Page:A Dictionary of Saintly Women Volume 2.djvu/25

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ST. MARGARET 18 exposed the triok of its oraole. She is mentioned in the Life of SL Bernard, AA.SS,, Prmter. St. Margaret (6),Qaeen of Scotland, Jnne 10,19, Nov. 16 (Marita, Mergrbtj, c. 1045-1093. She was daughter of Eldward the Outlaw, who was son of Edmund Ironside; her mother was Agatha, sister of the Queen of Hungary ; they were probably daughters of Anna (14) and Taroslav, grand-prince of Bnssia, at whose court Edward and his brother were refugees, as was also the Magyar Prince, afterwards Andrew L, king of Hungary. In 1057 Edward returned to England with his wife and three children, Edgar the Atheling, Margaret, and Christina. He had no sooner arrived than he fell ill and died. In 1068, Agatha with her son and her two daughters resolved to return to Hungary and embarked with that intent. Their ship was driven up the Firth of Forth to Dunfermline, where Malcolm III., king of Scotland, received them hospitably. He very soon offered the whole family a per- manent home with him and asked that the Princess Margaret should become his wife. Margaret, who was very devout and much impressed with the futility of earthly greatness, had very nearly determined to be a nun, but when Malcolm's request was made to Edgar, "the Childe said «Yea*," and Margaret was persuaded to marry the king as his second wife. She was as saintly and self-denying on the throne as she could have been in the cloister. She at once perceived it to be her duty to benefit and elevate the people among whom it was her destiny to live, and this she undertook with the greatest diligence and the most earnest piety. There existed so much barbarism in the customs of the people, so many abuses in the Church, so much on all hands to reform, that she called together the native clergy and the priests who had come with her, her husband acting as interpreter, and she spoke so well and so earnestly that all were charmed with her gracious demeanour and wise counsel and adopted her suggestions. Among other improvements, Margaret intro- duced the observance of Sunday by abstaining from servile work, *' that if anything has been done amiss during the six days it may be expiated by our prayers on the day of the Kesurrection." She inflaenced her people to observe the forty days' fast of Lent, and to receive the Holy Sacrament on Easter day, from which they had abstained for fear of increasing their own damnation because they were sinners. On this point she said that if the Saviour had intended that no sinner should receive the Holy Sacrament, He would not have given a command which, in that case, no one could obey. "We," said she, " who many days beforehand have con- fessed and done penanco and fasted and been washed from our sins with tears and alms and absolution, approach the table of the Lord in faith on the day of His Kesurrection, not to our damnation but to the remission of our sins and in salutary preparation for eternal blessed- ness." Malcolm regarded her with holy reverence, and with most devoted love followed her saintly advice, and guided by her he became not only more re- ligious and conscientious but more civilized and kinglike. One of her first acts as queen was to build a church at Dunfermline, where she had been married. She dedicated it to the Holy Trinity. She gave it all the ornaments that a church re- quires, amongst them golden cups, a handsome crucifix of gold and silver enriched with gems, and vestments for the priests. Her room was never without some of these beautiful things in preparation to be offered to the Church. It was like a workshop for heavenly artisans ; capes for the singers, sacerdotal vestments, stoles, altar cloths were to be seen there; some made and some in progress. The embroideries were executed by noble young ladies who were in attendance on her. No man was admitted to the room, unless she allowed him to come with her. She suffered no levity, no petulance, no frivolity, no flirtation. She was so dignified in her pleasantry, so cheer- ful in her strictness that every one