10
June
1066 A.D. Scotland’s Queen Margaret
Mr. Graves tells the story.
Graves, Dan. “Scotland’s Queen
Margaret.” Christianity.com. Apr
2007. http://www.christianity.com/church/church-history/timeline/901-1200/scotlands-queen-margaret-11629788.html.
Accessed Apr 28, 2014.
The storm that blew all night
drove the refugee ship off course. Edward the Etheling, his sister Margaret,
and her mother Agatha were trying to return to Hungary, where they had formerly
spent some years in exile. But instead, dawn revealed that they were off the
rocky shore of Scotland in the year 1066.
The ship landed. King Malcolm III
of Scotland was away, maneuvering against William the Conqueror, the Norman
whose claim to England had forced the royal family to flee. Scotland took the
refugees to heart. When Malcolm returned from war, he fell in love with
beautiful Margaret. But Margaret was not eager for marriage. She wanted to
become a nun.
Crude but goodhearted, Malcolm
finally convinced Margaret to marry him. She became his queen. It is told that
she slipped out nights to pray for her husband in a cave. Rumors attributed her
absences to a plot against the kingdom. But the king soon learned the truth.
Her godly influence transformed him, his court, and the nation.
Her confidence in God worked on
the king's nature. Malcolm listened to her because she gave good advice. Her
faith gave her wisdom and insight and her reading gave her knowledge. She
taught him to control his temper and instructed him in the manners of the
civilized world. Malcolm and Margaret prayed together. With their own hands
they fed crowds of poor people.
As the leading lady of Scotland,
she set an example of holiness and personal worship for the court. Many of the
ladies of the court imitated her behavior. At her patient insistence, Sunday
became the day of rest and worship that it was meant to be. She set an example
of charity by personally taking in at least nine orphans.
Before Margaret came to Scotland,
ignorance ruled the land. Religious observances had slipped into error. At her
insistence, a synod (council of church leaders) corrected the abuses.
The gracious queen loved to read,
especially the gospels, with their glorious tale of God giving up glory that
mankind might find it. An illuminated gospel that she treasured survives today.
She sponsored new churches and improved existing ones so that the people might
be attracted to Christianity.
Margaret loved color and soft
cloth. She imported skilled workers to train the Scots to make such cloth. In
this way, clan tartans owe their origin to her.
Malcolm and Margaret had six sons
and two daughters whom she reared in her faith.
In light of Margaret's remarkable
story, we must believe that it was no mere chance that sent her to Scotland.
Clearly God meant for her to perform a missionary work, and she fulfilled her
responsibility. That is why a feast is held for her on this day, June 10, each
year.
Bibliography:
1. Butler, Alban. Lives of the
Saints. Westminster, Maryland: Christian Classics, 1981, 1956.
2. Huddlestone, G. Roger.
"Margaret of Scotland." The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert
Appleton, 1914.
3. "Margaret of Scotland."
The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Edited by F. L. Cross and E. A.
Livingstone. Oxford, 1997.
4. Steedman, Amy. "St. Margaret
of Scotland." Catholic Information Network.
http://www.cin.org/margsc1.html
5. "St. Margaret of
Scotland." Women of Scots Descent. http://www.electricscotland.com/history/women/wih2.htm
6. Various encyclopedia and internet
articles.
Last updated May, 2007.
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