Margaret (Wessex) Queen of Scots (abt. 1045 - abt. 1093)

Born about 1045 in Wessex, England

Ancestors

Wife of Malcolm (Dunkeld) King of Scots — married about 1069 in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland

Descendants

Died about 16 Nov 1093 at about age 48 in Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh, Edinburghshire, Scotland

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Biography

Margaret (Wessex) Queen of Scots is a member of the House of Wessex.

Margaret (Wessex) Queen of Scots is Notable.

Family and Early Life

Margaret was the eldest daughter of Edward the Ætheling by his wife Agatha, a kinswoman of Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor.^[1][2][3] Her father and uncle had been exiled by King Cnut years before (possibly with the intention of having them murdered) but they had found a safe haven with the King of Sweden and eventually ended up in Hungary.^[4] The date of Margaret's birth is unknown but based on her marriage c.1068/9 it was probably sometime between 1038 and 1057, and more likely between 1045-1050.^[3][5] She was brought up in Hungary, a nation that had been converted to christianity by St Stephen, and she appears to have received a very strict religious education.^[6]

Edward the Ætheling returned with his family to England in 1057 but died within the year. In 1066 Margaret's brother, Edgar Ætheling, was put forward as the heir to the English throne after King Harold's death, but William of Normandy claimed the throne for himself.^[4][5] Edgar fled in 1067 with his mother and two sisters to Scotland, where he sought refuge with Malcolm III, King of Scots.^[4][5] The Scottish king was completely captivated by Margaret and determined to marry her.^[7][5] Margaret had other ideas (she hoped to become a nun and enter a religious order) but her mother and brother convinced her there was not an easy way to say 'no' to a king upon whose protection they were all dependent.^[4] Their marriage was to last for twenty-three years.

Marriage and Children

Margaret married (as his second wife) at Dunfermline, Fife in 1068/9 Malcolm III, king of Scots, the eldest son of Duncan I.^[1][8][9] There were eight children from this marriage:

• Edward Dunkeld; d. 15/16 Nov 1093^[10][11][12]

• Edmund Dunkeld, prince of Cumbria and later a monk^[13][2][14]

• Æthelred Dunkeld, earl of Fife and abbot of Dunkeld^[15][2][16]

• Edgar Dunkeld, king of Scots; b. c.1074;^[17][18] d. 8 Jan 1106/7 (unmarried)^[19][20][21]

• Alexander I Dunkeld, king of Scots; b. c.1077;^[22][23] m. Sybilla, natural daughter of Henry I, king of England;^[22][20][24] d. 23 Apr 1124^[22][20][25]

• David I Dunkeld, king of Scots; m. 1113 Maud Huntingdon;^[26][27] d. 24 May 1153^[28][26][29]

• Maud (or Matilda) Dunkeld, queen of England; m. 11 Nov 1100 Henry I, king of England;^[30][16][2] d. 1 May 1118^[16][2]

• Mary Dunkeld, countess Boulogne and Lens; m. 1102 Eustace III, count of Boulogne and Lens;^[31][16][2] d. 31 May 1116^[16][2]

Queen of Scotland

Queen Margaret had a significant impact on Scotland in several ways, one of which was her ability to make important changes in the Scottish church. In matters of religion King Malcolm deferred to her judgment, which he trusted implicitly.^[32] Margaret was "very learned" but could not speak Gaelic; her husband could not read but spoke three languages and served as her translator when she gathered clergy to sit in council at the court.^[33] Among the reforms which she instituted through these councils were 1) allowing the churches to offer communion more often than just once a year at Easter; 2) prohibiting anyone from doing ordinary labor on Sundays; 3) observing a fast during Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday instead of the following Monday; and 4) forbidding marriages between a man and his stepmother or sister-in-law.^[4][33] She also reinstated an old tradition of giving thanks after meals, and in later years in Scotland the grace cup became known as "St Margaret's blessing."^[5]

She successfully converted the church of the Holy Trinity at Dunfermline into a Benedictine priory, whose first monks came from the cathedral monastery of Canterbury.^[4][34] Having a special reverence for St Andrew, she convinced her husband to remit the ferry charges at the busy crossing of the Firth of Forth for any pilgrims traveling to visit St Andrew's shrine.^[4][34] The crossing was later named "Queensferry" in her honor.^[4] In addition, she restored the monastery at Iona.^[34]

Margaret also had an important influence on secular life at court and throughout Scotland. In stark contrast to her own ascetic practices, she had a love and appreciation for rich fabrics, jewels, and lavish decorations. King Malcolm was said to have had her favorite books "emblazoned with gold and jewels" as a sign of his love for her.^[35] She encouraged the growth of large trading centers where goods previously unknown in Scotland could be imported from England and the european continent,^[7] and decorated the monastery at Dunfermline with gold and silver and precious jewels, as well as embellishing the king's court.^[36] English and continental influences, of all kinds, began to pour into Scotland during this time.^[7]

Margaret introduced a new formality into her husband's court. The king no longer went riding without a royal escort, and dinners were served on gold and silver plate.^[37] She also made needlework, and especially embroidery, popular among the ladies at the court.^[5]

Death

Queen Margaret was fervently devoted to her religious practices, and this great devotion eventually played a large part in her death. It has been reported by historians that every morning a certain number of poor were lined up in front of the palace, and the king and queen washed their feet and gave them food and clothing.^[37] The queen rose every midnight for prayer,^[37], fed orphans with her own spoon,^[5], and fasted for forty days before Christmas as well as during Lent.^[5] For almost six months prior to her death, she was so weak from her abstinence that she was unable to ride a horse and was practically confined to her bed.^[5] It is said that on the fourth day before her death, she had a presentiment that her husband would be murdered.^[5]

King Malcolm was killed on 13 November 1093, and Queen Margaret joined him three days later, dying shortly after learning her husband and eldest son had been slain. She was buried before the high altar in the church of the Holy Trinity at Dunfermline, Fife.^{[38][39][1][2]}

St Margaret

In 1250, Queen Margaret was canonized by Pope Inocent IV.^[1][5] In 1628 the remains of King Malcolm and Queen Margaret were acquired by Philip II, king of Spain, and placed in the chapel of St Laurence in the Escurial at Madrid, but when Bishop Gillies of Edinburgh later petitioned that they be returned to Scotland, their remains could no longer be found.^[5]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, pp. 576-578 SCOTLAND 1. Malcolm III.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7} Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 1, p. 2.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} Baldwin, Stewart. St Margaret. The Henry Project (2010).
4. ↑ ^{4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7} Barrow, G.W.S. St Margaret. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Online 23 Sep 2004. Available here by subscription.
5. ↑ ^{5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 5.11} Mackay, A.J.G. Margaret, St.. Dictionary of National Biography Archive Edition (1893).
6. ↑ Barrow, G.W.S. Kingship and Unity.Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (2015), p. 34.
7. ↑ ^{7.0 7.1 7.2} Barrow, G.W.S. Kingship and Unity.Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press (2015), p. 35.
8. ↑ Keene, Catherine.The Dunfermline ‘Vita’ of St. Margaret of Scotland: Hagiography as an Articulation of Hereditary Rights. Arthuriana 19, no. 3 (2009), p. 43.
9. ↑ Stevenson, J. (ed). Chronica de Mailros. Edinburgh: the Societatis Edinburgensis (1835), "Anno m.lxx: Rex Malcolmus Angliam ufque cliveland vaftavit; et tunc clitoni Edgaro et fororibus Margaret et Chriftine, ubi eas invenit regem Anglie fugientes, ut in Scotiam irent, apud weremundam in reditu pacem fuam donavit et Margaretam poftea fibi in matrimonium junxit." p. 55.
10. ↑ Stevenson, J. (ed). Chronica de Mailros. Edinburgh: the Societatis Edinburgensis (1835), "Rex Scottorum Malcolmus, cum filio fua primogeito Edwardo, a Norhimbris occifus eft." p. 60, see also fn #w.
11. ↑ Pryde, E.B. (ed.) Handbook of British Chronology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press (3rd ed. 1986), rv. 1996, p. 57.
12. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 577 SCOTLAND 1.i. Edward of Scotland
13. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 577 SCOTLAND 1.ii. Edmund of Scotland
14. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 31
15. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, pp. 577-578 SCOTLAND 1.iii. Æthelred, Abbot of Dunkeld
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4} Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 32 .
17. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 578 SCOTLAND 1.iv. Edgar, King of Scots
18. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 45 .
19. ↑ Rud, Thomas. Codicum Manuscriptorum Ecclesiae Cathedralis Dunelmensis. (1825), Monachi & alii Quorum in Margine Matyrologii: "III. Id. Jan. [11 Jan.]: Obit. Ædgarus Rex Scottorum."p. 215.
20. ↑ ^{20.0 20.1 20.2} Paul, Sir James Balfour. The Scots Peerage. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1904), vol. 1, p. 3.
21. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 47 .
22. ↑ ^{22.0 22.1 22.2} Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols., ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 578 SCOTLAND 1.v. Alexander I, King of Scots
23. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 50 .
24. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 52 .
25. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 53 .
26. ↑ ^{26.0 26.1} Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, pp. 578-580 SCOTLAND 2. David I.
27. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 59 .
28. ↑ Stevenson, J. (ed). Chronica de Mailros. Edinburgh: the Societatis Edinburgensis (1835). Anno M.C.LIIJ:"Obiit Dauid rex Scottorum ix. kal. Junii [24 May]...p. 75.
29. ↑ Dunbar, Sir Archibald H. Scottish Kings: A Revised Chronology of Scottish History 1005-1625. Edinburgh: D. Douglas (1899), p. 64.
30. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 578 SCOTLAND 1.vii. Maud of Scotland.
31. ↑ Richardson, Douglas. Royal Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 5 vols, ed. Kimball G. Everingham (Salt Lake City: the author, 2013), vol. 4, p. 578 SCOTLAND 1.viii. Mary of Scotland.
32. ↑ Robertson, Eben William. Scotland Under Her Early Kings. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas (1862), repr. by Forgotten Books (2018), p. 148.
33. ↑ ^{33.0 33.1} Duncan, A.A.M. Scotland, the Making of the Kingdom. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd (1975), The Edinburgh History of Scotland, vol. 1, p. 122.
34. ↑ ^{34.0 34.1 34.2} Duncan, A.A.M. Scotland, the Making of the Kingdom. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd (1975), The Edinburgh History of Scotland, vol. 1, p. 123.
35. ↑ Robertson, Eben William. Scotland Under Her Early Kings. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas (1862), repr. by Forgotten Books (2018), p. 147.
36. ↑ Burton, John Hill. The History of Scotland. Edinbough: William Blackwood and Sons (1874), repr. by Elibron Classics (2006), vol. 1, p. 383
37. ↑ ^{37.0 37.1 37.2} Robertson, Eben William. Scotland Under Her Early Kings. Edinburgh: Edmonston and Douglas (1862), repr. by Forgotten Books (2018), pp. 149-150.
38. ↑ Turgot, Bishop of St Andrews. Life of Margaret, Queen of Scotland. Edinburgh: W. Paterson (1884), p. 79.
39. ↑ Dalrymple, Sir David. Annals of Scotland. Edinburgh: William Creech (1797), vol. 1, p. 31.

See Also:

• Cawley, Charles. Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: Medieval Lands Database. Malcolm III.

• Post, W.E. Saints, Signs and Symbols. Essex: Hart-Talbot Printers, Ltd; Kindle ed. publ. by Muriwai Books (2017), p. 144. St Margaret's symbol is a black Greek cross and silver saltire, on a blue field.

• Weir, Alison. Britain's Royal Families. London: The Bodley Head ((1989), p. 185.

• Wikipedia: Saint Margaret of Scotland

• Wikidata: Item Q230507, en:Wikipedia