Margaret Saint

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Saint Margaret (ca 1045–16.11.1093) – the Blessed of the Roman Catholic Church, daughter of Old Rus Princess Agatha and her husband Edward the Exile, King of England, wife of Malcolm III, King of Scotland.

Parents of Margaret of Scotland: Edward the Exile, the penultimate representative of the old Wessex dynasty of Kings of England, and his wife Agatha, daughter (or sister) of Grand Prince of Kyiv Yaroslav the Wise.

The Norse King Harald hustled Margaret’s father away from the succession to the throne. The family found refuge in Scotland. With time, the younger sister Cristina became the Abbess in Hampshire and Margaret married Malcolm III, King of Scots, circa 1069. They had eight children: Edward; Edmund – King of Scotland (1094–1097); Ethelred; Edgar – King of Scotland (1097–1107); Alexander I – King of Scotland (1107–1124); Saint David I – King of Scotland (1124–1153); Mary; and Matilda, who married Henry I, King of England, in 1100. Among Matilda’s direct descendants is the famous King of England Richard Coeur de Lion.

Queen Margaret patronized church and monks. Her name is associated with the spreading of chivalrous Anglo-French culture to the north of Europe. The oldest building of Edinburg and the chapel in the royal castle are named after her, as well as the University College in Edinburg. Queen Margaret of Scotland is buried alongside her husband in Dunfermline Abbey. In 1250, Pope Innocent IV canonized her. Margaret became the first Scottish saint; the Next Scotchman was canonized only in 1976.

Portrait (imaginary) of St. Margaret of Scotland.

By V. Vasylenko. Oil on canvas. 90×70. 2008