MARGARET OF WESSEX
ST MARGARET OF HUNGARY
The daughter of the Anglo-Saxon Edward the Atheling (heir to the throne) and Agatha kingswoman of Gisela, wife of St Stephen of Hungary, Margaret of Wessex was born in Hungary sometime around 1045, where her father Edward the Atheling had taken refuge during the reign of King Canute in England. As befit her status, she received a good education there, developing an appreciation of beautiful books and clothes.
In 1057, the childless Edward the Confessor, king of England from 1042 to 1066, summoned her father, then known as Edward the Exile, back to England, planning to proclaim him heir to the throne. Whether weakened from the journey or poisoned upon his arrival, sadly, Edward the Atheling died within his first days home. This predicament immediately changed the status of Margaret, her brother, sister and mother and with the arrival of William the Conqueror the Norman conquest would force them once again to flee for their safety. They sailed for the continent again, but while enroute their ship was blown off course landing them on the coast of Fife in Scotland, where they came under the protection and were welcomed by King Malcolm III Canmore.
Anyone familiar with historical artwork can immediately recall the lovely mural of Malcolm greeting Margaret at her arrival in Scotland by Victorian artist William Hole. The famous work portraying a gentlemanly greeting of a lovely princess is ripe with the romanticism of the artist’s time. Sadly, historical fact belies it. Margaret’s ship barely made it to shore in one piece midst a torrent of cold winds and rain and she and her family were dragged in through the mud and water by local fisherman. The political times of Scotland itself within its borders did not guarantee their safety and at this time the group had no idea whether they had made it far enough up the coast to be out of the Norman reach. Luckily, they had and the local fishermen took them safely to their village providing food and shelter for the several days while word of their arrival was sent to Malcolm.
With her brother rightfully in line for the English throne and hopeful for the Scottish king’s backing, Margaret herself was now one of his most important “bargaining chips.”
St Margaret’s Cave as it appeared before a car park was built above it in the 1960s. The metal railings were added in the 1890s.
It is said that Margaret would often pray at a shrine in this small cave, located in the side of a steep, open valley.
After Margaret’s death and subsequent canonisation in 1250, the cave became a popular place of pilgrimage. In 1962, the valley was filled in by the town council to provide space for a new car park but thankfully, local protests ensured part of the cave was saved.
Today, an unassuming stone building in the car park in central Dunfermline marks the entrance to St Margaret’s Cave and and Her secret cave can be accessed via an 87-step tunnel descending deep below the car park.
The marriage, while traditionally touted as “romantic” and “love at first sight” as well pales in reality when looked at pragmatically. Malcolm, a widower, was no doubt attracted by the prospect of marrying one of the few remaining members of the Anglo-Saxon royal family and with the promise of the Scottish Kings protection and support firmly in place it was immediately seen as mutually beneficial by her brother.
Despite Margaret’s protests, the marriage took place about 1070 at the palace of Dunfermline, which served as the capital of Scotland until 1603.
Margaret would have been about 24 years of age and Malcolm about 47, and while Margaret had at first protested, she was well versed in her “duty” and would prove to be a civilising influence to the somewhat rough Scottish court and is credited with introducing English-style feudalism and parliament to Scotland.
A staunch Papist, she promoted Roman practices such as the observance of Lent and Easter and abstinence from servile work on Sundays. She established a ferry across the Firth of Forth for pilgrims travelling to St Andrews in Fife, which gave the towns of South Queensferry and North Queensferry their names.
At her bidding, it was during Margaret’s time Mass was changed from the many dialects of Gaelic spoken throughout Scotland to the unifying Latin and that by adopting Latin to celebrate the Mass Margaret believed that all Scots could worship together in unity, along with the other Christians of Western Europe. Many people believe that in doing this, it was not only Queen Margaret’s goal to unite the Scots, but also an attempt to end the bloody warfare between the Scotland and England.
Although the marriage had been arranged, it became clear that both Margaret and Malcolm developed a love for each other that grew stronger every day. Together they had six sons and two daughters, who would become three kings of Scotland, or four, if Edmund of Scotland (who ruled with his uncle, Donald III) is counted, and of a queen consort of England. Alexander and David followed their father to the throne, while their daughter, Edith (who changed her name to Matilda upon her marriage), brought the ancient Anglo-Saxon and Scottish Royal bloodline into the veins of the Norman Invaders of England when she married and bore children to King Henry I.
Diligent in caring for her husband, her children, and the poor, she also found time for reading and was an accomplished needlewoman. Malcolm never learned to read, but he appreciated books as beautiful objects and it was an established practice for the two to sit together daily where Margaret would read to the King as they supped their tea.
Terminally ill when her husband was killed at the Battle of Alnwick in Northumbia, and she herself died at age forty-seven shortly afterwards on this date, 16 November 1093 and soon after her death a popular cult focused upon the much loved Queen developed .
Pope Innocent IV canonised her in 1250 and her remains were reinterred in a shrine in Dunfermline Abbey in Fife, Scotland. Her relics were dispersed after the Scottish Reformation in 1560, when Dunfermline was sacked by the English. Margaret’s and Malcolm’s bodies passed into the possession of Mary Queen of Scots and were taken to Philip II’s palace of the Escorial, near Madrid. There, her head was separated, as was often done to allow more widespread veneration, and was taken first to Edinburgh and then subsequently preserved by Jesuits in the Scottish College, Douai, France, from where it was lost during the French Revolution.
In 1673, Queen Margaret of Scotland was named as patroness of Scotland, however, it must be noted that as always the case, popularity has two sides and in fact, the Celtic factions did altogether not appreciate her Anglicising influences. Thus, while some hold her as beloved “Saint Margaret of Scotland”, very often she is sometimes referred to in the Celtic traditions as Maighread nam Mallachd, or “Margaret of the Curses”.
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 the Reformation. In the 19th century the chapel was restored and today is cared for by the St Margaret’s Chapel Guild.
Several churches throughout the world are dedicated in honour of St Margaret. One of the oldest is St Margaret’s Chapel in Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland, 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, it was restored in the 19th century and refurbished in the 1990s.
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* Margaret and Malcolm had eight children, six sons and two daughters:
Edward (c. 1071 — 13 November 1093), killed along with his father Malcolm III in the Battle of Alnwick
Edmund of Scotland (c.1071 – post 1097)
Ethelred of Scotland, Abbot of Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross, Scotland
Edgar of Scotland (c.1074 — 11 January 1107), King of Scotland, reigned 1097-1107
Alexander I of Scotland (c.1078 — 23 April 1124), King of Scotland, reigned 1107-24
Edith of Scotland (c. 1080 – 1 May 1118), also named “Matilda”, married King Henry I of England, Queen Consort of England
Mary of Scotland (1082-1116), married Eustace III of Boulogne
David I of Scotland (c.1084 – 24 May 1153), King of Scotland, reigned 1124-53
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