Saint Margaret of Scotland
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Saint Margaret of Scotland (; , ), also known as Margaret of Wessex, was Queen of Alba from 1070 to 1093 as the wife of King Malcolm III. Margaret was sometimes called "The Pearl of Scotland". She was a member of the
House of Wessex The House of Wessex, also known as the House of Cerdic, the House of the West Saxons, the House of the Gewisse, the Cerdicings and the West Saxon dynasty, refers to the family, traditionally founded by Cerdic of the Gewisse, that ruled Wessex in ...
and was born in the
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...
to the expatriate English prince Edward the Exile. She and her family returned to
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
in 1057. Following the death of Harold Godwinson at the
Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place appr ...
in 1066, her brother Edgar Ætheling was elected as
King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...
but never crowned. After the family fled north, Margaret married Malcolm III of Scotland by the end of 1070. Margaret was a pious
Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...
, and among many charitable works she established a ferry across the
Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...
in
Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
for pilgrims travelling to
St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...
in
Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
, which gave the towns of South Queensferry and
North Queensferry North Queensferry is a historic coastal village in Fife, Scotland, situated on the Firth of Forth, from Edinburgh city centre. Located on the North Queensferry Peninsula, it is the southernmost settlement in Fife. The town derives its name fro ...
their names. Margaret was the mother of three kings of Scotland, or four, if Edmund of Scotland (who ruled with his uncle, Donald III) is counted, and of Matilda of Scotland, queen consort of England. According to the (''Life of St Margaret, Queen (of the Scots)''), attributed to Turgot of Durham, Margaret died at
Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...
in 1093, days after receiving the news of her husband and son's deaths in battle. In 1250,
Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV (; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universities of Parma and Bolo ...
canonised Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sai ...
Margaret, and her remains were reinterred in a shrine in Dunfermline Abbey in Fife. Her relics were dispersed after the
Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process whereby Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke away from the Catholic Church, and established the Protestant Church of Scotland. It forms part of the wider European 16th-century Protestant Reformation. Fr ...
and subsequently lost.
Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...
, at one time owned her head, which was subsequently preserved by
Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
in the Scots College, Douai, France, from where it was lost during the French Revolution.


Early life

Margaret was the daughter of the English prince Edward the Exile and his wife Agatha, and also the granddaughter of Edmund Ironside, King of England."St. Margaret Queen of Scotland", St.Margaret of Scotland Church, Selden, New York
After the death of Ironside in 1016, Canute sent the infant Edward and his brother to the court of the Swedish king,
Olof Skötkonung Olof Skötkonung (; – 1022), sometimes stylized as Olaf the Swede, was King of Sweden, son of Eric the Victorious and, according to Icelandic sources, Sigrid the Haughty. He succeeded his father in c. 995. He stands at the threshold of record ...
, and they eventually made their way to
Kievan Rus' Kievan Rus', also known as Kyivan Rus,. * was the first East Slavs, East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe from the late 9th to the mid-13th century.John Channon & Robert Hudson, ''Penguin Historical At ...
. The provenance of Margaret's mother, Agatha, is disputed. As an adult, Edward travelled to Hungary. In 1046 he supported the successful bid of King Andrew I for the Hungarian crown. Margaret was born in Hungary about 1045. Her brother Edgar Ætheling and sister
Cristina Cristina is a female given name, and it is also a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Cristina (daughter of Edward the Exile), 11th-century English princess *Cristina (singer), Cristina Monet-Palaci (1956–2020), American ...
were also born in Hungary around this time. Margaret grew up in a very religious environment in the Hungarian court.


Return to England

Margaret came to England with the rest of her family when her father, Edward the Exile, was recalled in 1057 as a possible successor to her great-uncle, the childless King Edward the Confessor. Whether from natural or sinister causes, her father died immediately after landing, and Margaret, still a child, continued to reside at the English court where her brother, Edgar Ætheling, was considered a possible successor to the English throne. When Edward the Confessor died in January 1066, Harold Godwinson was selected as king, possibly because Edgar was considered too young. After Harold's defeat at the
Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conquest of England. It took place appr ...
later that year, Edgar was proclaimed
King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers Constitutional monarchy, regula ...
, but when the
Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...
advanced on
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, the
Witenagemot The witan () was the king's council in the Anglo-Saxon government of England from before the 7th century until the 11th century. It comprised important noblemen, including ealdormen, thegns, and bishops. Meetings of the witan were sometimes ...
presented Edgar to
William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...
, who took him to
Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...
before returning him to England in 1068, when Edgar, Margaret, Cristina, and their mother Agatha fled north to
Northumbria Northumbria () was an early medieval Heptarchy, kingdom in what is now Northern England and Scottish Lowlands, South Scotland. The name derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the Sout ...
, England.


Journey to Scotland

According to tradition, the widowed Agatha decided to leave Northumbria with her children and return to the continent. However, a storm drove their ship north to the
Kingdom of Scotland The Kingdom of Scotland was a sovereign state in northwest Europe, traditionally said to have been founded in 843. Its territories expanded and shrank, but it came to occupy the northern third of the island of Great Britain, sharing a Anglo-Sc ...
, where they were shipwrecked in 1068. There they were given refuge by King Malcolm III. The locus where it is believed that they landed is known today as St Margaret's Hope. Margaret's arrival in Scotland, after the failed revolt of the Northumbrian earls, has been heavily romanticised, though one medieval source suggested that she and Malcolm were first engaged nine years earlier. That is, according to
Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis (; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England.Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 6 Working out of ...
, one of Malcolm's earliest actions as king was to travel to the court of
Edward the Confessor Edward the Confessor ( 1003 – 5 January 1066) was King of England from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex. Edward was the son of Æthelred the Unready and Emma of Normandy. He succeede ...
, in 1059 to arrange a marriage with "Edward's kinswoman Margaret, who had arrived in England two years before from Hungary". If a marriage agreement was made in 1059, it was not kept, and this may explain the Scots invasion of Northumbria in 1061 when
Lindisfarne Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parishes in England, civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th centu ...
was plundered. Conversely,
Symeon of Durham __NOTOC__ Symeon (or Simeon) of Durham (fl. c.1090 to c. 1128 ) was an English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory. Biography Symeon was a Benedictine monk at Durham Cathedral at the end of the eleventh century. He may have been one of 23 mo ...
implied that Margaret's first meeting with Malcolm III may not have been until 1070, after William the Conqueror's
Harrying of the North The Harrying of the North was a series of military campaigns waged by William the Conqueror in the winter of 1069–1070 to subjugate Northern England, where the presence of the last House of Wessex, Wessex claimant, Edgar Ætheling, had encour ...
. Malcolm III was a widower, with two sons, Donald and Duncan, and would have been attracted to marrying one of the few remaining members of the
House of Wessex The House of Wessex, also known as the House of Cerdic, the House of the West Saxons, the House of the Gewisse, the Cerdicings and the West Saxon dynasty, refers to the family, traditionally founded by Cerdic of the Gewisse, that ruled Wessex in ...
, the
Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...
royal family. The marriage of Malcolm and Margaret occurred in 1070. Subsequently, Malcolm executed several invasions of Northumbria to support the claim of his new brother-in-law Edgar and to increase his own power. These, however, had little effect save the devastation of the county.


Progeny

Margaret and Malcolm had eight children – six sons and two daughters: # Edward (), killed along with his father in the Battle of Alnwick #
Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...
() # Ethelred, abbot of Dunkeld,
Perth and Kinross Perth and Kinross (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. It is bordered by Highland (council area), Highland and Aberdeenshire to the north, Angus, Scotland, Angus, Dundee, and F ...
, Scotland #
Edgar Edgar is a commonly used masculine English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Edgar'' (composed of ''wikt:en:ead, ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''Gar (spear), gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the Late Midd ...
(), king of Scotland, reigned 1097–1107 # Alexander I (),
King of Scotland The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with their powers regulated by the British cons ...
, reigned 1107–24 # Edith (), renamed Matilda, queen of England # Mary (1082–1116), countess of Boulogne # David I (), king of Scotland, reigned 1124–53


Piety

Turgot of Durham, Bishop of St Andrews, became close to the Scottish court and a friend and spiritual adviser to Margaret.* Between 1100 and 1107, Turgot wrote a vita of her at the request of her daughter, Matilda, wife of King
Henry I of England Henry I ( – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henr ...
. Turgot credits her with having a civilising influence on her husband Malcolm by reading him narratives from the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
. She instigated religious reform, striving to conform the worship and practices of the Scottish church to those of the continental church, which she experienced in her childhood. This she did on the inspiration and with the guidance of Lanfranc, a future
archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...
. Due to these achievements, she was considered an exemplar of the "just ruler", and moreover influenced her husband and children, especially her youngest son, the future King
David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Scottish Gaelic, Modern Gaelic: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th century ruler and saint who was David I as Prince of the Cumbrians, Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 112 ...
, to be just and holy rulers. "The chroniclers all agree in depicting Queen Margaret as a strong, pure, noble character, who had very great influence over her husband, and through him over Scottish history, especially in its ecclesiastical aspects. Her religion, which was genuine and intense, was of the newest Roman style; and to her are attributed a number of reforms by which the Church nScotland was considerably modified from the insular and primitive type which down to her time it had exhibited. Among those expressly mentioned are a change in the manner of observing
Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...
, which thenceforward began as elsewhere on Ash Wednesday and not as previously on the following Monday, and the abolition of the old practice of observing Saturday (Sabbath), not Sunday, as the day of rest from labour (for more information on this issue see Skene's ''Celtic Scotland'', book ii chap. 8)." She attended to charitable works, serving orphans and the poor every day before she ate and washing the feet of the poor in imitation of Christ. She rose at midnight each night to attend the
liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembra ...
. She invited the
Benedictine Order The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly Christian mysticism, contemplative Christian monasticism, monastic Religious order (Catholic), order of the Catholic Church for men and f ...
to establish a monastery in
Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...
,
Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
in 1072, and established ferries at Queensferry and
North Berwick North Berwick (; ) is a seaside resort, seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holi ...
to assist pilgrims journeying from south of the
Firth of Forth The Firth of Forth () is a firth in Scotland, an inlet of the North Sea that separates Fife to its north and Lothian to its south. Further inland, it becomes the estuary of the River Forth and several other rivers. Name ''Firth'' is a cognate ...
to St Andrews in Fife. She used a cave on the banks of the Tower Burn in Dunfermline as a place of devotion and prayer. St Margaret's Cave, now covered beneath a municipal car park, is open to the public. Among other deeds, Margaret also instigated the restoration of Iona Abbey. She is also known to have interceded for the release of fellow English exiles who had been forced into
serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...
by the
Norman conquest of England The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...
. Margaret was as pious privately as she was publicly. She spent much of her time in prayer, devotional reading, and ecclesiastical embroidery. This apparently had considerable effect on Malcolm, who (with questions of bias) has been portrayed as illiterate: he so admired her piety that he had her books decorated in gold and silver. One of these, a pocket gospel book with portraits of the Evangelists, is in the
Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1602 by Sir Thomas Bodley, it is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second-largest library in ...
in
Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...
, England. Malcolm was largely ignorant of the long-term effects of Margaret's endeavours, not being especially religious himself. He was content for her to pursue her reforms as she desired, which was a testament to the strength of and affection in their marriage.


Death

Margaret's husband, Malcolm, and their eldest son, Edward, were killed in the Battle of Alnwick against Robert de Mowbray, the Norman
Earl of Northumbria Earl of Northumbria or Ealdorman of Northumbria was a title in the late Anglo-Saxon England, Anglo-Saxon, Scandinavian people, Anglo-Scandinavian and early Anglo-Norman England, Anglo-Norman period in England. The ealdordom was a successor of the ...
, on 13 November 1093. Her son, Edgar, was left with the task of informing his mother of their deaths. Not yet 50 years old, Margaret died on 16 November 1093, three days after the deaths of her husband and eldest son. The cause of death was reportedly grief. She was buried before the high altar in Dunfermline Abbey. In 1250, the year of her canonisation, her body and that of her husband were exhumed and placed in a new shrine in the abbey. The remains of Margaret and Malcolm were removed by the Abbot of Dunfermline, George Durie, to safeguard them from protestant reformers; initially they went to his rural estate at Craigluscar. In 1560,
Mary, Queen of Scots Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was List of Scottish monarchs, Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567. The only surviving legit ...
had Margaret's head removed to
Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...
as a relic to assist her in childbirth. In 1597, Margaret's head ended up with the Jesuits at the Scots College, Douai, France, but it was lost during the French Revolution. By 1580
Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...
had the other remains of Margaret and Malcolm III transferred to the royal monastery,
El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial (), or (), is a historical residence of the king of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, up the valley ( road distance) from the town of El Escorial, Madrid, El ...
, near Madrid, Spain, but their present location has not been discovered.


Veneration


Canonisation, feast day and patronages

Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV (; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universities of Parma and Bolo ...
canonised Margaret in 1250 in recognition of her personal holiness, fidelity to the
Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
, work for ecclesiastical reform, and charity. On 19 June 1250, after her canonisation, her remains were transferred to a chapel in the eastern apse of Dunfermline Abbey in Fife. In 1693
Pope Innocent XII Pope Innocent XII (; ; 13 March 1615 – 27 September 1700), born Antonio Pignatelli, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 July 1691 to his death in September 1700. He took a hard stance against nepotism ...
moved her feast day to 10 June in recognition of the birthdate of the son of James VII of Scotland and II of England. In the revision of the
General Roman Calendar The General Roman Calendar (GRC) is the liturgy, liturgical calendar that indicates the dates of celebrations of saints and Sacred mysteries, mysteries of the Lord (Jesus Christ) in the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, wherever this liturgic ...
in 1969, 16 November became free and the Church transferred her
feast day The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
to 16 November, the date of her death, on which it always had been observed in Scotland. However, some traditionalist Catholics continue to celebrate her feast day on 10 June. She is also venerated as a saint in the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...
. Margaret is honoured in the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
, the
Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church (; ) is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, ecclesiastical provi ...
and in the
Calendar A calendar is a system of organizing days. This is done by giving names to periods of time, typically days, weeks, months and years. A calendar date, date is the designation of a single and specific day within such a system. A calendar is ...
of the
Episcopal Church (United States) The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is ...
on 16 November.


Institutions bearing her name

Several churches throughout the world are dedicated in honour of St Margaret. One of the oldest is
St Margaret's Chapel St Margaret's Chapel, in Edinburgh Castle, is the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh, Scotland. An example of Romanesque architecture, it is a category A listed building. It was constructed in the 12th century, but fell into disuse after th ...
in Edinburgh Castle, which her son King David I founded. The Chapel was long thought to have been the oratory of Margaret herself, but is now thought to have been established in the 12th century. The oldest edifice in
Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, it was restored in the 19th century and refurbished in the 1990s.


Gallery

Site of the shrine of St. Margaret, Dunfermline Abbey Fife.jpg, Site of the ruined Shrine of St Margaret at Dunfermline Abbey,
Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
, Scotland St Margarets Chapel.JPG,
St Margaret's Chapel St Margaret's Chapel, in Edinburgh Castle, is the oldest surviving building in Edinburgh, Scotland. An example of Romanesque architecture, it is a category A listed building. It was constructed in the 12th century, but fell into disuse after th ...
in
Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age. There has been a royal castle on the rock since the reign of Malcol ...
St Margaret's (Roman Catholic) Church, Dunfermline.jpg, St Margaret's Church in
Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...
St Margaret reliquary historyofstmarga00unknuoft 0431.jpg, 1897 picture of the St Margaret reliquary in St Margaret's Convent in Edinburgh


See also

*
List of Catholic saints This is an incomplete list of humans and angels whom the Catholic Church has Canonization, canonized as saints. According to Catholic theology, all saints enjoy the beatific vision. Many of the saints listed here are found in the General Roman C ...
* List of Scottish consorts * Mecseknádasd, Hungary * Queen Margaret College (Glasgow), former college that merged with Glasgow University * Queen Margaret Union, student union at Glasgow University * Saint Margaret of Scotland Anglican Episcopal Church, Hungary * Saint Margaret of Scotland, patron saint archive


References


Citations


Sources

* *Duncan, A.A.M., The Kingship of the Scots 842–1292: Succession and Independence. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 2002. ISBN 0-7486-1626-8 * * *Oram, Richard, David I: The King Who Made Scotland. Tempus, Stroud, 2004. ISBN 0-7524-2825-X *Ritchie, R. L. Graeme, The Normans in Scotland, Edinburgh University Press, 1954


Further reading

*'' Chronicle of the Kings of Alba'' ** Anderson, Marjorie O. (ed.). ''Kings and Kingship in Early Scotland''. 2nd ed. Edinburgh, 1980. 249-53. **Hudson, B.T. (ed. and tr.). ''Scottish Historical Review'' 77 (1998): 129–61. ** Anderson, Alan Orr (tr.). ''Early Sources of Scottish History: AD 500–1286''. Vol. 1. Edinburgh, 1923. Reprinted in 1990 (with corrections). * Turgot of Durham, ''Vita S. Margaritae (Scotorum) Reginae''. **Ed. and trans. Catherine Keene, in ''Saint Margaret, Queen of the Scots: A Life in Perspective'', New York, 2013, Appendix: Translation of the Dunfermline ''Vita'', pp. 135–221. **Ed. J. Hodgson Hinde, ''Symeonis Dunelmensis opera et collectanea''. Surtees Society 51. 1868. 234-54 (Appendix III). **tr. William Forbes-Leith, SJ, ''Life of St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland by Turgot, Bishop of St Andrews''. Edinburgh, 1884
PDF available from the Internet Archive
Third Edition. 1896. **Trans. anon., ''The Life and Times of Saint Margaret, Queen and Patroness of Scotland''. London, 1890
PDF available from the Internet Archive
*
William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury (; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as "a gifted historical scholar and a ...
, ''Gesta regum Anglorum''. **Ed. and trans. R. A. B. Mynors, R. M. Thomson, and M. Winterbottom, ''William of Malmesbury. Gesta Regum Anglorum. The History of the English Kings''. OMT. Vol 1. Oxford, 1998. *
Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis (; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England.Hollister ''Henry I'' p. 6 Working out of ...
, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' **Ed. and trans. Marjorie Chibnall, ''The Ecclesiastical History of Orderic Vitalis''. 6 vols. OMT. Oxford, 1968–80. *
John of Worcester John of Worcester (died c. 1140) was an English monk and chronicler who worked at Worcester Priory. He is now usually held to be the author of the . Works John of Worcester's principal work was the (Latin for "Chronicle from Chronicles") or ...
, ''Chronicle (of Chronicles)''. **Ed. B. Thorpe, ''Florentii Wigorniensis monachi chronicon ex chronicis''. 2 vols. London, 1848-9. **Trans. J. Stevenson, ''Church Historians of England''. Vol. 2.1. London, 1855. P. 171–372. *
John Capgrave John Capgrave (21 April 1393 – 12 August 1464) was an English historian, hagiographer and scholastic theologian, remembered chiefly for ''Nova Legenda Angliae'' (New Reading from England). This was the first comprehensive collection of lives o ...
, ''Nova Legenda Angliae'' **'' Acta Sanctorum'' Vol. 2, June, 320. London, 1515. 225. ;Secondary literature *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, trans. Blair. Edinburgh, 1890. pp. 241–63. * Butler, Alban. ''Lives of the Saints''. 10 June. * Challoner, Richard. ''Britannia Sancta, I''. London, 1745. P. 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): pp. 81–97. *Madan. ''The Evangelistarium of St. Margaret in Academy''. 1887. *Parsons, John Carmi. ''Medieval Mothering''. 1996. *Olsen, Ted. ''Kristendommen og Kelterne Forlaget''. Oslo: Forlaget Luther, 2008. (P. 170). . Norwegian. *Skene, W.F. ''Celtic Scotland''. Edinburgh. *Stanton, Richard. ''Menology of England and Wales.'' London, 1887. P. 544. *Wilson, A.J. ''St Margaret, Queen of Scotland''. 1993.


External links

* *
The Heraldry of Queensferry
which provides the best information and images, interspliced throughout the page, on St Margaret's arms and their variations. Archived 23 July 2018

by Turgot, Bishop of St Andrews Ed. William Forbes-Leith, S.J. Third Edition. Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1896 . Retrieved 14 March 2011. {{DEFAULTSORT:Margaret of Scotland, Saint 1040s births 1093 deaths Year of birth uncertain 11th-century Christian saints 11th-century English nobility 11th-century English women 11th-century Scottish people 11th-century Scottish women Anglican saints Anglo-Saxon royal consorts Anglo-Saxon saints Burials at Dunfermline Abbey English philanthropists English princesses Female saints of medieval England Female saints of medieval Scotland House of Dunkeld House of Wessex Medieval English saints Medieval Scottish saints Mothers of Scottish monarchs Roman Catholic royal saints Royal reburials Scottish Roman Catholic saints Scottish royal consorts English Christian royal saints Scottish royal saints