Margaret

Margaret in 1093

Queen Margaret of Scotland was the second wife of Malcolm Canmore and the mother of Edward, Edmund, Edelred, Edgar, Alexandair, Edith, Mary, and Dauid.

History

In 1093, when Malcolm Canmore announced his attention to bring his sons with him to Northumbria, Margaret objected to her children accompanying him, insisting they were too young. Her husband countered that she was talking nonsense, arguing that he was the age of their youngest, Dauid, when he joined his father in battle. Her brother-in-law Donalbain assured the Queen he would watch over the brood, but ultimately, Malcolm Canmore and Edward – King and heir – were slain at the Battle of Alnwick. Upon hearing the news of their deaths, Queen Margaret died from grief. ("Fools Rush In...")

Characteristics

The Royal Family Tree

Fergus Mór                           Monarch of: Dalriada Scotland England Norway   Hunters in Black                                                                                                                                     Kenneth mac Alpin           Donald mac Alpin                                                                           Aodh           Constantine I                             Constantine II           Donald II                             Indulf           Maol Chalvim I           Queen Katharine                   Richard of Normandy                                                                                                                                                                             Culen   Duff   Kenneth II   Prince Malcolm   Princess Elena   Mary   Aethelred the Unready   Emma of Normandy   Canute   Elfgiva                                                                                                                                                                         Constantine III   Kenneth III   Ruaidri   Maol Chalvim II   Princess Katharine   Tom (Guardian)   Edmund Ironside   Edward the Confessor   Hardicanute   Harold Harefoot                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Maíl Brigti   Bodhe   Findlaech     Doada   Olith           Bethoc             Árni Arnmódsson                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Gillecomgain     MacBodhe     Gruoch   Macbeth   Thorfinn   Ingibjorg     Duncan                       William the Conqueror                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Luach   Paul Thorfinnson   Erlend Thorfinnson       Malcolm Canmore   Margaret   Donalbain               William Rufus                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Donald Canmore   Donnchad                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Edward   Edmund   Edelred   Edgar   Alexandair   Dauid   Mary   Edith   Henry I                                                                                                           Magnus Olafsson                                                                                                                                                                   Sigurd Magnusson                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Edward I                                                   Robert the Bruce                                                                                                                                 Stuart Canmore, the Renaissance Hunter                                                                                                                                                                       James VI of Scotland I of England                                                                               Angus Canmore                                                                                                                                                           Jackson Canmore           Fiona Canmore                                           Aron Canmore                                           Charles Canmore                                                                     Jason Canmore   Robyn Canmore   John Castaway

Appearances

• "Fools Rush In..." (First Appearance)

Real World Background

Margaret was the granddaughter of Edmund Ironside, a son of Aethelred the Unready who briefly succeeded him to the English throne in 1016; upon his death, his son Edward was driven into exile in Hungary, where he married and became the father of both Margaret and her brother Edgar the Atheling. They were recalled to England in 1057, during the reign of their cousin Edward the Confessor, to be raised at his court. After the Norman Conquest, Margaret took shelter in Scotland with her family, where she and Malcolm Canmore met. Malcolm fell in love with her and married her (though she had originally intended to become a nun). As in the Gargoyles Universe, Margaret did give birth to eight children, including three future Kings of Scotland (Edgar, Alexander I, and David I).

Margaret was an extremely pious woman, who particularly encouraged the introduction of the Roman Catholic Church into Scotland. She was famous for her numerous acts of charity, including raising a group of orphans and caring for the poor (even washing their feet). She died of grief on November 16, 1093, after learning from her son Edelred of the deaths in battle of her husband and eldest son Edward.

Her great-great-grandson, King Alexander II, petitioned Pope Innocent IV to canonize Margaret. In 1249, she was declared a saint in the Roman Catholic Church. [1]

After her and Malcom III's burial at Dunfermline Abbey, Margaret's body was initially removed by Abbot George Durie to safeguard it from protestant vandalism. Margaret's head was later separated from the body and given to Mary, Queen of Scots, as a religious relic to aid her in childbirth at Edinburgh Castle (to no avail). The head was eventually kept by the Jesuits at Scots College in Douai, France before disappearing entirely during the French Revolution. By 1580, the remaining remains of Margaret were moved to the royal monastery at El Escorial by King Philip of Spain, although the exact whereabouts of where Queen Margaret's body was reinterred is unknown.

See Also

• Margaret at Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia