjonen, men bena etter Margaret og Malcolm ble reddet og fraktet til Escorial utenfor Madrid, hvor de ble lagt i et kapell som ble innredet for formålet. Hodet hennes ble tatt med til Edinburgh, hvor det en tid var i Maria Stuarts eie. Senere kom det til Antwerpen, og så til jesuittene i Douai.

      I 1673 utnevnte Klemens X henne til Skottlands nasjonalhelgen, nest etter apostelen Andreas. I 1693 ble hennes fest gjort universell, i en periode hvor de siste skotske Stuartene bodde i Roma. Hun er den eneste skotske helgen som har blitt vist denne ære.

      Minnedagen er 16. november, og det er en translasjonsfest 19. juni. Sistnevnte fest har også blitt feiret 10. juni på grunn av en feil kirkehistorikeren kardinal Cesare Baronius gjorde da han skrev henne inn i Martyrologium Romanum.

      Referanser
      ^ Ted Olsen: Kristendommen og kelterne (s.170), forlaget Luther, Oslo 2008, ISBN 978-82-531-4564-8
      Hentet fra ?http://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_av_Skottland?
    • Canonised 1250 and her feast day is 16th November. In 1057 she arrived atthe
      English court of Edward the Confessor. Ten years later she was in exileafter
      William defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings. She fled to Scotlandwhere
      she was married against her wishes to King Malcolm to whom she bore sixsons and two daughters. Her unlearned and boorish husband grew daily moregraceful and Christian under the queen's graceful influence. Her remainswere removed to Escorial Spain and her head Douai, France.
      Ancestors of Margaret from "The Forgotten Monarchy of Scotland" by HRHMichael of Albany.
    • Queen Margaret/Edinburgh Castle
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=b6d703b9-24bd-4f74-9985-ff9c98594c60&tid=6959821&pid=-1168185431
    • St. Margaret (?1045-93), queen of Scotland, born in Hungary, the daughter of Edward the Exile of England. Margaret did much to civilize Scotland by introducing various religious customs, the observance of Sunday, and stricter marriage laws; while her charity to the poor was unbounded. She was canonized (1250). [World Wide Illustrated Encyclopedia, 1935]

      Came to England after the Norman Conquest. Her Father acquired land in the N. Daughter of Edward Atheling and sister of Edgar Atheling, who had fled with his sisters from Northumberland to Scotland. Young, lovely, learned and pious she won the heart of the rude Scots King. She did much to civilise the realm and to assimilate the Celtic Church to the rest of Christendom. She refounded Iona. She was canonised by Pope Innocent IV in 1251. {Burke�s Peerage} [GADD.GED]
    • St Margaret of Scotland
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=fba42ebf-fab7-4747-9163-6bde66193fd7&tid=2440653&pid=-1177222009
    • Saint Margaret of Scotland
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=35b605a4-34a0-4b1f-ad7a-0190082ee0c2&tid=8976248&pid=-762097927


    • 1. Margaret was canonised 1250 and her feast day is 16th November. In 1057 she arrived at the English court of Edward the Confessor. Ten years later she was in exile after William defeated Harold atthe Battle of Hastings. She fled to Scotland where she was married against her wishes to King Malcolm to whom she bore six sons and two daughters. Her unlearned and boorish husband grew daily more graceful and Christian under the queen's graceful influence. Her remains were removed to Escorial Spain and her head to Douai, France. Unknown GEDCOM info: MH:N100 Unknown GEDCOM info: 78E4908C-9593-498A-A043-F42897BFB1A3
    • Margaret wielded considerable power. Malcolm named their son Edward as his chosen successor rather than his sons by his first wife. Margaret brought culture and sophistication to Malcolm's rough-and-ready court. She instigated reform in the backward church. Four days after her husband was killed, Margaret, her body worn out by at least eight pregnancies and by the rigours of a life of fasting and self-denial, died shortly after receiving the dreaded news.
      She was beatified.
    • [large-G675.FTW]

      Canonised 1250 and her feast day is 16th November. In 1057 she arrived atthe
      English court of Edward the Confessor. Ten years later she was inexile after
      William defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings. She fled toScotland where
      she was married against her wishes to King Malcolm to whom she boresix sons
      and two daughters. Her unlerned and boorish husband grew daily moregraceful
      and Christian under the queen's graceful influence.
    • Statue of St Margaret
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=711b482d-78ad-4ffa-9bae-285e2bcc555c&tid=6959821&pid=-1168185431
    • Statue of St Margaret
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=711b482d-78ad-4ffa-9bae-285e2bcc555c&tid=6959821&pid=-1168185431
    • Queen Margaret/Edinburgh Castle
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=document&guid=b6d703b9-24bd-4f74-9985-ff9c98594c60&tid=6959821&pid=-1168185431
    • Margareta de Heilige van Engeland, geb. ca. 1045 in Reska bij Nadasd (Hongarije), ovl. 16.11.1093 in Edinburg, begraven in Abdij van Dunfermline, ref. nr. 23.06.2003 ES II-78 /-89, LMA VI-237, HLp592.6,[56],55 Koningin van Schotland. In 1057 kwam Margareta met haar vader, broer en zuster naar Engeland. In 1068 vluchtte ze met haar broer Edgar voor Willem de Veroveraar en vonden ze toevlucht in Schotland, waar Malcom III met Margareta trouwde. Margareta stond als vroom bekend en probeerde het religieuze leven in Schotland te reformeren, waarbij oude Keltische gebruiken afgeschaft werden. Ze stichtte met ondersteuning van aartsbisschop Lanfranc van Canterbury de abdij van Dunfermline. Ze werd 1251 heilig verklaard, is patrones van Schotland, naamsdag 10 juni.
    • Margaret wielded considerable power. Malcolm named their son Edward as his chosen successor rather than his sons by his first wife. Margaret brought culture and sophistication to Malcolm's rough-and-ready court. She instigated reform in the backward church. Four days after her husband was killed, Margaret, her body worn out by at least eight pregnancies and by the rigours of a life of fasting and self-denial, died shortly after receiving the dreaded news.
      She was beatified.
    • BIOGRAPHY
      Margaret was born about 1045 in Hungary, the daughter of Edward Atheling and Agatha. She later came to England, but after the Norman Conquest she fled with her mother, sister and brother from Northumberland to Scotland, where they placed themselves under the protection of King Malcolm. The _Worcester Manuscript_ relates the following:

      'Then the king Malcolm began to desire Margaret as wife, but her brother and his men opposed it for a long time, and also she herself refused, and declared that she would not have him, nor any, if the Graciousness on high would grant her that with bodily heart she might please the mighty Lord with pure continence in maidenhood in this short life.

      'The king eagerly pressed her brother until he said 'yes' to it, also he dared not otherwise, because they had come into his power. So it came to pass as provided by God, and it could not be otherwise, just as he himself says in his gospel that even one sparrow cannot fall into a snare without his providence.

      'The king then received her, although it was against her will; and her customs pleased him, and he thanked God, who so powerfully gave him such a consort, and reflected wisely, since he was very prudent, and turned himself toward God, and despised every impurity.'

      Young, lovely, vivacious, learned and pious, Margaret had won the heart of the Scottish king, Malcolm Canmore, and they were married. They had eight children of whom four, including two future kings of the Scots, would have progeny. She did much to civilise the northern realm and still more to assimilate the old Celtic church to the rest of Christendom. In 1251 she was canonised by Pope Innocent IV.
    • Canonisée en 1250. Sainte patronne de l'Écosse depuis 1673.
    • who ruled the
      neighboring kingdom of Moray and served Duncan as a general, killedhim and became king of Scotland. Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth isbased on the struggle between the two kings. Merged General Note:Duncan I (1001?-40), king of Scotland
      (1034-40), grandson of King Malcolm II Mackenneth (circa 953-1034),whom he succeeded. Before his accession to the Scottish throne he wasruler of the kingdom of Strathclyde. Macbeth, who ruled theneighboring kingdom of Moray and served Duncan
      as a general, killed him and became king of Scotland. Shakespeare'stragedy Macbeth is based on the struggle between the two kings.



      BIOGRAPHY: --Other Fields

      BIOGRAPHY: Ref Number: +murdered by Macbeth.GEDCOM provided by Carolyn ProffittWinch Grandson to Malcolm II. Under Malcolm's rule,in 1018, in the battle of
      Carham, the Northumbrians were decisively defeated. With this eventand as a
      result of the inheritance of the crown of Strathclyde by Malcolm'sgrandson
      Duncan, the Scottish domains, thereafter known as Scotland, embracedthe
      territory north of Solway Firth and the Tweed River. Duncan's reign, aperiod
      of disastrous wars and internal strife, was ended in 1040 with his
      assassination by Macbeth, his successor and cousin. SeeMacbeth.murdered by Macbeth.From KINGS & QUEENS OF SCOTLAND By AlanBold ..by adding Strathclyde to his grandfather's kingdom, firstmonarch of a united Scotland. Duncan's marriage to a sister of theDanish earl Siward of Northumbria produced two sons, Malcolm Canmore
      and Donald Ban, whose hereditary right to the throne was threatenedwhen Macbeth claimed the kingdom on the grounds of tanistry. Thematter was settled in 1040 near Elgin when Macbeth defeated and killedhis cousin Duncan I in battle. Other
      notes:Duncan I (1001?-40), king of Scotland (1034-40), grandson ofKing Malcolm II Mackenneth (circa 953-1034), whom he succeeded. Beforehis accession to the Scottish throne he was ruler of the kingdom ofStrathclyde. Macbeth, who ruled the
      neighboring kingdom of Moray and served Duncan as a general, killedhim and became king of Scotland. Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth isbased on the struggle between the two kings. Merged General Note:Duncan I (1001?-40), king of Scotland
      (1034-40), grandson of King Malcolm II Mackenneth (circa 953-1034),whom he succeeded. Before his accession to the Scottish throne he wasruler of the kingdom of Strathclyde. Macbeth, who ruled the neighboring kingdom of Moray and served Duncan as a general, killed him and became king of Scotland. Shakespeare'stragedy Macbeth is based on the struggle between the two kings.
    • who ruled the
      neighboring kingdom of Moray and served Duncan as a general, killedhim and became king of Scotland. Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth isbased on the struggle between the two kings. Merged General Note:Duncan I (1001?-40), king of Scotland
      (1034-40), grandson of King Malcolm II Mackenneth (circa 953-1034),whom he succeeded. Before his accession to the Scottish throne he wasruler of the kingdom of Strathclyde. Macbeth, who ruled theneighboring kingdom of Moray and served Duncan
      as a general, killed him and became king of Scotland. Shakespeare'stragedy Macbeth is based on the struggle between the two kings.



      BIOGRAPHY: --Other Fields

      BIOGRAPHY: Ref Number: +murdered by Macbeth.GEDCOM provided by Carolyn ProffittWinch Grandson to Malcolm II. Under Malcolm's rule,in 1018, in the battle of
      Carham, the Northumbrians were decisively defeated. With this eventand as a
      result of the inheritance of the crown of Strathclyde by Malcolm'sgrandson
      Duncan, the Scottish domains, thereafter known as Scotland, embracedthe
      territory north of Solway Firth and the Tweed River. Duncan's reign, aperiod
      of disastrous wars and internal strife, was ended in 1040 with his
      assassination by Macbeth, his successor and cousin. SeeMacbeth.murdered by Macbeth.From KINGS & QUEENS OF SCOTLAND By AlanBold ..by adding Strathclyde to his grandfather's kingdom, firstmonarch of a united Scotland. Duncan's marriage to a sister of theDanish earl Siward of Northumbria produced two sons, Malcolm Canmore
      and Donald Ban, whose hereditary right to the throne was threatenedwhen Macbeth claimed the kingdom on the grounds of tanistry. Thematter was settled in 1040 near Elgin when Macbeth defeated and killedhis cousin Duncan I in battle. Other
      notes:Duncan I (1001?-40), king of Scotland (1034-40), grandson ofKing Malcolm II Mackenneth (circa 953-1034), whom he succeeded. Beforehis accession to the Scottish throne he was ruler of the kingdom ofStrathclyde. Macbeth, who ruled the
      neighboring kingdom of Moray and served Duncan as a general, killedhim and became king of Scotland. Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth isbased on the struggle between the two kings. Merged General Note:Duncan I (1001?-40), king of Scotland
      (1034-40), grandson of King Malcolm II Mackenneth (circa 953-1034),whom he succeeded. Before his accession to the Scottish throne he wasruler of the kingdom of Strathclyde. Macbeth, who ruled the neighboring kingdom of Moray and served Duncan as a general, killed him and became king of Scotland. Shakespeare'stragedy Macbeth is based on the struggle between the two kings.
    • GIVN Margaret "Atheling", Princess
      SURN England
      NSFX [Queen Of Scotla
      AFN 9FTX-SR
      _PRIMARY Y
      DATE 9 SEP 2000
      TIME 13:15:43
    • GIVN Margaret "Atheling", Princess
      SURN England
      NSFX [Queen Of Scotla
      AFN 9FTX-SR
      _PRIMARY Y
      DATE 9 SEP 2000
      TIME 13:15:43
    • Source #1: Frederick Lewis Weis, "Ancestral Roots of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700" - Seventh Edition, with additions and corrections by Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., assisted by Davis Faris (Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Co, 1995), pp. 2-3; 147

      Daughter of Prince Edward the Exile, and a descendant of Alfred the Great; ancestress of the royal line of England.

      Canonised 1250 and her feast day is 16th November. In 1057 she arrived at the
      English court of Edward the Confessor. Ten years later she was in exile after
      William defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings. She fled to Scotland where
      she was married against her wishes to King Malcolm to whom she bore six sons
      and two daughters. Her unlearned and boorish husband grew daily more graceful
      and Christian under the queen's graceful influence. She died in Edinburgh Castle on 16 November, 1093, after having heard of the death in battle of both her husband and her eldest son. She was first buried at Dumferline, where she had earlier introduced Benedictine monks into Scotland.
      Her remains were removed to Escorial, Madrid, Spain and her head Douai, France.
    • [rmosher154.ged]

      Sister of Edgar Atheling. She was canonized in1250. Dau of Edward the Exile of Eng. and Agatha of Hungary.
    • Name Prefix: St. Name Suffix: First Queen Of Scotland "The Exile" Princess of England (Saxon). She was one of the fairest and most accomplished maidens in all England. With her mother, her brother and her younger sister, she had taken refuge in Scotland during the Norman Conquest

      Canonised 1250 and her feast day in 16th November. in 1057 she arrived at the English court ofEdward the Confessor. Ten years later she was in exile after William defeatedHarold at the Battle of Hastings. She fled to Scotland where she was married against her wishes to King Malcolm to whom she bore six sons and two daughters.Her unlearned and boorish husband grew daily more graceful and Christian underthe Queen's graceful influence. Her remains were removed to Escorial Spain andher head Douai, France.

      Called Sainte Margaret of England. She was a Saxonprincess who had fled from the Normans to Scotland, where she married Malcolm III . She was very devout, civilized, and strong-minded. Malcolm apparently hadto work hard to convince her to give up her dream of being a nun to marry him.She introduced the English language and English monastic customs to Scotland. She had been brought up in the Court of Hungary, and brought to Scotland the cultural influences of the European Renaissance. She was sick in Edinburgh Castlewhen she received the news of Malcolm's death in 1093, and that their elder sonEdward had been killed with him. Within three weeks she died. She was canonized in 1251
    • Canonized as a saint in 1251. English by birth, Margaret was raised in Hungary. She is credited with bringing to the court of Malcom III "good manners...splendor, and a greater use of ceremonial, which could only serve to enhance the prestige of Scotland among the kingdoms of Christendom." (according to Caroline Bingham in her book, "Kings and Queens of Scotland", published by Taplinger Publishing Co. in 1976).
      Margaret had a great influence in increasing the direct influence of Rome in church affai
    • SOURCE CITATION:
      Title: Ancestral File (TM)
      Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      Publication Information: July 1996 (c), data as of 2 January 1996
      Repository Name: Family History Library
      Address: 35 N West Temple Street
      Salt Lake City, UT 84150 USA

      SOURCE CITATION:
      Title: Ancestral File (TM)
      Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      Publication Information: July 1996 (c), data as of 2 January 1996
      Repository Name: Family History Library
      Address: 35 N West Temple Street
      Salt Lake City, UT 84150 USA

      SOURCE CITATION:
      Title: Ancestral File (TM)
      Author: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
      Publication Information: July 1996 (c), data as of 2 January 1996
      Repository Name: Family History Library
      Address: 35 N West Temple Street
      Salt Lake City, UT 84150 USA
    • Margaret, an English Princess, was later canonized as Saint Margaret, had
      been forced into exile in Scotland by the Norman conquest in 1066. Her
      religious activities flared up a rebellion after Malcolm's death. Margaret,
      her stepson Duncan, later Duncan II, King of Scotland, and their English
      retainers were driven from the country. Three sons ascended the throne and
      and established the feudal system in Scotland. Steadily, Anglicization of
      Scotland took place because of Margaret's deep religious/cultural views.
    • [s2.FTW]

      [Brøderbund WFT Vol. 2, Ed. 1, Tree #1241, Date of Import: May 8, 1997]

      !PRINCESS OF ENGLAND[Brøderbund WFT Vol. 2, Ed. 1, Tree #1241, Date of Import: May 8, 1997]

      !PRINCESS OF ENGLAND

    • St Margaret of Scotland.
      Sermon preached on Sunday 19th November, 2000 by Revd Prof R G Sommerville
      at St Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church, Tayport
      “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant who was seeking goodly pearls”

      This morning I intend to tell you a bit of the background to St Margaret, who lived nearly a thousand years ago! The above quotation shows us Jesus telling people about the merchant who was looking for goodly pearls. St Margaret is regarded as one of the pearls of Scotland.

      Margaret’s father, Edward Atheling was the Saxon heir to the English throne. There was a Danish invasion, and much of the country fell under the rule of the Danes. Edward was forced to find safety at the court of King Andrew of Hungary. A thousand years ago Hungary was a place that fostered Christianity and welcomed Royal exiles. In Hungary, Edward found refuge and safety and he also found and courted Agatha - a pious German princess who was also a refugee. Edward and Agatha married and soon after started a family. Their first child was Margaret, born in 1045, and she was followed by Christina and Edgar.

      Margaret was trained to be a princess by her parents, and was taught to be a devout Christian by the local Benedictine nuns. She studied diligently and made great progress in her knowledge of Chritianity.

      Back home in England, the Saxons overcame and threw out the Danes and Edward the Confessor became King of England in 1042. Edward had no children and, in 1054, a little anxious about his succession, he asked his nephew Edward Atheling to come home from Hungary with his family to England with a view to preparing to become King when the time was right. Messages travelled slowly in those days and Edward, Agatha and their three children arrived back in England in 1057, three years later. Before the end of 1057 Edward, Margaret’s father, was killed in a battle on his way to meet his uncle Edward the Confessor. When William the Conqueror, in France, heard of the death of Edward Atheling, he decided to invade Britain, but it took a few years before the scene was set. Edward the Confessor died in 1066. William (the Conqueror) seized the moment and invaded before King Harold had time to organise proper defences. Harold was killed at the battle of Hastings when an arrow pierced his eye. (My ancestors came from Normandy, accompanied William and took part in his battle at Hastings, moved eventually to the court of King Malcolm of Scotland and were granted lands in the centre of what we now call Lanarkshire and proceeded to breed like proverbial rabbits - so that the Lanarkshire phone book has pages of them!)

      The Saxon rule of England ended with William’s successful landing at Hastings and his subsequent march on London. Margaret, a Saxon, had to flee. She boarded ship at London and headed north, landing at St Margaret’s Hope in Orkney. (In August this year, Jennifer and I had dinner at a simply superb restaurant in St Margaret’s Hope. It is a peaceful little place now - nothing much ever happens! The food is excellent - if more expensive than in Margaret’s day!

      The party made their way back down the coast to what we now know as Fife and thence to Dunfermline where Malcolm was King. They arrived in 1070. Margaret wished to become a nun, but Malcolm had other plans. He courted her, and she, aware of the power
      for good that the position of Queen of Scotland would give her, agreed to his proposal of marriage. Margaret was 24 and Malcolm in his late 30’s. Margaret’s first act as Queen was to build a great Church at Dunfermline, dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

      Margaret and Malcolm ruled Scotland for 23 years. Margaret was deeply pious and is said to have taught Malcolm how to pray and all about the ways of charity. Malcolm’s political preoccupation continued to be keeping the English out, while Margaret built schools, established abbeys, cared personally for pilgrims and for the poor by distributing money for food with her own hands at every opportunity.

      Margaret’s most precious personal possession was a book of the Gospels, ornamented with gold and precious stones. One day it was accidentally dropped into a river she was crossing. The book disappeared for many months and when it was recovered, it showed no damage. The lack of damage was attributed to Margaret’s holiness. The book now rests in the Bodleian library in Oxford and the only sign of water damage can be seen inside the back cover. The rest of the text, with its beautiful gold ornamentation and fancy lettering is undamaged.

      Margaret saw that the Church in Scotland had fallen into rather lax ways, and as Queen, she prompted the clergy to hold church councils to bring Scottish practices into line with Rome. Abuses were curtailed and proper services were re-introduced. Fasting was introduced for Lent and the great Easter celebration became central to the life of the church.

      Margaret and Malcolm had eight children. Their daughter Edith Maud married Henry 1st of England and became known as “Good Queen Maud” of England because of her holy ways. Their son Ethelred became an abbot. Their three youngest sons became Kings of Scotland in succession, carrying on their mother’s policies, and Scotland went through a “golden age” under their rule. The youngest of the sons, King David of Scotland was also canonised as a saint.

      Malcolm and his eldest son were killed in battle in the north of England in the early days of November 1093, and Margaret, who had been ill for some time, died a few days later on 16th November. She was canonised as Saint Margaret of Scotland in 1250. After her death, Margaret’s second daughter, Mary, asked her mother’s lifelong friend and religious adviser the Abbot Turgot, to write a biography of her mother. It was, as you would expect, a lengthy document. But, amongst all the other things that he wrote, Turgot claimed that “Queen Margaret was a virtuous woman, and in the sight of God she showed herself to be a pearl, precious in faith and in all her works”.

    • St Margaret of Scotland.
      Sermon preached on Sunday 19th November, 2000 by Revd Prof R G Sommerville
      at St Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church, Tayport
      “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant who was seeking goodly pearls”

      This morning I intend to tell you a bit of the background to St Margaret, who lived nearly a thousand years ago! The above quotation shows us Jesus telling people about the merchant who was looking for goodly pearls. St Margaret is regarded as one of the pearls of Scotland.

      Margaret’s father, Edward Atheling was the Saxon heir to the English throne. There was a Danish invasion, and much of the country fell under the rule of the Danes. Edward was forced to find safety at the court of King Andrew of Hungary. A thousand years ago Hungary was a place that fostered Christianity and welcomed Royal exiles. In Hungary, Edward found refuge and safety and he also found and courted Agatha - a pious German princess who was also a refugee. Edward and Agatha married and soon after started a family. Their first child was Margaret, born in 1045, and she was followed by Christina and Edgar.

      Margaret was trained to be a princess by her parents, and was taught to be a devout Christian by the local Benedictine nuns. She studied diligently and made great progress in her knowledge of Chritianity.

      Back home in England, the Saxons overcame and threw out the Danes and Edward the Confessor became King of England in 1042. Edward had no children and, in 1054, a little anxious about his succession, he asked his nephew Edward Atheling to come home from Hungary with his family to England with a view to preparing to become King when the time was right. Messages travelled slowly in those days and Edward, Agatha and their three children arrived back in England in 1057, three years later. Before the end of 1057 Edward, Margaret’s father, was killed in a battle on his way to meet his uncle Edward the Confessor. When William the Conqueror, in France, heard of the death of Edward Atheling, he decided to invade Britain, but it took a few years before the scene was set. Edward the Confessor died in 1066. William (the Conqueror) seized the moment and invaded before King Harold had time to organise proper defences. Harold was killed at the battle of Hastings when an arrow pierced his eye. (My ancestors came from Normandy, accompanied William and took part in his battle at Hastings, moved eventually to the court of King Malcolm of Scotland and were granted lands in the centre of what we now call Lanarkshire and proceeded to breed like proverbial rabbits - so that the Lanarkshire phone book has pages of them!)

      The Saxon rule of England ended with William’s successful landing at Hastings and his subsequent march on London. Margaret, a Saxon, had to flee. She boarded ship at London and headed north, landing at St Margaret’s Hope in Orkney. (In August this year, Jennifer and I had dinner at a simply superb restaurant in St Margaret’s Hope. It is a peaceful little place now - nothing much ever happens! The food is excellent - if more expensive than in Margaret’s day!

      The party made their way back down the coast to what we now know as Fife and thence to Dunfermline where Malcolm was King. They arrived in 1070. Margaret wished to become a nun, but Malcolm had other plans. He courted her, and she, aware of the power
      for good that the position of Queen of Scotland would give her, agreed to his proposal of marriage. Margaret was 24 and Malcolm in his late 30’s. Margaret’s first act as Queen was to build a great Church at Dunfermline, dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

      Margaret and Malcolm ruled Scotland for 23 years. Margaret was deeply pious and is said to have taught Malcolm how to pray and all about the ways of charity. Malcolm’s political preoccupation continued to be keeping the English out, while Margaret built schools, established abbeys, cared personally for pilgrims and for the poor by distributing money for food with her own hands at every opportunity.

      Margaret’s most precious personal possession was a book of the Gospels, ornamented with gold and precious stones. One day it was accidentally dropped into a river she was crossing. The book disappeared for many months and when it was recovered, it showed no damage. The lack of damage was attributed to Margaret’s holiness. The book now rests in the Bodleian library in Oxford and the only sign of water damage can be seen inside the back cover. The rest of the text, with its beautiful gold ornamentation and fancy lettering is undamaged.

      Margaret saw that the Church in Scotland had fallen into rather lax ways, and as Queen, she prompted the clergy to hold church councils to bring Scottish practices into line with Rome. Abuses were curtailed and proper services were re-introduced. Fasting was introduced for Lent and the great Easter celebration became central to the life of the church.

      Margaret and Malcolm had eight children. Their daughter Edith Maud married Henry 1st of England and became known as “Good Queen Maud” of England because of her holy ways. Their son Ethelred became an abbot. Their three youngest sons became Kings of Scotland in succession, carrying on their mother’s policies, and Scotland went through a “golden age” under their rule. The youngest of the sons, King David of Scotland was also canonised as a saint.

      Malcolm and his eldest son were killed in battle in the north of England in the early days of November 1093, and Margaret, who had been ill for some time, died a few days later on 16th November. She was canonised as Saint Margaret of Scotland in 1250. After her death, Margaret’s second daughter, Mary, asked her mother’s lifelong friend and religious adviser the Abbot Turgot, to write a biography of her mother. It was, as you would expect, a lengthy document. But, amongst all the other things that he wrote, Turgot claimed that “Queen Margaret was a virtuous woman, and in the sight of God she showed herself to be a pearl, precious in faith and in all her works”.
    • There was another wife or woman in Malcolm's life, for Duncan II was the
      Stepson of Margaret.
    • The Life of Saint Margaret, Queen of Scotland

      Margaret's Ancestors



      Margaret's ancestry tells a lot about why she grew up in Hungary, returned to England, and how she came to be Queen of Scotland.



      Her father, Edward Atheling was the Saxon heir to the throne of England when the Danes took over the country for a time. This put Edward in danger, and so he was forced to find safety at the court of King Andrew in Hungary. At that time, the
      Hungarian court was a place that fostered Christianity and welcomed royal exiles. There, Edward Atheling found both refuge and a pious wife, Agatha, who was a German princess. There, too, Edward and Agatha started a family. Their first child
      was Margaret, born in 1045, followed by Christina and Edgar. In Hungary, Margaret was trained to be a princess by her parents and taught to be a devout Christian by Benedictine nuns. She absorbed the lessons well.



      Back in England, the Saxons threw out the Danes and Edward the Confessor became king in 1042. He had no children, so in 1054 he asked his nephew Edward Atheling to return with his family to England and prepare to become king when the time came.



      Edward Atheling, Agatha, and their children arrived in England around 1057. Before the end of the year, Edward Atheling was dead, never having met his uncle King Edward the Confessor. According to the writer of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles,
      Edward Atheling's death made William the Conqueror's Norman Conquest at the Battle of Hastings, and thus the end of Anglo-Saxon England, inevitable. When Edward the Confessor died in 1066, no one of the Saxon royal house remained to become a
      strong king.



      Once again, Margaret's family had to seek refuge. This time, they found it in Scotland, landing at a spot known since then as St. Margaret's Hope.

      Scotland, King Malcolm and Queen Margaret



      The Scottish nobles were an unruly bunch, staging frequent raids into the north of England and quarreling among themselves. The young prince Malcolm, who was to become Margaret's husband, was still a child when his father, King Duncan, was
      killed by Macbeth. It was not until 1054 that Macbeth was driven out and Malcolm established on the throne of Scotland, as readers of Shakespeare's Macbeth will remember.



      When Margaret and her family arrived in his land in 1070, King Malcolm greeted them graciously. Margaret had hoped to become a nun and devote her life to the Church, but Malcolm had other plans. He courted her and she, aware of the power for
      good that the position of Queen of Scotland could give her, agreed to his proposal of marriage. They were married when Margaret was 24 and Malcolm almost 40. Her first act as Queen was to build a great church dedicated to the Holy Trinity at
      Dunfermline, the site of their wedding.

      <http://www.stmargaret.shaw.org/images/stm-statue.jpg>

      Statue of St. Margaret



      For 23 years, Malcolm and Margaret ruled Scotland. Margaret was deeply pious and taught Malcolm the ways of prayer and charity. His political preoccupation continued to be invading England, while she, with his consent built schools, established
      abbeys, and personally cared for pilgrims and the poor by distributing money for food with her own hands. The coins shown in her hand on our statue of St. Margaret symbolize her very great charity.



      The book Margaret is holding on our statue represents one of her most treasured possessions - a Gospel Book ornamented with gold and precious jewels. This book was said to have been dropped in a river and, when rediscovered much later, showed
      no damage. Its miraculous preservation was attributed to Margaret's holiness. Such a Gospel book that once belonged to Queen Margaret is now in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University.



      Margaret saw that the Church in Scotland had fallen into lax ways. As Queen, she prompted the Scottish clergy to hold church councils to bring Scottish practices into line with disciplines of Rome. With her encouragement, abuses were curtailed,
      the proper ritual of the Mass reestablished, and the rules for Lenten fasting and Easter Communion restored. Her zeal inspired a return to the religious and ecclesiastical observances that were common practice in England and on the continent of
      Europe, both places where she had lived.



      As a Christian wife and mother, Margaret trained her eight children in the ways of God. Her daughter Edith married Henry I and became known as Good Queen Maud of England for her holy ways. Her son Ethelred became an abbot. As kings of Scotland,
      her three youngest sons "carried on her policies, inaugurating a golden age for Scotland that lasted 200 years" (Joanne Turpin, Women in Church History). The youngest of these sons of Margaret and Malcolm, King David of Scotland, was also
      canonized as a saint.

      Queen to Saint



      It was during one of his invasions of England that Malcolm and his oldest son Edward were killed in battle in November of 1093. Margaret had been sick for some time, and she died just a few days after her husband and son. She was canonized as
      Saint Margaret in 1250, and her feast day in the date of her death, November 16.



      Margaret's second daughter Mary asked Margaret's confessor and friend Turgot to prepare a biography of her mother, in which he wrote: "Queen Margaret was a virtuous woman, and in the sight of God she showed herself to be a pearl, precious in
      faith and works."
    • She was of the Royal English House who fled to Scotland after the Norman Conquest.
    • Canonized as a saint in 1251. English by birth, Margaret was raised in Hungary. She is credited with bringing to the court of Malcom III "good manners...splendor, and a greater use of ceremonial, which could only serve to enhance the prestige of Scotland among the kingdoms of Christendom." (according to Caroline Bingham in her book, "Kings and Queens of Scotland", published by Taplinger Publishing Co. in 1976).
      Margaret had a great influence in increasing the direct influence of Rome in church affai
    • Canonized as a saint in 1251. English by birth, Margaret was raised in Hungary. She is credited with bringing to the court of Malcom III "good manners...splendor, and a greater use of ceremonial, which could only serve to enhance the prestige of Scotland among the kingdoms of Christendom." (according to Caroline Bingham in her book, "Kings and Queens of Scotland", published by Taplinger Publishing Co. in 1976).
      Margaret had a great influence in increasing the direct influence of Rome in church affai
    • Margaret, Saint (1045?-93), queen of Malcolm III of Scotland and
      daughter of Edward the Exile of England; probably born in Hungary;
      canonized 1251 because of her benefactions; festival in Roman
      Catholicism Margaret was born around 1045 in Hungary, the daughter of
      the exiled English Prince Edward "the Outlaw" Atheling of the English
      royal house of Wessex, and a German Princess named Agatha. Margaret
      was raised in the court of St. Stephen, King of Hungary. In 1057 when
      she was about 12, Margaret and her family returned to England, where
      the king was St. Edward the Confessor.

      After the Norman conquest in 1066 and after her father's death in 1068,
      Agatha with her son and two daughters resolved to return to Hungary and
      embarked with that intent. Their ship was driven up the Firth of Forth
      to Dunfermline, where Malcolm III, king of Scotland, received them
      hospitably and granted them refuge. He very soon offered the whole
      family a permanent home with him and asked that the Princess Margaret
      should become his wife. Margaret, who was very devout and much
      impressed with the futility of earthly greatness, had very nearly
      determined to be a nun, but when Malcolm's request was made to Edgar,
      "the Childe said 'Yea,'" and Margaret was persuaded to marry the king
      as his second wife.

      Malcolm III was born ca 1031 and founded the house of Canmore, which
      ruled Scotland for more than 200 years, and consolidated the power of
      the Scottish monarchy. He was the son of Duncan I, who was killed
      (1040) by Macbeth. Malcolm lived in exile until he defeated and killed
      (1057) Macbeth near Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire. He succeeded to the
      throne in 1058, and married Margaret ca. 1068-1070.

      Her holiness and wisdom had an impact on Malcolm, causing him to be a
      better ruler. Malcolm regarded his wife with holy reverence, and with
      most devoted love followed her advice, and guided by her he became not
      only more religious and conscientious but more civilized and kinglike.
      The king's devotion to her and her influence over him were almost
      unbounded. He never refused or grudged her anything, nor showed the
      least displeasure when she took money out of his treasury for her
      charities. Although he could not read, he loved her books for her
      sake, handling them with affectionate reverence and kissing them.
      Sometimes he would take away one of her favorite volumes and send for a
      goldsmith to ornament it with gold and gems. When this was done, he
      would restore it to the queen as a proof of his devotion.

      In addition to her influence with her husband and her sons, who later
      succeeded their father in ruling Scotland, Margaret took a direct role
      in helping the people of Scotland. She devoted time and money to works
      of charity, assisting the poor, the aged, orphans, and the sick. She
      also prevented a schism between the Roman Church and the Celtic Church,
      which had been cut off from Rome. In addition, she introduced European
      culture to Scotland, and did so more successfully than the forceful
      introduction in England under the Normans.

      She was as saintly and self-denying on the throne as she could have
      been in the cloister. She at once perceived it to be her duty to
      benefit and elevate the people among whom it was her destiny to live,
      and this she undertook with the greatest of diligence and the most
      earnest piety. There existed so much barbarism in the customs of the
      people, so many abuses in the Church, so much on all hands to reform,
      that she called together the native clergy and the priests who had come
      with her, her husband acting as interpreter, and she spoke so well and
      so earnestly that all were charmed with her gracious demeanor and wise
      counsel and adopted her suggestions.

      Margaret is credited with the introduction of English (Roman) usages
      into the Scottish church. Among other improvements, Margaret
      introduced the observance of Sunday by abstaining from servile work,
      "that if anything has been done amiss during the six days it may be
      expiated by our prayers on the day of the Resurrection." She
      influenced her people to observe the forty days' fast of Lent, and to
      receive the Holy Sacrament on Easter day, from which they had abstained
      for fear of increasing their own damnation because they were sinners.
      On this point she said that if the Savior had intended that no sinner
      should receive the Holy Sacrament, He would not have given a command
      which, in that case, no one could obey. "We," said she, "who many days
      beforehand have confessed and done penance and fasted and been washed
      from our sins with tears and alms and absorption, approach the table of
      the Lord in faith on the day of His Resurrection, not to our damnation
      but to the remission of our sins and in salutary preparation for
      eternal blessedness."

      Margaret re-founded the monastery on the Island of Iona (originally
      founded by Saint Columba, an Irish missionary who found the monastery
      in 563 in an attempt to convert the Picts). One of her first acts as
      queen was to build a church at Dunfermline, where she had been married.
      She dedicated it to the Holy Trinity. She gave it all the ornaments
      that a church requires, amongst them golden cups, a handsome crucifix
      of gold and silver enriched with gems, and vestments for the priests.
      Her room was never without some of these beautiful things in
      preparation to be offered to the Church. It was like a workshop for
      heavenly artisans; capes for the singers, sacerdotal vestments, stoles,
      altar clothes were to be seen there; some made and some in progress.
      The embroideries were executed by noble young ladies who were in
      attendance on her.

      No man was admitted to the room, unless she allowed him to come with
      her. She suffered no levity, no petulance, no frivolity, no
      flirtation. She was so dignified in her pleasantry, so cheerful in her
      strictness that every one both loved and feared her. No one dared to
      utter a rude or profane word in her presence.

      She did much for the secular as well as for the religious improvement
      of her country. She caused traders from all lands to bring their
      goods, and thus introduced many useful and beautiful articles, until
      then unknown in Scotland. She induced the natives to buy and wear
      garments and stuffs of various colors. She is said to have introduced
      the tartans that afterwards became distinctive of Scottish costume.
      She instituted the custom that wherever the king rode or walked he
      should be accompanied by an escort, but the members of this band were
      strictly forbidden to take anything by force from any one, or oppress
      any poor person. She beautified the king's house with furniture and
      hangings, and introduced cups and dishes of gold and silver for the
      royal table. All this she did, not that she was fond of worldly show,
      but that the Court should be more decent and less barbarous than
      heretofore.

      Numbers of captives were taken in the wars in raids between England and
      Scotland, and many English prisoners were living as slaves in Malcolm's
      lands. They were of somewhat better education and superior culture to
      the Scots and gradually advanced the civilization of their captors.
      Many of these were set free by the queen.

      When she met poor persons, she gave them liberal alms, and if she had
      nothing of her own to left to give, she asked her attendants for
      something that she might not let Christ's poor go away empty-handed.
      the ladies, gentlemen, and servants who accompanied her took a pride
      and pleasure in offering her all they had, feeling sure that a double
      blessing would reward their alms when given through the saintly queen.

      She provided ships at a place on the Firth of Forth, still called "The
      Queen's Ferry," that all persons coming from distant parts on
      pilgrimage to St. Andrews might be brought across the water free of
      charge. She also gave houses and servants on either shore for their
      accommodation, that they might find everything necessary for their
      repose and refreshment and might pay their devotions in peace and
      safety. Besides this, she built homes of rest and shelter for poor
      strangers in various places.

      From childhood she had diligently studied the Holy Writ and having a
      keen intelligence and an excellent memory, she knew and understood the
      Scriptures wonderfully well. She delighted to consult learned and holy
      men concerning the sacred writings, and as she had a great gift for
      expressing herself clearly, they often found themselves far wiser after
      a conversation with her. Her love for the holy books made her spend
      much time in reading and studying such of them as she had. She longed
      to possess more portions of the Word of God, and she sometimes begged
      Turgot and other learned clergymen to procure them for her. Margaret
      brought up her eight children very strictly and piously, instructing
      them in the Holy Scriptures and the duties of their station and
      associating them in her works of charity. She made a great point of
      their treating their elders with becoming respect. The fruit of her
      good training appeared in their lives for long years after her time.

      There were many holy anchorites living in cells or caves in different
      parts of Scotland. These the queen occasionally visited, conversing
      with them and commending herself to their prayers. It was not uncommon
      in the ancient Celtic Church for devout secular persons to withdraw for
      a time from association with the rest of the world; they devoted
      themselves entirely to prayer and meditation for a long or short
      season, and then returned to the ordinary duties of life. A cave is
      still shown, not far from Dunfermline where tradition says this holy
      queen used to resort for solitude and prayer.

      Her abstinence was so great and her care for her own needs or
      gratification so small that her feast days were like the fast days of
      others. She fasted so strictly that she suffered acutely all her life
      from pain in her stomach, but she did not lose her strength. She
      observed two Lenten seasons in each year - the forty days before Easter
      and the forty days before Christmas. During these periods of
      self-denial, her biographer says that after sleeping for a short time
      at the beginning of the night, she went into the church and said alone
      three sets of Matins, then the Offices of the Dead, then the whole
      Psalter, which lasted until the priests had said Matins and Lauds. She
      then returned to her room and there, assisted by the king, she washed
      the feet of six poor persons who were brought there by the chamberlain.
      After this, she "permitted her body to take a littel slepe or nodde".
      When it was morning she began her works of mercy again; while the
      psalms were being read to her, nine little destitute orphans were
      brought, and she took each on her lap and fed it with her own spoon.
      While she was feeding the babies, three hundred poor persons were
      brought into the hall and seated all round it. As soon as Margaret and
      the king came in, the doors were shut, only the chaplains and a few
      attendants being present while the king and queen waited upon Christ in
      the person of His poor, serving them with food and drink. After this
      meal, the queen used to go into the church and there, with tears and
      signs and many prayers, she offered herself a sacrifice to God. In
      addition to the "Hours", on the great festivals, she used to repeat the
      Psalter two or three times, and before the public Mass she had five or
      six private Masses sung in her presence. It was then time for her own
      dinner, but before she touched it she waited on the twenty-four poor
      people who were her daily care at all seasons; wherever she happened to
      be, they had to be lodged near the royal residence.

      She had a Gospel Book which she particularly prized and often read. It
      had beautiful illuminated pictures, all the capital letters shining
      with gold. One of her people, when passing through a stream let it
      fall into the water, but was not aware of his loss and went on.
      By-and-by the book was missing and was looked for everywhere, and
      eventually found at the bottom of the stream; the pieces of silk that
      were between the leaves to prevent the letters rubbing against each
      other were washed away; the leaves were shaken to and fro by the
      movement of the water, but not a letter was obliterated. She gave
      thanks for its restoration and prized it more than ever. This book,
      with the water stain on the last leaf, is now in the Bodleian Library.

      For more than six months before her death, Margaret could not ride on
      horseback and was often confined to bed. Malcolm invaded England many
      times after 1068. supporting the claim of his brother-in-law Edgar
      Atheling to the English throne. In 1072, however, he was forced to pay
      homage to William I, and in 1091, to William II. Shortly before
      Margaret's death, the king, against her advice, made a raid into
      Northumberland where he and her eldest son, Edward were slain by Norman
      forces at Alnwick. Malcolm died at Alnwick Castle on November 13,
      1093. The queen, who had a presentiment of it, and said to those that
      were with her, "Perhaps this day a greater evil has happened to
      Scotland than any that has befallen it for a long time."

      Three days after this, she felt a little better and went into her
      oratory to hear Mass and receive the Holy Communion. She then returned
      to bed, and growing rapidly worse, begged Turgot and the others who
      were present to keep commending her soul to Christ with psalms. She
      asked them to bring her the black rood, which she had brought from
      Hungary and always regarded with great veneration. It was of gold set
      with large diamonds and said to contain a piece of the actual cross of
      Christ. She devoutly kissed and contemplated it, and when she was cold
      with the chill of death, she still held it in both hands and kept
      praying and saying the fifty-first psalm.

      Her son Edgar, who had gone with the king to Northumberland, came into
      her room to tell her of the death of his father and brother. Seeing
      his mother was dying, he was afraid to tell her the sad news; but she
      said, "I know, I know, I conjure you to tell me the truth," and having
      heard it, she praised God and died, just three days after her husband,
      on November 16, 1093 at Edinburgh Castle. The Annals of Ulster for
      1093 say, "Maelcolaim Mac Donnacha sovereign of Alban and Echbarda his
      son, slain by the Franks. His queen, viz. Margarita, died through
      grief before the end of (three) days."

      While her body still lay in Edinburgh Castle, Malcolm's brother, Donald
      Bane, assisted by the King of Norway, attacked the castle, but he only
      watched the gate, thinking the other parts of the fortification
      inaccessible. Margaret's family and her faithful attendants escaped by
      a postern called the West Yhet, taking with them the revered corpse. A
      thick mist hid them from the enemy. They crossed the sea and arrived
      without hindrance at Dunfermline, where they buried her according to
      her own wish. Malcolm was succeeded briefly by his brother Donald
      Bane. Margaret's brother, Edgar the Atheling took Margaret's children
      to England, and for fear of the Normans, gave them privately to friends
      and relations to be brought up. He afterwards helped to restore them
      to their country. Margaret's sons continued her work, which
      contributed greatly to a golden age in Scotland for two hundred years
      after her death. First to the throne was son, Duncan II. Three other
      sons also succeeded to the throne: Edgar (r. 1097-1107), Alexander I
      (r. 1107-24), and David I (r. 1124-53). Margaret and Malcolm's
      daughter, Edith, also known as Matilda, became the wife of England's
      King Henry I, the fourth son of William the Conqueror.

      Margaret was worshipped without authority until 1250 or 1251 when she
      was canonized by Innocent IV who ordered her sacred body to be
      translated from its first tomb. On July 19, 1297, all the arrangements
      being made the men who were appointed to raise the body, found it
      impossible to do so; stronger men were ordered to lift it and tried in
      vain; still more men were brought, but all their strength was
      unavailing. Evidently the saint objected to what was being done. The
      clergy and all present prayed earnestly that the mysterious opposition
      might cease and the sacred rite be completed. After some time an
      inspiration was granted to a devout member of the congregation; namely,
      that the saint did not wish to be separated from her husband. As soon
      as they began to take up his coffin, that of his dutiful wife became
      quite light and easy to move, and both were laid on one bier and
      translated with ease to the honorable place prepared for them under the
      high altar.

      In 1693 Innocent XII transferred Margaret's festival from the day of
      her death to June 10, though November 16 is still the day celebrated in
      Scotland. The bodies are said to have been acquired by Philip II, king
      of Spain, who placed them in the church of St. Lawrence in his new
      palace of the Escorial in two urns. The head of St. Margaret, after
      being in the possession of her descendant, Queen Mary Stuart, was
      secreted for many years be a Benedictine monk in Fife; thence it passed
      to Antwerp, and about 1627 it was translated to the Scotch college at
      Douai and there exposed to public veneration. It was still to be seen
      there in 1785; it was well preserved and had very fine fair hair.
      Neither the heads, the bodies nor the black rood can now be found, but
      the grave of Margaret may still be seen outside the present church of
      Dunfermline. Her oratory in Edinburgh castle is a small church with
      sturdy short pillars and a simple but beautiful ornamental pattern at
      the edge of its low rounded arches. It was falling to ruin when, in
      1853, Queen Victoria had it repaired and furnished with colored glass
      windows.
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Many say Margaret of Scotland ruled with "consistent humility and
      kindness," and that she was "one of the most remarkable monarchs in
      medieval Europe" ("Saint Margaret of Scotland" by Euah Macpherson,6,
      24-25, 49. Mar/Apr 1999 The Highlander magazine, Vol 37, No. 2) Her day
      is November 16th Margaret was born about 1045 in Hungary, while her
      English royal family was exiled. Margaret's grandfather was Edmund
      Ironsides, the English king. Her father should have been his (Edmund's)
      heir but Danish king, Canute, had other ideas. Her father flee to
      Europe to escape sure death and he was called Edward the Aetheling
      ("Claimant") since he still claimed the English throne. It is said that
      Margaret wished to be a nun as a young girl.

      Edward returned to his homeland in 1057, but when the Normans invaded
      England, in 1066, Margaret had to flee again, this time to Scotland.
      Margaret's brother, Edgar, fought to oppose the Conqueror as King of
      England. Margaret's family was about all that remained of the Old
      English royal family and they were a threat to William the Conqueror's
      regime. In Scotland now, Margaret won the heart of Malcolm Canmore
      (Malcolm III). He found her to be both intelligent and beautiful. No
      one knows if she returned these feelings, but they married even though
      Malcolm wass 11 years older, not very well educated, or religious.
      Margaret was to be Queen of Scotland, and her children would be the
      rightful heirs to the thrones of both England and Scotland. The
      Conqueror was not happy with this match and Malcolm and Scotland were
      both in jeopardy. Malcolm married Margaret at Dunfermline in 1070, a
      union of opposites. Margaret tempered the brutish man and he was said
      to have truly loved her. Her fault was the lack of understanding of
      Druidic/Pagan beliefs that existed in Scotland. She was a devout
      Christian. During her time, Celtic saints such as St. Columba, Saint
      Kertogern, and St. Ninian were revered. Margaret worshipped St.
      Andrew, a Roman saint. And today St. Andrew is Scotland's patron saint.

      Malcolm and Margaret turned the fort at Edinburgh into a royal castle.
      Margaret introduced spiced meat and French wine to the Scottish Court.
      She also insisted on good table manners and saying grace before meals.

      Margaret helped restore the abbey at Iona, founded by St. Columba, but
      also founded Dunfermline Abbey as the new burial place for Scottish
      kings.

      Margaret lay ill in bed in Edinburgh Castle (near death) while Malcolm
      invaded England. When she was delivered the news that King Malcolm had
      died at the Battle of Alnwick, she lost heart and died. The tiny church
      called St. Margaret's chapel is associated with the memory of the
      Queen. Margaret was recognized as a saint in 1250 (more than 150 years
      after her death). Her shrine and relics were installed at Dunfermline
      on June 19, 1250.
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~``



      St. Margaret of Scotland

      Born about 1045, died 16 Nov., 1092, was a daughter of Edward
      "Outremere", or "the Exile", by Agatha, kinswoman of Gisela, the wife
      of St. Stephen of Hungary. She was the granddaughter of Edmund
      Ironside. A constant tradition asserts that Margaret's father and his
      brother Edmund were sent to Hungary for safety during the reign of
      Canute, but no record of the fact has been found in that country. The
      date of Margaret's birth cannot be ascertained with accuracy, but it
      must have been between the years 1038, when St. Stephen died, and 1057,
      when her father returned to England. It appears that Margaret came with
      him on that occasion and, on his death and the conquest of England by
      the Normans, her mother Agatha decided to return to the Continent. A
      storm however drove their ship to Scotland, where Malcolm III received
      the party under his protection, subsequently taking
      Margaret to wife. This event had been delayed for a while by Margaret's
      desire to entire religion, but it took place some time between 1067 and
      1070.

      In her position as queen, all Margaret's great influence was thrown
      into the cause of religion and piety. A synod was held, and among the
      special reforms instituted the most important were the regulation of
      the Lenten fast, observance of the Easter communion, and the removal of
      certain abuses concerning marriage within the prohibited degrees. Her
      private life was given up to constant prayer and practices
      of piety. She founded several churches, including the Abbey of
      Dunfermline, built to enshrine her greatest treasure, a relic of the
      true Cross. Her book of the Gospels, richly adorned with jewels, which
      one day dropped into a river and was according to legend miraculously
      recovered, is now in the Bodleian library at Oxford. She foretold the
      day of her death, which took place at Edinburgh on 16 Nov., 1093, her
      body being buried before the high altar at Dunfermline. In 1250
      Margaret was canonized by Innocent IV, and her relics were translated
      on 19 June, 1259, to a new shrine, the base of which is still visible
      beyond the modern east wall of the restored church. At the Reformation
      her head passed into the possession of Mary Queen of Scots, and later
      was secured by the Jesuits at Douai, where it is believed to have
      perished during the French Revolution. According to George Conn, "De
      duplici statu religionis apud Scots" (Rome, 1628), the rest of the
      relics, together with those of Malcolm, were acquired by Philip II of
      Spain, and placed in two urns in the Escorial. When,
      however, Bishop Gillies of Edinburgh applied through Pius IX for their
      restoration to Scotland, they could not be found.

      The chief authority for Margaret's life is the contemporary biography
      printed in "Acta SS.", II, June, 320. Its authorship has been ascribed
      to Turgot, the saint's confessor, a monk of Durham and later Archbishop
      of St. Andrews, and also to Theodoric, a somewhat obscure monk; but in
      spite of much controversy the point remains quite unsettled. The feast
      of St. Margaret is now observed by the whole
      Church on 10 June.
    • Canonized 1250. Mary Queen of Scots and her husband Lord Dernly were cousins. She was of Montague descent through her grandmother Margaret, the aunt of Queen Elizabeth and sister of Henry VIII who was married to James IV of Scotland.

      Brought Christianity to Scotland
    • Canonized 1250. Mary Queen of Scots and her husband Lord Dernly were cousins. She was of Montague descent through her grandmother Margaret, the aunt of Queen Elizabeth and sister of Henry VIII who was married to James IV of Scotland.

      Brought Christianity to Scotland
    • Margaret, Saint (1045?-93), queen of Malcolm III of Scotland and
      daughter of Edward the Exile of England; probably born in Hungary;
      canonized 1251 because of her benefactions; festival in Roman
      Catholicism Margaret was born around 1045 in Hungary, the daughter of
      the exiled English Prince Edward "the Outlaw" Atheling of the English
      royal house of Wessex, and a German Princess named Agatha. Margaret
      was raised in the court of St. Stephen, King of Hungary. In 1057 when
      she was about 12, Margaret and her family returned to England, where
      the king was St. Edward the Confessor.

      After the Norman conquest in 1066 and after her father's death in 1068,
      Agatha with her son and two daughters resolved to return to Hungary and
      embarked with that intent. Their ship was driven up the Firth of Forth
      to Dunfermline, where Malcolm III, king of Scotland, received them
      hospitably and granted them refuge. He very soon offered the whole
      family a permanent home with him and asked that the Princess Margaret
      should become his wife. Margaret, who was very devout and much
      impressed with the futility of earthly greatness, had very nearly
      determined to be a nun, but when Malcolm's request was made to Edgar,
      "the Childe said 'Yea,'" and Margaret was persuaded to marry the king
      as his second wife.

      Malcolm III was born ca 1031 and founded the house of Canmore, which
      ruled Scotland for more than 200 years, and consolidated the power of
      the Scottish monarchy. He was the son of Duncan I, who was killed
      (1040) by Macbeth. Malcolm lived in exile until he defeated and killed
      (1057) Macbeth near Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire. He succeeded to the
      throne in 1058, and married Margaret ca. 1068-1070.

      Her holiness and wisdom had an impact on Malcolm, causing him to be a
      better ruler. Malcolm regarded his wife with holy reverence, and with
      most devoted love followed her advice, and guided by her he became not
      only more religious and conscientious but more civilized and kinglike.
      The king's devotion to her and her influence over him were almost
      unbounded. He never refused or grudged her anything, nor showed the
      least displeasure when she took money out of his treasury for her
      charities. Although he could not read, he loved her books for her
      sake, handling them with affectionate reverence and kissing them.
      Sometimes he would take away one of her favorite volumes and send for a
      goldsmith to ornament it with gold and gems. When this was done, he
      would restore it to the queen as a proof of his devotion.

      In addition to her influence with her husband and her sons, who later
      succeeded their father in ruling Scotland, Margaret took a direct role
      in helping the people of Scotland. She devoted time and money to works
      of charity, assisting the poor, the aged, orphans, and the sick. She
      also prevented a schism between the Roman Church and the Celtic Church,
      which had been cut off from Rome. In addition, she introduced European
      culture to Scotland, and did so more successfully than the forceful
      introduction in England under the Normans.

      She was as saintly and self-denying on the throne as she could have
      been in the cloister. She at once perceived it to be her duty to
      benefit and elevate the people among whom it was her destiny to live,
      and this she undertook with the greatest of diligence and the most
      earnest piety. There existed so much barbarism in the customs of the
      people, so many abuses in the Church, so much on all hands to reform,
      that she called together the native clergy and the priests who had come
      with her, her husband acting as interpreter, and she spoke so well and
      so earnestly that all were charmed with her gracious demeanor and wise
      counsel and adopted her suggestions.

      Margaret is credited with the introduction of English (Roman) usages
      into the Scottish church. Among other improvements, Margaret
      introduced the observance of Sunday by abstaining from servile work,
      "that if anything has been done amiss during the six days it may be
      expiated by our prayers on the day of the Resurrection." She
      influenced her people to observe the forty days' fast of Lent, and to
      receive the Holy Sacrament on Easter day, from which they had abstained
      for fear of increasing their own damnation because they were sinners.
      On this point she said that if the Savior had intended that no sinner
      should receive the Holy Sacrament, He would not have given a command
      which, in that case, no one could obey. "We," said she, "who many days
      beforehand have confessed and done penance and fasted and been washed
      from our sins with tears and alms and absorption, approach the table of
      the Lord in faith on the day of His Resurrection, not to our damnation
      but to the remission of our sins and in salutary preparation for
      eternal blessedness."

      Margaret re-founded the monastery on the Island of Iona (originally
      founded by Saint Columba, an Irish missionary who found the monastery
      in 563 in an attempt to convert the Picts). One of her first acts as
      queen was to build a church at Dunfermline, where she had been married.
      She dedicated it to the Holy Trinity. She gave it all the ornaments
      that a church requires, amongst them golden cups, a handsome crucifix
      of gold and silver enriched with gems, and vestments for the priests.
      Her room was never without some of these beautiful things in
      preparation to be offered to the Church. It was like a workshop for
      heavenly artisans; capes for the singers, sacerdotal vestments, stoles,
      altar clothes were to be seen there; some made and some in progress.
      The embroideries were executed by noble young ladies who were in
      attendance on her.

      No man was admitted to the room, unless she allowed him to come with
      her. She suffered no levity, no petulance, no frivolity, no
      flirtation. She was so dignified in her pleasantry, so cheerful in her
      strictness that every one both loved and feared her. No one dared to
      utter a rude or profane word in her presence.

      She did much for the secular as well as for the religious improvement
      of her country. She caused traders from all lands to bring their
      goods, and thus introduced many useful and beautiful articles, until
      then unknown in Scotland. She induced the natives to buy and wear
      garments and stuffs of various colors. She is said to have introduced
      the tartans that afterwards became distinctive of Scottish costume.
      She instituted the custom that wherever the king rode or walked he
      should be accompanied by an escort, but the members of this band were
      strictly forbidden to take anything by force from any one, or oppress
      any poor person. She beautified the king's house with furniture and
      hangings, and introduced cups and dishes of gold and silver for the
      royal table. All this she did, not that she was fond of worldly show,
      but that the Court should be more decent and less barbarous than
      heretofore.

      Numbers of captives were taken in the wars in raids between England and
      Scotland, and many English prisoners were living as slaves in Malcolm's
      lands. They were of somewhat better education and superior culture to
      the Scots and gradually advanced the civilization of their captors.
      Many of these were set free by the queen.

      When she met poor persons, she gave them liberal alms, and if she had
      nothing of her own to left to give, she asked her attendants for
      something that she might not let Christ's poor go away empty-handed.
      the ladies, gentlemen, and servants who accompanied her took a pride
      and pleasure in offering her all they had, feeling sure that a double
      blessing would reward their alms when given through the saintly queen.

      She provided ships at a place on the Firth of Forth, still called "The
      Queen's Ferry," that all persons coming from distant parts on
      pilgrimage to St. Andrews might be brought across the water free of
      charge. She also gave houses and servants on either shore for their
      accommodation, that they might find everything necessary for their
      repose and refreshment and might pay their devotions in peace and
      safety. Besides this, she built homes of rest and shelter for poor
      strangers in various places.

      From childhood she had diligently studied the Holy Writ and having a
      keen intelligence and an excellent memory, she knew and understood the
      Scriptures wonderfully well. She delighted to consult learned and holy
      men concerning the sacred writings, and as she had a great gift for
      expressing herself clearly, they often found themselves far wiser after
      a conversation with her. Her love for the holy books made her spend
      much time in reading and studying such of them as she had. She longed
      to possess more portions of the Word of God, and she sometimes begged
      Turgot and other learned clergymen to procure them for her. Margaret
      brought up her eight children very strictly and piously, instructing
      them in the Holy Scriptures and the duties of their station and
      associating them in her works of charity. She made a great point of
      their treating their elders with becoming respect. The fruit of her
      good training appeared in their lives for long years after her time.

      There were many holy anchorites living in cells or caves in different
      parts of Scotland. These the queen occasionally visited, conversing
      with them and commending herself to their prayers. It was not uncommon
      in the ancient Celtic Church for devout secular persons to withdraw for
      a time from association with the rest of the world; they devoted
      themselves entirely to prayer and meditation for a long or short
      season, and then returned to the ordinary duties of life. A cave is
      still shown, not far from Dunfermline where tradition says this holy
      queen used to resort for solitude and prayer.

      Her abstinence was so great and her care for her own needs or
      gratification so small that her feast days were like the fast days of
      others. She fasted so strictly that she suffered acutely all her life
      from pain in her stomach, but she did not lose her strength. She
      observed two Lenten seasons in each year - the forty days before Easter
      and the forty days before Christmas. During these periods of
      self-denial, her biographer says that after sleeping for a short time
      at the beginning of the night, she went into the church and said alone
      three sets of Matins, then the Offices of the Dead, then the whole
      Psalter, which lasted until the priests had said Matins and Lauds. She
      then returned to her room and there, assisted by the king, she washed
      the feet of six poor persons who were brought there by the chamberlain.
      After this, she "permitted her body to take a littel slepe or nodde".
      When it was morning she began her works of mercy again; while the
      psalms were being read to her, nine little destitute orphans were
      brought, and she took each on her lap and fed it with her own spoon.
      While she was feeding the babies, three hundred poor persons were
      brought into the hall and seated all round it. As soon as Margaret and
      the king came in, the doors were shut, only the chaplains and a few
      attendants being present while the king and queen waited upon Christ in
      the person of His poor, serving them with food and drink. After this
      meal, the queen used to go into the church and there, with tears and
      signs and many prayers, she offered herself a sacrifice to God. In
      addition to the "Hours", on the great festivals, she used to repeat the
      Psalter two or three times, and before the public Mass she had five or
      six private Masses sung in her presence. It was then time for her own
      dinner, but before she touched it she waited on the twenty-four poor
      people who were her daily care at all seasons; wherever she happened to
      be, they had to be lodged near the royal residence.

      She had a Gospel Book which she particularly prized and often read. It
      had beautiful illuminated pictures, all the capital letters shining
      with gold. One of her people, when passing through a stream let it
      fall into the water, but was not aware of his loss and went on.
      By-and-by the book was missing and was looked for everywhere, and
      eventually found at the bottom of the stream; the pieces of silk that
      were between the leaves to prevent the letters rubbing against each
      other were washed away; the leaves were shaken to and fro by the
      movement of the water, but not a letter was obliterated. She gave
      thanks for its restoration and prized it more than ever. This book,
      with the water stain on the last leaf, is now in the Bodleian Library.

      For more than six months before her death, Margaret could not ride on
      horseback and was often confined to bed. Malcolm invaded England many
      times after 1068. supporting the claim of his brother-in-law Edgar
      Atheling to the English throne. In 1072, however, he was forced to pay
      homage to William I, and in 1091, to William II. Shortly before
      Margaret's death, the king, against her advice, made a raid into
      Northumberland where he and her eldest son, Edward were slain by Norman
      forces at Alnwick. Malcolm died at Alnwick Castle on November 13,
      1093. The queen, who had a presentiment of it, and said to those that
      were with her, "Perhaps this day a greater evil has happened to
      Scotland than any that has befallen it for a long time."

      Three days after this, she felt a little better and went into her
      oratory to hear Mass and receive the Holy Communion. She then returned
      to bed, and growing rapidly worse, begged Turgot and the others who
      were present to keep commending her soul to Christ with psalms. She
      asked them to bring her the black rood, which she had brought from
      Hungary and always regarded with great veneration. It was of gold set
      with large diamonds and said to contain a piece of the actual cross of
      Christ. She devoutly kissed and contemplated it, and when she was cold
      with the chill of death, she still held it in both hands and kept
      praying and saying the fifty-first psalm.

      Her son Edgar, who had gone with the king to Northumberland, came into
      her room to tell her of the death of his father and brother. Seeing
      his mother was dying, he was afraid to tell her the sad news; but she
      said, "I know, I know, I conjure you to tell me the truth," and having
      heard it, she praised God and died, just three days after her husband,
      on November 16, 1093 at Edinburgh Castle. The Annals of Ulster for
      1093 say, "Maelcolaim Mac Donnacha sovereign of Alban and Echbarda his
      son, slain by the Franks. His queen, viz. Margarita, died through
      grief before the end of (three) days."

      While her body still lay in Edinburgh Castle, Malcolm's brother, Donald
      Bane, assisted by the King of Norway, attacked the castle, but he only
      watched the gate, thinking the other parts of the fortification
      inaccessible. Margaret's family and her faithful attendants escaped by
      a postern called the West Yhet, taking with them the revered corpse. A
      thick mist hid them from the enemy. They crossed the sea and arrived
      without hindrance at Dunfermline, where they buried her according to
      her own wish. Malcolm was succeeded briefly by his brother Donald
      Bane. Margaret's brother, Edgar the Atheling took Margaret's children
      to England, and for fear of the Normans, gave them privately to friends
      and relations to be brought up. He afterwards helped to restore them
      to their country. Margaret's sons continued her work, which
      contributed greatly to a golden age in Scotland for two hundred years
      after her death. First to the throne was son, Duncan II. Three other
      sons also succeeded to the throne: Edgar (r. 1097-1107), Alexander I
      (r. 1107-24), and David I (r. 1124-53). Margaret and Malcolm's
      daughter, Edith, also known as Matilda, became the wife of England's
      King Henry I, the fourth son of William the Conqueror.

      Margaret was worshipped without authority until 1250 or 1251 when she
      was canonized by Innocent IV who ordered her sacred body to be
      translated from its first tomb. On July 19, 1297, all the arrangements
      being made the men who were appointed to raise the body, found it
      impossible to do so; stronger men were ordered to lift it and tried in
      vain; still more men were brought, but all their strength was
      unavailing. Evidently the saint objected to what was being done. The
      clergy and all present prayed earnestly that the mysterious opposition
      might cease and the sacred rite be completed. After some time an
      inspiration was granted to a devout member of the congregation; namely,
      that the saint did not wish to be separated from her husband. As soon
      as they began to take up his coffin, that of his dutiful wife became
      quite light and easy to move, and both were laid on one bier and
      translated with ease to the honorable place prepared for them under the
      high altar.

      In 1693 Innocent XII transferred Margaret's festival from the day of
      her death to June 10, though November 16 is still the day celebrated in
      Scotland. The bodies are said to have been acquired by Philip II, king
      of Spain, who placed them in the church of St. Lawrence in his new
      palace of the Escorial in two urns. The head of St. Margaret, after
      being in the possession of her descendant, Queen Mary Stuart, was
      secreted for many years be a Benedictine monk in Fife; thence it passed
      to Antwerp, and about 1627 it was translated to the Scotch college at
      Douai and there exposed to public veneration. It was still to be seen
      there in 1785; it was well preserved and had very fine fair hair.
      Neither the heads, the bodies nor the black rood can now be found, but
      the grave of Margaret may still be seen outside the present church of
      Dunfermline. Her oratory in Edinburgh castle is a small church with
      sturdy short pillars and a simple but beautiful ornamental pattern at
      the edge of its low rounded arches. It was falling to ruin when, in
      1853, Queen Victoria had it repaired and furnished with colored glass
      windows.
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Many say Margaret of Scotland ruled with "consistent humility and
      kindness," and that she was "one of the most remarkable monarchs in
      medieval Europe" ("Saint Margaret of Scotland" by Euah Macpherson,6,
      24-25, 49. Mar/Apr 1999 The Highlander magazine, Vol 37, No. 2) Her day
      is November 16th Margaret was born about 1045 in Hungary, while her
      English royal family was exiled. Margaret's grandfather was Edmund
      Ironsides, the English king. Her father should have been his (Edmund's)
      heir but Danish king, Canute, had other ideas. Her father flee to
      Europe to escape sure death and he was called Edward the Aetheling
      ("Claimant") since he still claimed the English throne. It is said that
      Margaret wished to be a nun as a young girl.

      Edward returned to his homeland in 1057, but when the Normans invaded
      England, in 1066, Margaret had to flee again, this time to Scotland.
      Margaret's brother, Edgar, fought to oppose the Conqueror as King of
      England. Margaret's family was about all that remained of the Old
      English royal family and they were a threat to William the Conqueror's
      regime. In Scotland now, Margaret won the heart of Malcolm Canmore
      (Malcolm III). He found her to be both intelligent and beautiful. No
      one knows if she returned these feelings, but they married even though
      Malcolm wass 11 years older, not very well educated, or religious.
      Margaret was to be Queen of Scotland, and her children would be the
      rightful heirs to the thrones of both England and Scotland. The
      Conqueror was not happy with this match and Malcolm and Scotland were
      both in jeopardy. Malcolm married Margaret at Dunfermline in 1070, a
      union of opposites. Margaret tempered the brutish man and he was said
      to have truly loved her. Her fault was the lack of understanding of
      Druidic/Pagan beliefs that existed in Scotland. She was a devout
      Christian. During her time, Celtic saints such as St. Columba, Saint
      Kertogern, and St. Ninian were revered. Margaret worshipped St.
      Andrew, a Roman saint. And today St. Andrew is Scotland's patron saint.

      Malcolm and Margaret turned the fort at Edinburgh into a royal castle.
      Margaret introduced spiced meat and French wine to the Scottish Court.
      She also insisted on good table manners and saying grace before meals.

      Margaret helped restore the abbey at Iona, founded by St. Columba, but
      also founded Dunfermline Abbey as the new burial place for Scottish
      kings.

      Margaret lay ill in bed in Edinburgh Castle (near death) while Malcolm
      invaded England. When she was delivered the news that King Malcolm had
      died at the Battle of Alnwick, she lost heart and died. The tiny church
      called St. Margaret's chapel is associated with the memory of the
      Queen. Margaret was recognized as a saint in 1250 (more than 150 years
      after her death). Her shrine and relics were installed at Dunfermline
      on June 19, 1250.
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





      St. Margaret of Scotland

      Born about 1045, died 16 Nov., 1092, was a daughter of Edward
      "Outremere", or "the Exile", by Agatha, kinswoman of Gisela, the wife
      of St. Stephen of Hungary. She was the granddaughter of Edmund
      Ironside. A constant tradition asserts that Margaret's father and his
      brother Edmund were sent to Hungary for safety during the reign of
      Canute, but no record of the fact has been found in that country. The
      date of Margaret's birth cannot be ascertained with accuracy, but it
      must have been between the years 1038, when St. Stephen died, and 1057,
      when her father returned to England. It appears that Margaret came with
      him on that occasion and, on his death and the conquest of England by
      the Normans, her mother Agatha decided to return to the Continent. A
      storm however drove their ship to Scotland, where Malcolm III received
      the party under his protection, subsequently taking
      Margaret to wife. This event had been delayed for a while by Margaret's
      desire to entire religion, but it took place some time between 1067 and
      1070.

      In her position as queen, all Margaret's great influence was thrown
      into the cause of religion and piety. A synod was held, and among the
      special reforms instituted the most important were the regulation of
      the Lenten fast, observance of the Easter communion, and the removal of
      certain abuses concerning marriage within the prohibited degrees. Her
      private life was given up to constant prayer and practices
      of piety. She founded several churches, including the Abbey of
      Dunfermline, built to enshrine her greatest treasure, a relic of the
      true Cross. Her book of the Gospels, richly adorned with jewels, which
      one day dropped into a river and was according to legend miraculously
      recovered, is now in the Bodleian library at Oxford. She foretold the
      day of her death, which took place at Edinburgh on 16 Nov., 1093, her
      body being buried before the high altar at Dunfermline. In 1250
      Margaret was canonized by Innocent IV, and her relics were translated
      on 19 June, 1259, to a new shrine, the base of which is still visible
      beyond the modern east wall of the restored church. At the Reformation
      her head passed into the possession of Mary Queen of Scots, and later
      was secured by the Jesuits at Douai, where it is believed to have
      perished during the French Revolution. According to George Conn, "De
      duplici statu religionis apud Scots" (Rome, 1628), the rest of the
      relics, together with those of Malcolm, were acquired by Philip II of
      Spain, and placed in two urns in the Escorial. When,
      however, Bishop Gillies of Edinburgh applied through Pius IX for their
      restoration to Scotland, they could not be found.

      The chief authority for Margaret's life is the contemporary biography
      printed in "Acta SS.", II, June, 320. Its authorship has been ascribed
      to Turgot, the saint's confessor, a monk of Durham and later Archbishop
      of St. Andrews, and also to Theodoric, a somewhat obscure monk; but in
      spite of much controversy the point remains quite unsettled. The feast
      of St. Margaret is now observed by the whole
      Church on 10 June.
    • Margaret, Saint (1045?-93), queen of Malcolm III of Scotland and
      daughter of Edward the Exile of England; probably born in Hungary;
      canonized 1251 because of her benefactions; festival in Roman
      Catholicism Margaret was born around 1045 in Hungary, the daughter of
      the exiled English Prince Edward "the Outlaw" Atheling of the English
      royal house of Wessex, and a German Princess named Agatha. Margaret
      was raised in the court of St. Stephen, King of Hungary. In 1057 when
      she was about 12, Margaret and her family returned to England, where
      the king was St. Edward the Confessor.

      After the Norman conquest in 1066 and after her father's death in 1068,
      Agatha with her son and two daughters resolved to return to Hungary and
      embarked with that intent. Their ship was driven up the Firth of Forth
      to Dunfermline, where Malcolm III, king of Scotland, received them
      hospitably and granted them refuge. He very soon offered the whole
      family a permanent home with him and asked that the Princess Margaret
      should become his wife. Margaret, who was very devout and much
      impressed with the futility of earthly greatness, had very nearly
      determined to be a nun, but when Malcolm's request was made to Edgar,
      "the Childe said 'Yea,'" and Margaret was persuaded to marry the king
      as his second wife.

      Malcolm III was born ca 1031 and founded the house of Canmore, which
      ruled Scotland for more than 200 years, and consolidated the power of
      the Scottish monarchy. He was the son of Duncan I, who was killed
      (1040) by Macbeth. Malcolm lived in exile until he defeated and killed
      (1057) Macbeth near Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire. He succeeded to the
      throne in 1058, and married Margaret ca. 1068-1070.

      Her holiness and wisdom had an impact on Malcolm, causing him to be a
      better ruler. Malcolm regarded his wife with holy reverence, and with
      most devoted love followed her advice, and guided by her he became not
      only more religious and conscientious but more civilized and kinglike.
      The king's devotion to her and her influence over him were almost
      unbounded. He never refused or grudged her anything, nor showed the
      least displeasure when she took money out of his treasury for her
      charities. Although he could not read, he loved her books for her
      sake, handling them with affectionate reverence and kissing them.
      Sometimes he would take away one of her favorite volumes and send for a
      goldsmith to ornament it with gold and gems. When this was done, he
      would restore it to the queen as a proof of his devotion.

      In addition to her influence with her husband and her sons, who later
      succeeded their father in ruling Scotland, Margaret took a direct role
      in helping the people of Scotland. She devoted time and money to works
      of charity, assisting the poor, the aged, orphans, and the sick. She
      also prevented a schism between the Roman Church and the Celtic Church,
      which had been cut off from Rome. In addition, she introduced European
      culture to Scotland, and did so more successfully than the forceful
      introduction in England under the Normans.

      She was as saintly and self-denying on the throne as she could have
      been in the cloister. She at once perceived it to be her duty to
      benefit and elevate the people among whom it was her destiny to live,
      and this she undertook with the greatest of diligence and the most
      earnest piety. There existed so much barbarism in the customs of the
      people, so many abuses in the Church, so much on all hands to reform,
      that she called together the native clergy and the priests who had come
      with her, her husband acting as interpreter, and she spoke so well and
      so earnestly that all were charmed with her gracious demeanor and wise
      counsel and adopted her suggestions.

      Margaret is credited with the introduction of English (Roman) usages
      into the Scottish church. Among other improvements, Margaret
      introduced the observance of Sunday by abstaining from servile work,
      "that if anything has been done amiss during the six days it may be
      expiated by our prayers on the day of the Resurrection." She
      influenced her people to observe the forty days' fast of Lent, and to
      receive the Holy Sacrament on Easter day, from which they had abstained
      for fear of increasing their own damnation because they were sinners.
      On this point she said that if the Savior had intended that no sinner
      should receive the Holy Sacrament, He would not have given a command
      which, in that case, no one could obey. "We," said she, "who many days
      beforehand have confessed and done penance and fasted and been washed
      from our sins with tears and alms and absorption, approach the table of
      the Lord in faith on the day of His Resurrection, not to our damnation
      but to the remission of our sins and in salutary preparation for
      eternal blessedness."

      Margaret re-founded the monastery on the Island of Iona (originally
      founded by Saint Columba, an Irish missionary who found the monastery
      in 563 in an attempt to convert the Picts). One of her first acts as
      queen was to build a church at Dunfermline, where she had been married.
      She dedicated it to the Holy Trinity. She gave it all the ornaments
      that a church requires, amongst them golden cups, a handsome crucifix
      of gold and silver enriched with gems, and vestments for the priests.
      Her room was never without some of these beautiful things in
      preparation to be offered to the Church. It was like a workshop for
      heavenly artisans; capes for the singers, sacerdotal vestments, stoles,
      altar clothes were to be seen there; some made and some in progress.
      The embroideries were executed by noble young ladies who were in
      attendance on her.

      No man was admitted to the room, unless she allowed him to come with
      her. She suffered no levity, no petulance, no frivolity, no
      flirtation. She was so dignified in her pleasantry, so cheerful in her
      strictness that every one both loved and feared her. No one dared to
      utter a rude or profane word in her presence.

      She did much for the secular as well as for the religious improvement
      of her country. She caused traders from all lands to bring their
      goods, and thus introduced many useful and beautiful articles, until
      then unknown in Scotland. She induced the natives to buy and wear
      garments and stuffs of various colors. She is said to have introduced
      the tartans that afterwards became distinctive of Scottish costume.
      She instituted the custom that wherever the king rode or walked he
      should be accompanied by an escort, but the members of this band were
      strictly forbidden to take anything by force from any one, or oppress
      any poor person. She beautified the king's house with furniture and
      hangings, and introduced cups and dishes of gold and silver for the
      royal table. All this she did, not that she was fond of worldly show,
      but that the Court should be more decent and less barbarous than
      heretofore.

      Numbers of captives were taken in the wars in raids between England and
      Scotland, and many English prisoners were living as slaves in Malcolm's
      lands. They were of somewhat better education and superior culture to
      the Scots and gradually advanced the civilization of their captors.
      Many of these were set free by the queen.

      When she met poor persons, she gave them liberal alms, and if she had
      nothing of her own to left to give, she asked her attendants for
      something that she might not let Christ's poor go away empty-handed.
      the ladies, gentlemen, and servants who accompanied her took a pride
      and pleasure in offering her all they had, feeling sure that a double
      blessing would reward their alms when given through the saintly queen.

      She provided ships at a place on the Firth of Forth, still called "The
      Queen's Ferry," that all persons coming from distant parts on
      pilgrimage to St. Andrews might be brought across the water free of
      charge. She also gave houses and servants on either shore for their
      accommodation, that they might find everything necessary for their
      repose and refreshment and might pay their devotions in peace and
      safety. Besides this, she built homes of rest and shelter for poor
      strangers in various places.

      From childhood she had diligently studied the Holy Writ and having a
      keen intelligence and an excellent memory, she knew and understood the
      Scriptures wonderfully well. She delighted to consult learned and holy
      men concerning the sacred writings, and as she had a great gift for
      expressing herself clearly, they often found themselves far wiser after
      a conversation with her. Her love for the holy books made her spend
      much time in reading and studying such of them as she had. She longed
      to possess more portions of the Word of God, and she sometimes begged
      Turgot and other learned clergymen to procure them for her. Margaret
      brought up her eight children very strictly and piously, instructing
      them in the Holy Scriptures and the duties of their station and
      associating them in her works of charity. She made a great point of
      their treating their elders with becoming respect. The fruit of her
      good training appeared in their lives for long years after her time.

      There were many holy anchorites living in cells or caves in different
      parts of Scotland. These the queen occasionally visited, conversing
      with them and commending herself to their prayers. It was not uncommon
      in the ancient Celtic Church for devout secular persons to withdraw for
      a time from association with the rest of the world; they devoted
      themselves entirely to prayer and meditation for a long or short
      season, and then returned to the ordinary duties of life. A cave is
      still shown, not far from Dunfermline where tradition says this holy
      queen used to resort for solitude and prayer.

      Her abstinence was so great and her care for her own needs or
      gratification so small that her feast days were like the fast days of
      others. She fasted so strictly that she suffered acutely all her life
      from pain in her stomach, but she did not lose her strength. She
      observed two Lenten seasons in each year - the forty days before Easter
      and the forty days before Christmas. During these periods of
      self-denial, her biographer says that after sleeping for a short time
      at the beginning of the night, she went into the church and said alone
      three sets of Matins, then the Offices of the Dead, then the whole
      Psalter, which lasted until the priests had said Matins and Lauds. She
      then returned to her room and there, assisted by the king, she washed
      the feet of six poor persons who were brought there by the chamberlain.
      After this, she "permitted her body to take a littel slepe or nodde".
      When it was morning she began her works of mercy again; while the
      psalms were being read to her, nine little destitute orphans were
      brought, and she took each on her lap and fed it with her own spoon.
      While she was feeding the babies, three hundred poor persons were
      brought into the hall and seated all round it. As soon as Margaret and
      the king came in, the doors were shut, only the chaplains and a few
      attendants being present while the king and queen waited upon Christ in
      the person of His poor, serving them with food and drink. After this
      meal, the queen used to go into the church and there, with tears and
      signs and many prayers, she offered herself a sacrifice to God. In
      addition to the "Hours", on the great festivals, she used to repeat the
      Psalter two or three times, and before the public Mass she had five or
      six private Masses sung in her presence. It was then time for her own
      dinner, but before she touched it she waited on the twenty-four poor
      people who were her daily care at all seasons; wherever she happened to
      be, they had to be lodged near the royal residence.

      She had a Gospel Book which she particularly prized and often read. It
      had beautiful illuminated pictures, all the capital letters shining
      with gold. One of her people, when passing through a stream let it
      fall into the water, but was not aware of his loss and went on.
      By-and-by the book was missing and was looked for everywhere, and
      eventually found at the bottom of the stream; the pieces of silk that
      were between the leaves to prevent the letters rubbing against each
      other were washed away; the leaves were shaken to and fro by the
      movement of the water, but not a letter was obliterated. She gave
      thanks for its restoration and prized it more than ever. This book,
      with the water stain on the last leaf, is now in the Bodleian Library.

      For more than six months before her death, Margaret could not ride on
      horseback and was often confined to bed. Malcolm invaded England many
      times after 1068. supporting the claim of his brother-in-law Edgar
      Atheling to the English throne. In 1072, however, he was forced to pay
      homage to William I, and in 1091, to William II. Shortly before
      Margaret's death, the king, against her advice, made a raid into
      Northumberland where he and her eldest son, Edward were slain by Norman
      forces at Alnwick. Malcolm died at Alnwick Castle on November 13,
      1093. The queen, who had a presentiment of it, and said to those that
      were with her, "Perhaps this day a greater evil has happened to
      Scotland than any that has befallen it for a long time."

      Three days after this, she felt a little better and went into her
      oratory to hear Mass and receive the Holy Communion. She then returned
      to bed, and growing rapidly worse, begged Turgot and the others who
      were present to keep commending her soul to Christ with psalms. She
      asked them to bring her the black rood, which she had brought from
      Hungary and always regarded with great veneration. It was of gold set
      with large diamonds and said to contain a piece of the actual cross of
      Christ. She devoutly kissed and contemplated it, and when she was cold
      with the chill of death, she still held it in both hands and kept
      praying and saying the fifty-first psalm.

      Her son Edgar, who had gone with the king to Northumberland, came into
      her room to tell her of the death of his father and brother. Seeing
      his mother was dying, he was afraid to tell her the sad news; but she
      said, "I know, I know, I conjure you to tell me the truth," and having
      heard it, she praised God and died, just three days after her husband,
      on November 16, 1093 at Edinburgh Castle. The Annals of Ulster for
      1093 say, "Maelcolaim Mac Donnacha sovereign of Alban and Echbarda his
      son, slain by the Franks. His queen, viz. Margarita, died through
      grief before the end of (three) days."

      While her body still lay in Edinburgh Castle, Malcolm's brother, Donald
      Bane, assisted by the King of Norway, attacked the castle, but he only
      watched the gate, thinking the other parts of the fortification
      inaccessible. Margaret's family and her faithful attendants escaped by
      a postern called the West Yhet, taking with them the revered corpse. A
      thick mist hid them from the enemy. They crossed the sea and arrived
      without hindrance at Dunfermline, where they buried her according to
      her own wish. Malcolm was succeeded briefly by his brother Donald
      Bane. Margaret's brother, Edgar the Atheling took Margaret's children
      to England, and for fear of the Normans, gave them privately to friends
      and relations to be brought up. He afterwards helped to restore them
      to their country. Margaret's sons continued her work, which
      contributed greatly to a golden age in Scotland for two hundred years
      after her death. First to the throne was son, Duncan II. Three other
      sons also succeeded to the throne: Edgar (r. 1097-1107), Alexander I
      (r. 1107-24), and David I (r. 1124-53). Margaret and Malcolm's
      daughter, Edith, also known as Matilda, became the wife of England's
      King Henry I, the fourth son of William the Conqueror.

      Margaret was worshipped without authority until 1250 or 1251 when she
      was canonized by Innocent IV who ordered her sacred body to be
      translated from its first tomb. On July 19, 1297, all the arrangements
      being made the men who were appointed to raise the body, found it
      impossible to do so; stronger men were ordered to lift it and tried in
      vain; still more men were brought, but all their strength was
      unavailing. Evidently the saint objected to what was being done. The
      clergy and all present prayed earnestly that the mysterious opposition
      might cease and the sacred rite be completed. After some time an
      inspiration was granted to a devout member of the congregation; namely,
      that the saint did not wish to be separated from her husband. As soon
      as they began to take up his coffin, that of his dutiful wife became
      quite light and easy to move, and both were laid on one bier and
      translated with ease to the honorable place prepared for them under the
      high altar.

      In 1693 Innocent XII transferred Margaret's festival from the day of
      her death to June 10, though November 16 is still the day celebrated in
      Scotland. The bodies are said to have been acquired by Philip II, king
      of Spain, who placed them in the church of St. Lawrence in his new
      palace of the Escorial in two urns. The head of St. Margaret, after
      being in the possession of her descendant, Queen Mary Stuart, was
      secreted for many years be a Benedictine monk in Fife; thence it passed
      to Antwerp, and about 1627 it was translated to the Scotch college at
      Douai and there exposed to public veneration. It was still to be seen
      there in 1785; it was well preserved and had very fine fair hair.
      Neither the heads, the bodies nor the black rood can now be found, but
      the grave of Margaret may still be seen outside the present church of
      Dunfermline. Her oratory in Edinburgh castle is a small church with
      sturdy short pillars and a simple but beautiful ornamental pattern at
      the edge of its low rounded arches. It was falling to ruin when, in
      1853, Queen Victoria had it repaired and furnished with colored glass
      windows.
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Many say Margaret of Scotland ruled with "consistent humility and
      kindness," and that she was "one of the most remarkable monarchs in
      medieval Europe" ("Saint Margaret of Scotland" by Euah Macpherson,6,
      24-25, 49. Mar/Apr 1999 The Highlander magazine, Vol 37, No. 2) Her day
      is November 16th Margaret was born about 1045 in Hungary, while her
      English royal family was exiled. Margaret's grandfather was Edmund
      Ironsides, the English king. Her father should have been his (Edmund's)
      heir but Danish king, Canute, had other ideas. Her father flee to
      Europe to escape sure death and he was called Edward the Aetheling
      ("Claimant") since he still claimed the English throne. It is said that
      Margaret wished to be a nun as a young girl.

      Edward returned to his homeland in 1057, but when the Normans invaded
      England, in 1066, Margaret had to flee again, this time to Scotland.
      Margaret's brother, Edgar, fought to oppose the Conqueror as King of
      England. Margaret's family was about all that remained of the Old
      English royal family and they were a threat to William the Conqueror's
      regime. In Scotland now, Margaret won the heart of Malcolm Canmore
      (Malcolm III). He found her to be both intelligent and beautiful. No
      one knows if she returned these feelings, but they married even though
      Malcolm wass 11 years older, not very well educated, or religious.
      Margaret was to be Queen of Scotland, and her children would be the
      rightful heirs to the thrones of both England and Scotland. The
      Conqueror was not happy with this match and Malcolm and Scotland were
      both in jeopardy. Malcolm married Margaret at Dunfermline in 1070, a
      union of opposites. Margaret tempered the brutish man and he was said
      to have truly loved her. Her fault was the lack of understanding of
      Druidic/Pagan beliefs that existed in Scotland. She was a devout
      Christian. During her time, Celtic saints such as St. Columba, Saint
      Kertogern, and St. Ninian were revered. Margaret worshipped St.
      Andrew, a Roman saint. And today St. Andrew is Scotland's patron saint.

      Malcolm and Margaret turned the fort at Edinburgh into a royal castle.
      Margaret introduced spiced meat and French wine to the Scottish Court.
      She also insisted on good table manners and saying grace before meals.

      Margaret helped restore the abbey at Iona, founded by St. Columba, but
      also founded Dunfermline Abbey as the new burial place for Scottish
      kings.

      Margaret lay ill in bed in Edinburgh Castle (near death) while Malcolm
      invaded England. When she was delivered the news that King Malcolm had
      died at the Battle of Alnwick, she lost heart and died. The tiny church
      called St. Margaret's chapel is associated with the memory of the
      Queen. Margaret was recognized as a saint in 1250 (more than 150 years
      after her death). Her shrine and relics were installed at Dunfermline
      on June 19, 1250.
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





      St. Margaret of Scotland

      Born about 1045, died 16 Nov., 1092, was a daughter of Edward
      "Outremere", or "the Exile", by Agatha, kinswoman of Gisela, the wife
      of St. Stephen of Hungary. She was the granddaughter of Edmund
      Ironside. A constant tradition asserts that Margaret's father and his
      brother Edmund were sent to Hungary for safety during the reign of
      Canute, but no record of the fact has been found in that country. The
      date of Margaret's birth cannot be ascertained with accuracy, but it
      must have been between the years 1038, when St. Stephen died, and 1057,
      when her father returned to England. It appears that Margaret came with
      him on that occasion and, on his death and the conquest of England by
      the Normans, her mother Agatha decided to return to the Continent. A
      storm however drove their ship to Scotland, where Malcolm III received
      the party under his protection, subsequently taking
      Margaret to wife. This event had been delayed for a while by Margaret's
      desire to entire religion, but it took place some time between 1067 and
      1070.

      In her position as queen, all Margaret's great influence was thrown
      into the cause of religion and piety. A synod was held, and among the
      special reforms instituted the most important were the regulation of
      the Lenten fast, observance of the Easter communion, and the removal of
      certain abuses concerning marriage within the prohibited degrees. Her
      private life was given up to constant prayer and practices
      of piety. She founded several churches, including the Abbey of
      Dunfermline, built to enshrine her greatest treasure, a relic of the
      true Cross. Her book of the Gospels, richly adorned with jewels, which
      one day dropped into a river and was according to legend miraculously
      recovered, is now in the Bodleian library at Oxford. She foretold the
      day of her death, which took place at Edinburgh on 16 Nov., 1093, her
      body being buried before the high altar at Dunfermline. In 1250
      Margaret was canonized by Innocent IV, and her relics were translated
      on 19 June, 1259, to a new shrine, the base of which is still visible
      beyond the modern east wall of the restored church. At the Reformation
      her head passed into the possession of Mary Queen of Scots, and later
      was secured by the Jesuits at Douai, where it is believed to have
      perished during the French Revolution. According to George Conn, "De
      duplici statu religionis apud Scots" (Rome, 1628), the rest of the
      relics, together with those of Malcolm, were acquired by Philip II of
      Spain, and placed in two urns in the Escorial. When,
      however, Bishop Gillies of Edinburgh applied through Pius IX for their
      restoration to Scotland, they could not be found.

      The chief authority for Margaret's life is the contemporary biography
      printed in "Acta SS.", II, June, 320. Its authorship has been ascribed
      to Turgot, the saint's confessor, a monk of Durham and later Archbishop
      of St. Andrews, and also to Theodoric, a somewhat obscure monk; but in
      spite of much controversy the point remains quite unsettled. The feast
      of St. Margaret is now observed by the whole
      Church on 10 June.
    • Saint Margaret of Scotland
      From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

      Saint Margaret of Scotland (c. 1045 – November 16, 1093), Edgar Atheling's sister, married King Malcolm Canmore.

      The daughter of the English prince Edward the Exile or "Edward Outremer", son of Edmund Ironside, Margaret was probably born in Hungary. The provenance of her mother Agatha is disputed: certainly related to the kings of Hungary, she was either a descendant of Emperor Henry III or a daughter of Yaroslav I of Kiev.

      When her uncle, King Edward the Confessor, died in 1066, she was living in England where her brother, Edgar Atheling, had decided to make a claim to the vacant throne. After the conquest of England by the Normans, the widowed Agatha decided to leave Northumberland with her children and return to the Continent, but a storm drove their ship to Scotland where they sought the protection of King Malcolm Canmore. The spot where she is said to have landed is known as Queensferry, which is named after her in English. Malcolm was a widower, and taken with Margaret's beauty and viture. The marriage of Malcolm and Margaret soon took place and was followed by several invasions of Northumberland by the Scottish king, probably in support of the claims of his brother-in-law Edgar. These, however, had little result beyond the devastation of the province.

      Far more important were the effects of this alliance upon the history of Scotland. A considerable portion of the old Northumbrian kingdom had been reduced by the Scottish kings in the previous century, but up to this time the English population had little influence upon the ruling element of the kingdom. Malcolm's marriage undoubtedly improved the condition of the English to a great extent, and under Margaret's sons, Edgar, Alexander I and David I, the Scottish court practically became anglicized. Margaret was very religious, and saw to the building of churches and the preservation of sacred relics. She rebuilt the monastery of Iona, and provided a free ferry and housing for pilgrims coming to visit the shrine of Saint Andrew. She was a lavish alms-giver, and paid the ransoms of English hostages held by the Scots.

      Margaret and Malcolm had eight children, six sons and two daughters:

      Prince Edward of Scotland, killed 1093.
      King Edmund I of Scotland
      Ethelred, Earl of Fife
      King Edgar I of Scotland
      King Alexander I of Scotland
      King David I of Scotland
      Edith of Scotland, also called Matilda, married King Henry I of England
      Mary of Scotland, married Eustace III of Boulogne
      Her husband Malcolm and their eldest son Edward were killed in siege against the English at Alnwick Castle on November 13, 1093. Her son Edmund was left with the task of telling his mother of their deaths. Margaret was ill, and she died on 16 November, 1093, three days after the deaths her husband and her eldest son. It is notable that while Malcolm's children by his first wife Ingibjörg all bore Gaelic names, those of Margaret all bore Anglo-Saxon/English names. At the time this was noted with displeasure amongst many in the Scottish court and amongst the public although it is for this reason, and others, that many see Margaret as being responsible for starting the demise of Gaelic culture in the Lowlands and Scotland in general. In fact, in Gaeldom, she has usually not been considered a saint, but referred to as Mairead/Maighread nam Mallachd (accursed Margaret).

      She was canonised in 1251 by Pope Innocent IV on account of her great benefactions to the Church. The Roman Catholic church formerly marked the feast of Saint Margaret of Scotland on June 10, but the date was transferred to November 16 in the liturgical reform of 1972.

      Queen Margaret University College, founded in 1875, is named after her.

      See Chronicles of the Picts and Scots (Edinburgh, 1867) edited 1876, by W. F. Skene; and W. F. Skene, Celtic Scotland (Edinburgh).

      Original text from 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. (with minor corrections)

      [edit]
      Sources
      Acta SS., II, June, 320; CAPGRAVE, Nova Legenda Angliae (London, 1515), 225; WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY, Gesta Regum in P.L., CLXXIX, also in Rolls Series, ed. STUBBS (London, 1887-9); CHALLONER, Britannia Sancta, I (London, 1745), 358; BUTLER, Lives of the Saints, 10 June; STANTON, Menology of England and Wales (London, 1887), 544; FORBES-LEITH, Life of St. Margaret. . . (London, 1885); MADAN, The Evangelistarium of St. Margaret in Academy (1887); BELLESHEIM, History of the Catholic Church in Scotland, tr. Blair, III (Edinburgh, 1890), 241-63.

      Parsons, John Carmi. Medieval Mothering, 1996
      Article from University of Pittsburg
      newadvent.org article
      Article from an individual's page
      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
      Dghtr of Atheling the Exile. Events: Canonization in 1250, also called St. Margaret. Margaret was canonized by Pope Innocent IV. Margaret was an English princess. She and her mother sailed to Scotland to escape from the king who had conquered their land. King Malcolm of Scotland welcomed them and fell in love with the beautiful princess. Margaret and Malcolm were married before too long. As Queen, Margaret changed her husband and the country for the better. Malcolm was good, but he and his court were very rough. When he saw how wise his beloved wife was, he listened to her good advice. She softened his temper and led him to practice great virtue. She made the court beautiful and civilized. Soon all the princes had better manners, and the ladies copied her purity and devotion. The king and queen gave wonderful example to everyone by the way they prayed together and fed crowds of poor people with their own hands. They seemed to have only one desire: to make everyone happy and good. Margaret was a blessing for all the people of Scotland. Before she came, there was great ignorance and many bad habits among them. Margaret worked hard to obtain good teachers, to correct the evil practices, and to have new churches built. She loved to make these churches beautiful for God's glory, and she embroidered the priest's vestments herself. God sent this holy Queen six sons and two daughters. She loved them dearly and raised them well. The youngest boy became St. David. But Margaret had sorrows, too. In her last illness, she learned that both her husband and her son, Edward, had been killed in battle. Yet she prayed: "I thank You, Almighty God, for sending me so great a sorrow to purify me from my sins." Let us take this saintly Queen for our example. While we do our duties, let us keep in mind the joys that God will give us in Heaven. Her feast day is November 16.. Source: 1997 Catholic Online
    • Royal
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=280fba69-2726-455a-8352-d90b5682453b&tid=929940&pid=-2014254902

      Saint
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=4851e7a3-bf22-4c86-b20b-da6db4a665ea&tid=929940&pid=-2014254902

      St Margaret of Scotland
      http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=28c83814-ac94-4113-852c-a283087849f2&tid=929940&pid=-2014254902

    • St Margaret of Scotland.
      Sermon preached on Sunday 19th November, 2000 by Revd Prof R G Sommerville
      at St Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church, Tayport
      “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant who was seeking goodly pearls”

      This morning I intend to tell you a bit of the background to St Margaret, who lived nearly a thousand years ago! The above quotation shows us Jesus telling people about the merchant who was looking for goodly pearls. St Margaret is regarded as one of the pearls of Scotland.

      Margaret’s father, Edward Atheling was the Saxon heir to the English throne. There was a Danish invasion, and much of the country fell under the rule of the Danes. Edward was forced to find safety at the court of King Andrew of Hungary. A thousand years ago Hungary was a place that fostered Christianity and welcomed Royal exiles. In Hungary, Edward found refuge and safety and he also found and courted Agatha - a pious German princess who was also a refugee. Edward and Agatha married and soon after started a family. Their first child was Margaret, born in 1045, and she was followed by Christina and Edgar.

      Margaret was trained to be a princess by her parents, and was taught to be a devout Christian by the local Benedictine nuns. She studied diligently and made great progress in her knowledge of Chritianity.

      Back home in England, the Saxons overcame and threw out the Danes and Edward the Confessor became King of England in 1042. Edward had no children and, in 1054, a little anxious about his succession, he asked his nephew Edward Atheling to come home from Hungary with his family to England with a view to preparing to become King when the time was right. Messages travelled slowly in those days and Edward, Agatha and their three children arrived back in England in 1057, three years later. Before the end of 1057 Edward, Margaret’s father, was killed in a battle on his way to meet his uncle Edward the Confessor. When William the Conqueror, in France, heard of the death of Edward Atheling, he decided to invade Britain, but it took a few years before the scene was set. Edward the Confessor died in 1066. William (the Conqueror) seized the moment and invaded before King Harold had time to organise proper defences. Harold was killed at the battle of Hastings when an arrow pierced his eye. (My ancestors came from Normandy, accompanied William and took part in his battle at Hastings, moved eventually to the court of King Malcolm of Scotland and were granted lands in the centre of what we now call Lanarkshire and proceeded to breed like proverbial rabbits - so that the Lanarkshire phone book has pages of them!)

      The Saxon rule of England ended with William’s successful landing at Hastings and his subsequent march on London. Margaret, a Saxon, had to flee. She boarded ship at London and headed north, landing at St Margaret’s Hope in Orkney. (In August this year, Jennifer and I had dinner at a simply superb restaurant in St Margaret’s Hope. It is a peaceful little place now - nothing much ever happens! The food is excellent - if more expensive than in Margaret’s day!

      The party made their way back down the coast to what we now know as Fife and thence to Dunfermline where Malcolm was King. They arrived in 1070. Margaret wished to become a nun, but Malcolm had other plans. He courted her, and she, aware of the power
      for good that the position of Queen of Scotland would give her, agreed to his proposal of marriage. Margaret was 24 and Malcolm in his late 30’s. Margaret’s first act as Queen was to build a great Church at Dunfermline, dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

      Margaret and Malcolm ruled Scotland for 23 years. Margaret was deeply pious and is said to have taught Malcolm how to pray and all about the ways of charity. Malcolm’s political preoccupation continued to be keeping the English out, while Margaret built schools, established abbeys, cared personally for pilgrims and for the poor by distributing money for food with her own hands at every opportunity.

      Margaret’s most precious personal possession was a book of the Gospels, ornamented with gold and precious stones. One day it was accidentally dropped into a river she was crossing. The book disappeared for many months and when it was recovered, it showed no damage. The lack of damage was attributed to Margaret’s holiness. The book now rests in the Bodleian library in Oxford and the only sign of water damage can be seen inside the back cover. The rest of the text, with its beautiful gold ornamentation and fancy lettering is undamaged.

      Margaret saw that the Church in Scotland had fallen into rather lax ways, and as Queen, she prompted the clergy to hold church councils to bring Scottish practices into line with Rome. Abuses were curtailed and proper services were re-introduced. Fasting was introduced for Lent and the great Easter celebration became central to the life of the church.

      Margaret and Malcolm had eight children. Their daughter Edith Maud married Henry 1st of England and became known as “Good Queen Maud” of England because of her holy ways. Their son Ethelred became an abbot. Their three youngest sons became Kings of Scotland in succession, carrying on their mother’s policies, and Scotland went through a “golden age” under their rule. The youngest of the sons, King David of Scotland was also canonised as a saint.

      Malcolm and his eldest son were killed in battle in the north of England in the early days of November 1093, and Margaret, who had been ill for some time, died a few days later on 16th November. She was canonised as Saint Margaret of Scotland in 1250. After her death, Margaret’s second daughter, Mary, asked her mother’s lifelong friend and religious adviser the Abbot Turgot, to write a biography of her mother. It was, as you would expect, a lengthy document. But, amongst all the other things that he wrote, Turgot claimed that “Queen Margaret was a virtuous woman, and in the sight of God she showed herself to be a pearl, precious in faith and in all her works”.
    • [elen.FTW]

      [Brøderbund WFT Vol. 3, Ed. 1, Tree #4579, Date of Import: Jun 15, 2003]

      St. Margaret of Scotland, canonized in 1250.
    • Margaret, an English Princess, was later canonized as Saint Margaret, had
      been forced into exile in Scotland by the Norman conquest in 1066. Her
      religious activities flared up a rebellion after Malcolm's death. Margaret,
      her stepson Duncan, later Duncan II, King of Scotland, and their English
      retainers were driven from the country. Three sons ascended the throne and
      and established the feudal system in Scotland. Steadily, Anglicization of
      Scotland took place because of Margaret's deep religious/cultural views.
    • !DESCENT: Frederick Lewis Weis and Walter Lee Sheppard, Jr., Ancestral Roots
      of Certain American Colonists Who Came to America Before 1700, 7th ed., at 2
      (1992). Line 1-22.

      Canonized: 1250.

    • St Margaret of Scotland.
      Sermon preached on Sunday 19th November, 2000 by Revd Prof R G Sommerville
      at St Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church, Tayport
      “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant who was seeking goodly pearls”

      This morning I intend to tell you a bit of the background to St Margaret, who lived nearly a thousand years ago! The above quotation shows us Jesus telling people about the merchant who was looking for goodly pearls. St Margaret is regarded as one of the pearls of Scotland.

      Margaret’s father, Edward Atheling was the Saxon heir to the English throne. There was a Danish invasion, and much of the country fell under the rule of the Danes. Edward was forced to find safety at the court of King Andrew of Hungary. A thousand years ago Hungary was a place that fostered Christianity and welcomed Royal exiles. In Hungary, Edward found refuge and safety and he also found and courted Agatha - a pious German princess who was also a refugee. Edward and Agatha married and soon after started a family. Their first child was Margaret, born in 1045, and she was followed by Christina and Edgar.

      Margaret was trained to be a princess by her parents, and was taught to be a devout Christian by the local Benedictine nuns. She studied diligently and made great progress in her knowledge of Chritianity.

      Back home in England, the Saxons overcame and threw out the Danes and Edward the Confessor became King of England in 1042. Edward had no children and, in 1054, a little anxious about his succession, he asked his nephew Edward Atheling to come home from Hungary with his family to England with a view to preparing to become King when the time was right. Messages travelled slowly in those days and Edward, Agatha and their three children arrived back in England in 1057, three years later. Before the end of 1057 Edward, Margaret’s father, was killed in a battle on his way to meet his uncle Edward the Confessor. When William the Conqueror, in France, heard of the death of Edward Atheling, he decided to invade Britain, but it took a few years before the scene was set. Edward the Confessor died in 1066. William (the Conqueror) seized the moment and invaded before King Harold had time to organise proper defences. Harold was killed at the battle of Hastings when an arrow pierced his eye. (My ancestors came from Normandy, accompanied William and took part in his battle at Hastings, moved eventually to the court of King Malcolm of Scotland and were granted lands in the centre of what we now call Lanarkshire and proceeded to breed like proverbial rabbits - so that the Lanarkshire phone book has pages of them!)

      The Saxon rule of England ended with William’s successful landing at Hastings and his subsequent march on London. Margaret, a Saxon, had to flee. She boarded ship at London and headed north, landing at St Margaret’s Hope in Orkney. (In August this year, Jennifer and I had dinner at a simply superb restaurant in St Margaret’s Hope. It is a peaceful little place now - nothing much ever happens! The food is excellent - if more expensive than in Margaret’s day!

      The party made their way back down the coast to what we now know as Fife and thence to Dunfermline where Malcolm was King. They arrived in 1070. Margaret wished to become a nun, but Malcolm had other plans. He courted her, and she, aware of the power
      for good that the position of Queen of Scotland would give her, agreed to his proposal of marriage. Margaret was 24 and Malcolm in his late 30’s. Margaret’s first act as Queen was to build a great Church at Dunfermline, dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

      Margaret and Malcolm ruled Scotland for 23 years. Margaret was deeply pious and is said to have taught Malcolm how to pray and all about the ways of charity. Malcolm’s political preoccupation continued to be keeping the English out, while Margaret built schools, established abbeys, cared personally for pilgrims and for the poor by distributing money for food with her own hands at every opportunity.

      Margaret’s most precious personal possession was a book of the Gospels, ornamented with gold and precious stones. One day it was accidentally dropped into a river she was crossing. The book disappeared for many months and when it was recovered, it showed no damage. The lack of damage was attributed to Margaret’s holiness. The book now rests in the Bodleian library in Oxford and the only sign of water damage can be seen inside the back cover. The rest of the text, with its beautiful gold ornamentation and fancy lettering is undamaged.

      Margaret saw that the Church in Scotland had fallen into rather lax ways, and as Queen, she prompted the clergy to hold church councils to bring Scottish practices into line with Rome. Abuses were curtailed and proper services were re-introduced. Fasting was introduced for Lent and the great Easter celebration became central to the life of the church.

      Margaret and Malcolm had eight children. Their daughter Edith Maud married Henry 1st of England and became known as “Good Queen Maud” of England because of her holy ways. Their son Ethelred became an abbot. Their three youngest sons became Kings of Scotland in succession, carrying on their mother’s policies, and Scotland went through a “golden age” under their rule. The youngest of the sons, King David of Scotland was also canonised as a saint.

      Malcolm and his eldest son were killed in battle in the north of England in the early days of November 1093, and Margaret, who had been ill for some time, died a few days later on 16th November. She was canonised as Saint Margaret of Scotland in 1250. After her death, Margaret’s second daughter, Mary, asked her mother’s lifelong friend and religious adviser the Abbot Turgot, to write a biography of her mother. It was, as you would expect, a lengthy document. But, amongst all the other things that he wrote, Turgot claimed that “Queen Margaret was a virtuous woman, and in the sight of God she showed herself to be a pearl, precious in faith and in all her works”.
    • Margaret, Saint (1045?-93), queen of Malcolm III of Scotland and
      daughter of Edward the Exile of England; probably born in Hungary;
      canonized 1251 because of her benefactions; festival in Roman
      Catholicism Margaret was born around 1045 in Hungary, the daughter of
      the exiled English Prince Edward "the Outlaw" Atheling of the English
      royal house of Wessex, and a German Princess named Agatha. Margaret
      was raised in the court of St. Stephen, King of Hungary. In 1057 when
      she was about 12, Margaret and her family returned to England, where
      the king was St. Edward the Confessor.

      After the Norman conquest in 1066 and after her father's death in 1068,
      Agatha with her son and two daughters resolved to return to Hungary and
      embarked with that intent. Their ship was driven up the Firth of Forth
      to Dunfermline, where Malcolm III, king of Scotland, received them
      hospitably and granted them refuge. He very soon offered the whole
      family a permanent home with him and asked that the Princess Margaret
      should become his wife. Margaret, who was very devout and much
      impressed with the futility of earthly greatness, had very nearly
      determined to be a nun, but when Malcolm's request was made to Edgar,
      "the Childe said 'Yea,'" and Margaret was persuaded to marry the king
      as his second wife.

      Malcolm III was born ca 1031 and founded the house of Canmore, which
      ruled Scotland for more than 200 years, and consolidated the power of
      the Scottish monarchy. He was the son of Duncan I, who was killed
      (1040) by Macbeth. Malcolm lived in exile until he defeated and killed
      (1057) Macbeth near Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire. He succeeded to the
      throne in 1058, and married Margaret ca. 1068-1070.

      Her holiness and wisdom had an impact on Malcolm, causing him to be a
      better ruler. Malcolm regarded his wife with holy reverence, and with
      most devoted love followed her advice, and guided by her he became not
      only more religious and conscientious but more civilized and kinglike.
      The king's devotion to her and her influence over him were almost
      unbounded. He never refused or grudged her anything, nor showed the
      least displeasure when she took money out of his treasury for her
      charities. Although he could not read, he loved her books for her
      sake, handling them with affectionate reverence and kissing them.
      Sometimes he would take away one of her favorite volumes and send for a
      goldsmith to ornament it with gold and gems. When this was done, he
      would restore it to the queen as a proof of his devotion.

      In addition to her influence with her husband and her sons, who later
      succeeded their father in ruling Scotland, Margaret took a direct role
      in helping the people of Scotland. She devoted time and money to works
      of charity, assisting the poor, the aged, orphans, and the sick. She
      also prevented a schism between the Roman Church and the Celtic Church,
      which had been cut off from Rome. In addition, she introduced European
      culture to Scotland, and did so more successfully than the forceful
      introduction in England under the Normans.

      She was as saintly and self-denying on the throne as she could have
      been in the cloister. She at once perceived it to be her duty to
      benefit and elevate the people among whom it was her destiny to live,
      and this she undertook with the greatest of diligence and the most
      earnest piety. There existed so much barbarism in the customs of the
      people, so many abuses in the Church, so much on all hands to reform,
      that she called together the native clergy and the priests who had come
      with her, her husband acting as interpreter, and she spoke so well and
      so earnestly that all were charmed with her gracious demeanor and wise
      counsel and adopted her suggestions.

      Margaret is credited with the introduction of English (Roman) usages
      into the Scottish church. Among other improvements, Margaret
      introduced the observance of Sunday by abstaining from servile work,
      "that if anything has been done amiss during the six days it may be
      expiated by our prayers on the day of the Resurrection." She
      influenced her people to observe the forty days' fast of Lent, and to
      receive the Holy Sacrament on Easter day, from which they had abstained
      for fear of increasing their own damnation because they were sinners.
      On this point she said that if the Savior had intended that no sinner
      should receive the Holy Sacrament, He would not have given a command
      which, in that case, no one could obey. "We," said she, "who many days
      beforehand have confessed and done penance and fasted and been washed
      from our sins with tears and alms and absorption, approach the table of
      the Lord in faith on the day of His Resurrection, not to our damnation
      but to the remission of our sins and in salutary preparation for
      eternal blessedness."

      Margaret re-founded the monastery on the Island of Iona (originally
      founded by Saint Columba, an Irish missionary who found the monastery
      in 563 in an attempt to convert the Picts). One of her first acts as
      queen was to build a church at Dunfermline, where she had been married.
      She dedicated it to the Holy Trinity. She gave it all the ornaments
      that a church requires, amongst them golden cups, a handsome crucifix
      of gold and silver enriched with gems, and vestments for the priests.
      Her room was never without some of these beautiful things in
      preparation to be offered to the Church. It was like a workshop for
      heavenly artisans; capes for the singers, sacerdotal vestments, stoles,
      altar clothes were to be seen there; some made and some in progress.
      The embroideries were executed by noble young ladies who were in
      attendance on her.

      No man was admitted to the room, unless she allowed him to come with
      her. She suffered no levity, no petulance, no frivolity, no
      flirtation. She was so dignified in her pleasantry, so cheerful in her
      strictness that every one both loved and feared her. No one dared to
      utter a rude or profane word in her presence.

      She did much for the secular as well as for the religious improvement
      of her country. She caused traders from all lands to bring their
      goods, and thus introduced many useful and beautiful articles, until
      then unknown in Scotland. She induced the natives to buy and wear
      garments and stuffs of various colors. She is said to have introduced
      the tartans that afterwards became distinctive of Scottish costume.
      She instituted the custom that wherever the king rode or walked he
      should be accompanied by an escort, but the members of this band were
      strictly forbidden to take anything by force from any one, or oppress
      any poor person. She beautified the king's house with furniture and
      hangings, and introduced cups and dishes of gold and silver for the
      royal table. All this she did, not that she was fond of worldly show,
      but that the Court should be more decent and less barbarous than
      heretofore.

      Numbers of captives were taken in the wars in raids between England and
      Scotland, and many English prisoners were living as slaves in Malcolm's
      lands. They were of somewhat better education and superior culture to
      the Scots and gradually advanced the civilization of their captors.
      Many of these were set free by the queen.

      When she met poor persons, she gave them liberal alms, and if she had
      nothing of her own to left to give, she asked her attendants for
      something that she might not let Christ's poor go away empty-handed.
      the ladies, gentlemen, and servants who accompanied her took a pride
      and pleasure in offering her all they had, feeling sure that a double
      blessing would reward their alms when given through the saintly queen.

      She provided ships at a place on the Firth of Forth, still called "The
      Queen's Ferry," that all persons coming from distant parts on
      pilgrimage to St. Andrews might be brought across the water free of
      charge. She also gave houses and servants on either shore for their
      accommodation, that they might find everything necessary for their
      repose and refreshment and might pay their devotions in peace and
      safety. Besides this, she built homes of rest and shelter for poor
      strangers in various places.

      From childhood she had diligently studied the Holy Writ and having a
      keen intelligence and an excellent memory, she knew and understood the
      Scriptures wonderfully well. She delighted to consult learned and holy
      men concerning the sacred writings, and as she had a great gift for
      expressing herself clearly, they often found themselves far wiser after
      a conversation with her. Her love for the holy books made her spend
      much time in reading and studying such of them as she had. She longed
      to possess more portions of the Word of God, and she sometimes begged
      Turgot and other learned clergymen to procure them for her. Margaret
      brought up her eight children very strictly and piously, instructing
      them in the Holy Scriptures and the duties of their station and
      associating them in her works of charity. She made a great point of
      their treating their elders with becoming respect. The fruit of her
      good training appeared in their lives for long years after her time.

      There were many holy anchorites living in cells or caves in different
      parts of Scotland. These the queen occasionally visited, conversing
      with them and commending herself to their prayers. It was not uncommon
      in the ancient Celtic Church for devout secular persons to withdraw for
      a time from association with the rest of the world; they devoted
      themselves entirely to prayer and meditation for a long or short
      season, and then returned to the ordinary duties of life. A cave is
      still shown, not far from Dunfermline where tradition says this holy
      queen used to resort for solitude and prayer.

      Her abstinence was so great and her care for her own needs or
      gratification so small that her feast days were like the fast days of
      others. She fasted so strictly that she suffered acutely all her life
      from pain in her stomach, but she did not lose her strength. She
      observed two Lenten seasons in each year - the forty days before Easter
      and the forty days before Christmas. During these periods of
      self-denial, her biographer says that after sleeping for a short time
      at the beginning of the night, she went into the church and said alone
      three sets of Matins, then the Offices of the Dead, then the whole
      Psalter, which lasted until the priests had said Matins and Lauds. She
      then returned to her room and there, assisted by the king, she washed
      the feet of six poor persons who were brought there by the chamberlain.
      After this, she "permitted her body to take a littel slepe or nodde".
      When it was morning she began her works of mercy again; while the
      psalms were being read to her, nine little destitute orphans were
      brought, and she took each on her lap and fed it with her own spoon.
      While she was feeding the babies, three hundred poor persons were
      brought into the hall and seated all round it. As soon as Margaret and
      the king came in, the doors were shut, only the chaplains and a few
      attendants being present while the king and queen waited upon Christ in
      the person of His poor, serving them with food and drink. After this
      meal, the queen used to go into the church and there, with tears and
      signs and many prayers, she offered herself a sacrifice to God. In
      addition to the "Hours", on the great festivals, she used to repeat the
      Psalter two or three times, and before the public Mass she had five or
      six private Masses sung in her presence. It was then time for her own
      dinner, but before she touched it she waited on the twenty-four poor
      people who were her daily care at all seasons; wherever she happened to
      be, they had to be lodged near the royal residence.

      She had a Gospel Book which she particularly prized and often read. It
      had beautiful illuminated pictures, all the capital letters shining
      with gold. One of her people, when passing through a stream let it
      fall into the water, but was not aware of his loss and went on.
      By-and-by the book was missing and was looked for everywhere, and
      eventually found at the bottom of the stream; the pieces of silk that
      were between the leaves to prevent the letters rubbing against each
      other were washed away; the leaves were shaken to and fro by the
      movement of the water, but not a letter was obliterated. She gave
      thanks for its restoration and prized it more than ever. This book,
      with the water stain on the last leaf, is now in the Bodleian Library.

      For more than six months before her death, Margaret could not ride on
      horseback and was often confined to bed. Malcolm invaded England many
      times after 1068. supporting the claim of his brother-in-law Edgar
      Atheling to the English throne. In 1072, however, he was forced to pay
      homage to William I, and in 1091, to William II. Shortly before
      Margaret's death, the king, against her advice, made a raid into
      Northumberland where he and her eldest son, Edward were slain by Norman
      forces at Alnwick. Malcolm died at Alnwick Castle on November 13,
      1093. The queen, who had a presentiment of it, and said to those that
      were with her, "Perhaps this day a greater evil has happened to
      Scotland than any that has befallen it for a long time."

      Three days after this, she felt a little better and went into her
      oratory to hear Mass and receive the Holy Communion. She then returned
      to bed, and growing rapidly worse, begged Turgot and the others who
      were present to keep commending her soul to Christ with psalms. She
      asked them to bring her the black rood, which she had brought from
      Hungary and always regarded with great veneration. It was of gold set
      with large diamonds and said to contain a piece of the actual cross of
      Christ. She devoutly kissed and contemplated it, and when she was cold
      with the chill of death, she still held it in both hands and kept
      praying and saying the fifty-first psalm.

      Her son Edgar, who had gone with the king to Northumberland, came into
      her room to tell her of the death of his father and brother. Seeing
      his mother was dying, he was afraid to tell her the sad news; but she
      said, "I know, I know, I conjure you to tell me the truth," and having
      heard it, she praised God and died, just three days after her husband,
      on November 16, 1093 at Edinburgh Castle. The Annals of Ulster for
      1093 say, "Maelcolaim Mac Donnacha sovereign of Alban and Echbarda his
      son, slain by the Franks. His queen, viz. Margarita, died through
      grief before the end of (three) days."

      While her body still lay in Edinburgh Castle, Malcolm's brother, Donald
      Bane, assisted by the King of Norway, attacked the castle, but he only
      watched the gate, thinking the other parts of the fortification
      inaccessible. Margaret's family and her faithful attendants escaped by
      a postern called the West Yhet, taking with them the revered corpse. A
      thick mist hid them from the enemy. They crossed the sea and arrived
      without hindrance at Dunfermline, where they buried her according to
      her own wish. Malcolm was succeeded briefly by his brother Donald
      Bane. Margaret's brother, Edgar the Atheling took Margaret's children
      to England, and for fear of the Normans, gave them privately to friends
      and relations to be brought up. He afterwards helped to restore them
      to their country. Margaret's sons continued her work, which
      contributed greatly to a golden age in Scotland for two hundred years
      after her death. First to the throne was son, Duncan II. Three other
      sons also succeeded to the throne: Edgar (r. 1097-1107), Alexander I
      (r. 1107-24), and David I (r. 1124-53). Margaret and Malcolm's
      daughter, Edith, also known as Matilda, became the wife of England's
      King Henry I, the fourth son of William the Conqueror.

      Margaret was worshipped without authority until 1250 or 1251 when she
      was canonized by Innocent IV who ordered her sacred body to be
      translated from its first tomb. On July 19, 1297, all the arrangements
      being made the men who were appointed to raise the body, found it
      impossible to do so; stronger men were ordered to lift it and tried in
      vain; still more men were brought, but all their strength was
      unavailing. Evidently the saint objected to what was being done. The
      clergy and all present prayed earnestly that the mysterious opposition
      might cease and the sacred rite be completed. After some time an
      inspiration was granted to a devout member of the congregation; namely,
      that the saint did not wish to be separated from her husband. As soon
      as they began to take up his coffin, that of his dutiful wife became
      quite light and easy to move, and both were laid on one bier and
      translated with ease to the honorable place prepared for them under the
      high altar.

      In 1693 Innocent XII transferred Margaret's festival from the day of
      her death to June 10, though November 16 is still the day celebrated in
      Scotland. The bodies are said to have been acquired by Philip II, king
      of Spain, who placed them in the church of St. Lawrence in his new
      palace of the Escorial in two urns. The head of St. Margaret, after
      being in the possession of her descendant, Queen Mary Stuart, was
      secreted for many years be a Benedictine monk in Fife; thence it passed
      to Antwerp, and about 1627 it was translated to the Scotch college at
      Douai and there exposed to public veneration. It was still to be seen
      there in 1785; it was well preserved and had very fine fair hair.
      Neither the heads, the bodies nor the black rood can now be found, but
      the grave of Margaret may still be seen outside the present church of
      Dunfermline. Her oratory in Edinburgh castle is a small church with
      sturdy short pillars and a simple but beautiful ornamental pattern at
      the edge of its low rounded arches. It was falling to ruin when, in
      1853, Queen Victoria had it repaired and furnished with colored glass
      windows.
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Many say Margaret of Scotland ruled with "consistent humility and
      kindness," and that she was "one of the most remarkable monarchs in
      medieval Europe" ("Saint Margaret of Scotland" by Euah Macpherson,6,
      24-25, 49. Mar/Apr 1999 The Highlander magazine, Vol 37, No. 2) Her day
      is November 16th Margaret was born about 1045 in Hungary, while her
      English royal family was exiled. Margaret's grandfather was Edmund
      Ironsides, the English king. Her father should have been his (Edmund's)
      heir but Danish king, Canute, had other ideas. Her father flee to
      Europe to escape sure death and he was called Edward the Aetheling
      ("Claimant") since he still claimed the English throne. It is said that
      Margaret wished to be a nun as a young girl.

      Edward returned to his homeland in 1057, but when the Normans invaded
      England, in 1066, Margaret had to flee again, this time to Scotland.
      Margaret's brother, Edgar, fought to oppose the Conqueror as King of
      England. Margaret's family was about all that remained of the Old
      English royal family and they were a threat to William the Conqueror's
      regime. In Scotland now, Margaret won the heart of Malcolm Canmore
      (Malcolm III). He found her to be both intelligent and beautiful. No
      one knows if she returned these feelings, but they married even though
      Malcolm wass 11 years older, not very well educated, or religious.
      Margaret was to be Queen of Scotland, and her children would be the
      rightful heirs to the thrones of both England and Scotland. The
      Conqueror was not happy with this match and Malcolm and Scotland were
      both in jeopardy. Malcolm married Margaret at Dunfermline in 1070, a
      union of opposites. Margaret tempered the brutish man and he was said
      to have truly loved her. Her fault was the lack of understanding of
      Druidic/Pagan beliefs that existed in Scotland. She was a devout
      Christian. During her time, Celtic saints such as St. Columba, Saint
      Kertogern, and St. Ninian were revered. Margaret worshipped St.
      Andrew, a Roman saint. And today St. Andrew is Scotland's patron saint.

      Malcolm and Margaret turned the fort at Edinburgh into a royal castle.
      Margaret introduced spiced meat and French wine to the Scottish Court.
      She also insisted on good table manners and saying grace before meals.

      Margaret helped restore the abbey at Iona, founded by St. Columba, but
      also founded Dunfermline Abbey as the new burial place for Scottish
      kings.

      Margaret lay ill in bed in Edinburgh Castle (near death) while Malcolm
      invaded England. When she was delivered the news that King Malcolm had
      died at the Battle of Alnwick, she lost heart and died. The tiny church
      called St. Margaret's chapel is associated with the memory of the
      Queen. Margaret was recognized as a saint in 1250 (more than 150 years
      after her death). Her shrine and relics were installed at Dunfermline
      on June 19, 1250.
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





      St. Margaret of Scotland

      Born about 1045, died 16 Nov., 1092, was a daughter of Edward
      "Outremere", or "the Exile", by Agatha, kinswoman of Gisela, the wife
      of St. Stephen of Hungary. She was the granddaughter of Edmund
      Ironside. A constant tradition asserts that Margaret's father and his
      brother Edmund were sent to Hungary for safety during the reign of
      Canute, but no record of the fact has been found in that country. The
      date of Margaret's birth cannot be ascertained with accuracy, but it
      must have been between the years 1038, when St. Stephen died, and 1057,
      when her father returned to England. It appears that Margaret came with
      him on that occasion and, on his death and the conquest of England by
      the Normans, her mother Agatha decided to return to the Continent. A
      storm however drove their ship to Scotland, where Malcolm III received
      the party under his protection, subsequently taking
      Margaret to wife. This event had been delayed for a while by Margaret's
      desire to entire religion, but it took place some time between 1067 and
      1070.

      In her position as queen, all Margaret's great influence was thrown
      into the cause of religion and piety. A synod was held, and among the
      special reforms instituted the most important were the regulation of
      the Lenten fast, observance of the Easter communion, and the removal of
      certain abuses concerning marriage within the prohibited degrees. Her
      private life was given up to constant prayer and practices
      of piety. She founded several churches, including the Abbey of
      Dunfermline, built to enshrine her greatest treasure, a relic of the
      true Cross. Her book of the Gospels, richly adorned with jewels, which
      one day dropped into a river and was according to legend miraculously
      recovered, is now in the Bodleian library at Oxford. She foretold the
      day of her death, which took place at Edinburgh on 16 Nov., 1093, her
      body being buried before the high altar at Dunfermline. In 1250
      Margaret was canonized by Innocent IV, and her relics were translated
      on 19 June, 1259, to a new shrine, the base of which is still visible
      beyond the modern east wall of the restored church. At the Reformation
      her head passed into the possession of Mary Queen of Scots, and later
      was secured by the Jesuits at Douai, where it is believed to have
      perished during the French Revolution. According to George Conn, "De
      duplici statu religionis apud Scots" (Rome, 1628), the rest of the
      relics, together with those of Malcolm, were acquired by Philip II of
      Spain, and placed in two urns in the Escorial. When,
      however, Bishop Gillies of Edinburgh applied through Pius IX for their
      restoration to Scotland, they could not be found.

      The chief authority for Margaret's life is the contemporary biography
      printed in "Acta SS.", II, June, 320. Its authorship has been ascribed
      to Turgot, the saint's confessor, a monk of Durham and later Archbishop
      of St. Andrews, and also to Theodoric, a somewhat obscure monk; but in
      spite of much controversy the point remains quite unsettled. The feast
      of St. Margaret is now observed by the whole
      Church on 10 June.
    • Margaret, an English Princess, was later canonized as Saint Margaret, had
      been forced into exile in Scotland by the Norman conquest in 1066. Her
      religious activities flared up a rebellion after Malcolm's death. Margaret,
      her stepson Duncan, later Duncan II, King of Scotland, and their English
      retainers were driven from the country. Three sons ascended the throne and
      and established the feudal system in Scotland. Steadily, Anglicization of
      Scotland took place because of Margaret's deep religious/cultural views.
    • Margaret, an English Princess, was later canonized as Saint Margaret, had
      been forced into exile in Scotland by the Norman conquest in 1066. Her
      religious activities flared up a rebellion after Malcolm's death. Margaret,
      her stepson Duncan, later Duncan II, King of Scotland, and their English
      retainers were driven from the country. Three sons ascended the throne and
      and established the feudal system in Scotland. Steadily, Anglicization of
      Scotland took place because of Margaret's deep religious/cultural views.
    • Margaret, Saint (1045?-93), queen of Malcolm III of Scotland and
      daughter of Edward the Exile of England; probably born in Hungary;
      canonized 1251 because of her benefactions; festival in Roman
      Catholicism Margaret was born around 1045 in Hungary, the daughter of
      the exiled English Prince Edward "the Outlaw" Atheling of the English
      royal house of Wessex, and a German Princess named Agatha. Margaret
      was raised in the court of St. Stephen, King of Hungary. In 1057 when
      she was about 12, Margaret and her family returned to England, where
      the king was St. Edward the Confessor.

      After the Norman conquest in 1066 and after her father's death in 1068,
      Agatha with her son and two daughters resolved to return to Hungary and
      embarked with that intent. Their ship was driven up the Firth of Forth
      to Dunfermline, where Malcolm III, king of Scotland, received them
      hospitably and granted them refuge. He very soon offered the whole
      family a permanent home with him and asked that the Princess Margaret
      should become his wife. Margaret, who was very devout and much
      impressed with the futility of earthly greatness, had very nearly
      determined to be a nun, but when Malcolm's request was made to Edgar,
      "the Childe said 'Yea,'" and Margaret was persuaded to marry the king
      as his second wife.

      Malcolm III was born ca 1031 and founded the house of Canmore, which
      ruled Scotland for more than 200 years, and consolidated the power of
      the Scottish monarchy. He was the son of Duncan I, who was killed
      (1040) by Macbeth. Malcolm lived in exile until he defeated and killed
      (1057) Macbeth near Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire. He succeeded to the
      throne in 1058, and married Margaret ca. 1068-1070.

      Her holiness and wisdom had an impact on Malcolm, causing him to be a
      better ruler. Malcolm regarded his wife with holy reverence, and with
      most devoted love followed her advice, and guided by her he became not
      only more religious and conscientious but more civilized and kinglike.
      The king's devotion to her and her influence over him were almost
      unbounded. He never refused or grudged her anything, nor showed the
      least displeasure when she took money out of his treasury for her
      charities. Although he could not read, he loved her books for her
      sake, handling them with affectionate reverence and kissing them.
      Sometimes he would take away one of her favorite volumes and send for a
      goldsmith to ornament it with gold and gems. When this was done, he
      would restore it to the queen as a proof of his devotion.

      In addition to her influence with her husband and her sons, who later
      succeeded their father in ruling Scotland, Margaret took a direct role
      in helping the people of Scotland. She devoted time and money to works
      of charity, assisting the poor, the aged, orphans, and the sick. She
      also prevented a schism between the Roman Church and the Celtic Church,
      which had been cut off from Rome. In addition, she introduced European
      culture to Scotland, and did so more successfully than the forceful
      introduction in England under the Normans.

      She was as saintly and self-denying on the throne as she could have
      been in the cloister. She at once perceived it to be her duty to
      benefit and elevate the people among whom it was her destiny to live,
      and this she undertook with the greatest of diligence and the most
      earnest piety. There existed so much barbarism in the customs of the
      people, so many abuses in the Church, so much on all hands to reform,
      that she called together the native clergy and the priests who had come
      with her, her husband acting as interpreter, and she spoke so well and
      so earnestly that all were charmed with her gracious demeanor and wise
      counsel and adopted her suggestions.

      Margaret is credited with the introduction of English (Roman) usages
      into the Scottish church. Among other improvements, Margaret
      introduced the observance of Sunday by abstaining from servile work,
      "that if anything has been done amiss during the six days it may be
      expiated by our prayers on the day of the Resurrection." She
      influenced her people to observe the forty days' fast of Lent, and to
      receive the Holy Sacrament on Easter day, from which they had abstained
      for fear of increasing their own damnation because they were sinners.
      On this point she said that if the Savior had intended that no sinner
      should receive the Holy Sacrament, He would not have given a command
      which, in that case, no one could obey. "We," said she, "who many days
      beforehand have confessed and done penance and fasted and been washed
      from our sins with tears and alms and absorption, approach the table of
      the Lord in faith on the day of His Resurrection, not to our damnation
      but to the remission of our sins and in salutary preparation for
      eternal blessedness."

      Margaret re-founded the monastery on the Island of Iona (originally
      founded by Saint Columba, an Irish missionary who found the monastery
      in 563 in an attempt to convert the Picts). One of her first acts as
      queen was to build a church at Dunfermline, where she had been married.
      She dedicated it to the Holy Trinity. She gave it all the ornaments
      that a church requires, amongst them golden cups, a handsome crucifix
      of gold and silver enriched with gems, and vestments for the priests.
      Her room was never without some of these beautiful things in
      preparation to be offered to the Church. It was like a workshop for
      heavenly artisans; capes for the singers, sacerdotal vestments, stoles,
      altar clothes were to be seen there; some made and some in progress.
      The embroideries were executed by noble young ladies who were in
      attendance on her.

      No man was admitted to the room, unless she allowed him to come with
      her. She suffered no levity, no petulance, no frivolity, no
      flirtation. She was so dignified in her pleasantry, so cheerful in her
      strictness that every one both loved and feared her. No one dared to
      utter a rude or profane word in her presence.

      She did much for the secular as well as for the religious improvement
      of her country. She caused traders from all lands to bring their
      goods, and thus introduced many useful and beautiful articles, until
      then unknown in Scotland. She induced the natives to buy and wear
      garments and stuffs of various colors. She is said to have introduced
      the tartans that afterwards became distinctive of Scottish costume.
      She instituted the custom that wherever the king rode or walked he
      should be accompanied by an escort, but the members of this band were
      strictly forbidden to take anything by force from any one, or oppress
      any poor person. She beautified the king's house with furniture and
      hangings, and introduced cups and dishes of gold and silver for the
      royal table. All this she did, not that she was fond of worldly show,
      but that the Court should be more decent and less barbarous than
      heretofore.

      Numbers of captives were taken in the wars in raids between England and
      Scotland, and many English prisoners were living as slaves in Malcolm's
      lands. They were of somewhat better education and superior culture to
      the Scots and gradually advanced the civilization of their captors.
      Many of these were set free by the queen.

      When she met poor persons, she gave them liberal alms, and if she had
      nothing of her own to left to give, she asked her attendants for
      something that she might not let Christ's poor go away empty-handed.
      the ladies, gentlemen, and servants who accompanied her took a pride
      and pleasure in offering her all they had, feeling sure that a double
      blessing would reward their alms when given through the saintly queen.

      She provided ships at a place on the Firth of Forth, still called "The
      Queen's Ferry," that all persons coming from distant parts on
      pilgrimage to St. Andrews might be brought across the water free of
      charge. She also gave houses and servants on either shore for their
      accommodation, that they might find everything necessary for their
      repose and refreshment and might pay their devotions in peace and
      safety. Besides this, she built homes of rest and shelter for poor
      strangers in various places.

      From childhood she had diligently studied the Holy Writ and having a
      keen intelligence and an excellent memory, she knew and understood the
      Scriptures wonderfully well. She delighted to consult learned and holy
      men concerning the sacred writings, and as she had a great gift for
      expressing herself clearly, they often found themselves far wiser after
      a conversation with her. Her love for the holy books made her spend
      much time in reading and studying such of them as she had. She longed
      to possess more portions of the Word of God, and she sometimes begged
      Turgot and other learned clergymen to procure them for her. Margaret
      brought up her eight children very strictly and piously, instructing
      them in the Holy Scriptures and the duties of their station and
      associating them in her works of charity. She made a great point of
      their treating their elders with becoming respect. The fruit of her
      good training appeared in their lives for long years after her time.

      There were many holy anchorites living in cells or caves in different
      parts of Scotland. These the queen occasionally visited, conversing
      with them and commending herself to their prayers. It was not uncommon
      in the ancient Celtic Church for devout secular persons to withdraw for
      a time from association with the rest of the world; they devoted
      themselves entirely to prayer and meditation for a long or short
      season, and then returned to the ordinary duties of life. A cave is
      still shown, not far from Dunfermline where tradition says this holy
      queen used to resort for solitude and prayer.

      Her abstinence was so great and her care for her own needs or
      gratification so small that her feast days were like the fast days of
      others. She fasted so strictly that she suffered acutely all her life
      from pain in her stomach, but she did not lose her strength. She
      observed two Lenten seasons in each year - the forty days before Easter
      and the forty days before Christmas. During these periods of
      self-denial, her biographer says that after sleeping for a short time
      at the beginning of the night, she went into the church and said alone
      three sets of Matins, then the Offices of the Dead, then the whole
      Psalter, which lasted until the priests had said Matins and Lauds. She
      then returned to her room and there, assisted by the king, she washed
      the feet of six poor persons who were brought there by the chamberlain.
      After this, she "permitted her body to take a littel slepe or nodde".
      When it was morning she began her works of mercy again; while the
      psalms were being read to her, nine little destitute orphans were
      brought, and she took each on her lap and fed it with her own spoon.
      While she was feeding the babies, three hundred poor persons were
      brought into the hall and seated all round it. As soon as Margaret and
      the king came in, the doors were shut, only the chaplains and a few
      attendants being present while the king and queen waited upon Christ in
      the person of His poor, serving them with food and drink. After this
      meal, the queen used to go into the church and there, with tears and
      signs and many prayers, she offered herself a sacrifice to God. In
      addition to the "Hours", on the great festivals, she used to repeat the
      Psalter two or three times, and before the public Mass she had five or
      six private Masses sung in her presence. It was then time for her own
      dinner, but before she touched it she waited on the twenty-four poor
      people who were her daily care at all seasons; wherever she happened to
      be, they had to be lodged near the royal residence.

      She had a Gospel Book which she particularly prized and often read. It
      had beautiful illuminated pictures, all the capital letters shining
      with gold. One of her people, when passing through a stream let it
      fall into the water, but was not aware of his loss and went on.
      By-and-by the book was missing and was looked for everywhere, and
      eventually found at the bottom of the stream; the pieces of silk that
      were between the leaves to prevent the letters rubbing against each
      other were washed away; the leaves were shaken to and fro by the
      movement of the water, but not a letter was obliterated. She gave
      thanks for its restoration and prized it more than ever. This book,
      with the water stain on the last leaf, is now in the Bodleian Library.

      For more than six months before her death, Margaret could not ride on
      horseback and was often confined to bed. Malcolm invaded England many
      times after 1068. supporting the claim of his brother-in-law Edgar
      Atheling to the English throne. In 1072, however, he was forced to pay
      homage to William I, and in 1091, to William II. Shortly before
      Margaret's death, the king, against her advice, made a raid into
      Northumberland where he and her eldest son, Edward were slain by Norman
      forces at Alnwick. Malcolm died at Alnwick Castle on November 13,
      1093. The queen, who had a presentiment of it, and said to those that
      were with her, "Perhaps this day a greater evil has happened to
      Scotland than any that has befallen it for a long time."

      Three days after this, she felt a little better and went into her
      oratory to hear Mass and receive the Holy Communion. She then returned
      to bed, and growing rapidly worse, begged Turgot and the others who
      were present to keep commending her soul to Christ with psalms. She
      asked them to bring her the black rood, which she had brought from
      Hungary and always regarded with great veneration. It was of gold set
      with large diamonds and said to contain a piece of the actual cross of
      Christ. She devoutly kissed and contemplated it, and when she was cold
      with the chill of death, she still held it in both hands and kept
      praying and saying the fifty-first psalm.

      Her son Edgar, who had gone with the king to Northumberland, came into
      her room to tell her of the death of his father and brother. Seeing
      his mother was dying, he was afraid to tell her the sad news; but she
      said, "I know, I know, I conjure you to tell me the truth," and having
      heard it, she praised God and died, just three days after her husband,
      on November 16, 1093 at Edinburgh Castle. The Annals of Ulster for
      1093 say, "Maelcolaim Mac Donnacha sovereign of Alban and Echbarda his
      son, slain by the Franks. His queen, viz. Margarita, died through
      grief before the end of (three) days."

      While her body still lay in Edinburgh Castle, Malcolm's brother, Donald
      Bane, assisted by the King of Norway, attacked the castle, but he only
      watched the gate, thinking the other parts of the fortification
      inaccessible. Margaret's family and her faithful attendants escaped by
      a postern called the West Yhet, taking with them the revered corpse. A
      thick mist hid them from the enemy. They crossed the sea and arrived
      without hindrance at Dunfermline, where they buried her according to
      her own wish. Malcolm was succeeded briefly by his brother Donald
      Bane. Margaret's brother, Edgar the Atheling took Margaret's children
      to England, and for fear of the Normans, gave them privately to friends
      and relations to be brought up. He afterwards helped to restore them
      to their country. Margaret's sons continued her work, which
      contributed greatly to a golden age in Scotland for two hundred years
      after her death. First to the throne was son, Duncan II. Three other
      sons also succeeded to the throne: Edgar (r. 1097-1107), Alexander I
      (r. 1107-24), and David I (r. 1124-53). Margaret and Malcolm's
      daughter, Edith, also known as Matilda, became the wife of England's
      King Henry I, the fourth son of William the Conqueror.

      Margaret was worshipped without authority until 1250 or 1251 when she
      was canonized by Innocent IV who ordered her sacred body to be
      translated from its first tomb. On July 19, 1297, all the arrangements
      being made the men who were appointed to raise the body, found it
      impossible to do so; stronger men were ordered to lift it and tried in
      vain; still more men were brought, but all their strength was
      unavailing. Evidently the saint objected to what was being done. The
      clergy and all present prayed earnestly that the mysterious opposition
      might cease and the sacred rite be completed. After some time an
      inspiration was granted to a devout member of the congregation; namely,
      that the saint did not wish to be separated from her husband. As soon
      as they began to take up his coffin, that of his dutiful wife became
      quite light and easy to move, and both were laid on one bier and
      translated with ease to the honorable place prepared for them under the
      high altar.

      In 1693 Innocent XII transferred Margaret's festival from the day of
      her death to June 10, though November 16 is still the day celebrated in
      Scotland. The bodies are said to have been acquired by Philip II, king
      of Spain, who placed them in the church of St. Lawrence in his new
      palace of the Escorial in two urns. The head of St. Margaret, after
      being in the possession of her descendant, Queen Mary Stuart, was
      secreted for many years be a Benedictine monk in Fife; thence it passed
      to Antwerp, and about 1627 it was translated to the Scotch college at
      Douai and there exposed to public veneration. It was still to be seen
      there in 1785; it was well preserved and had very fine fair hair.
      Neither the heads, the bodies nor the black rood can now be found, but
      the grave of Margaret may still be seen outside the present church of
      Dunfermline. Her oratory in Edinburgh castle is a small church with
      sturdy short pillars and a simple but beautiful ornamental pattern at
      the edge of its low rounded arches. It was falling to ruin when, in
      1853, Queen Victoria had it repaired and furnished with colored glass
      windows.
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
      Many say Margaret of Scotland ruled with "consistent humility and
      kindness," and that she was "one of the most remarkable monarchs in
      medieval Europe" ("Saint Margaret of Scotland" by Euah Macpherson,6,
      24-25, 49. Mar/Apr 1999 The Highlander magazine, Vol 37, No. 2) Her day
      is November 16th Margaret was born about 1045 in Hungary, while her
      English royal family was exiled. Margaret's grandfather was Edmund
      Ironsides, the English king. Her father should have been his (Edmund's)
      heir but Danish king, Canute, had other ideas. Her father flee to
      Europe to escape sure death and he was called Edward the Aetheling
      ("Claimant") since he still claimed the English throne. It is said that
      Margaret wished to be a nun as a young girl.

      Edward returned to his homeland in 1057, but when the Normans invaded
      England, in 1066, Margaret had to flee again, this time to Scotland.
      Margaret's brother, Edgar, fought to oppose the Conqueror as King of
      England. Margaret's family was about all that remained of the Old
      English royal family and they were a threat to William the Conqueror's
      regime. In Scotland now, Margaret won the heart of Malcolm Canmore
      (Malcolm III). He found her to be both intelligent and beautiful. No
      one knows if she returned these feelings, but they married even though
      Malcolm wass 11 years older, not very well educated, or religious.
      Margaret was to be Queen of Scotland, and her children would be the
      rightful heirs to the thrones of both England and Scotland. The
      Conqueror was not happy with this match and Malcolm and Scotland were
      both in jeopardy. Malcolm married Margaret at Dunfermline in 1070, a
      union of opposites. Margaret tempered the brutish man and he was said
      to have truly loved her. Her fault was the lack of understanding of
      Druidic/Pagan beliefs that existed in Scotland. She was a devout
      Christian. During her time, Celtic saints such as St. Columba, Saint
      Kertogern, and St. Ninian were revered. Margaret worshipped St.
      Andrew, a Roman saint. And today St. Andrew is Scotland's patron saint.

      Malcolm and Margaret turned the fort at Edinburgh into a royal castle.
      Margaret introduced spiced meat and French wine to the Scottish Court.
      She also insisted on good table manners and saying grace before meals.

      Margaret helped restore the abbey at Iona, founded by St. Columba, but
      also founded Dunfermline Abbey as the new burial place for Scottish
      kings.

      Margaret lay ill in bed in Edinburgh Castle (near death) while Malcolm
      invaded England. When she was delivered the news that King Malcolm had
      died at the Battle of Alnwick, she lost heart and died. The tiny church
      called St. Margaret's chapel is associated with the memory of the
      Queen. Margaret was recognized as a saint in 1250 (more than 150 years
      after her death). Her shrine and relics were installed at Dunfermline
      on June 19, 1250.
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





      St. Margaret of Scotland

      Born about 1045, died 16 Nov., 1092, was a daughter of Edward
      "Outremere", or "the Exile", by Agatha, kinswoman of Gisela, the wife
      of St. Stephen of Hungary. She was the granddaughter of Edmund
      Ironside. A constant tradition asserts that Margaret's father and his
      brother Edmund were sent to Hungary for safety during the reign of
      Canute, but no record of the fact has been found in that country. The
      date of Margaret's birth cannot be ascertained with accuracy, but it
      must have been between the years 1038, when St. Stephen died, and 1057,
      when her father returned to England. It appears that Margaret came with
      him on that occasion and, on his death and the conquest of England by
      the Normans, her mother Agatha decided to return to the Continent. A
      storm however drove their ship to Scotland, where Malcolm III received
      the party under his protection, subsequently taking
      Margaret to wife. This event had been delayed for a while by Margaret's
      desire to entire religion, but it took place some time between 1067 and
      1070.

      In her position as queen, all Margaret's great influence was thrown
      into the cause of religion and piety. A synod was held, and among the
      special reforms instituted the most important were the regulation of
      the Lenten fast, observance of the Easter communion, and the removal of
      certain abuses concerning marriage within the prohibited degrees. Her
      private life was given up to constant prayer and practices
      of piety. She founded several churches, including the Abbey of
      Dunfermline, built to enshrine her greatest treasure, a relic of the
      true Cross. Her book of the Gospels, richly adorned with jewels, which
      one day dropped into a river and was according to legend miraculously
      recovered, is now in the Bodleian library at Oxford. She foretold the
      day of her death, which took place at Edinburgh on 16 Nov., 1093, her
      body being buried before the high altar at Dunfermline. In 1250
      Margaret was canonized by Innocent IV, and her relics were translated
      on 19 June, 1259, to a new shrine, the base of which is still visible
      beyond the modern east wall of the restored church. At the Reformation
      her head passed into the possession of Mary Queen of Scots, and later
      was secured by the Jesuits at Douai, where it is believed to have
      perished during the French Revolution. According to George Conn, "De
      duplici statu religionis apud Scots" (Rome, 1628), the rest of the
      relics, together with those of Malcolm, were acquired by Philip II of
      Spain, and placed in two urns in the Escorial. When,
      however, Bishop Gillies of Edinburgh applied through Pius IX for their
      restoration to Scotland, they could not be found.

      The chief authority for Margaret's life is the contemporary biography
      printed in "Acta SS.", II, June, 320. Its authorship has been ascribed
      to Turgot, the saint's confessor, a monk of Durham and later Archbishop
      of St. Andrews, and also to Theodoric, a somewhat obscure monk; but in
      spite of much controversy the point remains quite unsettled. The feast
      of St. Margaret is now observed by the whole
      Church on 10 June.
    • Margaret was born around 1045 in Hungary, the daughter of the exiled English Prince Edward "the Outlaw" Atheling of the English royal house of Wessex, and a German Princess named Agatha. Margaret was raised in the court of St. Stephen, King of Hungary. In 1057 when she was about 12, Margaret and her family returned to England, where the king was St. Edward the Confessor. After the Norman conquest in 1066 and after her father's death in 1068, Agatha with her son and two daughters resolved to return to Hungary and embarked with that intent. Their ship was driven up the Firth of Forth to Dunfermline, where Malcolm III, king of Scotland, received them hospitably and granted them refuge. He very soon offered the whole family a permanent home with him and asked that the Princess Margaret should become his wife. Margaret, who was very devout and much impressed with the futility of earthly greatness, had very nearly determined to be a nun, but when Malcolm's request was made to Edgar, "the Childe said 'Yea,'" and Margaret was persuaded to marry the king as his second wife. Malcolm III was born ca 1031 and founded the house of Canmore, which ruled Scotland for more than 200 years, and consolidated the power of the Scottish monarchy. He was the son of Duncan I, who was killed (1040) by Macbeth. Malcolm lived in exile until he defeated and killed (1057) Macbeth near Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire. He succeeded to the throne in 1058, and married Margaret ca. 1068-1070. Her holiness and wisdom had an impact on Malcolm, causing him to be a better ruler. Malcolm regarded his wife with holy reverence, and with most devoted love followed her advice, and guided by her he became not only more religious and conscientious but more civilized and kinglike. The king's devotion to her and her influence over him were almost unbounded. He never refused or grudged her anything, nor showed the least displeasure when she took money out of his treasury for her charities. Although he could not read, he loved her books for her sake, handling them with affectionate reverence and kissing them. Sometimes he would take away one of her favorite volumes and send for a goldsmith to ornament it with gold and gems. When this was done, he would restore it to the queen as a proof of his devotion. In addition to her influence with her husband and her sons, who later succeeded their father in ruling Scotland, Margaret took a direct role in helping the people of Scotland. She devoted time and money to works of charity, assisting the poor, the aged, orphans, and the sick. She also prevented a schism between the Roman Church and the Celtic Church, which had been cut off from Rome. In addition, she introduced European culture to Scotland, and did so more successfully than the forceful introduction in England under the Normans. She was as saintly and self-denying on the throne as she could have been in the cloister. She at once perceived it to be her duty to benefit and elevate the people among whom it was her destiny to live, and this she undertook with the greatest of diligence and the most earnest piety. There existed so much barbarism in the customs of the people, so many abuses in the Church, so much on all hands to reform, that she called together the native clergy and the priests who had come with her, her husband acting as interpreter, and she spoke so well and so earnestly that all were charmed with her gracious demeanor and wise counsel and adopted her suggestions. Margaret is credited with the introduction of English (Roman) usages into the Scottish church. Among other improvements, Margaret introduced the observance of Sunday by abstaining from servile work, "that if anything has been done amiss during the six days it may be expiated by our prayers on the day of the Resurrection." She influenced her people to observe the forty days' fast of Lent, and to receive the Holy Sacrament on Easter day, from which they had abstained for fear of increasing their own damnation because they were sinners. On this point she said that if the Savior had intended that no sinner should receive the Holy Sacrament, He would not have given a command which, in that case, no one could obey. "We," said she, "who many days beforehand have confessed and done penance and fasted and been washed from our sins with tears and alms and absorption, approach the table of the Lord in faith on the day of His Resurrection, not to our damnation but to the remission of our sins and in salutary preparation for eternal blessedness." Margaret re-founded the monastery on the Island of Iona (originally founded by Saint Columba, an Irish missionary who found the monastery in 563 in an attempt to convert the Picts). One of her first acts as queen was to build a church at Dunfermline, where she had been married. She dedicated it to the Holy Trinity. She gave it all the ornaments that a church requires, amongst them golden cups, a handsome crucifix of gold and silver enriched with gems, and vestments for the priests. Her room was never without some of these beautiful things in preparation to be offered to the Church. It was like a workshop for heavenly artisans; capes for the singers, sacerdotal vestments, stoles, altar clothes were to be seen there; some made and some in progress. The embroideries were executed by noble young ladies who were in attendance on her. No man was admitted to the room, unless she allowed him to come with her. She suffered no levity, no petulance, no frivolity, no flirtation. She was so dignified in her pleasantry, so cheerful in her strictness that every one both loved and feared her. No one dared to utter a rude or profane word in her presence. She did much for the secular as well as for the religious improvement of her country. She caused traders from all lands to bring their goods, and thus introduced many useful and beautiful articles, until then unknown in Scotland. She induced the natives to buy and wear garments and stuffs of various colors. She is said to have introduced the tartans that afterwards became distinctive of Scottish costume. She instituted the custom that wherever the king rode or walked he should be accompanied by an escort, but the members of this band were strictly forbidden to take anything by force from any one, or oppress any poor person. She beautified the king's house with furniture and hangings, and introduced cups and dishes of gold and silver for the royal table. All this she did, not that she was fond of worldly show, but that the Court should be more decent and less barbarous than heretofore. Numbers of captives were taken in the wars in raids between England and Scotland, and many English prisoners were living as slaves in Malcolm's lands. They were of somewhat better education and superior culture to the Scots and gradually advanced the civilization of their captors. Many of these were set free by the queen. When she met poor persons, she gave them liberal alms, and if she had nothing of her own to left to give, she asked her attendants for something that she might not let Christ's poor go away empty-handed. the ladies, gentlemen, and servants who accompanied her took a pride and pleasure in offering her all they had, feeling sure that a double blessing would reward their alms when given through the saintly queen. She provided ships at a place on the Firth of Forth, still called "The Queen's Ferry," that all persons coming from distant parts on pilgrimage to St. Andrews might be brought across the water free of charge. She also gave houses and servants on either shore for their accommodation, that they might find everything necessary for their repose and refreshment and might pay their devotions in peace and safety. Besides this, she built homes of rest and shelter for poor strangers in various places. From childhood she had diligently studied the Holy Writ and having a keen intelligence and an excellent memory, she knew and understood the Scriptures wonderfully well. She delighted to consult learned and holy men concerning the sacred writings, and as she had a great gift for expressing herself clearly, they often found themselves far wiser after a conversation with her. Her love for the holy books made her spend much time in reading and studying such of them as she had. She longed to possess more portions of the Word of God, and she sometimes begged Turgot and other learned clergymen to procure them for her. Margaret brought up her eight children very strictly and piously, instructing them in the Holy Scriptures and the duties of their station and associating them in her works of charity. She made a great point of their treating their elders with becoming respect. The fruit of her good training appeared in their lives for long years after her time. There were many holy anchorites living in cells or caves in different parts of Scotland. These the queen occasionally visited, conversing with them and commending herself to their prayers. It was not uncommon in the ancient Celtic Church for devout secular persons to withdraw for a time from association with the rest of the world; they devoted themselves entirely to prayer and meditation for a long or short season, and then returned to the ordinary duties of life. A cave is still shown, not far from Dunfermline where tradition says this holy queen used to resort for solitude and prayer. Her abstinence was so great and her care for her own needs or gratification so small that her feast days were like the fast days of others. She fasted so strictly that she suffered acutely all her life from pain in her stomach, but she did not lose her strength. She observed two Lenten seasons in each year - the forty days before Easter and the forty days before Christmas. During these periods of self-denial, her biographer says that after sleeping for a short time at the beginning of the night, she went into the church and said alone three sets of Matins, then the Offices of the Dead, then the whole Psalter, which lasted until the priests had said Matins and Lauds. She then returned to her room and there, assisted by the king, she washed the feet of six poor persons who were brought there by the chamberlain. After this, she "permitted her body to take a littel slepe or nodde". When it was morning she began her works of mercy again; while the psalms were being read to her, nine little destitute orphans were brought, and she took each on her lap and fed it with her own spoon. While she was feeding the babies, three hundred poor persons were brought into the hall and seated all round it. As soon as Margaret and the king came in, the doors were shut, only the chaplains and a few attendants being present while the king and queen waited upon Christ in the person of His poor, serving them with food and drink. After this meal, the queen used to go into the church and there, with tears and signs and many prayers, she offered herself a sacrifice to God. In addition to the "Hours", on the great festivals, she used to repeat the Psalter two or three times, and before the public Mass she had five or six private Masses sung in her presence. It was then time for her own dinner, but before she touched it she waited on the twenty-four poor people who were her daily care at all seasons; wherever she happened to be, they had to be lodged near the royal residence. She had a Gospel Book which she particularly prized and often read. It had beautiful illuminated pictures, all the capital letters shining with gold. One of her people, when passing through a stream let it fall into the water, but was not aware of his loss and went on. By-and-by the book was missing and was looked for everywhere, and eventually found at the bottom of the stream; the pieces of silk that were between the leaves to prevent the letters rubbing against each other were washed away; the leaves were shaken to and fro by the movement of the water, but not a letter was obliterated. She gave thanks for its restoration and prized it more than ever. This book, with the water stain on the last leaf, is now in the Bodleian Library. For more than six months before her death, Margaret could not ride on horseback and was often confined to bed. Malcolm invaded England many times after 1068. supporting the claim of his brother-in-law Edgar Atheling to the English throne. In 1072, however, he was forced to pay homage to William I, and in 1091, to William II. Shortly before Margaret's death, the king, against her advice, made a raid into Northumberland where he and her eldest son, Edward were slain by Norman forces at Alnwick. Malcolm died at Alnwick Castle on November 13, 1093. The queen, who had a presentiment of it, and said to those that were with her, "Perhaps this day a greater evil has happened to Scotland than any that has befallen it for a long time." Three days after this, she felt a little better and went into her oratory to hear Mass and receive the Holy Communion. She then returned to bed, and growing rapidly worse, begged Turgot and the others who were present to keep commending her soul to Christ with psalms. She asked them to bring her the black rood, which she had brought from Hungary and always regarded with great veneration. It was of gold set with large diamonds and said to contain a piece of the actual cross of Christ. She devoutly kissed and contemplated it, and when she was cold with the chill of death, she still held it in both hands and kept praying and saying the fifty-first psalm. Her son Edgar, who had gone with the king to Northumberland, came into her room to tell her of the death of his father and brother. Seeing his mother was dying, he was afraid to tell her the sad news; but she said, "I know, I know, I conjure you to tell me the truth," and having heard it, she praised God and died, just three days after her husband, on November 16, 1093 at Edinburgh Castle. The Annals of Ulster for 1093 say, "Maelcolaim Mac Donnacha sovereign of Alban and Echbarda his son, slain by the Franks. His queen, viz. Margarita, died through grief before the end of (three) days." While her body still lay in Edinburgh Castle, Malcolm's brother, Donald Bane, assisted by the King of Norway, attacked the castle, but he only watched the gate, thinking the other parts of the fortification inaccessible. Margaret's family and her faithful attendants escaped by a postern called the West Yhet, taking with them the revered corpse. A thick mist hid them from the enemy. They crossed the sea and arrived without hindrance at Dunfermline, where they buried her according to her own wish. Malcolm was succeeded briefly by his brother Donald Bane. Margaret's brother, Edgar the Atheling took Margaret's children to England, and for fear of the Normans, gave them privately to friends and relations to be brought up. He afterwards helped to restore them to their country. Margaret's sons continued her work, which contributed greatly to a golden age in Scotland for two hundred years after her death. First to the throne was son, Duncan II. Three other sons also succeeded to the throne: Edgar (r. 1097-1107), Alexander I (r. 1107-24), and David I (r. 1124-53). Margaret and Malcolm's daughter, Edith, also known as Matilda, became the wife of England's King Henry I, the fourth son of William the Conqueror. Margaret was worshipped without authority until 1250 or 1251 when she was canonized by Innocent IV who ordered her sacred body to be translated from its first tomb. On July 19, 1297, all the arrangements being made the men who were appointed to raise the body, found it impossible to do so; stronger men were ordered to lift it and tried in vain; still more men were brought, but all their strength was unavailing. Evidently the saint objected to what was being done. The clergy and all present prayed earnestly that the mysterious opposition might cease and the sacred rite be completed. After some time an inspiration was granted to a devout member of the congregation; namely, that the saint did not wish to be separated from her husband. As soon as they began to take up his coffin, that of his dutiful wife became quite light and easy to move, and both were laid on one bier and translated with ease to the honorable place prepared for them under the high altar. In 1693 Innocent XII transferred Margaret's festival from the day of her death to June 10, though November 16 is still the day celebrated in Scotland. The bodies are said to have been acquired by Philip II, king of Spain, who placed them in the church of St. Lawrence in his new palace of the Escorial in two urns. The head of St. Margaret, after being in the possession of her descendant, Queen Mary Stuart, was secreted for many years be a Benedictine monk in Fife; thence it passed to Antwerp, and about 1627 it was translated to the Scotch college at Douai and there exposed to public veneration. It was still to be seen there in 1785; it was well preserved and had very fine fair hair. Neither the heads, the bodies nor the black rood can now be found, but the grave of Margaret may still be seen outside the present church of Dunfermline. Her oratory in Edinburgh castle is a small church with sturdy short pillars and a simple but beautiful ornamental pattern at the edge of its low rounded arches. It was falling to ruin when, in 1853, Queen Victoria had it repaired and furnished with colored glass windows. Sources: A Dictionary of Saintly Women in Two Volumes, Vol. II, Agnes B. C. Dunbar, George Bell & Sons, London, England, 1905 Life of St. Margaret Queen of Scotland, R. M. Turgot, trans. by Forbes Leith The Lives of the Kings & Queens of England, edited by Antonia Fraser, University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles, CA by arrangement with Weidenfeld & Nicholson Ltd., London, England, 1975 Any comments or queries are welcomed by Sam Behling . Return to Royalty page. Return to Religious Leaders page. Return to Notable Women Ancestors Home Page . <http://www.dreamfires.com> <http://www.dreamfires.com>

      ___________________________________________________

      Margaret of Scotland
      c. 1045 - 1093
      Margaret, despite her appellation, was born a Saxon in 1046 and raised in Hungary. She came to England in 1066 when her uncle, King Edward the Confessor, died and Margaret's brother, Edgar Atheling, decided to make a claim to the English throne. The English nobles preferred Harold of Wessex over Edgar, but later that year Duke William of Normandy made it all rather a moot point by invading England and establishing himself as King. Many members of the English nobility sought refuge in the court of King Malcolm III Canmore of Scotland, who had himself been an exile in England during the reign of Macbeth. Among the English refugees were Margaret and Edgar. While King Malcom was hospitable to all his new guests, he was rather more hospitable to Margaret, marrying her in 1070 to make her Queen of Scotland.
      Margaret impressed not only Malcolm but many other members of the Scottish Court both for her knowledge of continental customs gained in the court of Hungary, and also for her piety. She became highly influential, both indirectly by her influence on Malcolm as well as through direct activities on her part. Prominent among these activities was religious reform. Margaret instigated reforms within the Scottish church, as well as development of closer ties to the larger Roman Church in order to avoid a schism between the Celtic Church and Rome. Further, Margaret was a patroness both of the célidé, Scottish Christian hermits, and also the Benedictine Order. Although Benedictine monks were prominent throughout western continental Europe, there were previously no Benedictine monasteries known to exist in Scotland. Margaret therefore invited English Benedictine monks to establish monasteries in her kingdom.
      On the more secular side, Margaret introduced continental fashions, manners, and ceremony to the Scottish court. The popularization of continental fashions had the side-effect of introducing foreign merchants to Scotland, increasing economic ties and communication between Scotland and the continent. Margaret was also a patroness of the arts and education. Further, Malcolm sought Maragret's advice on matters of state, and together with other English exiles Margaret was influential in introducing English-style feudalism and parliament to Scotland.
      Margaret was also active in works of charity. Margaret frequently visited and cared for the sick, and on a larger scale had hostels constructed for the poor. She was also in the habit, particularly during Advent and Lent, of holding feasts for as many as 300 commoners in the royal castle.
      King Malcolm, meanwhile, was engaged in a contest with William the Conqueror over Northumbria and Cambria. After an unsuccessful 1070 invasion by Malcom into Northumbria followed by an unsuccessful 1072 invasion by William into Scotland, Malcom paid William homage, resulting in temporary peace. William further made assurance of this peace by demanding Malcolm's eldest son Donald (by Malcolm's previous wife Ingibjorg) as a hostage. Time passed, William the Conqueror died, and The Conqueror's son William Rufus took the throne of England. Hostilities again arose between Scotland and England, and in the ensuing unpleasantness Malcolm was killed along with Edward, the eldest son of Malcom and Margaret.
      Margaret had already been ill when Malcolm and Edward went off to battle. Her surviving children tried to hide the fact of their deaths, for fear of worsening her condition. But Margaret learnt the truth, and whether due to her illness or a broken heart, Margaret died four days after her husband and son, on November 16, 1093.
      The death of both King and Queen led, unfortunately, to yet another unpleasant disagreement, this time over who should take their places on the throne. The most likely candidate was Malcom's eldest son Donald, the one who had been taken hostage by William the Conqueror. This was also the favorite candidate of William Rufus, for during his stay in England Donald had developed a favorable view of the Normans. However, Donald's claim to the throne was contested by Malcom's brother, Donald Bán, together with Malcom and Margaret's son Edmund. Donald Bán was opposed to having a Norman sympathizer on the throne of Scotland, and claimed the throne for himself. Both Donald MacMalcom and Donald Bán held the throne briefly, and lost it violently, before Edgar, son of Malcom and Margaret, came to the throne. He was succeeded by his brothers, Alexander and David. Alexander smoothed over relations with England by marrying the daughter of King Henry I and arranging for Henry to marry Alexander's sister Matilda. Edgar and David carried on their mother's reputation for sanctity, both in their service to the poor and their patronage of religious orders, and David was later canonized. Quite a celebrated family when you consider that Margaret's uncle is also known as Saint Edward the Confessor.
      Margaret herself was declared a saint in 1250, particularly for her work for religious reform and her charitable works. She herself was considered to be an exemplar of the just ruler, and also influenced her husband and children to be just and holy rulers. She was further declared Patroness of Scotland in 1673.
      Feast Day: June 10 (celebrated November 16 in Scotland)
      Sources
      Barrow, G.W.S. The Kingdom of the Scots. Edward Arnold, London, 1973.
      Glover, J.R. The Story of Scotland. Faber and Faber, London, 1960.
      Mitchison, R. A History of Scotland. Methuen & Co., London, 1970.
      Thurston, H.J., Attwater, D. Butler's Lives of the Saints. Christian Classics, Inc., Westminster, MD 1938.
      Index <http://www.pitt.edu/~eflst4/saint_bios.html>
      eflst4@pitt.edu
    • Saint Margaret (c. 1045 – 16 November 1093), was the sister of Edgar Ætheling, the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England. She married Malcolm III, King of Scots, becoming his Queen consort.

      Early life
      Saint Margaret was the daughter of the English prince Edward the Exile, son of Edmund Ironside. She was probably born at Castle Réka, Mecseknádasd, in the region of Southern Transdanubia, Hungary. The provenance of her mother, Agatha, is disputed.

      According to popular belief, Margaret was a very serious person, so much that no one ever could recall seeing her laugh or smile.[citation needed]

      When her uncle, Saint Edward the Confessor, the French-speaking Anglo-Saxon King of England, died in 1066, she was living in England where her brother, Edgar Ætheling, had decided to make a claim to the vacant throne.

      According to tradition, after the conquest of the Kingdom of England by the Normans the widowed Agatha decided to leave Northumberland with her children and return to the Continent, but a storm drove their ship to Scotland where they sought the protection of King Malcolm III. The spot where she is said to have landed is known today as St. Margaret's Hope, near the village of North Queensferry. Malcolm was probably a widower, and was no doubt attracted by the prospect of marrying one of the few remaining members of the Anglo-Saxon royal family. The marriage of Malcolm and Margaret soon took place and was followed by several invasions of Northumberland by the Scottish king, probably in support of the claims of his brother-in-law Edgar. These, however, had little result beyond the devastation of the province. Then she was married to a rich man, that she had to be forced to.


      [edit] Family
      Margaret and Malcolm had eight children, six sons and two daughters:

      Edward, killed 1093.
      Edmund of Scotland
      Ethelred, abbot of Dunkeld
      King Edgar of Scotland
      King Alexander I of Scotland
      King David I of Scotland
      Edith of Scotland, also called Matilda, married King Henry I of England
      Mary of Scotland, married Eustace III of Boulogne
      Her husband, Malcolm III, and their eldest son, Edward, were killed in a fight against the English at Alnwick Castle on 13 November 1093. Her son Edmund was left with the task of telling his mother of their deaths. Margaret was ill, and she died on 16 November 1093, three days after the deaths of her husband and eldest son.

      It is notable that while Malcolm's children by his first wife Ingibjörg all bore Gaelic names, those of Margaret all bore non-Gaelic names. Later tradition often has it that Margaret was responsible for starting the demise of Gaelic culture in the lowlands and Scotland in general. The forenames of Margaret's children were probably intended to bear Margaret's claims to the Anglo-Saxon throne in the period before permanent Norman rule was recognized, and so the first group of children were given Anglo-Saxon royal names.

      Moreover, it is unlikely that they were originally seen as successors to the Scottish throne, as Malcolm had other (grown) sons and brothers who were much more likely to succeed him. Furthermore, Margaret freely patronized Gaelic churchmen, and Gaelic remained an expanding language in northern Britain. Nevertheless, these sons regarded their Anglo-Saxon heritage as important, as the latter was one of the main devices for legitimizing the authority of the Scottish kings in English-speaking Lothian and northern England.


      [edit] Veneration
      Saint Margaret was canonized in the year 1250 by Pope Innocent IV on account of her personal holiness and fidelity to the Church. She would personally serve orphans and the poor every day before she herself would eat, and would rise at midnight to attend church services every night.

      The Roman Catholic Church formerly marked the feast of Saint Margaret of Scotland on June 10, Because the feast of "Saint Gertrude, Virgin" was already celebrated on November 16. Per the revision of the Roman Catholic calendar of saints in 1969, the date was transferred to November 16, the actual day of her death.[1] Traditional Roman Catholics continue to celebrate the feast day of "St Margaret, Queen of Scots, Widow" on June 10 as a Semi-Double feast or a Simple feast.

      Queen Margaret University (founded in 1875), Queen Margaret Union, Queen Margaret Hospital (just outside Dunfermline), North Queensferry, South Queensferry, Queen Margaret Academy (Ayr), Queen Margaret College (Wellington) and several streets in Dunfermline are named after her.
    • Margaret was born around 1045 in Hungary, the daughter of the exiled English Prince Edward "the Outlaw" Atheling of the English royal house of Wessex, and a German Princess named Agatha. Margaret was raised in the court of St. Stephen, King of Hungary. In 1057 when she was about 12, Margaret and her family returned to England, where the king was St. Edward the Confessor.

      After the Norman conquest in 1066 and after her father's death in 1068, Agatha with her son and two daughters resolved to return to Hungary and embarked with that intent. Their ship was driven up the Firth of Forth to Dunfermline, where Malcolm III, king of Scotland, received them hospitably and granted them refuge. He very soon offered the whole family a permanent home with him and asked that the Princess Margaret should become his wife. Margaret, who was very devout and much impressed with the futility of earthly greatness, had very nearly determined to be a nun, but when Malcolm's request was made to Edgar, "the Childe said 'Yea,'" and Margaret was persuaded to marry the king as his second wife.

      Malcolm III was born ca 1031 and founded the house of Canmore, which ruled Scotland for more than 200 years, and consolidated the power of the Scottish monarchy. He was the son of Duncan I, who was killed (1040) by Macbeth. Malcolm lived in exile until he defeated and killed (1057) Macbeth near Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire. He succeeded to the throne in 1058, and married Margaret ca. 1068-1070.

      Her holiness and wisdom had an impact on Malcolm, causing him to be a better ruler. Malcolm regarded his wife with holy reverence, and with most devoted love followed her advice, and guided by her he became not only more religious and conscientious but more civilized and kinglike. The king's devotion to her and her influence over him were almost unbounded. He never refused or grudged her anything, nor showed the least displeasure when she took money out of his treasury for her charities. Although he could not read, he loved her books for her sake, handling them with affectionate reverence and kissing them. Sometimes he would take away one of her favorite volumes and send for a goldsmith to ornament it with gold and gems. When this was done, he would restore it to the queen as a proof of his devotion.

      In addition to her influence with her husband and her sons, who later succeeded their father in ruling Scotland, Margaret took a direct role in helping the people of Scotland. She devoted time and money to works of charity, assisting the poor, the aged, orphans, and the sick. She also prevented a schism between the Roman Church and the Celtic Church, which had been cut off from Rome. In addition, she introduced European culture to Scotland, and did so more successfully than the forceful introduction in England under the Normans.

      She was as saintly and self-denying on the throne as she could have been in the cloister. She at once perceived it to be her duty to benefit and elevate the people among whom it was her destiny to live, and this she undertook with the greatest of diligence and the most earnest piety. There existed so much barbarism in the customs of the people, so many abuses in the Church, so much on all hands to reform, that she called together the native clergy and the priests who had come with her, her husband acting as interpreter, and she spoke so well and so earnestly that all were charmed with her gracious demeanor and wise counsel and adopted her suggestions.


      Margaret is credited with the introduction of English (Roman) usages into the Scottish church. Among other improvements, Margaret introduced the observance of Sunday by abstaining from servile work, "that if anything has been done amiss during the six days it may be expiated by our prayers on the day of the Resurrection." She influenced her people to observe the forty days' fast of Lent, and to receive the Holy Sacrament on Easter day, from which they had abstained for fear of increasing their own damnation because they were sinners. On this point she said that if the Savior had intended that no sinner should receive the Holy Sacrament, He would not have given a command which, in that case, no one could obey. "We," said she, "who many days beforehand have confessed and done penance and fasted and been washed from our sins with tears and alms and absorption, approach the table of the Lord in faith on the day of His Resurrection, not to our damnation but to the remission of our sins and in salutary preparation for eternal blessedness."

      Margaret re-founded the monastery on the Island of Iona (originally founded by Saint Columba, an Irish missionary who found the monastery in 563 in an attempt to convert the Picts). One of her first acts as queen was to build a church at Dunfermline, where she had been married. She dedicated it to the Holy Trinity. She gave it all the ornaments that a church requires, amongst them golden cups, a handsome crucifix of gold and silver enriched with gems, and vestments for the priests. Her room was never without some of these beautiful things in preparation to be offered to the Church. It was like a workshop for heavenly artisans; capes for the singers, sacerdotal vestments, stoles, altar clothes were to be seen there; some made and some in progress. The embroideries were executed by noble young ladies who were in attendance on her.

      No man was admitted to the room, unless she allowed him to come with her. She suffered no levity, no petulance, no frivolity, no flirtation. She was so dignified in her pleasantry, so cheerful in her strictness that every one both loved and feared her. No one dared to utter a rude or profane word in her presence.
      She did much for the secular as well as for the religious improvement of her country. She caused traders from all lands to bring their goods, and thus introduced many useful and beautiful articles, until then unknown in Scotland. She induced the natives to buy and wear garments and stuffs of various colors. She is said to have introduced the tartans that afterwards became distinctive of Scottish costume. She instituted the custom that wherever the king rode or walked he should be accompanied by an escort, but the members of this band were strictly forbidden to take anything by force from any one, or oppress any poor person. She beautified the king's house with furniture and hangings, and introduced cups and dishes of gold and silver for the royal table. All this she did, not that she was fond of worldly show, but that the Court should be more decent and less barbarous than heretofore.

      Numbers of captives were taken in the wars in raids between England and Scotland, and many English prisoners were living as slaves in Malcolm's lands. They were of somewhat better education and superior culture to the Scots and gradually advanced the civilization of their captors. Many of these were set free by the queen.

      When she met poor persons, she gave them liberal alms, and if she had nothing of her own to left to give, she asked her attendants for something that she might not let Christ's poor go away empty-handed. the ladies, gentlemen, and servants who accompanied her took a pride and pleasure in offering her all they had, feeling sure that a double blessing would reward their alms when given through the saintly queen.

      She provided ships at a place on the Firth of Forth, still called "The Queen's Ferry," that all persons coming from distant parts on pilgrimage to St. Andrews might be brought across the water free of charge. She also gave houses and servants on either shore for their accommodation, that they might find everything necessary for their repose and refreshment and might pay their devotions in peace and safety. Besides this, she built homes of rest and shelter for poor strangers in various places. From childhood she had diligently studied the Holy Writ and having a keen intelligence and an excellent memory, she knew and understood the Scriptures wonderfully well. She delighted to consult learned and holy men concerning the sacred writings, and as she had a great gift for expressing herself clearly, they often found themselves far wiser after a conversation with her. Her love for the holy books made her spend much time in reading and studying such of them as she had. She longed to possess more portions of the Word of God, and she sometimes begged Turgot and other learned clergymen to procure them for her. Margaret brought up her eight children very strictly and piously, instructing them in the Holy Scriptures and the duties of their station and associating them in her works of charity. She made a great point of their treating their elders with becoming respect. The fruit of her good training appeared in their lives for long years after her time.

      There were many holy anchorites living in cells or caves in different parts of Scotland. These the queen occasionally visited, conversing with them and commending herself to their prayers. It was not uncommon in the ancient Celtic Church for devout secular persons to withdraw for a time from association with the rest of the world; they devoted themselves entirely to prayer and meditation for a long or short season, and then returned to the ordinary duties of life. A cave is still shown, not far from Dunfermline where tradition says this holy queen used to resort for solitude and prayer.

      Her abstinence was so great and her care for her own needs or gratification so small that her feast days were like the fast days of others. She fasted so strictly that she suffered acutely all her life from pain in her stomach, but she did not lose her strength. She observed two Lenten seasons in each year - the forty days before Easter and the forty days before Christmas. During these periods of self-denial, her biographer says that after sleeping for a short time at the beginning of the night, she went into the church and said alone three sets of Matins, then the Offices of the Dead, then the whole Psalter, which lasted until the priests had said Matins and Lauds. She then returned to her room and there, assisted by the king, she washed the feet of six poor persons who were brought there by the chamberlain. After this, she "permitted her body to take a littel slepe or nodde". When it was morning she began her works of mercy again; while the psalms were being read to her, nine little destitute orphans were brought, and she took each on her lap and fed it with her own spoon. While she was feeding the babies, three hundred poor persons were brought into the hall and seated all round it. As soon as Margaret and the king came in, the doors were shut, only the chaplains and a few attendants being present while the king and queen waited upon Christ in the person of His poor, serving them with food and drink. After this meal, the queen used to go into the church and there, with tears and signs and many prayers, she offered herself a sacrifice to God. In addition to the "Hours", on the great festivals, she used to repeat the Psalter two or three times, and before the public Mass she had five or six private Masses sung in her presence. It was then time for her own dinner, but before she touched it she waited on the twenty-four poor people who were her daily care at all seasons; wherever she happened to be, they had to be lodged near the royal residence.

      She had a Gospel Book which she particularly prized and often read. It had beautiful illuminated pictures, all the capital letters shining with gold. One of her people, when passing through a stream let it fall into the water, but was not aware of his loss and went on. By-and-by the book was missing and was looked for everywhere, and eventually found at the bottom of the stream; the pieces of silk that were between the leaves to prevent the letters rubbing against each other were washed away; the leaves were shaken to and fro by the movement of the water, but not a letter was obliterated. She gave thanks for its restoration and prized it more than ever. This book, with the water stain on the last leaf, is now in the Bodleian Library.

      For more than six months before her death, Margaret could not ride on horseback and was often confined to bed. Malcolm invaded England many times after 1068. supporting the claim of his brother-in-law Edgar Atheling to the English throne. In 1072, however, he was forced to pay homage to William I, and in 1091, to William II. Shortly before Margaret's death, the king, against her advice, made a raid into Northumberland where he and her eldest son, Edward were slain by Norman forces at Alnwick. Malcolm died at Alnwick Castle on November 13, 1093. The queen, who had a presentiment of it, and said to those that were with her, "Perhaps this day a greater evil has happened to Scotland than any that has befallen it for a long time."

      Three days after this, she felt a little better and went into her oratory to hear Mass and receive the Holy Communion. She then returned to bed, and growing rapidly worse, begged Turgot and the others who were present to keep commending her soul to Christ with psalms. She asked them to bring her the black rood, which she had brought from Hungary and always regarded with great veneration. It was of gold set with large diamonds and said to contain a piece of the actual cross of Christ. She devoutly kissed and contemplated it, and when she was cold with the chill of death, she still held it in both hands and kept praying and saying the fifty-first psalm.

      Her son Edgar, who had gone with the king to Northumberland, came into her room to tell her of the death of his father and brother. Seeing his mother was dying, he was afraid to tell her the sad news; but she said, "I know, I know, I conjure you to tell me the truth," and having heard it, she praised God and died, just three days after her husband, on November 16, 1093 at Edinburgh Castle. The Annals of Ulster for 1093 say, "Maelcolaim Mac Donnacha sovereign of Alban and Echbarda his son, slain by the Franks. His queen, viz. Margarita, died through grief before the end of (three) days."

      While her body still lay in Edinburgh Castle, Malcolm's brother, Donald Bane, assisted by the King of Norway, attacked the castle, but he only watched the gate, thinking the other parts of the fortification inaccessible. Margaret's family and her faithful attendants escaped by a postern called the West Yhet, taking with them the revered corpse. A thick mist hid them from the enemy. They crossed the sea and arrived without hindrance at Dunfermline, where they buried her according to her own wish. Malcolm was succeeded briefly by his brother Donald Bane. Margaret's brother, Edgar the Atheling took Margaret's children to England, and for fear of the Normans, gave them privately to friends and relations to be brought up. He afterwards helped to restore them to their country. Margaret's sons continued her work, which contributed greatly to a golden age in Scotland for two hundred years after her death. First to the throne was son, Duncan II. Three other sons also succeeded to the throne: Edgar (r. 1097-1107), Alexander I (r. 1107-24), and David I (r. 1124-53). Margaret and Malcolm's daughter, Edith, also known as Matilda, became the wife of England's King Henry I, the fourth son of William the Conqueror.

      Margaret was worshipped without authority until 1250 or 1251 when she was canonized by Innocent IV who ordered her sacred body to be translated from its first tomb. On July 19, 1297, all the arrangements being made the men who were appointed to raise the body, found it impossible to do so; stronger men were ordered to lift it and tried in vain; still more men were brought, but all their strength was unavailing. Evidently the saint objected to what was being done. The clergy and all present prayed earnestly that the mysterious opposition might cease and the sacred rite be completed. After some time an inspiration was granted to a devout member of the congregation; namely, that the saint did not wish to be separated from her husband. As soon as they began to take up his coffin, that of his dutiful wife became quite light and easy to move, and both were laid on one bier and translated with ease to the honorable place prepared for them under the high altar.

      In 1693 Innocent XII transferred Margaret's festival from the day of her death to June 10, though November 16 is still the day celebrated in Scotland. The bodies are said to have been acquired by Philip II, king of Spain, who placed them in the church of St. Lawrence in his new palace of the Escorial in two urns. The head of St. Margaret, after being in the possession of her descendant, Queen Mary Stuart, was secreted for many years be a Benedictine monk in Fife; thence it passed to Antwerp, and about 1627 it was translated to the Scotch college at Douai and there exposed to public veneration. It was still to be seen there in 1785; it was well preserved and had very fine fair hair. Neither the heads, the bodies nor the black rood can now be found, but the grave of Margaret may still be seen outside the present church of Dunfermline. Her oratory in Edinburgh castle is a small church with sturdy short pillars and a simple but beautiful ornamental pattern at the edge of its low rounded arches. It was falling to ruin when, in 1853, Queen Victoria had it repaired and furnished with colored glass windows.

      Sources:
      A Dictionary of Saintly Women in Two Volumes, Vol. II, Agnes B. C. Dunbar, George Bell & Sons, London, England, 1905
      Life of St. Margaret Queen of Scotland, R. M. Turgot, trans. by Forbes Leith
      The Lives of the Kings & Queens of England, edited by Antonia Fraser, University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles, CA by arrangement with Weidenfeld & Nicholson Ltd., London, England, 1975
    • Queen Margaret - spent much of her time and money on works of charity, herself attending on the poor, the aged, the orphans and the sick. She supervised the making of vestments and fine things for the church. She was an admirable mother. She solved the problem facing the church in the Scotland of her day. Cut off by pagan invasion, the Celtic church had come to differ on points of procedure with Rome, and it was Margaret's personal achievement to reconcile the conflicting elements by bringing the Celtic church in Scotland back to conformity. This she did in such a way as to avoid schism or bitterness.

      Similarly, her efforts to introduce European culture into Scotland were markedly successful. Whereas in England the Norman Conquest left a legacy of bitterness, the comparatively peaceful infusion of medieval culture into Scotland under Margaret and her sons was effected in such a manner as to bring a veritable golden age to Scotland, that lasted for two hundred years after Margaret's death. She died in Edinburgh Castle, and died, like so many saints, at a time when all that she had worked for seemed lost; her husband was killed in battle and rebel forces were attacking Edinburgh. But three of her sons succeeding to the throne in turn, their mother's work was reinforced and brought to fullness.
    • In 1057 she arrived at the English court of Edward the Confessor. Ten years later she was in exile after William defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings. She fled to Scotland where she was married against her wishes to King Malcolm to whom she bore six sons and two daughters. Her unlearned and boorish husband grew daily more graceful and Christian under the queen's graceful influence.
      Her remains were removed to Escorial Spain and her head Douai, France. Canonised in 1250 and her feast day is 16th November.
      -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
      High on the craggy rock that is the site of Edinburgh Castle, a tiny edifice built in the Norman style has been allowed to stand for nine centuries in honor of the lady for whom it was named. This is the chapel of St. Margaret, an exiled English princess who found true romance and a new home after she escaped William the Conqueror by coming north to Scotland.
      Actually, Margaret lived outside her own country twice during her lifetime. She was born in or about 1045, the daughter of an English prince, Edward, and his wife, who was a German princess.
      Politics being what they are, her father had to go into exile, and as a result Margaret was raised at the court of St. Stephen in Hungary.
      When she was 12, she was able to return to England, where the king was her uncle, Edward the Confessor. Then came 1066 and the Norman Invasion, and again she had to leave. With her brother, Edgar the Aetheling, Margaret was sent to Scotland. By this time, she was a beautiful young woman of 21 or so who knew her own mind; and whether she planned to or not, she hadn't been long in Scotland before she had won the heart of its king, Malcolm III. This was the same Malcolm Canmore ("Malcolm Great-Head") who as a child had fled from the murderous MacBeth? or Macbeth ? to safety in England. Later, he'd come back, slain Macbeth, and ascended the throne. By the time Margaret got there, he'd reigned in Scotland for almost a decade. But as he himself had lived in England from the time he was nine years old, it must have seemed to him that this English princess was a gift sent him straight from Providence. Certainly, the people of Scotland must have thought the same thing after they got to know her, because it's largely due to her personal piety (she used to keep Lent not only before Easter but before Christmas as well) and the loving generosity she showed her adopted people that she was recognized as a saint and canonized, and is remembered so fondly today.
      What the Scottish people recognized in her was great holiness and wisdom, and a generous spirit that led her to take a direct role in ministering to them. She devoted both her time and her money to the poor, the sick, orphans, and the aged.
      She was quite the "can-do" queen. Both virtuous and determined, she matched her piety and generosity with a wider world-view, too. On the spiritual and political side, she encouraged excellence in education and religion; she founded churches, and she helped avert a schism between the Roman and Celtic churches. On the more social side, she brought English and European culture into Scottish life. If the Scots weren't entirely sure they liked this infusion of manners from beyond their borders, they loved her enough to go along.
      Although her husband may not have been a saint, he loved her very much, too. And it is said that he was a better man and a better king because of his Margaret. Nevertheless, he didn't always make the most sensible decisions; and when Malcolm Big-Head tangled with William the Conqueror, it was Malcolm who did not survive. He was killed in battle in 1093, leaving his wife and children. On November 16, threedays after her husband's death, Margaret, who was already ill, herself died in the castle.
      The stories say that even as she was dying, heart-broken at her loss, she was uttering a pious prayer of thanks that "...such sadness should have been sent, to purify my final moments." She was buried inthe church of the abbey of Dunfermline, one of the churches she and her husband had founded.
      Her children continued the work she'd begun, and it continued after their lifetimes, as well; so that for two centuries (until the 1290s, when the English forces of King Edward I invaded Scotland) the country enjoyed a sort of Golden Age. Her son David was both a king and a canonized saint.
      The chapel that honors Margaret was probably built not long after her death. It is a lovely little house of worship, and immensely evocative of its namesake, even though she almost certainly never saw it. Because of its religious significance, the tiny chapel has survived every military demolition. Eventually, when King Robert (the Bruce) ordered all the rest of the castle to be destroyed so that it could not be used again by the English, only St. Margaret's chapel was spared.
      She herself was named the patroness of Scotland in 1673, after being canonized in 1250.
      Today, members of the castle garrison are accorded the privilege of being married in the tiny chapel if they wish. Fresh flowers are continuously provided there by women whose name is Margaret; the English Princess Margaret Rose embraced that custom in this century.

      St. Margaret's Chapel is part of Edinburgh Castle:
      http://scotland.rampant.com/Royal/edincastle.htm

      For a look at the larger picture and, incidentally, some beautiful pictures of the castle: http://www.efr.hw.ac.uk/EDC/guide/edincas.html

      [From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Margaret_of_Scotland]
      Saint Margaret of Scotland, also known by her Anglo-Saxon name Margaret Ætheling (c. 1045 ? November 16, 1093), was Edgar Ætheling's sister. She married Malcolm III, King of Scots, becoming his Queen consort.

      The daughter of the English prince Edward the Exile or "Edward Outremer", son of Edmund Ironside, Margaret was probably born in Hungary. The provenance of her mother Agatha of Bulgaria is disputed: certainly related to the kings of Hungary, she was either a descendant of Emperor Henry III or a daughter of Yaroslav I of Kiev.

      When her uncle, Edward the Confessor, the French-speaking Anglo-Saxon King of England, died in 1066, she was living in England where her brother, Edgar Ætheling, had decided to make a claim to the vacant throne. After the conquest of the Kingdom of England by the Normans, the traditional story has it, however much it may be doubted, that the widowed Agatha decided to leave Northumberland with her children and return to the Continent, but a storm drove their ship to Scotland where they sought the protection of King Malcolm "Canmore". The spot where she is said to have landed is known today as St Margaret's Hope, near the village of North Queensferry. Malcolm was probably a widower, and was no doubt attracted by the prospect of marrying the one of the few remaining members of the Anglo-Saxon royal family. The marriage of Malcolm and Margaret soon took place and was followed by several invasions of Northumberland by the Scottish king, probably in support of the claims of his brother-in-law Edgar. These, however, had little result beyond the devastation of the province.

      Far more important were the effects of this alliance upon the history of Scotland. Margaret used her connections to facilitate the introduction of the continental Benedictine monastic order, helping Malcolm to found Dunfermline Abbey. Moreover, a considerable portion of the old Northumbrian kingdom had been conquered by the Scottish kings in the previous century, but up until this time the English population had little influence upon the ruling element of the kingdom. Malcolm's marriage possibly improved the condition of the ethnically Anglo-Saxon population he ruled, and under Margaret's sons, Edgar I, Alexander I and David I, the Scottish royal court became more like that of its Anglo-Norman and continental neighbours. Margaret was very religious, and saw to the building of churches and the preservation of sacred relics. She rebuilt the monastery of Iona, and provided a free ferry (between what is now North and South Queensferry) and housing for pilgrims coming to visit the shrine of Saint Andrew. She was a lavish alms-giver, and paid the ransoms of English hostages held by the Scots.

      Margaret and Malcolm had eight children, six sons and two daughters:

      Prince Edward of Scotland, killed 1093.
      King Edmund of Scotland
      Ethelred, abbot of Dunkeld
      King Edgar of Scotland
      King Alexander I of Scotland
      King David I of Scotland
      Edith of Scotland, also called Matilda, married King Henry I of England
      Mary of Scotland, married Eustace III of Boulogne
      Her husband, Malcolm, and their eldest son, Edward, were killed in siege against the English at Alnwick Castle on November 13, 1093. Her son Edmund was left with the task of telling his mother of their deaths. Margaret was ill, and she died on 16 November, 1093, three days after the deaths her husband and her eldest son. It is notable that while Malcolm's children by his first wife Ingibjörg all bore Gaelic names, those of Margaret all bore non-Gaelic names. Later tradition often has it that Margaret was responsible for starting the demise of Gaelic culture in the lowlands and Scotland in general. In fact, in Gaeldom, she has usually not been considered a saint, but referred to as Mairead/Maighread nam Mallachd: Accursed Margaret. This tradition, however, is spurious. Margaret's first children were probably intended to bear Margaret's claims to the Anglo-Saxon throne in the period before permanent Norman rule was recognized, and so the first group of children were given Anglo-Saxon royal names. Moreover, it is unlikely that they were originally seen as successors to the Scottish throne, as Malcolm had other (grown) sons and brothers who were much more likely to succeed him. Furthermore, Margaret freely patronized Gaelic churchmen, and Gaelic remained an expanding language in northern Britain. Nevertheless, the descendents of Margaret did, after the death of Duncan I, through the assistance of the Norman establishment of England, succeed Malcolm; and these sons regarded their Anglo-Saxon heritage as important, as the latter was one of the main devices for legitimizing the authority of the Scottish kings in Lothian and northern England.

      She was canonised in 1251 by Pope Innocent IV on account of her great benefactions to the Church. The Roman Catholic church formerly marked the feast of Saint Margaret of Scotland on June 10, but the date was transferred to November 16 in the liturgical reform of 1972.

      Queen Margaret University College, founded in 1875, is named after her.

      References
      Original text from 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica. (with minor corrections)
      Chronicles of the Picts and Scots (Edinburgh, 1867) edited 1876, by W. F. Skene; and W. F. Skene, Celtic Scotland (Edinburgh).
      Acta SS., II, June, 320; John Capgrave, Nova Legenda Angliae (London, 1515), 225
      William of Malmesbury, Gesta Regum in P.L., CLXXIX, also in Rolls Series, ed. *William Stubbs (London, 1887-9)
      Richard Challoner, Britannia Sancta, I (London, 1745), 358
      Alban Butler, Lives of the Saints, 10 June
      Richard Stanton, Menology of England and Wales (London, 1887), 544
      William Forbes-Leith, Life of St. Margaret. . . (London, 1885)
      Madan, The Evangelistarium of St. Margaret in Academy (1887)
      Alphons Bellesheim, History of the Catholic Church in Scotland, tr. Blair, III (Edinburgh, 1890), 241-63.
      Parsons, John Carmi. Medieval Mothering, 1996
    • Margaret was born around 1045 in Hungary, the daughter of the exiled English Prince Edward "the Outlaw" Atheling of the English royal house of Wessex, and a German Princess named Agatha. Margaret was raised in the court of St. Stephen, King of Hungary. In 1057 when she was about 12, Margaret and her family returned to England, where the king was St. Edward the Confessor.

      After the Norman conquest in 1066 and after her father's death in 1068, Agatha with her son and two daughters resolved to return to Hungary and embarked with that intent. Their ship was driven up the Firth of Forth to Dunfermline, where Malcolm III, king of Scotland, received them hospitably and granted them refuge. He very soon offered the whole family a permanent home with him and asked that the Princess Margaret should become his wife. Margaret, who was very devout and much impressed with the futility of earthly greatness, had very nearly determined to be a nun, but when Malcolm's request was made to Edgar, "the Childe said 'Yea,'" and Margaret was persuaded to marry the king as his second wife.

      Malcolm III was born ca 1031 and founded the house of Canmore, which ruled Scotland for more than 200 years, and consolidated the power of the Scottish monarchy. He was the son of Duncan I, who was killed (1040) by Macbeth. Malcolm lived in exile until he defeated and killed (1057) Macbeth near Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire. He succeeded to the throne in 1058, and married Margaret ca. 1068-1070.

      Her holiness and wisdom had an impact on Malcolm, causing him to be a better ruler. Malcolm regarded his wife with holy reverence, and with most devoted love followed her advice, and guided by her he became not only more religious and conscientious but more civilized and kinglike. The king's devotion to her and her influence over him were almost unbounded. He never refused or grudged her anything, nor showed the least displeasure when she took money out of his treasury for her charities. Although he could not read, he loved her books for her sake, handling them with affectionate reverence and kissing them. Sometimes he would take away one of her favorite volumes and send for a goldsmith to ornament it with gold and gems. When this was done, he would restore it to the queen as a proof of his devotion.

      In addition to her influence with her husband and her sons, who later succeeded their father in ruling Scotland, Margaret took a direct role in helping the people of Scotland. She devoted time and money to works of charity, assisting the poor, the aged, orphans, and the sick. She also prevented a schism between the Roman Church and the Celtic Church, which had been cut off from Rome. In addition, she introduced European culture to Scotland, and did so more successfully than the forceful introduction in England under the Normans.

      She was as saintly and self-denying on the throne as she could have been in the cloister. She at once perceived it to be her duty to benefit and elevate the people among whom it was her destiny to live, and this she undertook with the greatest of diligence and the most earnest piety. There existed so much barbarism in the customs of the people, so many abuses in the Church, so much on all hands to reform, that she called together the native clergy and the priests who had come with her, her husband acting as interpreter, and she spoke so well and so earnestly that all were charmed with her gracious demeanor and wise counsel and adopted her suggestions.


      Margaret is credited with the introduction of English (Roman) usages into the Scottish church. Among other improvements, Margaret introduced the observance of Sunday by abstaining from servile work, "that if anything has been done amiss during the six days it may be expiated by our prayers on the day of the Resurrection." She influenced her people to observe the forty days' fast of Lent, and to receive the Holy Sacrament on Easter day, from which they had abstained for fear of increasing their own damnation because they were sinners. On this point she said that if the Savior had intended that no sinner should receive the Holy Sacrament, He would not have given a command which, in that case, no one could obey. "We," said she, "who many days beforehand have confessed and done penance and fasted and been washed from our sins with tears and alms and absorption, approach the table of the Lord in faith on the day of His Resurrection, not to our damnation but to the remission of our sins and in salutary preparation for eternal blessedness."

      Margaret re-founded the monastery on the Island of Iona (originally founded by Saint Columba, an Irish missionary who found the monastery in 563 in an attempt to convert the Picts). One of her first acts as queen was to build a church at Dunfermline, where she had been married. She dedicated it to the Holy Trinity. She gave it all the ornaments that a church requires, amongst them golden cups, a handsome crucifix of gold and silver enriched with gems, and vestments for the priests. Her room was never without some of these beautiful things in preparation to be offered to the Church. It was like a workshop for heavenly artisans; capes for the singers, sacerdotal vestments, stoles, altar clothes were to be seen there; some made and some in progress. The embroideries were executed by noble young ladies who were in attendance on her.

      No man was admitted to the room, unless she allowed him to come with her. She suffered no levity, no petulance, no frivolity, no flirtation. She was so dignified in her pleasantry, so cheerful in her strictness that every one both loved and feared her. No one dared to utter a rude or profane word in her presence.
      She did much for the secular as well as for the religious improvement of her country. She caused traders from all lands to bring their goods, and thus introduced many useful and beautiful articles, until then unknown in Scotland. She induced the natives to buy and wear garments and stuffs of various colors. She is said to have introduced the tartans that afterwards became distinctive of Scottish costume. She instituted the custom that wherever the king rode or walked he should be accompanied by an escort, but the members of this band were strictly forbidden to take anything by force from any one, or oppress any poor person. She beautified the king's house with furniture and hangings, and introduced cups and dishes of gold and silver for the royal table. All this she did, not that she was fond of worldly show, but that the Court should be more decent and less barbarous than heretofore.

      Numbers of captives were taken in the wars in raids between England and Scotland, and many English prisoners were living as slaves in Malcolm's lands. They were of somewhat better education and superior culture to the Scots and gradually advanced the civilization of their captors. Many of these were set free by the queen.

      When she met poor persons, she gave them liberal alms, and if she had nothing of her own to left to give, she asked her attendants for something that she might not let Christ's poor go away empty-handed. the ladies, gentlemen, and servants who accompanied her took a pride and pleasure in offering her all they had, feeling sure that a double blessing would reward their alms when given through the saintly queen.

      She provided ships at a place on the Firth of Forth, still called "The Queen's Ferry," that all persons coming from distant parts on pilgrimage to St. Andrews might be brought across the water free of charge. She also gave houses and servants on either shore for their accommodation, that they might find everything necessary for their repose and refreshment and might pay their devotions in peace and safety. Besides this, she built homes of rest and shelter for poor strangers in various places. From childhood she had diligently studied the Holy Writ and having a keen intelligence and an excellent memory, she knew and understood the Scriptures wonderfully well. She delighted to consult learned and holy men concerning the sacred writings, and as she had a great gift for expressing herself clearly, they often found themselves far wiser after a conversation with her. Her love for the holy books made her spend much time in reading and studying such of them as she had. She longed to possess more portions of the Word of God, and she sometimes begged Turgot and other learned clergymen to procure them for her. Margaret brought up her eight children very strictly and piously, instructing them in the Holy Scriptures and the duties of their station and associating them in her works of charity. She made a great point of their treating their elders with becoming respect. The fruit of her good training appeared in their lives for long years after her time.

      There were many holy anchorites living in cells or caves in different parts of Scotland. These the queen occasionally visited, conversing with them and commending herself to their prayers. It was not uncommon in the ancient Celtic Church for devout secular persons to withdraw for a time from association with the rest of the world; they devoted themselves entirely to prayer and meditation for a long or short season, and then returned to the ordinary duties of life. A cave is still shown, not far from Dunfermline where tradition says this holy queen used to resort for solitude and prayer.

      Her abstinence was so great and her care for her own needs or gratification so small that her feast days were like the fast days of others. She fasted so strictly that she suffered acutely all her life from pain in her stomach, but she did not lose her strength. She observed two Lenten seasons in each year - the forty days before Easter and the forty days before Christmas. During these periods of self-denial, her biographer says that after sleeping for a short time at the beginning of the night, she went into the church and said alone three sets of Matins, then the Offices of the Dead, then the whole Psalter, which lasted until the priests had said Matins and Lauds. She then returned to her room and there, assisted by the king, she washed the feet of six poor persons who were brought there by the chamberlain. After this, she "permitted her body to take a littel slepe or nodde". When it was morning she began her works of mercy again; while the psalms were being read to her, nine little destitute orphans were brought, and she took each on her lap and fed it with her own spoon. While she was feeding the babies, three hundred poor persons were brought into the hall and seated all round it. As soon as Margaret and the king came in, the doors were shut, only the chaplains and a few attendants being present while the king and queen waited upon Christ in the person of His poor, serving them with food and drink. After this meal, the queen used to go into the church and there, with tears and signs and many prayers, she offered herself a sacrifice to God. In addition to the "Hours", on the great festivals, she used to repeat the Psalter two or three times, and before the public Mass she had five or six private Masses sung in her presence. It was then time for her own dinner, but before she touched it she waited on the twenty-four poor people who were her daily care at all seasons; wherever she happened to be, they had to be lodged near the royal residence.

      She had a Gospel Book which she particularly prized and often read. It had beautiful illuminated pictures, all the capital letters shining with gold. One of her people, when passing through a stream let it fall into the water, but was not aware of his loss and went on. By-and-by the book was missing and was looked for everywhere, and eventually found at the bottom of the stream; the pieces of silk that were between the leaves to prevent the letters rubbing against each other were washed away; the leaves were shaken to and fro by the movement of the water, but not a letter was obliterated. She gave thanks for its restoration and prized it more than ever. This book, with the water stain on the last leaf, is now in the Bodleian Library.

      For more than six months before her death, Margaret could not ride on horseback and was often confined to bed. Malcolm invaded England many times after 1068. supporting the claim of his brother-in-law Edgar Atheling to the English throne. In 1072, however, he was forced to pay homage to William I, and in 1091, to William II. Shortly before Margaret's death, the king, against her advice, made a raid into Northumberland where he and her eldest son, Edward were slain by Norman forces at Alnwick. Malcolm died at Alnwick Castle on November 13, 1093. The queen, who had a presentiment of it, and said to those that were with her, "Perhaps this day a greater evil has happened to Scotland than any that has befallen it for a long time."

      Three days after this, she felt a little better and went into her oratory to hear Mass and receive the Holy Communion. She then returned to bed, and growing rapidly worse, begged Turgot and the others who were present to keep commending her soul to Christ with psalms. She asked them to bring her the black rood, which she had brought from Hungary and always regarded with great veneration. It was of gold set with large diamonds and said to contain a piece of the actual cross of Christ. She devoutly kissed and contemplated it, and when she was cold with the chill of death, she still held it in both hands and kept praying and saying the fifty-first psalm.

      Her son Edgar, who had gone with the king to Northumberland, came into her room to tell her of the death of his father and brother. Seeing his mother was dying, he was afraid to tell her the sad news; but she said, "I know, I know, I conjure you to tell me the truth," and having heard it, she praised God and died, just three days after her husband, on November 16, 1093 at Edinburgh Castle. The Annals of Ulster for 1093 say, "Maelcolaim Mac Donnacha sovereign of Alban and Echbarda his son, slain by the Franks. His queen, viz. Margarita, died through grief before the end of (three) days."

      While her body still lay in Edinburgh Castle, Malcolm's brother, Donald Bane, assisted by the King of Norway, attacked the castle, but he only watched the gate, thinking the other parts of the fortification inaccessible. Margaret's family and her faithful attendants escaped by a postern called the West Yhet, taking with them the revered corpse. A thick mist hid them from the enemy. They crossed the sea and arrived without hindrance at Dunfermline, where they buried her according to her own wish. Malcolm was succeeded briefly by his brother Donald Bane. Margaret's brother, Edgar the Atheling took Margaret's children to England, and for fear of the Normans, gave them privately to friends and relations to be brought up. He afterwards helped to restore them to their country. Margaret's sons continued her work, which contributed greatly to a golden age in Scotland for two hundred years after her death. First to the throne was son, Duncan II. Three other sons also succeeded to the throne: Edgar (r. 1097-1107), Alexander I (r. 1107-24), and David I (r. 1124-53). Margaret and Malcolm's daughter, Edith, also known as Matilda, became the wife of England's King Henry I, the fourth son of William the Conqueror.

      Margaret was worshipped without authority until 1250 or 1251 when she was canonized by Innocent IV who ordered her sacred body to be translated from its first tomb. On July 19, 1297, all the arrangements being made the men who were appointed to raise the body, found it impossible to do so; stronger men were ordered to lift it and tried in vain; still more men were brought, but all their strength was unavailing. Evidently the saint objected to what was being done. The clergy and all present prayed earnestly that the mysterious opposition might cease and the sacred rite be completed. After some time an inspiration was granted to a devout member of the congregation; namely, that the saint did not wish to be separated from her husband. As soon as they began to take up his coffin, that of his dutiful wife became quite light and easy to move, and both were laid on one bier and translated with ease to the honorable place prepared for them under the high altar.

      In 1693 Innocent XII transferred Margaret's festival from the day of her death to June 10, though November 16 is still the day celebrated in Scotland. The bodies are said to have been acquired by Philip II, king of Spain, who placed them in the church of St. Lawrence in his new palace of the Escorial in two urns. The head of St. Margaret, after being in the possession of her descendant, Queen Mary Stuart, was secreted for many years be a Benedictine monk in Fife; thence it passed to Antwerp, and about 1627 it was translated to the Scotch college at Douai and there exposed to public veneration. It was still to be seen there in 1785; it was well preserved and had very fine fair hair. Neither the heads, the bodies nor the black rood can now be found, but the grave of Margaret may still be seen outside the present church of Dunfermline. Her oratory in Edinburgh castle is a small church with sturdy short pillars and a simple but beautiful ornamental pattern at the edge of its low rounded arches. It was falling to ruin when, in 1853, Queen Victoria had it repaired and furnished with colored glass windows.

      Sources:
      A Dictionary of Saintly Women in Two Volumes, Vol. II, Agnes B. C. Dunbar, George Bell & Sons, London, England, 1905
      Life of St. Margaret Queen of Scotland, R. M. Turgot, trans. by Forbes Leith
      The Lives of the Kings & Queens of England, edited by Antonia Fraser, University of California Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles, CA by arrangement with Weidenfeld & Nicholson Ltd., London, England, 1975
    • [alfred_descendants10gen_fromrootsweb_bartont.FTW]

      (St. Margaret of Scotland), m. MALCOM III CANMORE (170-21)

      Canonised 1250 and her feast day is 16th November. In 1057 she arrived at the English court of Edward the Confessor. Ten years later she was in exile after William defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings. She fled to Scotland where she was married against her wishes to King Malcolm, to whom she bore six sons and two daughters. Her unlerned and boorish husband grew daily more graceful and Christian under the queen's graceful influence. Her remains were removed to Escorial Spain and her head Douai, France.
    • [Eldad_Grannis.FTW]

      [SPARKMAN DATABASE.FTW]

      Pedigree Chart for: MARGARET
      /--"The Unready ETHELRED II
      /-- EDMUND II
      | \--Alfgifu GUNNARSSON
      /--Edward ATHELING
      | | /--
      | \--Ealgyth ALGITHA
      | \--
      |-- MARGARET
      | /--Bruno von BRAUNSCHWEIG
      | /--Ludolf von BRAUNSCHWEIG
      | | \--Gisele of SWABIA
      \-- AGATHA
      | /--Bruno von BRAUNSCHWEIG
      \--
      \--

      St. Margaret of Scotland
      b.1045 d.1093Feastday: November 16
      Margaret was an English princess. She and hermother sailed to Scotlan d to escape from the king who had conquered theirland. King Malcolm of Scotland welcomed the m and fell in love with thebeautiful princess. Margaret and Malcolm were married before too l ong.
      As Queen, Margaret changed her husband and thecountry for the better . Malcolm was good, but he and his court were veryrough. When he saw how wise his beloved wif e was, he listened to her goodadvice. She softened his temper and led him to practice great v irtue. Shemade the court beautiful and civilized. Soon all the princes had bettermanners, an d the ladies copied her purity and devotion. The king andqueen gave wonderful example to ever yone by the way they prayed togetherand fed crowds of poor people with their own hands. The y seemed to haveonly one desire: to make everyone happy and good.
      Margaret was a blessing for all the people ofScotland. Before she came , there was great ignorance and many bad habitsamong them. Margaret worked hard to obtain goo d teachers, to correct theevil practices, and to have new churches built. She loved to make t hesechurches beautiful for God's glory, and she embroidered the priest'svestments herself.
      God sent this holy Queen six sons and twodaughters. She loved them dear ly and raised them well. The youngest boybecame St. David. But Margaret had sorrows, too. I n her last illness, shelearned that both her husband and her son, Edward, had been killed inb attle. Yet she prayed: "I thank You, Almighty God, for sending me sogreat a sorrow to purif y me from my sins."

      St. Margaret of Scotland
      Born about 1045, died 16 Nov., 1092, was a daughter of Edward"Outremere", or "the Exile", b y Agatha, kinswoman of Gisela, the wife ofSt. Stephen of Hungary. She was the granddaughter o f Edmund Ironside. Aconstant tradition asserts that Margaret's father and his brother Edmundw ere sent to Hungary for safety during the reign of Canute, but no recordof the fact has bee n found in that country. The date of Margaret's birthcannot be ascertained with accuracy, bu t it must have been between theyears 1038, when St. Stephen died, and 1057, when her father r eturned toEngland. It appears that Margaret came with him on that occasion and, onhis death a nd the conquest of England by the Normans, her mother Agathadecided to return to the Continen t. A storm however drove their ship toScotland, where Malcolm III received the party under hi s protection,subsequently taking Margaret to wife. This event had been delayed for awhile b y Margaret's desire to entire religion, but it took place sometime between 1067 and 1070.
      In her position as queen, all Margaret's greatinfluence was thrown int o the cause of religion and piety. A synod washeld, and among the special reforms institute d the most important werethe regulation of the Lenten fast, observance of the Easter communio n,and the removal of certain abuses concerning marriage within theprohibited degrees. Her pri vate life was given up to constant prayer andpractices of piety. She founded several churches , including the Abbey ofDunfermline, built to enshrine her greatest treasure, a relic of th e trueCross. Her book of the Gospels, richly adorned with jewels, which one daydropped int o a river and was according to legend miraculously recovered,is now in the Bodleian library a t Oxford. She foretold the day of herdeath, which took place at Edinburgh on 16 Nov., 1093, h er body beingburied before the high altar at Dunfermline.
      In 1250 Margaret was canonized by Innocent IV, andher relics were transl ated on 19 June, 1259, to a new shrine, the base ofwhich is still visible beyond the modern e ast wall of the restoredchurch. At the Reformation her head passed into the possession of Mar yQueen of Scots, and later was secured by the Jesuits at Douai, where itis believed to have p erished during the French Revolution. According toGeorge Conn, "De duplici statu religionis a pud Scots" (Rome, 1628), therest of the relics, together with those of Malcolm, were acquire d byPhilip II of Spain, and placed in two urns in the Escorial. When,however, Bishop Gillie s of Edinburgh applied through Pius IX for theirrestoration to Scotland, they could not be fo und.
      The chief authority for Margaret's life is thecontemporary biography pri nted in "Acta SS.", II, June, 320. Itsauthorship has been ascribed to Turgot, the saint's con fessor, a monk ofDurham and later Archbishop of St. Andrews, and also to Theodoric, asomewha t obscure monk; but in spite of much controversy the point remainsquite unsettled. The feas t of St. Margaret is now observed by the wholeChurch on 10 June. [1]
      ==============================================================================
      [1] Acta SS., II, June, 320; CAPGRAVE, Nova Legenda Angliae (London,1515), 225; WILLIAM OF MA LMESBURY, Gesta Regum in P.L., CLXXIX, also inRolls Series, ed. STUBBS (London, 1887-9); CHAL LONER, Britannia Sancta, I(London, 1745), 358; BUTLER, Lives of the Saints, 10 June; STANTON, Menology of England and Wales (London, 1887), 544; FORBES-LEITH, Life ofSt. Margaret. . . (Lo ndon, 1885); MADAN, The Evangelistarium of St.Margaret in Academy (1887); BELLESHEIM, Histor y of the Catholic Church inScotland, tr. Blair, III (Edinburgh, 1890), 241-63.
      G. ROGER HUDDLESTON
      Transcribed by Anita G. Gorman
      The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IX
      Copyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton Company
      Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight
      Nihil Obstat, October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, Censor
      Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York[muncyeagle.FBC.FTW]

      Margaret was born about 1045 in Hungary, the daughter ofan exiled prince of En gland, Edward "The Outlaw" Atheling of the EnglishRoyal house of Wessex, and his German princ ess Agatha. Margaret wasraised in the court of St. Stephen, King of Hungary, until she was 1 2years of age, and then she and her family returned to England, where thecurrent king was St . Edward the Confessor.
      After the Norman conquest in 1066, and after the death ofEdward "The Outlaw" i n 1068, Agatha with her son and two daughtersdecided to return to Hungary and set off with th at intention. Their shipwas driven up the Firth of Forth to Dunfermline, where King Malcol m III,of Scotland, received them hospitably and granted the family refuge. Hevery soon offer ed the entire family a permanent home with him and askedthat the Princess Margaret marry him . Margaret, a very devout and muchimpressed with the futility of earthly greatness, had ver y nearly decidedto become a nun, however when Malcom's request was made to Edgar "TheChilde" , said "Yea," and Margaret was persuaded to marry the king as hissecond wife.
      Malcolm III was born about 1031 and founded the house ofCanmore, which ruled Sco tland for more than two hundred years, andconsolidated the power of the Scottish Monarchy. H e was a son of DuncanI, who was killed by MacBeth in 1040. Malcolm III lived in exile untilh e defeated and killed MacBeth near Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire in 1057.He succeeded to the thr one in 1058, and about 1068-1070 he marriedMargaret.
      Margaret possessed a great wisdom that had an impact onMalcolm, causing him to b e a better ruler. He regarded his wife withholy reverence, and with most devoted love follow ed her advice, and wasguided by her to become not only more religious and conscientious butmo re civilized and regal. The king's devotion to her and her influenceover him were almost unb ounded. He never refused or begrudged heranything, nor did he show the least bit of displeas ure when she tookmoney out of his treasury for her charities. Malcolm could not read,howeve r he loved her books for her sake, handling them with affectionatereverence and kissing them . Sometimes he would take a favorite volume ofhers and send for a goldssmith to decorate th e book with gold and gems.When this was finished, he would then give it to Margaret as a proo f ofhis devotion to her.
      In addition to her influence with her husband and sons, wholater succeeded thei r father as rulers of Scotland, Margaret took adirect role in helping the people of Scotland . She devoted her time andmoney to works of charity and helping the less fortunate, and prev ented a"schism" between the Roman Church and the Celtic Church, which had beencut off from Ro me. She also introduced European Culture to Scotland, anddid so more successfully than the f orceful introduction in England underthe Normans.
      She was a saintly and self-denying on the throne as shewould have been in the c loister [remember she had intended to become anun]. She at once perceived it to be her dut y to benefit and elevate thepeople among whom it was her destiny to live, and this she undert ook withthe greatest of diligence and the most earnest piety. At this time therewas so muc h barbarism in the customs of the pople, so many abuses in theChurch, so muchy on all hands t o reform, that she called together thenative clergy and the priest who had come with her, he r husband acting asinterpreter, and she spoke so eloquently and earnestly that all werecharme d with her gracious demeanor and wise counsel and adopted hersuggestions.
      Margaret is credited with the introduction of English(Roman) usuages into the S cottish Church. Among other improvements sheintroduced the observance of Sunday by refrainin g from menial work, "thatif anything has been done amiss during the six days it may be expiat ed byour prayers on the day of Resurrection." she influenced her people toobserve the fort y days' fasting during Lent, and to receive HolySacrament on Easter days, from which they ha d abstained for fear ofincreasing their own damnation because they were sinners. On this poi ntshe said that if the Savior had intended that no sinner should receivethe Holy Sacrament, H e would have have given a command which, in thatcase, no one could obey. "We", said she, "Wh o many days beforehand haveconfessed and done penance and fasted and been washed from our sin s withtears and alms and absorption, approach the table of the Lord in faith onthe day of Hi s Resurrection, not to our damnation but to the remission ofour sins and in salutary preparat ion for eternal blessedness."
      Margaret re-founded the monastery on the Island of Iona,originally founded by S t. Columba, an Irish missionary who found themonastery in 563 in an attempt to convert the Pi cts. One of her firstacts as queen was to build a church at Dunfermline, where she had beenm arried. She dedicated the church to the Holy Trinity. She gave it allthe ornaments that a c hurch requires, among them were golden cups, ahandsome crucifix of gold and silver enladen wi th gems, and vestments forthe priests. Her room was never without some of these beautiful th ingsin preparation for her demise. Included were capes for the singers,sacerdotal vestments , stoles, and altar clothes that were seen wereembroidered by noble young ladies who were Que en Margarets attendants.
      No man was admitted to this room, unless she allowed him tocome with her. She s uffered no levity, no petulance, no frivolity, noflirtation. Margaret was so dignified in he r pleasantry, cheerful in herstrictness and as a result she was both loved and feared. No on e daredutter a rude or profance remark in her presence.
      She not only was responsible for religious improvements, butalso caused trader s from all lands to bring their wares to Scotland andthus introduced many useful as well as b eautiful articles, which had beenbefore unknown in Scotland. She induced the Scots to buy an d wearclothings and stuffs of various colors, and she is said to haveintroduced the tartans t hat afterwards became distinctive parts of theScottish costume. She instituted the custom th at wherever the king rodeor walked he should be accompanied by an escort, however the member s ofhis band were strictly forbidden to take anything by force from any one,or to oppress an y poor person. She decorated the kings house withfurniture and hangings, and introduced cup s and dishes of gold and silverfor the royal table. All of this she did, not that she was fo nd ofworldly show, but so that the Court would be more decent and lessbarbarous than it had b een before.
      During the wars between England and Scotland a number ofcaptives were taken, an d many prisoners of English ancestry were livingas slaves on Malcolm's lands. They were of s omewhat better education andsuperior culture to the Scots and gradually advanced the civiliza tion oftheir captors. Many of these so-called slaves were set free by QueenMargaret.
      When Margaret met people of poor exsistences, she gave themliberal alms, and i f she had nothing of her own left to give, she thenasked her attendants for something in orde r that she might not letChrist's poor go away empty-handed. The attendants, who accompanie d hertook a great deal of pride and pleasure in offering her all that theyhad, feeling sure t hat a double blessing would reward their alms whengiven through the saintly queen.
      Margaret provided ships at a place on the Firth of Forth,still known as "The Qu een's Ferry," that all persons coming from distantparts on a pilgrimmage to St. andrews migh t be brought across the waterfree of charge. she also gave houses and servants on either sho re fortheir accomodation, that they might find everything necessary for theirrepose and refre shment and might pay their devotions in peace andsafety. Besides this, she erected homes o f rest and shelter for poorstrangers in various places. Since childhood she had diligently s tudiedthe Holy Writ and having a keen intelligence and an excellent memory, sheknew and under stood the Scriptures very well. She enjoyed consulthinglearned and holy men concerning the s acred writings, and as she had agreat gift for expressing herself clearly, they often found t hemselvesfar wise after a conversation with her. Her love for the holy books madeher spen d a considerable amount of time in reading and studying. Margaretlonged to possess more porti ons of the Word of God, and she sometimesbegged Turgot and other learned clergymen to obtai n them for her. Shebrought up her eight children very strictly and piously, instructing them in the Holy Scriptures and the duties of their station and associatedthem in her works of cha rity. she made a big point of their treatingtheir elders with respect. The fruit of her goo d training appeared intheir lives for many years after she was already gone.
      There were many holy anchorites living in cells or cavesin different parts o f Scotland. These the queen occasionally visited,conversing with them and commending hersel f to their prayers. It was notuncommon in the ancient Celtic Church for devout secular perso ns towithdraw for a time from assiciation with the rest of the world. Theydevoted themselve s entirely to prayer and meditation for a long or shortseason, and then returned to their nor mal duties of life. A cave isstill shown, not farm from Dunfermline where tradition states t his holyqueen used to go for solitude and prayer.
      Her abstinence was so great and her care for her own needsor gratification s o small that her feast days were like the fast days ofothers, and as a result, her strict fas ting, caused her to suffer acutelyall of her life from pains in her stomach, however she di d not lose herstrength and faith. Margaret observed a total of eighty days of fasting,fort y days before Easter and forty days before Christmas. During theseperiods of self-denial, he r biographer states that after she slept for ashort time at the beginning of the night, she w ent into the church andsaid alone three sets of Matins, then the Offices of the Dead, then th ewhole Psalter, which lasted until the priests had said Matins and Lauds.She then returned t o her room and there, assisted by the king, she washedthe feet of six poor persons who were b rought to her by the chamberlain.After this, she "permitted her body to take a littel slepe o r nodde".When it was morning she becan her works of mercy again; while the psalmswere being r ead to her, nine little destitute orphans were brought toher, and she took each child on he r lap and fed him or her with her ownspoon. While she was feeding the babies, three hundre d poor persons werebrought into the hall and seated around it, and as soon as she and KingMal colm came in, the doors were shut, only the chaplains and a fewattendants being present whil e the king and queen waited upon Christ inperson of His poor, serving them with food and drin k. After this meal,the queen used to go into the church and there, with tears and signs andm any prayers, she offered herself as a sacrifice to God. In addition tothe "Hours", on the gr eat festivals, Margaret used to repeat the Psaltertwo or three times, and before the public M ass she had five or sixprivate Masses sung in her presence. It was then time for her owndinn er, but before she touched it she waited on twenty-four poor peoplewho were her daily care a t all seasons; wherever she happened to be, theyhad to be lodged near the royal residence.
      One of Margaret's prized possessions was a Gospel Bookwhich she often read. I t had beautiful illuminated pictures, all thecapital letters shining with gold. One of her p eople, when passingthrough a stream dropped it without noticing. By and by the book wasnotic ed to be missing and was looked for everywhere, and eventually foundat the bottom of the stre am into which it had falled. The pieces of silkthat were between the pages to prevent the le tters from rubbing againsteach other were washed away, the pages were shaken to and fro by th emovement of the water, however not a single letter was obliterated.Margaret gave thanks fo r its restoration and prized it even more thanbefore. This book, with a water stain on the l ast page, is now in theBodleian Library.
      For more than six months before her death, Margaret couldnot ride a horse an d was very often confined to her bed. King Malcominvaded England many times after 1068, supp orting the claim of hisbrother-in-law Edgar Aethling to the English throne. In 1072, he wasf orced to pay homage to William I, and in 1091, to William II. Shortlybefore Margaret's death , the King, against her advice, made a raid intoNorthumberland where he and her eldest son we re killed by Norman forcesat Alnwick. Malcolm died at Alnwick Castle on November 13, 1093 . Thequeen, who had a presentiment of it, and said to those that were withher, "Perhaps thi s day a greater evil has happened to Scotland than anythat has befallen it for a long time."
      Three days dlater, Margaret felt a little better and wentinto her oratory t o hear Mass and receive Holy Communion. She thenreturned to bed, and growing rapidly worse , begged Turgot and the otherswho were present to keep commending her soul to Christ with psa lms. sheasked them to bring her the black rood, which she had brought fromHungary and had al ways regarded with great veneration. It was of goldset with large diamonds and said to conta in a piece of the actual crossof Christ. she devoutly kissed and contemplated it, and when s he wascold with the chill of death, she still held it in both hands and keptpraying and sayin g the fifty-first psalms.
      Edgar, son of Margaret and King Malcolm, had gone withhis father and brothe r to Northumberland, and came into her romm to tellher of the death of his father and brother . Seeing his mother was dying,he was afraid to tell her the sad news. She then is reporte d to havesaid "I know, I know, I conjure you to tell me the truth," and havingheard it, she p raised God and died, just three days after her husband, onNovember sixteenth 1093 at Edinburg h Castle. The Annals of Ulster for1093 state "Maelcolaim Mac Donnacha sovereign of Alban an d Echbardfa hisson, slain by Franks. His queen, viz. Margarita, died through griefbefore th e end of (three) days."
      While her body still laid in Edinburgh Castle, Malcolm'sbrother, Donald Bane , assisted by the King of Norway, attacked thecastle, however he only watched the gate, think ing the other parts of thefortification inaccessible. Margaret's family and her faithfulatte ndants escaped by a postern called the West Yhet, taking with themthe corpse of their belove d Margaret. A thick mist hid them from theenemy. They crossed the sea and arrived without an y trouble atDunfermline, where they buried Queen Margaret according to her ownwishes. Malcol m was succeeded briefly by his brother Donald Bane.Margaret's brother Edgar the Atheling too k Margaret's children toEngland, and for fear of the Normans, gave them privately to friend s andrelations to be brought up. He afterwards helped to restore them totheir country. Marg aret's sons continued her work, which contributedgreatly to a golden age in Scotland for tw o hundred years after herdeath. First to the throne was son, Duncan II. Three other sons al sosucceeded to the throne: Edgar whose reign was from 1097-1107, AlexanderI who reigned fro m 1107-1124, and David I who reigned from 1124-1153.Margaret and Malcolm's daughter Edith, al so known as Matilda, became thewife of King Henry I Of England, who was the fourth son of Wil liam theConqueror.
      Queen Margaret was worshipped without any authority until1250/51 when she wa s cannonized by Pope Innocent IV who ordered hersacred body to be translated [removed] from i ts first tomb. On July19th, 1297, all the arrangements being made, the men who were appointe dto raise her body, found it impossible to do so; stonger men wereordered to lift it and tri ed in vain; still more men were brought, butall of their strength was unavailing. Evidentl y the saint objected towhat was being done. The clery and all present prayed in earnest that the mysterious opposition might cease and the sacred rite be completed.After some time an ins piration was granted to a devout member of thecongregation; namely, that the saint did not wi sh to be separated fromher husband. As soon as they began to take up his coffin, that of his dutiful wife became quite light and easy to move, and both were laid onone bier and translate d with ease to the honorable place prepared forthem under the high altar.
      In 1693 Pope Innocent XII transferred Margaret's festivalfrom the day of her d eath (November 16th) to June 10th, although November16th is still the day celebrated by the S cottish. the bodies of the twomonarchs are said to have been acquired by King Philip II, Kin g Of Spain,who placed them in the church of St. Lawrence in his new palace of ElEscorial, i n two urns. [1] The head of St. Margaret, after being in thepossession of her descendant, Que en Mary Stuart, was kept in secret formany years by a Benedictine Monk in Fife; then it passe d to Antwerp, andabout 1627 was removed to the Scotch college at Douai and there exposedfor p ublic viewing. It was still to be seen there in 1785, at which timeit was well preserved an d had very fine fair hair. Neither the heads,the bodies nor the black rood can now be found , however the grave ofMargaret may still be seen outside the present day church atDunfermline . Her oratory in Edinburgh Castle is a small church withsturdy short pillars and a simple bu t ornamental pattern at the edge ofits low rounded arches. In 1853, it was falling into ruin , when QueenVictoria had it repaired and furnished with colored glass windows. [2][3] [4] [5 ]
      ================================================================
      [1] El Escorial Palace is located 85 miles from Madrid, Spain and is opendaily for tours. Wh en my husband and I were stationed in Spain in the1980's this palace was one of the many plac es that we visited.

      [2] Notable Women Ancestors, http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/margaret.html
      [3] A Dictionary of Saintly Women in Two Volumes, Vol. II, Agnes B. C.Dunbar, George Bell & S ons, London, England, 1905.
      [4] Life of St. Margaret Queen of Scotland, R. M. Turgot, translated byForbes Leith
      [5] The Lives of the Kings and Queens Of England, edited by AntoniaFraser, University of Cali fornia Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles,California by arrangement with Weidenfeld & Nicholson Lt d., London,England, 1975
    • [Eldad_Grannis.FTW]

      [SPARKMAN DATABASE.FTW]

      Pedigree Chart for: MARGARET
      /--"The Unready ETHELRED II
      /-- EDMUND II
      | \--Alfgifu GUNNARSSON
      /--Edward ATHELING
      | | /--
      | \--Ealgyth ALGITHA
      | \--
      |-- MARGARET
      | /--Bruno von BRAUNSCHWEIG
      | /--Ludolf von BRAUNSCHWEIG
      | | \--Gisele of SWABIA
      \-- AGATHA
      | /--Bruno von BRAUNSCHWEIG
      \--
      \--

      St. Margaret of Scotland
      b.1045 d.1093Feastday: November 16
      Margaret was an English princess. She and hermother sailed to Scotlan d to escape from the king who had conquered theirland. King Malcolm of Scotland welcomed the m and fell in love with thebeautiful princess. Margaret and Malcolm were married before too l ong.
      As Queen, Margaret changed her husband and thecountry for the better . Malcolm was good, but he and his court were veryrough. When he saw how wise his beloved wif e was, he listened to her goodadvice. She softened his temper and led him to practice great v irtue. Shemade the court beautiful and civilized. Soon all the princes had bettermanners, an d the ladies copied her purity and devotion. The king andqueen gave wonderful example to ever yone by the way they prayed togetherand fed crowds of poor people with their own hands. The y seemed to haveonly one desire: to make everyone happy and good.
      Margaret was a blessing for all the people ofScotland. Before she came , there was great ignorance and many bad habitsamong them. Margaret worked hard to obtain goo d teachers, to correct theevil practices, and to have new churches built. She loved to make t hesechurches beautiful for God's glory, and she embroidered the priest'svestments herself.
      God sent this holy Queen six sons and twodaughters. She loved them dear ly and raised them well. The youngest boybecame St. David. But Margaret had sorrows, too. I n her last illness, shelearned that both her husband and her son, Edward, had been killed inb attle. Yet she prayed: "I thank You, Almighty God, for sending me sogreat a sorrow to purif y me from my sins."

      St. Margaret of Scotland
      Born about 1045, died 16 Nov., 1092, was a daughter of Edward"Outremere", or "the Exile", b y Agatha, kinswoman of Gisela, the wife ofSt. Stephen of Hungary. She was the granddaughter o f Edmund Ironside. Aconstant tradition asserts that Margaret's father and his brother Edmundw ere sent to Hungary for safety during the reign of Canute, but no recordof the fact has bee n found in that country. The date of Margaret's birthcannot be ascertained with accuracy, bu t it must have been between theyears 1038, when St. Stephen died, and 1057, when her father r eturned toEngland. It appears that Margaret came with him on that occasion and, onhis death a nd the conquest of England by the Normans, her mother Agathadecided to return to the Continen t. A storm however drove their ship toScotland, where Malcolm III received the party under hi s protection,subsequently taking Margaret to wife. This event had been delayed for awhile b y Margaret's desire to entire religion, but it took place sometime between 1067 and 1070.
      In her position as queen, all Margaret's greatinfluence was thrown int o the cause of religion and piety. A synod washeld, and among the special reforms institute d the most important werethe regulation of the Lenten fast, observance of the Easter communio n,and the removal of certain abuses concerning marriage within theprohibited degrees. Her pri vate life was given up to constant prayer andpractices of piety. She founded several churches , including the Abbey ofDunfermline, built to enshrine her greatest treasure, a relic of th e trueCross. Her book of the Gospels, richly adorned with jewels, which one daydropped int o a river and was according to legend miraculously recovered,is now in the Bodleian library a t Oxford. She foretold the day of herdeath, which took place at Edinburgh on 16 Nov., 1093, h er body beingburied before the high altar at Dunfermline.
      In 1250 Margaret was canonized by Innocent IV, andher relics were transl ated on 19 June, 1259, to a new shrine, the base ofwhich is still visible beyond the modern e ast wall of the restoredchurch. At the Reformation her head passed into the possession of Mar yQueen of Scots, and later was secured by the Jesuits at Douai, where itis believed to have p erished during the French Revolution. According toGeorge Conn, "De duplici statu religionis a pud Scots" (Rome, 1628), therest of the relics, together with those of Malcolm, were acquire d byPhilip II of Spain, and placed in two urns in the Escorial. When,however, Bishop Gillie s of Edinburgh applied through Pius IX for theirrestoration to Scotland, they could not be fo und.
      The chief authority for Margaret's life is thecontemporary biography pri nted in "Acta SS.", II, June, 320. Itsauthorship has been ascribed to Turgot, the saint's con fessor, a monk ofDurham and later Archbishop of St. Andrews, and also to Theodoric, asomewha t obscure monk; but in spite of much controversy the point remainsquite unsettled. The feas t of St. Margaret is now observed by the wholeChurch on 10 June. [1]
      ==============================================================================
      [1] Acta SS., II, June, 320; CAPGRAVE, Nova Legenda Angliae (London,1515), 225; WILLIAM OF MA LMESBURY, Gesta Regum in P.L., CLXXIX, also inRolls Series, ed. STUBBS (London, 1887-9); CHAL LONER, Britannia Sancta, I(London, 1745), 358; BUTLER, Lives of the Saints, 10 June; STANTON, Menology of England and Wales (London, 1887), 544; FORBES-LEITH, Life ofSt. Margaret. . . (Lo ndon, 1885); MADAN, The Evangelistarium of St.Margaret in Academy (1887); BELLESHEIM, Histor y of the Catholic Church inScotland, tr. Blair, III (Edinburgh, 1890), 241-63.
      G. ROGER HUDDLESTON
      Transcribed by Anita G. Gorman
      The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume IX
      Copyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton Company
      Online Edition Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Knight
      Nihil Obstat, October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, Censor
      Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York[muncyeagle.FBC.FTW]

      Margaret was born about 1045 in Hungary, the daughter ofan exiled prince of En gland, Edward "The Outlaw" Atheling of the EnglishRoyal house of Wessex, and his German princ ess Agatha. Margaret wasraised in the court of St. Stephen, King of Hungary, until she was 1 2years of age, and then she and her family returned to England, where thecurrent king was St . Edward the Confessor.
      After the Norman conquest in 1066, and after the death ofEdward "The Outlaw" i n 1068, Agatha with her son and two daughtersdecided to return to Hungary and set off with th at intention. Their shipwas driven up the Firth of Forth to Dunfermline, where King Malcol m III,of Scotland, received them hospitably and granted the family refuge. Hevery soon offer ed the entire family a permanent home with him and askedthat the Princess Margaret marry him . Margaret, a very devout and muchimpressed with the futility of earthly greatness, had ver y nearly decidedto become a nun, however when Malcom's request was made to Edgar "TheChilde" , said "Yea," and Margaret was persuaded to marry the king as hissecond wife.
      Malcolm III was born about 1031 and founded the house ofCanmore, which ruled Sco tland for more than two hundred years, andconsolidated the power of the Scottish Monarchy. H e was a son of DuncanI, who was killed by MacBeth in 1040. Malcolm III lived in exile untilh e defeated and killed MacBeth near Lumphanan in Aberdeenshire in 1057.He succeeded to the thr one in 1058, and about 1068-1070 he marriedMargaret.
      Margaret possessed a great wisdom that had an impact onMalcolm, causing him to b e a better ruler. He regarded his wife withholy reverence, and with most devoted love follow ed her advice, and wasguided by her to become not only more religious and conscientious butmo re civilized and regal. The king's devotion to her and her influenceover him were almost unb ounded. He never refused or begrudged heranything, nor did he show the least bit of displeas ure when she tookmoney out of his treasury for her charities. Malcolm could not read,howeve r he loved her books for her sake, handling them with affectionatereverence and kissing them . Sometimes he would take a favorite volume ofhers and send for a goldssmith to decorate th e book with gold and gems.When this was finished, he would then give it to Margaret as a proo f ofhis devotion to her.
      In addition to her influence with her husband and sons, wholater succeeded thei r father as rulers of Scotland, Margaret took adirect role in helping the people of Scotland . She devoted her time andmoney to works of charity and helping the less fortunate, and prev ented a"schism" between the Roman Church and the Celtic Church, which had beencut off from Ro me. She also introduced European Culture to Scotland, anddid so more successfully than the f orceful introduction in England underthe Normans.
      She was a saintly and self-denying on the throne as shewould have been in the c loister [remember she had intended to become anun]. She at once perceived it to be her dut y to benefit and elevate thepeople among whom it was her destiny to live, and this she undert ook withthe greatest of diligence and the most earnest piety. At this time therewas so muc h barbarism in the customs of the pople, so many abuses in theChurch, so muchy on all hands t o reform, that she called together thenative clergy and the priest who had come with her, he r husband acting asinterpreter, and she spoke so eloquently and earnestly that all werecharme d with her gracious demeanor and wise counsel and adopted hersuggestions.
      Margaret is credited with the introduction of English(Roman) usuages into the S cottish Church. Among other improvements sheintroduced the observance of Sunday by refrainin g from menial work, "thatif anything has been done amiss during the six days it may be expiat ed byour prayers on the day of Resurrection." she influenced her people toobserve the fort y days' fasting during Lent, and to receive HolySacrament on Easter days, from which they ha d abstained for fear ofincreasing their own damnation because they were sinners. On this poi ntshe said that if the Savior had intended that no sinner should receivethe Holy Sacrament, H e would have have given a command which, in thatcase, no one could obey. "We", said she, "Wh o many days beforehand haveconfessed and done penance and fasted and been washed from our sin s withtears and alms and absorption, approach the table of the Lord in faith onthe day of Hi s Resurrection, not to our damnation but to the remission ofour sins and in salutary preparat ion for eternal blessedness."
      Margaret re-founded the monastery on the Island of Iona,originally founded by S t. Columba, an Irish missionary who found themonastery in 563 in an attempt to convert the Pi cts. One of her firstacts as queen was to build a church at Dunfermline, where she had beenm arried. She dedicated the church to the Holy Trinity. She gave it allthe ornaments that a c hurch requires, among them were golden cups, ahandsome crucifix of gold and silver enladen wi th gems, and vestments forthe priests. Her room was never without some of these beautiful th ingsin preparation for her demise. Included were capes for the singers,sacerdotal vestments , stoles, and altar clothes that were seen wereembroidered by noble young ladies who were Que en Margarets attendants.
      No man was admitted to this room, unless she allowed him tocome with her. She s uffered no levity, no petulance, no frivolity, noflirtation. Margaret was so dignified in he r pleasantry, cheerful in herstrictness and as a result she was both loved and feared. No on e daredutter a rude or profance remark in her presence.
      She not only was responsible for religious improvements, butalso caused trader s from all lands to bring their wares to Scotland andthus introduced many useful as well as b eautiful articles, which had beenbefore unknown in Scotland. She induced the Scots to buy an d wearclothings and stuffs of various colors, and she is said to haveintroduced the tartans t hat afterwards became distinctive parts of theScottish costume. She instituted the custom th at wherever the king rodeor walked he should be accompanied by an escort, however the member s ofhis band were strictly forbidden to take anything by force from any one,or to oppress an y poor person. She decorated the kings house withfurniture and hangings, and introduced cup s and dishes of gold and silverfor the royal table. All of this she did, not that she was fo nd ofworldly show, but so that the Court would be more decent and lessbarbarous than it had b een before.
      During the wars between England and Scotland a number ofcaptives were taken, an d many prisoners of English ancestry were livingas slaves on Malcolm's lands. They were of s omewhat better education andsuperior culture to the Scots and gradually advanced the civiliza tion oftheir captors. Many of these so-called slaves were set free by QueenMargaret.
      When Margaret met people of poor exsistences, she gave themliberal alms, and i f she had nothing of her own left to give, she thenasked her attendants for something in orde r that she might not letChrist's poor go away empty-handed. The attendants, who accompanie d hertook a great deal of pride and pleasure in offering her all that theyhad, feeling sure t hat a double blessing would reward their alms whengiven through the saintly queen.
      Margaret provided ships at a place on the Firth of Forth,still known as "The Qu een's Ferry," that all persons coming from distantparts on a pilgrimmage to St. andrews migh t be brought across the waterfree of charge. she also gave houses and servants on either sho re fortheir accomodation, that they might find everything necessary for theirrepose and refre shment and might pay their devotions in peace andsafety. Besides this, she erected homes o f rest and shelter for poorstrangers in various places. Since childhood she had diligently s tudiedthe Holy Writ and having a keen intelligence and an excellent memory, sheknew and under stood the Scriptures very well. She enjoyed consulthinglearned and holy men concerning the s acred writings, and as she had agreat gift for expressing herself clearly, they often found t hemselvesfar wise after a conversation with her. Her love for the holy books madeher spen d a considerable amount of time in reading and studying. Margaretlonged to possess more porti ons of the Word of God, and she sometimesbegged Turgot and other learned clergymen to obtai n them for her. Shebrought up her eight children very strictly and piously, instructing them in the Holy Scriptures and the duties of their station and associatedthem in her works of cha rity. she made a big point of their treatingtheir elders with respect. The fruit of her goo d training appeared intheir lives for many years after she was already gone.
      There were many holy anchorites living in cells or cavesin different parts o f Scotland. These the queen occasionally visited,conversing with them and commending hersel f to their prayers. It was notuncommon in the ancient Celtic Church for devout secular perso ns towithdraw for a time from assiciation with the rest of the world. Theydevoted themselve s entirely to prayer and meditation for a long or shortseason, and then returned to their nor mal duties of life. A cave isstill shown, not farm from Dunfermline where tradition states t his holyqueen used to go for solitude and prayer.
      Her abstinence was so great and her care for her own needsor gratification s o small that her feast days were like the fast days ofothers, and as a result, her strict fas ting, caused her to suffer acutelyall of her life from pains in her stomach, however she di d not lose herstrength and faith. Margaret observed a total of eighty days of fasting,fort y days before Easter and forty days before Christmas. During theseperiods of self-denial, he r biographer states that after she slept for ashort time at the beginning of the night, she w ent into the church andsaid alone three sets of Matins, then the Offices of the Dead, then th ewhole Psalter, which lasted until the priests had said Matins and Lauds.She then returned t o her room and there, assisted by the king, she washedthe feet of six poor persons who were b rought to her by the chamberlain.After this, she "permitted her body to take a littel slepe o r nodde".When it was morning she becan her works of mercy again; while the psalmswere being r ead to her, nine little destitute orphans were brought toher, and she took each child on he r lap and fed him or her with her ownspoon. While she was feeding the babies, three hundre d poor persons werebrought into the hall and seated around it, and as soon as she and KingMal colm came in, the doors were shut, only the chaplains and a fewattendants being present whil e the king and queen waited upon Christ inperson of His poor, serving them with food and drin k. After this meal,the queen used to go into the church and there, with tears and signs andm any prayers, she offered herself as a sacrifice to God. In addition tothe "Hours", on the gr eat festivals, Margaret used to repeat the Psaltertwo or three times, and before the public M ass she had five or sixprivate Masses sung in her presence. It was then time for her owndinn er, but before she touched it she waited on twenty-four poor peoplewho were her daily care a t all seasons; wherever she happened to be, theyhad to be lodged near the royal residence.
      One of Margaret's prized possessions was a Gospel Bookwhich she often read. I t had beautiful illuminated pictures, all thecapital letters shining with gold. One of her p eople, when passingthrough a stream dropped it without noticing. By and by the book wasnotic ed to be missing and was looked for everywhere, and eventually foundat the bottom of the stre am into which it had falled. The pieces of silkthat were between the pages to prevent the le tters from rubbing againsteach other were washed away, the pages were shaken to and fro by th emovement of the water, however not a single letter was obliterated.Margaret gave thanks fo r its restoration and prized it even more thanbefore. This book, with a water stain on the l ast page, is now in theBodleian Library.
      For more than six months before her death, Margaret couldnot ride a horse an d was very often confined to her bed. King Malcominvaded England many times after 1068, supp orting the claim of hisbrother-in-law Edgar Aethling to the English throne. In 1072, he wasf orced to pay homage to William I, and in 1091, to William II. Shortlybefore Margaret's death , the King, against her advice, made a raid intoNorthumberland where he and her eldest son we re killed by Norman forcesat Alnwick. Malcolm died at Alnwick Castle on November 13, 1093 . Thequeen, who had a presentiment of it, and said to those that were withher, "Perhaps thi s day a greater evil has happened to Scotland than anythat has befallen it for a long time."
      Three days dlater, Margaret felt a little better and wentinto her oratory t o hear Mass and receive Holy Communion. She thenreturned to bed, and growing rapidly worse , begged Turgot and the otherswho were present to keep commending her soul to Christ with psa lms. sheasked them to bring her the black rood, which she had brought fromHungary and had al ways regarded with great veneration. It was of goldset with large diamonds and said to conta in a piece of the actual crossof Christ. she devoutly kissed and contemplated it, and when s he wascold with the chill of death, she still held it in both hands and keptpraying and sayin g the fifty-first psalms.
      Edgar, son of Margaret and King Malcolm, had gone withhis father and brothe r to Northumberland, and came into her romm to tellher of the death of his father and brother . Seeing his mother was dying,he was afraid to tell her the sad news. She then is reporte d to havesaid "I know, I know, I conjure you to tell me the truth," and havingheard it, she p raised God and died, just three days after her husband, onNovember sixteenth 1093 at Edinburg h Castle. The Annals of Ulster for1093 state "Maelcolaim Mac Donnacha sovereign of Alban an d Echbardfa hisson, slain by Franks. His queen, viz. Margarita, died through griefbefore th e end of (three) days."
      While her body still laid in Edinburgh Castle, Malcolm'sbrother, Donald Bane , assisted by the King of Norway, attacked thecastle, however he only watched the gate, think ing the other parts of thefortification inaccessible. Margaret's family and her faithfulatte ndants escaped by a postern called the West Yhet, taking with themthe corpse of their belove d Margaret. A thick mist hid them from theenemy. They crossed the sea and arrived without an y trouble atDunfermline, where they buried Queen Margaret according to her ownwishes. Malcol m was succeeded briefly by his brother Donald Bane.Margaret's brother Edgar the Atheling too k Margaret's children toEngland, and for fear of the Normans, gave them privately to friend s andrelations to be brought up. He afterwards helped to restore them totheir country. Marg aret's sons continued her work, which contributedgreatly to a golden age in Scotland for tw o hundred years after herdeath. First to the throne was son, Duncan II. Three other sons al sosucceeded to the throne: Edgar whose reign was from 1097-1107, AlexanderI who reigned fro m 1107-1124, and David I who reigned from 1124-1153.Margaret and Malcolm's daughter Edith, al so known as Matilda, became thewife of King Henry I Of England, who was the fourth son of Wil liam theConqueror.
      Queen Margaret was worshipped without any authority until1250/51 when she wa s cannonized by Pope Innocent IV who ordered hersacred body to be translated [removed] from i ts first tomb. On July19th, 1297, all the arrangements being made, the men who were appointe dto raise her body, found it impossible to do so; stonger men wereordered to lift it and tri ed in vain; still more men were brought, butall of their strength was unavailing. Evidentl y the saint objected towhat was being done. The clery and all present prayed in earnest that the mysterious opposition might cease and the sacred rite be completed.After some time an ins piration was granted to a devout member of thecongregation; namely, that the saint did not wi sh to be separated fromher husband. As soon as they began to take up his coffin, that of his dutiful wife became quite light and easy to move, and both were laid onone bier and translate d with ease to the honorable place prepared forthem under the high altar.
      In 1693 Pope Innocent XII transferred Margaret's festivalfrom the day of her d eath (November 16th) to June 10th, although November16th is still the day celebrated by the S cottish. the bodies of the twomonarchs are said to have been acquired by King Philip II, Kin g Of Spain,who placed them in the church of St. Lawrence in his new palace of ElEscorial, i n two urns. [1] The head of St. Margaret, after being in thepossession of her descendant, Que en Mary Stuart, was kept in secret formany years by a Benedictine Monk in Fife; then it passe d to Antwerp, andabout 1627 was removed to the Scotch college at Douai and there exposedfor p ublic viewing. It was still to be seen there in 1785, at which timeit was well preserved an d had very fine fair hair. Neither the heads,the bodies nor the black rood can now be found , however the grave ofMargaret may still be seen outside the present day church atDunfermline . Her oratory in Edinburgh Castle is a small church withsturdy short pillars and a simple bu t ornamental pattern at the edge ofits low rounded arches. In 1853, it was falling into ruin , when QueenVictoria had it repaired and furnished with colored glass windows. [2][3] [4] [5 ]
      ================================================================
      [1] El Escorial Palace is located 85 miles from Madrid, Spain and is opendaily for tours. Wh en my husband and I were stationed in Spain in the1980's this palace was one of the many plac es that we visited.

      [2] Notable Women Ancestors, http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/margaret.html
      [3] A Dictionary of Saintly Women in Two Volumes, Vol. II, Agnes B. C.Dunbar, George Bell & S ons, London, England, 1905.
      [4] Life of St. Margaret Queen of Scotland, R. M. Turgot, translated byForbes Leith
      [5] The Lives of the Kings and Queens Of England, edited by AntoniaFraser, University of Cali fornia Press, Berkeley & Los Angeles,California by arrangement with Weidenfeld & Nicholson Lt d., London,England, 1975
    • Niece of Edward the Confessor. Cannonized Saint Margaret 1249/50. St. Margaret of Scotland; b. 1045; d. 16 Nov. 1093; m. Dunfermline, 1068/9, MALCOLM III CANMORE, King of Scots, 1058-1093; b. 1031; d. 13 Nov 1093.MARGARET OF SCOTLAND, SAINT (b. c. 1045, probably Hungary--d. Nov. 16, 1093, Edinburgh; canonized 1250; feast day November 16, Scottish feast day June 16), queen consort of Malcolm III Canmore and patroness of Scotland.

      Margaret was brought up at the Hungarian court, where her father, Edward, was in exile. After the Battle of Hastings, Edward's widow and children fled for safety to Scotland. Her brother Edgar the Aetheling, defeated claimant to the English throne, joined her there. In spite of her leanings toward a religious life, Margaret married (c. 1070) Malcolm III Canmore, king of Scotland from 1057 or 1058 to 1093. Through her influence over her husband and his court, she promoted, in conformity with the Gregorian reform, the interests of the church and of the English population conquered by the Scots in the previous century. She died shortly after her husband was slain near Alnwick, Northumberland. [Encyclopaedia Britannica CD '97]

      http://awt.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=mjr6387&id=I2223

      ST. MARGARET, QUEEN OF SCOTLAND

      Many of the saints in the Romish calendar rest their claims to the title on grounds either wholly or partially fabulous, or which at best display a merit of a very dubious order. It is, however, satisfactory to recognise in the queen of Malcolm Canmore many of those traits which contribute to form a character of sterling virtue, to whose memory persons of all creeds and predilections must pay a respectful homage. It is true that much of our information regarding her is derived from the report of her confessor Turgot, whom clerical prejudices, as well as the inducements of personal friendship and courtly policy, may have led to delineate her with too flattering a pencil.

      Enough, however, remains after making all due deductions on this score, to confirm the idea popularly entertained in Scotland of the excellence of Queen Margaret. The niece of King Edward the Confessor, and the granddaughter of Edmund Ironside, the colleague of Canute, her youth was spent in exile, and under the proverbially salutary discipline of adversity. Her father and uncle narrowly escaped destruction at the hands of Canute, who, on the murder of their father, Edmund, sent the two young princes to the court of the king of Sweden, with instructions to put them to death privately. The chivalrous monarch refused to imbrue his hands in innocent blood, and sent the royal youths to Solomon, king of Hungary, by whom they were hospitably received and educated.

      Edmund the elder brother died, but Edward the younger married Agatha, a German princess, by whom he became the father of Edgar Atheling, Christina, and Margaret. On the death of Harold, at the Battle of Hastings, Edgar Atheling made an attempt to vindicate his right to the English crown against William the Conqueror; but his unenergetic character was quite unable to cope with the vigour and resources of the latter, and Edgar and his sister Margaret were consequently obliged to fly the kingdom. They were ship-wrecked on the coast of Scotland, and courteously received by King Malcolm Canmore, who was speedily captivated by the beauty and amiable character of Margaret. Her marriage to him took place in the year 1070, at the castle of Dunfermline, a place described by Fordun as surrounded with woods, rocks, and rivers, almost inaccessible to men or beasts by its situation, and strongly fortified by art. Margaret was at this time about twenty-four years of age.

      On her journey northwards to Dunfermline, she crossed the Firth of Forth at the well-known point where it narrows above Inverkeithing, and which since that event has been known by the designation of the Queensferrp. A stone is also still shewn on the road, a little below Dunfermline, called Queen Margaret's Stone, on which she is traditionally said to have rested. Of the palace or castle where she resided at Dunfermline, a small fragment still remains enclosed within the romantic grounds of Pittencrieff, and known as Malcolm Canmore's Tower.

      The union thus consummated was followed by a numerous offspring -six sons and two daughters. Three of the sons, Edgar, Alexander, and David ascended successively the throne of Scotland, and the elder daughter Maud, or Mathildes married Henry I, king of England. To the education of her children Margaret seems to have devoted herself with the most sedulous attention. She procured for them the best preceptors and teachers that the times afforded, and is said to have been particular in inculcating on them the necessity of restraining and correcting the frowardness of youth, by a proper exercise of discipline. Her own temper, however, appears to have been of the sweetest and most placid kind, and she was beloved among her servants and dependents for her innumerable acts of generosity and complaisance. To the poor also her charity was unbounded. Whenever she walked out, she was besieged by crowds of distressed persons, widows, orphans, and others, to whom she administered relief with a liberality which often exceeded the bounds of prudence.

      During the various incursions made by Malcolm into England, large numbers of the inhabitants of the country were taken prisoners, and to them the beneficence of Margaret was readily extended. She inquired into, and endeavoured as far as possible to mitigate their unhappy condition, and in many instances secretly paid their ransom out of her own funds, to enable them to return to their homes. She also erected hospitals in various places. With her husband, she seems to have lived on the most affectionate terms. Some of her acts, indeed, bear the marks of that spirit of asceticism and ostentatious humiliation so highly esteemed in that age. Every morning, she prepared a breakfast for nine little orphans, whom she fed on her bonded knees; and in the evening, she washed the feet of six poor persons, besides entertaining a crowd of mendicants each day at dinner.

      The season of Lent was observed by her with more than the wonted austerities of the Roman Catholic Church, allowing herself no food but a scanty meal of the simplest description, before retiring to rest, after a day spent in the closest exercises of devotion. One special act of hers in relation to religious ordinances deserves to be recorded. The observance of the Sabbath, which, previous to her marriage with Malcolm, had fallen greatly into desuetude, was revived and maintained. by her influence and example. It is not probable, however, that the staid and decorous observance of Sunday, so characteristic of Scotland, was derived from this incident, as a relapse appears to have taken place in succeeding reigns, and the strictly devotional character of the Sabbath to have been only again established at the Reformation.

      Notwithstanding the religious tendencies of Margaret, her court was distinguished by a splendour and elegance hitherto unknown in Scotland. Her own apparel was magnificent, and the feasts at the royal table were served up on gold and silver plate. Her acquaintance with the Scriptures and the writings of the fathers was extensive, and she is reported to have held numerous disputations with doctors of divinity on theological matters. An epitome of her moral excellence is presented in what is related of her, that 'in her presence nothing unseemly was ever clone or uttered.'

      The last days of this amiable queen were clouded by adversity and distress. The austerity of her religious practices prematurely undermined her health, and she was attacked by a tedious and painful illness, which she bore with exemplary resignation. She listened assiduously to the spiritual consolations of her faithful confessor Turgot, who thus relates her concluding words to him as quoted by Lord Hailes:

      'Farewell; my life draws to a close, but you may survive me long. To you I commit the charge of my children, teach them above all things to love and fear God; and whenever you see any of them attain to the height of earthly grandeur, oh! then, in an especial manner, be to them as a father and a guide. Admonish and, if need be, reprove them, lest they be swelled with the pride of momentary glory, through avarice offend. God, or by reason of the prosperity of this world, become careless of eternal life. This in the presence of Him, who is now our only witness, I beseech you to promise and to perform.'

      Her death at the last was accelerated by the news which she received of the death of her husband and eldest son before the castle of Alnwick, in Northumberland, an expedition in which she had vainly endeavoured to dissuade Malcolm from taking part in person. While lying on her couch one day, after having offered up some fervent supplications to the Almighty, she was surprised by the sudden entrance of her third son Edgar, from the army in England. Divining at once that some disaster had happened, she exclaimed: 'How fares it with the king and my Edward?' and then, on no answer being returned: 'I know all, I know all: by this holy cross, by your filial affection, I adjure you, tell me the truth.' Her son then replied: 'Your husband and your son are both slain.' The dying queen raised her eyes to heaven and murmured: 'Praise and blessing be to thee, Almighty God, that thou hast been pleased to make me endure so bitter anguish in the hour of my departure, thereby, as I trust, to purify me in some measure from the corruption of my sins; and thou, Lord Jesus Christ, who through the will of the Father, hast enlivened the world by thy death, oh! deliver me.'

      In pronouncing the last words, she expired on the 16th of November 1093, at the comparatively early age of forty-seven. She was canonized by Pope Innocent IV in 1251, but in the end of the seventeenth century, her festival was removed by the orders of Innocent XII, from the day of her death to the 10th of June. She was interred in the church of the Holy Trinity, at Dunfermline, which she had founded, and which, upwards of two hundred years afterwards,. received the corpse of the great King Robert.

      At the Reformation, the remains of Queen Margaret and her husband were conveyed privately by some adherents of the old religion to Spain, and deposited in a chapel which King Philip II built for their reception, in the palace of the Escurial. Here their tomb is said still to be seen, with the inscription: 'St. Malcolm, King, and St. Margaret, Queen.' The head of Queen Margaret, however, is stated to be now deposited in the church of the Scots Jesuits, at Douay.

      The Book of Days
    • Sister of Edward Ætheling and great-niece of Edward The Confessor. Called Margaret The Exile.
      Born about 1045, died 16 Nov., 1092, was a daughter of Edward "Outremere", or "the Exile", by Agatha, kinswoman of Gisela, the wife of St. Stephen of Hungary. She was the granddaughter of Edmund Ironside. A constant tradition asserts that Margaret's father and his brother Edmund were sent to Hungary for safety during the reign of Canute, but no record of the fact has been found in that country. The date of Margaret's birth cannot be ascertained with accuracy, but it must have been between the years 1038, when St. Stephen died, and 1057, when her father returned to England. It appears that Margaret came with him on that occasion and, on his death and the conquest of England by the Normans, her mother Agatha decided to return to the Continent. A storm however drove their ship to Scotland, where Malcolm III received the party under his protection, subsequently taking Margaret to wife. This event had been delayed for a while by Margaret's desire to entire religion, but it took place some time between 1067 and 1070.
      In her position as Queen of Scotland, all Margaret's great influence was thrown into the cause of religion and piety. A synod was held, and among the special reforms instituted the most important were the regulation of the Lenten fast, observance of the Easter communion, and the removal of certain abuses concerning marriage within the prohibited degrees. Her private life was given up to constant prayer and practices of piety. She founded several churches, including the Abbey of Dunfermline, built to enshrine her greatest treasure, a relic of the true Cross. Her book of the Gospels, richly adorned with jewels, which one day dropped into a river and was according to legend miraculously recovered, is now in the Bodleian library at Oxford. She foretold the day of her death, which took place at Edinburgh on 16 Nov., 1093, her body being buried before the high altar at Dunfermline.
      In 1250 Margaret was canonized by Innocent IV, and her relics were translated on 19 June, 1259, to a new shrine, the base of which is still visible beyond the modern east wall of the restored church. At the Reformation her head passed into the possession of Mary Queen of Scots, and later was secured by the Jesuits at Douai, where it is believed to have perished during the French Revolution. According to George Conn, "De duplici statu religionis apud Scots" (Rome, 1628), the rest of the relics, together with those of Malcolm, were acquired by Philip II of Spain, and placed in two urns in the Escorial. When, however, Bishop Gillies of Edinburgh applied through Pius IX for their restoration to Scotland, they could not be found.
      - - - Catholic Encylopedia
    • [2923] COLVER31.TXT file, b. 1045, d. 1093

      WSHNGT.ASC file (Geo Washington Ahnentafel) # 8717895 = 2183441

      "Ancestral Roots of Sixty Colonists ...", St. Margaret of Scotland, m date & place

      EDWARD3.DOC St. Margaret "Atheling", Princess ENGLAND (1045-1093)
    • Margaret was an English princess. She and her mother sailed to Scotland to escape from the king who had conquered their land. King Malcolm of Scotland welcomed them and fell in love with the beautiful princess. Margaret and Malcolm were married before too long. As Queen, Margaret changed her husband and the country for the better. Malcolm was good, but he and his court were very rough. When he saw how wise his beloved wife was, he listened to her good advice. She softened his temper and led him to practice great virtue. She made the court beautiful and civilized. Soon all the princes had better manners, and the ladies copied her purity and devotion. The king and queen gave wonderful example to everyone by the way they prayed together and fed crowds of poor people with their own hands. They seemed to have only one desire: to make everyone happy and good.
      Margaret was a blessing for all the people of Scotland. Before she came, there was great ignorance and many bad habits among them. Margaret worked hard to obtain good teachers, to correct the evil practices, and to have new churches built. She loved to make these churches beautiful for God's glory, and she embroidered the priest's vestments herself. God sent this holy Queen six sons and two daughters. She loved them dearly and raised them well. The youngest boy became St. David. But Margaret had sorrows, too. In her last illness, she learned that both her husband and her son, Edward, had been killed in battle. Yet she prayed: "I thank You, Almighty God, for sending me so great a sorrow to purify me from my sins."
    • At least one source indicates that Margaret may have been born at or n ear Castle Reka, Mecseknadasd, Hungary. Margaret had been exiled to t he eastern continent with the rest of her family when the Danes overra n England. She was well educated, mostly in Hungary. She returned to E ngland during the reign of her great-uncle, Edward the Confessor, but , as one of the last remaining members of the saxon Royal Family, shew as forced to flee north to the Royal Scots Court at the time of the No rman Conquest.

      In her private life, Margaret was much given to prayer, reading and ec clesiastical needlework. She also gave alms lavishly and liberated a n umber of Anglo-Saxon captives. Her influence over her husband was cons iderable and she brought an English slant to Scottish politics for whi ch has sometimes been criticized. King Malacolm's initial rough charac ter was certainly softened by the lady.

      Beautiful, intelligent and devout, Margaret brought some of the more d etailed points of current European manners, ceremony and culture to th e Scottish Court and thus highly improved its civilized reputation. Sh e had a taste for the finer things in life and, in 1069, she won overt he Scots King, Malcolm Canmore, and married him. Their union was excep tionally happy and fruitful for both themselves and the Scottish natio n. Margaret is known to history for her work to reform the Scottishch urch by bringing it into line with Roman practices and replacing Celti c practices. Margaret brought many English priests to Scotland as on e method of achieving this goal. She was a supporter of Archbishop An selm.
    • Saint Margaret (c. 1045 - 16 November 1093), was the sister of Edgar Ætheling , the short-ruling and uncrowned Anglo-Saxon King of England . She married Malcolm III , King of Scots , becoming his Queen consort .
      Saint Margaret was the daughter of the English prince Edward the Exile , son of Edmund Ironside . She was probably born at Castle Réka, Mecseknádasd , in the region of Southern Transdanubia , Hungary .[citation needed ] The provenance of her mother, Agatha , is disputed.
      According to popular belief, Margaret was a very serious person, so much that no one ever could recall seeing her laugh or smile.[citation needed ]
      When her uncle, Saint Edward the Confessor , the French-speaking Anglo-Saxon King of England , died in 1066, she was living in England where her brother, Edgar Ætheling , had decided to make a claim to the vacant throne.
      According to tradition, after the conquest of the Kingdom of England by the Normans , the widowed Agatha decided to leave Northumberland with her children and return to the Continent. A storm drove their ship to Scotland , where they sought the protection of King Malcolm III . The spot where she is said to have landed is known today as St. Margaret's Hope, near the village of North Queensferry .
      Malcolm was probably a widower , and was no doubt attracted by the prospect of marrying one of the few remaining members of the Anglo-Saxon royal family. The marriage of Malcolm and Margaret soon took place. Malcolm followed it with several invasions of Northumberland by the Scottish king, probably in support of the claims of his brother-in-law Edgar. These, however, had little result beyond the devastation of the province.
      Margaret and Malcolm had eight children, six sons and two daughters:
      Edward, killed 1093.
      Edmund of Scotland
      Ethelred , abbot of Dunkeld
      King Edgar of Scotland
      King Alexander I of Scotland
      King David I of Scotland
      Edith of Scotland , also called Matilda, married King Henry I of England
      Mary of Scotland , married Eustace III of Boulogne
      Her husband, Malcolm III, and their eldest son, Edward, were killed in a fight against the English at Alnwick Castle on 13 November 1093. Her son Edmund was left with the task of telling his mother of their deaths. Margaret was ill, and she died on 16 November 1093, three days after the deaths of her husband and eldest son.
      It is notable that while Malcolm's children by his first wife Ingibjörg all bore Gaelic names, those of Margaret all bore non-Gaelic names.
      Later tradition suggests that Margaret was responsible for reducing the importance of Gaelic culture in the lowlands and Scotland in general. She probably intended the forenames of her children to bear her claims to the Anglo-Saxon throne in the period before permanent Norman rule was recognized. Her first group of children were given Anglo-Saxon royal names. But, it is unlikely that Margaret's children were originally seen as successors to the Scottish throne. Malcolm had older (grown) sons by his first marriage, as well as brothers, who were much more likely to succeed him. Furthermore, Margaret freely patronized Gaelic churchmen. The use of the Gaelic language continued to increase in northern Britain.
      Nevertheless, Margaret's sons regarded their Anglo-Saxon heritage as important. It was one of the main elements which later Scottish kings used to legitimize their authority in English-speaking Lothian and northern England.
      Margaret was known for having invited English Benedictine monks to Scotland, to establish the first holy orders in the nation. She admired their work and learning, and also encouraged Scottish holy men.
      Saint Margaret was canonised in the year 1250 by Pope Innocent IV in recognition of her personal holiness, fidelity to the Church, work for religious reform, and charity. She attended to charitable works, and personally served orphans and the poor every day before she ate. She rose at midnight to attend church services every night. She was known for her work for religious reform. She was considered to be an exemplar of the "just ruler", and also influenced her husband and children to be just and holy rulers.
      The Roman Catholic Church formerly marked the feast of Saint Margaret of Scotland on June 10 , because the feast of "Saint Gertrude, Virgin" was already celebrated on November 16 . In Scotland, she was venerated on November 16, the day of her death.

      St Margaret's Church in Dunfermline dedicated to her memory
      Per the revision of the Roman Catholic calendar of saints in 1969, the Church transferred her feast day to November 16, the actual day of her death.[1] Traditional Roman Catholics continue to celebrate the feast day of "St Margaret, Queen of Scots, Widow" on June 10 as a Semi-Double feast, or a 3rd Class feast.
      Queen Margaret University (founded in 1875), Queen Margaret College (Glasgow) , Queen Margaret Union , Queen Margaret Hospital (just outside Dunfermline ), North Queensferry , South Queensferry , Queen Margaret Academy (Ayr), Queen Margaret College (Wellington) and several streets in Scotland are named after her.
      She is also venerated as a saint in the Anglican Church .
    • GIVN Margaret "Atheling", Princess
      SURN England
      NSFX [Queen Of Scotla
      AFN 9FTX-SR
      _PRIMARY Y
      DATE 9 SEP 2000
      TIME 13:15:43
    • "Saint Margaret" was a famous historical figure. Her biography can be found in many places. A good source is the website Notable Women Ancestors.
      http://www.rootsweb.com/~nwa/margaret.html
    • [] Margaret Atheling. [Alan Wilson ,
      qoting Weis 7th ed., 1992, and others]
      Person Source

    • St Margaret of Scotland.
      Sermon preached on Sunday 19th November, 2000 by Revd Prof R G Sommerville
      at St Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church, Tayport
      “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant who was seeking goodly pearls”

      This morning I intend to tell you a bit of the background to St Margaret, who lived nearly a thousand years ago! The above quotation shows us Jesus telling people about the merchant who was looking for goodly pearls. St Margaret is regarded as one of the pearls of Scotland.

      Margaret’s father, Edward Atheling was the Saxon heir to the English throne. There was a Danish invasion, and much of the country fell under the rule of the Danes. Edward was forced to find safety at the court of King Andrew of Hungary. A thousand years ago Hungary was a place that fostered Christianity and welcomed Royal exiles. In Hungary, Edward found refuge and safety and he also found and courted Agatha - a pious German princess who was also a refugee. Edward and Agatha married and soon after started a family. Their first child was Margaret, born in 1045, and she was followed by Christina and Edgar.

      Margaret was trained to be a princess by her parents, and was taught to be a devout Christian by the local Benedictine nuns. She studied diligently and made great progress in her knowledge of Chritianity.

      Back home in England, the Saxons overcame and threw out the Danes and Edward the Confessor became King of England in 1042. Edward had no children and, in 1054, a little anxious about his succession, he asked his nephew Edward Atheling to come home from Hungary with his family to England with a view to preparing to become King when the time was right. Messages travelled slowly in those days and Edward, Agatha and their three children arrived back in England in 1057, three years later. Before the end of 1057 Edward, Margaret’s father, was killed in a battle on his way to meet his uncle Edward the Confessor. When William the Conqueror, in France, heard of the death of Edward Atheling, he decided to invade Britain, but it took a few years before the scene was set. Edward the Confessor died in 1066. William (the Conqueror) seized the moment and invaded before King Harold had time to organise proper defences. Harold was killed at the battle of Hastings when an arrow pierced his eye. (My ancestors came from Normandy, accompanied William and took part in his battle at Hastings, moved eventually to the court of King Malcolm of Scotland and were granted lands in the centre of what we now call Lanarkshire and proceeded to breed like proverbial rabbits - so that the Lanarkshire phone book has pages of them!)

      The Saxon rule of England ended with William’s successful landing at Hastings and his subsequent march on London. Margaret, a Saxon, had to flee. She boarded ship at London and headed north, landing at St Margaret’s Hope in Orkney. (In August this year, Jennifer and I had dinner at a simply superb restaurant in St Margaret’s Hope. It is a peaceful little place now - nothing much ever happens! The food is excellent - if more expensive than in Margaret’s day!

      The party made their way back down the coast to what we now know as Fife and thence to Dunfermline where Malcolm was King. They arrived in 1070. Margaret wished to become a nun, but Malcolm had other plans. He courted her, and she, aware of the power
      for good that the position of Queen of Scotland would give her, agreed to his proposal of marriage. Margaret was 24 and Malcolm in his late 30’s. Margaret’s first act as Queen was to build a great Church at Dunfermline, dedicated to the Holy Trinity.

      Margaret and Malcolm ruled Scotland for 23 years. Margaret was deeply pious and is said to have taught Malcolm how to pray and all about the ways of charity. Malcolm’s political preoccupation continued to be keeping the English out, while Margaret built schools, established abbeys, cared personally for pilgrims and for the poor by distributing money for food with her own hands at every opportunity.

      Margaret’s most precious personal possession was a book of the Gospels, ornamented with gold and precious stones. One day it was accidentally dropped into a river she was crossing. The book disappeared for many months and when it was recovered, it showed no damage. The lack of damage was attributed to Margaret’s holiness. The book now rests in the Bodleian library in Oxford and the only sign of water damage can be seen inside the back cover. The rest of the text, with its beautiful gold ornamentation and fancy lettering is undamaged.

      Margaret saw that the Church in Scotland had fallen into rather lax ways, and as Queen, she prompted the clergy to hold church councils to bring Scottish practices into line with Rome. Abuses were curtailed and proper services were re-introduced. Fasting was introduced for Lent and the great Easter celebration became central to the life of the church.

      Margaret and Malcolm had eight children. Their daughter Edith Maud married Henry 1st of England and became known as “Good Queen Maud” of England because of her holy ways. Their son Ethelred became an abbot. Their three youngest sons became Kings of Scotland in succession, carrying on their mother’s policies, and Scotland went through a “golden age” under their rule. The youngest of the sons, King David of Scotland was also canonised as a saint.

      Malcolm and his eldest son were killed in battle in the north of England in the early days of November 1093, and Margaret, who had been ill for some time, died a few days later on 16th November. She was canonised as Saint Margaret of Scotland in 1250. After her death, Margaret’s second daughter, Mary, asked her mother’s lifelong friend and religious adviser the Abbot Turgot, to write a biography of her mother. It was, as you would expect, a lengthy document. But, amongst all the other things that he wrote, Turgot claimed that “Queen Margaret was a virtuous woman, and in the sight of God she showed herself to be a pearl, precious in faith and in all her works”.
    • There was another wife or woman in Malcolm's life, for Duncan II was the
      Stepson of Margaret.
    • #Générale#Canonisée en 1251. Fête le 16 novembre.

      #Générale#2ʻ femme
    • --canonized 1250; feast day November 16, Scottish feast day June 16
      --Queen consort of Malcolm III Canmore and patroness of Scotland.
      --Margaret was brought up at the Hungarian court, where her father, Edward, was in exile. After the Battle of Hastings, Edward's widow and children fled for safety to Scotland. Her brother Edgar the Aetheling, defeated claimant to the English throne, joined her there. In spite of her leanings toward a religious life, Margaret married (c. 1070) Malcolm III Canmore, king of Scotland from 1057 or 1058 to 1093. Through her influence over her husband and his court, she promoted, in conformity with the Gregorian reform, the interestsof the church and of the English population conquered by the Scots in the previous century. She died shortly after her husband was slain near Alnwick, Northumberland.
    Person ID I6000000009432315864  Ancestors of Donald Ross
    Last Modified 11 Feb 2020 

    Father Edward,   b. 1016, Anglo Saxon England Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. 19 Apr 1057, London, Middlesex, England Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 41 years) 
    Mother Agatha,   b. Between 1018 and 1028, Unknown, Eastern Europe Find all individuals with events at this location,   d. Between 1067 and 1093  (Age ~ 49 years) 
    Married 1035 
    Family ID F6000000009656597207  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Máel Coluim mac Donnchada, III,   b. 26 Mar 1031,   d. 13 Nov 1093, Slain Alnwick Castle Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 62 years) 
    Married 1059  Scotland Find all individuals with events at this location 
    Children 
     1. King Davíd "The Saint" mac Maíl Choluim, I,   b. Abt 1083,   d. 24 May 1153  (Age ~ 70 years)
     2. Eadgyth,   b. 1 Jun 1079,   d. 1 May 1118, Westminster Palace Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age 38 years)
     3. Edmund mac Máel Coluim, Prince of Cumbria,   b. Abt 1071,   d. Abt 1097, Edinburgh Castle Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 26 years)
     4. Mary ingen Maíl Coluim, Countess of Boulogne,   b. Abt 1084,   d. 31 May 1116, St Saviour's Monastery Find all individuals with events at this location  (Age ~ 32 years)
    Last Modified 14 Mar 2021 
    Family ID F6000000003041285508  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart