St Margaret of Scotland
Margaret, one of the last Saxon royalty and a direct descendant of King Alfred was born in 1046. The invasion of England by King Canute and his Danish Army forced Margaret into exile from which she returned a number of years later. A second retreat away from advancing Norman Army's caused her to set sail from Northumbria only to be blow off course, ending up in Fife where she was given protection by the then Scottish king Malcom III. Initially refusing Malcolms offers of marriage Margaret led a life of piety as a virgin, but a few years later in 1069 she eventually gave in and the two married.
Retaining much of her aquired European manners, ceremony and culture, she introduced this to Scotland so improving it reputation.
Margaret maintained her piety and religious observance and was responsible for many churches, monasteries and pilgrimage hostels and established the Royal Mausoleum at Dunfermline Abbey with monks from Canterbury.
Malcom and Margaret had a total of eight children, all with English names, two of whom David and Alexander followed their father to the throne.Whilst their sister Edith went on to marry Henry I of England and change her name to Matilda.
Margaret spent alot of her life caring for the poor and orphans which is illustrated in this window where she is seen handing bread to peasants who are kneeling before her.
She died aged 47 after a long illness and was buried alongside Malcolm in Dunfermline Abbey. It is reported that miracles took place in and around her tomb which supported her canonization in 1250 by Pope Innocent IV.
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