10 giugno (16 novembre) - S. Margherita di Scozia, regina

[Augustinus]

Dal sito SANTI E BEATI:

Santa Margherita di Scozia Regina e vedova

16 novembre - Memoria Facoltativa

Ungheria, circa 1046 - Edimburgo, Scozia, 16 novembre 1093

Figlia di Edoardo, re inglese in esilio per sfuggire all'usurpatore Canuto, Margherita nacque in Ungheria intorno al 1046. Sua madre, Agata, discendeva dal santo re magiaro Stefano. Quando aveva nove anni suo padre potè tornare sul trono; ma presto dovette fuggire ancora, questa volta in Scozia. E qui Margherita a 24 anni fu sposa del re Malcom III, da cui ebbe sei figli maschi e due femmine. Il Messale romano la descrive come «modello di madre e di regina per bontà e saggezza». Si racconta che il re non sapesse leggere e avesse un grande rispetto per questa moglie istruita: baciava i libri di preghiera che la vedeva leggere con devozione. Caritatevole verso i poveri, gli orfani, i malati, li assisteva personalmente e invitava Malcom III a fare altrettanto. Già gravemente ammalata ricevette la notizia dell'uccisione del marito e del figlio maggiore nella battaglia di Alnwick: disse di offrire questa sofferenza come riparazione dei propri peccati. Morì a Edimburgo il 16 novembre 1093. (Avvenire)

Etimologia: Margherita = perla, dal greco e latino

Martirologio Romano: Santa Margherita, che, nata in Ungheria e sposata con Malcolm III re di Scozia, diede al mondo otto figli e si adoperò molto per il bene del suo regno e della Chiesa, unendo alla preghiera e ai digiuni la generosità verso i poveri e offrendo, così, un fulgido esempio di ottima moglie, madre e regina.

Martirologio tradizionale (10 giugno): Santa Margherita Vedova, Regina di Scozia, che si addormentò nel Signore il sedici Novembre.

(16 novembre): Ad Edimburgo, nella Scozia, il natale di santa Margherita Vedova, Regina di Scozia, celebre per la carità verso i poveri e per la povertà volontaria. La sua festa però si celebra il dieci Giugno.

Nel suo celebre quadro, rappresentante il Paradiso, il Beato Angelico pose fra molti frati, anche un Re e una Regina, volendo significare che la corona reale può unirsi felicemente all'aureola della santità.
La Santa di oggi fu infatti Regina di Scozia, e Regina abbastanza fortunata, fatto insolito questo, perché le altre coronate, si santificarono quasi sempre attraverso la disgrazia, l'umiliazione e l'infelicità.
Molte sono le Margherite di sangue reale iscritte nel Calendario cristiano: Margherita figlia del Re di Lorena, benedettina del XIII secolo; Margherita figlia del Re d'Ungheria, domenicana dello stesso secolo; Margherita figlia del Re di Baviera, vedova del XIV secolo; Margherita di Lorena, allevata come figlia del Re Renato d'Angiò; alle quali si potrebbero aggiungere Margherita dei Duchi di Savoia e Margherita dei Conti Colonna.
Quella di oggi nacque nel 1046, nipote di Edmondo 11, detto Fianchi di Ferro, e figlia di Edoardo, rifugiatosi in terra straniera per sfuggire a Canuto, usurpatore del trono d'Inghilterra.
Sua madre, Agata, sorella della Regina d'Ungheria, discendeva dal Re Santo Stefano. Morto l'usurpatore Canuto, Edoardo poteva tornare in Inghilterra, quando Margherita non aveva che 9 anni, ma dopo qualche tempo, la famiglia reale dovette fuggire ancora, in Scozia, dove il Re Malcom III chiese la mano di Margherita, che a ventiquattro anni s'assideva così sul trono di Scozia.
Ebbe sei figli maschi e due femmine, che educò amorosamente e che non le diedero mai nessun dolore. Suo marito non era né malvagio né violento, soltanto un po' rude e ignorante. Non sapeva leggere, ed aveva un grande rispetto per la moglie istruita. Baciava i libri di preghiera che le vedeva leggere con devozione; chiedeva costantemente il suo consiglio.
Ella non insuperbì per questo. Si mantenne discreta, rispettosa e modesta. E caritatevole verso i poveri, gli orfani, i malati, che assisteva e faceva assistere al Re. Per la Scozia non corsero mai anni migliori di quelli passati sotto il governo veramente cristiano di Malcom III e di Margherita, la quale, benvoluta dai sudditi, amata dal marito, venerata dai figli, dedicava tutta la sua vita al bene della sua anima e al benessere degli altri.
Non avendo dolori propri, cercò di lenire quelli degli altri; non avendo disgrazie familiari o dinastiche, cercò di soccorrere gli altri disgraziati, non conoscendo né, miseria né mortificazioni, cercò di consolare i miseri e gli umiliati. E accolse con animo lieto l'unica brutta notizia, che le giunse sul letto di morte. Il marito ed un figlio erano caduti combattendo in una spedizione contro Guglielmo detto il Rosso. A chi, con cautela, cercava di attenuare la crudeltà della notizia, Margherita fece capire di averla già avuta. E ringraziò Dio di quel dolore che le sarebbe servito a scuotere, nelle ultime ore, i peccati di tutta la vita.
Ciò non significava disamore e insensibilità verso il marito e il figlio morti. Ella sperava, anzi ne era certa, di riunirsi a loro, dopo quel doloroso passo, oltre la porta della morte, nella luce della Redenzione.
Fu canonizzata nel 1251 da papa Innocenzo IV.
Fu proclamata patrona di Scozia nel 1673.

Fonte: Archivio Parrocchia

[Augustinus]

St. Margaret of Scotland

Born about 1045, died 16 Nov., 1092, was a daughter of Edward "Outremere", or "the Exile", by Agatha, kinswoman of Gisela, the wife of St. Stephen of Hungary. She was the granddaughter of Edmund Ironside. A constant tradition asserts that Margaret's father and his brother Edmund were sent to Hungary for safety during the reign of Canute, but no record of the fact has been found in that country. The date of Margaret's birth cannot be ascertained with accuracy, but it must have been between the years 1038, when St. Stephen died, and 1057, when her father returned to England. It appears that Margaret came with him on that occasion and, on his death and the conquest of England by the Normans, her mother Agatha decided to return to the Continent. A storm however drove their ship to Scotland, where Malcolm III received the party under his protection, subsequently taking Margaret to wife. This event had been delayed for a while by Margaret's desire to entire religion, but it took place some time between 1067 and 1070.

In her position as queen, all Margaret's great influence was thrown into the cause of religion and piety. A synod was held, and among the special reforms instituted the most important were the regulation of the Lenten fast, observance of the Easter communion, and the removal of certain abuses concerning marriage within the prohibited degrees. Her private life was given up to constant prayer and practices of piety. She founded several churches, including the Abbey of Dunfermline, built to enshrine her greatest treasure, a relic of the true Cross. Her book of the Gospels, richly adorned with jewels, which one day dropped into a river and was according to legend miraculously recovered, is now in the Bodleian library at Oxford. She foretold the day of her death, which took place at Edinburgh on 16 Nov., 1093, her body being buried before the high altar at Dunfermline.

In 1250 Margaret was canonized by Innocent IV, and her relics were translated on 19 June, 1259, to a new shrine, the base of which is still visible beyond the modern east wall of the restored church. At the Reformation her head passed into the possession of Mary Queen of Scots, and later was secured by the Jesuits at Douai, where it is believed to have perished during the French Revolution. According to George Conn, "De duplici statu religionis apud Scots" (Rome, 1628), the rest of the relics, together with those of Malcolm, were acquired by Philip II of Spain, and placed in two urns in the Escorial. When, however, Bishop Gillies of Edinburgh applied through Pius IX for their restoration to Scotland, they could not be found.

The chief authority for Margaret's life is the contemporary biography printed in "Acta SS.", II, June, 320. Its authorship has been ascribed to Turgot, the saint's confessor, a monk of Durham and later Archbishop of St. Andrews, and also to Theodoric, a somewhat obscure monk; but in spite of much controversy the point remains quite unsettled. The feast of St. Margaret is now observed by the whole Church on 10 June.

Bibliography

Acta SS., II, June, 320; CAPGRAVE, Nova Legenda Angliae (London, 1515), 225; WILLIAM OF MALMESBURY, Gesta Regum in P.L., CLXXIX, also in Rolls Series, ed. STUBBS (London, 1887-9); CHALLONER, Britannia Sancta, I (London, 1745), 358; BUTLER, Lives of the Saints, 10 June; STANTON, Menology of England and Wales (London, 1887), 544; FORBES-LEITH, Life of St. Margaret. . . (London, 1885); MADAN, The Evangelistarium of St. Margaret in Academy (1887); BELLESHEIM, History of the Catholic Church in Scotland, tr. Blair, III (Edinburgh, 1890), 241-63.

Fonte: The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. IX, New York, 1910

[Augustinus]

Da dom Prosper Guéranger, L’Année Liturgique - Le Temps après la Pentecôte, Paris-Poitiers, 1903, IX ediz., t. III, p. 138-145

LE X JUIN.

SAINTE MARGUERITE, REINE D'ECOSSE.

Une semaine s'est écoulée depuis le jour où, s'élevant de la terre de France dédiée au Christ par ses soins, Clotilde apprenait au monde le rôle réservé à la femme près du berceau des peuples. Avant le christianisme, l'homme, amoindri par le péché dans sa personne et dans sa vie sociale, ne connaissait pas la grandeur en ce point des intentions divines; la philosophie et l'histoire ignoraient l'une et l'autre que la maternité pût s'élever jusqu'à ces hauteurs. Mais l'Esprit-Saint, donné aux hommes pour les instruire de toute vérité (1), théoriquement et pratiquement, multiplie depuis sa venue les exemples, afin de nous révéler l'ampleur merveilleuse du plan divin, la force et la suavité présidant ici comme partout aux conseils de l'éternelle Sagesse.

L'Ecosse était chrétienne depuis longtemps déjà, lorsque Marguerite lui fut donnée, non pour l'amener au baptême, mais pour établir parmi ses peuplades diverses et trop souvent ennemies l'unité qui fait la nation. L'ancienne Calédonie, défendue par ses lacs, ses montagnes et ses fleuves, avait jusqu'à la fin de l'empire romain gardé son indépendance. Mais, inaccessible aux armées, elle était devenue le refuge des vaincus de toute race, des proscrits de toutes les époques. Les irruptions, qui s'arrêtaient à ses frontières, avaient été nombreuses et sans merci dans les provinces méridionales de la grande île britannique; Bretons dépossédés, Saxons, Danois, envahisseurs chassés à leur tour et fuyant vers le nord, étaient venus successivement juxtaposer leurs mœurs à celles des premiers habitants, ajouter leurs rancunes mutuelles aux vieilles divisions des Pietés et des Scots. Mais du mal même le remède devait sortir. Dieu, pour montrer qu'il est le maître des révolutions aussi bien que des flots en furie, allait confier l'exécution de ses desseins miséricordieux sur l'Ecosse aux bouleversements politiques et à la tempête.

Dans les premières années du XI° siècle, l'invasion danoise chassait du sol anglais les fils du dernier roi saxon, Edmond Côte de fer. L'apôtre couronné de la Hongrie, saint Etienne Ier, recevait à sa cour les petits-neveux d'Edouard le Martyr et donnait à l'aîné sa tille en mariage, tandis que le second s'alliait à la nièce de l'empereur saint Henri, le virginal époux de sainte Cunégonde. De cette dernière union naquirent deux filles: Christine qui se voua plus tard au Seigneur, Marguerite dont l'Eglise célèbre la gloire en ce jour, et un prince, Edgard Etheling, que les événements ramenèrent bientôt sur les marches du trône d'Angleterre. La royauté venait en effet de passer des princes danois à Edouard le Confesseur, oncle d'Edgard; et l'angélique union du saint roi avec la douce Editha n'étant appelée à produire de fruits que pour le ciel, la couronne semblait devoir appartenir après lui par droit de naissance au frère de sainte Marguerite, son plus proche héritier. Nés dans l'exil, Edgard et ses sœurs virent donc enfin s'ouvrir pour eux la patrie. Mais peu après, la mort d'Edouard et la conquête normande bannissaient de nouveau la famille royale; le navire qui devait reconduire sur le continent les augustes fugitifs était jeté (1) par un ouragan sur les côtes d'Ecosse. Edgard Etheling, malgré les efforts du parti saxon, ne devait jamais relever le trône de ses pères; mais sa sainte sœur conquérait la terre où le naufrage, instrument de Dieu, l'avait portée.

Devenue l'épouse de Malcolm III, sa sereine influence assouplit les instincts farouches du fils de Duncan, et triompha de la barbarie trop dominante encore en ces contrées jusque-là séparées du reste du monde. Les habitants des hautes et des basses terres, réconciliés, suivaient leur douce souveraine dans les sentiers nouveaux qu'elle ouvrait devant eux à la lumière de l'Evangile. Les puissants se rapprochèrent du faible et du pauvre, et, déposant leur dureté de race, se laissèrent prendre aux charmes de la charité. La pénitence chrétienne reprit ses droits sur les instincts grossiers de la pure nature. La pratique des sacrements, remise en honneur, produisait ses fruits. Partout, dans l'Eglise et l'Etat, disparaissaient les abus. Tout le royaume n'était plus qu'une famille, dont Marguerite se disait à bon droit la mère; car l'Ecosse naissait par elle à la vraie civilisation. David Ier, inscrit comme sa mère au catalogue des Saints, achèvera l'œuvre commencée; pendant ce temps, un autre enfant de Marguerite, également digne d'elle, sainte Mathilde d'Ecosse, épouse d'Henri Ier fils de Guillaume de Normandie, mettra fin sur le sol anglais aux rivalités persévérantes des conquérants et des vaincus par le mélange du sang des deux races.

Voici les lignes consacrées par l'Eglise à l'histoire de sainte Marguerite:

Marguerite, reine d'Ecosse, fut la noble fille des rois d'Angleterre par son père et des Césars par sa mère; mais la vertu chrétienne l'éleva encore au-dessus de sa naissance. Elle naquit en Hongrie, où son père était alors exilé. Après une enfance passée dans la plus haute piété, elle vint en Angleterre avec son père, qui était appelé par saint Edouard roi des Anglais, son oncle, à monter sur le trône de ses aïeux. Bientôt, partageant les revers de sa famille, Marguerite dut s'éloigner des rivages d'Angleterre. Une tempête, ou plutôt le dessein de la divine Providence, la jeta sur les côtes d'Ecosse. Le commandement de sa mère lui fit épouser Malcolm III, roi de ce pays, que ses belles qualités avaient touché. Par sa sainteté et ses œuvres pieuses, elle rendit à tout le royaume les plus grands services durant trente années qu'elle régna.

Au milieu de la mollesse d'une cour, elle mortifia son corps par les veilles et les austérités, employant à la prière une grande partie des nuits. Outre d'autres jeûnes qu'elle s'imposait de temps en temps, elle avait la coutume d'observer celui de quarante jours entiers avant la fête de Noël, avec une telle rigueur qu'elle ne le suspendit jamais dans ses maladies les plus aiguës. Adonnée au culte divin, elle bâtit un grand nombre d'églises et de monastères, répara les autres, les fournit d'ornements sacrés et les dota richement. Elle amena le roi son mari à une vie chrétienne, et le porta par ses exemples salutaires à partager ses saintes pratiques. Elle éleva tous ses enfants d'une manière si parfaite et avec un si heureux succès, que presque tous, ainsi que sa mère Agathe et sa sœur Christine, se vouèrent à une vie très sainte. Occupée enfin du bonheur de l’Ecosse entière, elle fit disparaître tous les désordres qui s'étaient glissés insensiblement dans les habitudes du pays, et rendit conformes à la piété chrétienne les mœurs de son peuple.

Rien cependant ne fut plus admirable en elle que son ardente charité envers le prochain, principalement envers les pauvres. On la vit non seulement répandre ses largesses sur des multitudes d'indigents, mais encore en servir par elle-même trois cents chaque jour avec une maternelle bonté, leur donnant à manger, leur rendant tous les offices à genoux devant eux comme une servante, lavant leurs pieds de ses mains royales et déposant ses baisers sur leurs ulcères: telles étaient ses pratiques habituelles. On la vit se défaire de ses parures royales et de ses joyaux les plus précieux, et même plus d'une fois épuiser le trésor, pour subvenir à ses aumônes et autres œuvres pies. Après avoir supporté avec une patience qui tenait du prodige les cruelles douleurs d'une maladie de six mois, qui acheva de purifier son âme, elle la rendit à son Créateur le quatre des ides de juin. A ce moment, son visage, que la maigreur et la pâleur avaient défiguré dans le cours de ses longues souffrances, reprit les traits d'une beauté extraordinaire. Après sa mort, d'admirables prodiges illustrèrent aussi sa mémoire. Elle fut reconnue patronne de l'Ecosse par l'autorité de Clément X, et on l'honore d'un culte religieux dans toute la terre.

Nous vous saluons, ô reine, digne des éloges que la postérité consacre aux plus illustres souveraines. Dans vos mains, la puissance a été l'instrument du salut des peuples. Votre passage a marqué pour l'Ecosse le plein midi de la vraie lumière. Hier, en son Martyrologe, la sainte Eglise nous rappelait la mémoire de celui qui fut votre précurseur glorieux sur cette terre lointaine: au VI° siècle, Colomb-Kil, sortant de l'Irlande, y portait la foi. Mais le christianisme de ses habitants, comprimé par mille causes diverses dans son essor, n'avait point produit parmi eux tous ses effets civilisateurs. Une mère seule pouvait parfaire l'éducation surnaturelle de la nation. L'Esprit-Saint, qui vous avait choisie pour cette tâche, ô Marguerite, prépara votre maternité dans la tribulation et l'angoisse: ainsi avait-il procédé pour Clotilde; ainsi fait-il pour toutes les mères. Combien mystérieuses et cachées n'apparaissent pas en votre personne les voies de l'éternelle Sagesse! Cette naissance de proscrite loin du sol des aïeux, cette rentrée dans la patrie, suivie bientôt d'infortunes plus poignantes, cette tempête, enfin, qui vous jette dénuée de tout sur les rochers d'une terre inconnue: quel prudent de ce monde eût pressenti, dans une série de désastres pareils, la conduite d'une miséricordieuse providence faisant servir à ses plus suaves résolutions la violence combinée des hommes et des éléments? Et pourtant, c'est ainsi que se formait en vous la femme forte (2), supérieure aux tromperies de la vie présente et fixée en Dieu, le seul bien que n'atteignent pas les révolutions de ce monde.

Loin de s'aigrir ou de se dessécher sous la souffrance, votre cœur, établi au-dessus des variations de cette terre à la vraie source de l'amour, y puisait toutes les prévoyances et tous les dévouements qui, sans autre préparation, vous tenaient à la hauteur de la mission qui devait être la vôtre. Ainsi fûtes-vous en toute vérité ce trésor qui mérite qu'on l’aille chercher jusqu'aux extrémités du monde, ce navire qui apporte des plages lointaines la nourriture et toutes les richesses au rivage où les vents l'ont poussé (3). Heureuse votre patrie d'adoption, si jamais elle n'eût oublié vos enseignements et vos exemples! Heureux vos descendants, si toujours ils s'étaient souvenus que le sang des Saints coulait dans leurs veines! Digne de vous dans la mort, la dernière reine d'Ecosse porta du moins sous la hache du bourreau une tête jusqu'au bout fidèle à son baptême. Mais on vit l'indigne fils de Marie Smart, par une politique aussi fausse que sacrilège, abandonner en même temps l'Eglise et sa mère. L'hérésie desséchait pour jamais la souche illustre d'où sortirent tant de rois, au moment où l'Angleterre et l'Ecosse s'unissaient sous leur sceptre agrandi; car la trahison consommée par Jacques Ier ne devait pas être rachetée devant Dieu par la fidélité de Jacques II à la foi de ses pères. O Marguerite, du ciel où votre trône est affermi pour les siècles sans fin, n'abandonnez ni l'Angleterre à qui vous appartenez par vos glorieux ancêtres, ni l'Ecosse dont la protection spéciale vous reste confiée par l'Eglise de la terre. L'apôtre André partage avec vous les droits de ce puissant patronage. De concert avec lui, gardez les âmes restées fidèles, multipliez le nombre des retours à l'antique foi, et préparez pour un avenir prochain la rentrée du troupeau tout entier sous la houlette de l'unique Pasteur (4).
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NOTE

1. Johan. XVI, 13.

2. Prov. XXXI, 10-31.

3. Ibid.

4. Johan. X, 16.

[Augustinus]

The Life Of St Margaret, Queen Of Scotland

By Turgot, Bishop Of St Andrews Ed. William Forbes-Leith, S.J. Third Edition. Edinburgh: David Douglas, 1896

THE PROLOGUE.

To the honourable and excellent Matilda, queen of the English, T[urgot],1 servant of the servants of St Cuthbert, sends the blessing of peace and health in this present life, and in that which is to come the chief good of all good things.

1. You have, by the request you made, commanded me (since a request of yours is to me a command) that I should narrate for you the particulars of the life of your mother, whose memory is held in veneration. How acceptable that life was to God you have often heard by the concordant praise of many. You remind me how in this matter my evidence is especially trustworthy, since (thanks to her great and familiar intercourse with me) you have understood that I am acquainted with the most part of her secrets. These your commands and wishes I willingly obey; nay, more, I venerate them exceedingly, and I respectfully congratulate you-whom the King of the Angels has raised to the rank of Queen of England-that you desire not only to hear about the life of your mother, who ever yearned after the Kingdom of the Angels, but further, to have it continually before your eyes in writing, that so, although you were but little familiar with her face, you might at least have a perfect acquaintance with her virtues.

For my part, my own wish inclines me to do what you bid, but I have, I confess, a lack of ability: as the materials, in truth, for this undertaking are more than my writing or my words can avail to set forth.

2. So I am in two minds, and drawn two ways at once. On the one hand, the greatness of the subject makes me shrink from obeying; on the other, I dare not refuse because of the authority of you who command me, and the memory of her of whom I am to speak. I cannot do justice to my subject, yet my duty is to make it known so far as I can. I owe this to the love I have for her, and to the obedience which is due from me to you. I trust that the grace of the Holy Spirit, which gave her such powers for good, will vouchsafe to me also the ability to recount them. "The Lord shall give the word to them that preach good tidings with great power." (Ps. lxvii. 12.)2

3. In the first place, then, it is my wish that you should know, and others through you, that were I to attempt to recount all I could tell to her honour, I might be suspected, while praising your mother, to be really flattering your own queenly dignity. But far be it from my grey hairs to mingle falsehood with the virtues of such a woman as she was, in unfolding which I profess-as God is my Witness and my judge-that I add nothing to the truth. On the contrary, I suppress many things, fearing that they might appear incredible, and I might be charged (as the orator says) with decking out the crow in the plumage of the swan.

CHAPTER I.

ST MARGARET'S NOBLE DESCENT. HER VIRTUES AS A QUEEN AND AS A MOTHER.

4. MANY, as we read, have got their name from a quality of their mind, so that in their regard there is shown a correspondence between the word forming their name and the grace they have received. Peter was so named from "the Rock," that is Christ, in token of the firmness of his faith; John, which means "the grace of God," from his contemplation of the Divinity, and his prerogative of Divine love; and the sons of Zebedee were styled Boanerges, that is, "the sons of thunder," because they thundered forth the preaching of the Gospel. The same thing was true of this virtuous woman, for the fairness which was pre-shadowed in her name was eclipsed by the surpassing beauty of her soul. She was called Margaret, and in the sight of God she showed herself to be a pearl, precious in faith and works. She was indeed a pearl to you, to me, to all of us, yea, to Christ Himself, and being Christ's she is all the more ours now that she has left us, having been taken to the Lord. This pearl, I repeat, has been removed from the dunghill of the present world, and now she shines in her place among the jewels of the Eternal King. Of this no one, I think, will doubt, who reads the following narrative of her life and death. When I call to mind her conversations with us, seasoned as they were with the salt of wisdom; when I bethink me of her tears wrung from the compunction of her heart; when I regard her staidness and the even balance of her manners; when I remember her affability and prudence, I rejoice while I lament, and in lamenting I rejoice. I rejoice, because she has passed away to God, after whom she yearned; and I grieve because I am not rejoicing along with her, in the heavenly places. I rejoice for her, because she now sees, in the land of the living, those good things of the Lord in which she had believed; but for myself I mourn, because so long as I suffer the miseries of this mortal life in the land of the dead, so long am I constrained to exclaim day by day: "Unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death!"3

5. Since, then, I am about to speak of that nobility of the mind which she had in Christ, it is fitting that something should be premised as to her nobility according to this world. Her grandfather was that King Edmund who had earned an honourable surname from his matchless valour, for he was staunch in fight and not to be overcome by his enemies; and therefore he was called in English "The Ironside." His brother on his father's side, but not on his mother's, was the most religious and meek Edward, who proved himself a father to his country, which, like another Solomon (that is, a lover of peace), he protected rather by peace than arms. His was a spirit which overcame anger, despised avarice, and was utterly free from pride. And no wonder; for as from his ancestors he drew the glory of his kingly rank, so from them too he inherited his nobility of life. He was descended from Edgar, King of the English, and Richard, Count of the Normans, his grandfathers on either side; not only most illustrious, but also most religious men. Of Edgar it may briefly be said (if we would do justice to his worth as well in this world as in Christ), that he was marked out beforehand as a king at once just and peaceful. For at his birth St Dunstan heard the holy angels rejoicing in heaven and singing with great joy : "Let there be peace, let there be joy in the Church of the English as long as this new-born child shall hold his kingdom and Dunstan run the course of this mortal life."

6. Richard also, father to Emma the mother of this Edward, was an ancestor worthy of so illustrious a grandchild; he was a man of energy and worthy of all praise. None of his forefathers had attained greater prosperity and honour in his earldom of Normandy, nor was any of them more fervent in religion. Though of great wealth, he was poor in spirit, like a second David; though raised to be lord over his people, he was the most humble servant of the servants of Christ. Among other memorials of his love of religion, this devout worshipper founded the noble monastery of Fécamp, in which it was his frequent custom to stay with the religious. There, in habit a secular but in heart a monk, he placed the food of the brethren on the table where they were eating their silent meals and served them with drink; so that, according to the Scriptures, "The greater he was, by so much the more did he humble himself to all."4 If anyone wishes to be more fully acquainted with his works of magnificence and virtue, let him read the book called "The Acts of the Normans,"5 which contains his history. Edward, the grandchild of such forefathers, did in no way degenerate from their renown and excellence. As already has been said, he was the brother of King Edmund on the father's side only; from whose son came Margaret, who by the splendour of her merits completes the glory of this illustrious pedigree.

7. Whilst Margaret was yet in the flower of youth, she began to lead a very strict life, to love God above all things, to employ herself in the study of the Divine writings, and therein with joy to exercise her mind. Her understanding was keen to comprehend any matter, whatever it might be; to this was joined a great tenacity of memory, enabling her to store it up, along with a graceful flow of language to express it.

8. While thus she was meditating upon the law of the Lord day and night, and, like another Mary sitting at His feet, delighted to hear His word, rather in obedience to the will of her friends than to her own, yea by the appointment of God, she was married to Malcolm, son of King Duncan, the most powerful king of the Scots. But although she was compelled to do as the world does, she thought it beneath her dignity to fix her affection upon the things of the world, and thus good works delighted her more than riches. By means of her temporal possession she earned for herself the rewards of heaven; for there, where her heart was, she had placed her treasure also. And since before all things she sought the kingdom of God and His justice,6 the bountiful grace of the Almighty freely added to her honours and riches in abundance. This prudent queen directed all such things as it was fitting for her to regulate; the laws of the realm were administered by her counsel; by her care the influence of religion was extended, and the people rejoiced in the prosperity of their affairs. Nothing was firmer than her fidelity, steadier than her favour, or juster than her decisions; nothing was more enduring than her patience, graver than her advice, or more pleasant than her conversation.

9. She had no sooner attained this eminent dignity, than she built an eternal memorial of her name and devotion in the place where her nuptials had been held.7 The noble church which she erected there in honour of the Holy Trinity was to serve a threefold purpose; it was intended for the redemption of the king's soul, for the good of her own, and for securing to her children prosperity in the present life and in that which is to come. This church she beautified with rich gifts of various kinds, amongst which, as is well known, were many vessels of pure and solid gold for the sacred service of the altar, about which I can speak with the greater certainty since, by the queen's orders, I myself, for a long time, had all of them under my charge. She also placed there a cross of priceless value, bearing the figure of our Saviour, which she had caused to be covered with the purest gold and silver studded with gems, a token even to the present day of the earnestness of her faith. She left proofs of her devotion and fervour in various other churches, as witness the Church of St Andrews, in which is preserved a most beautiful crucifix erected by her there, and remaining even at the present day. Her chamber was never without such objects, those I mean which appertained to the dignity of the divine service. It was, so to speak, a workshop of sacred art: in which copes for the cantors, chasubles, stoles, altar-cloths, together with other priestly vestments and church ornaments of an admirable beauty, were always to be seen, either already made, or in course of preparation. 10. These works were entrusted to certain women of noble birth and approved gravity of manners, who were thought worthy of a part in the queen's service. No men were admitted among them, with the exception only of such as she permitted to enter along with herself when she paid the women an occasional visit. No giddy pertness was allowed in them, no light familiarity between them and men; for the queen united so much strictness with her sweetness of temper, so great pleasantness even with her severity, that all who waited upon her, men as well as women, loved her while they feared her, and in fearing loved her. Thus it came to pass that when she was present no one ventured to utter even one unseemly word, much less to do aught that was objectionable. There was a gravity in her very joy, and something stately in her anger. With her, mirth never expressed itself in fits of laughter, nor did displeasure kindle into fury. Sometimes she chid the faults of others-her own always-using that commendable severity tempered with justice which the Psalmist directs us unceasingly to employ, when he says, "Be ye angry, and sin not." Every action of her life was regulated by the balance of the nicest discretion, which impressed its own distinctive character upon each single virtue. When she spoke, her conversation was seasoned with the salt of wisdom; when she was silent, her silence was filled with good thoughts. So thoroughly did her outward bearing correspond with the staidness of her character that it seemed as if she had been from her very birth the pattern of a virtuous life. In fact, I may say, every word which she uttered, every act which she performed, shewed that she was meditating upon the things of heaven.

11. Nor was she less careful about her children than she was about herself. She took all heed that they should be well brought up, and especially that they should be trained in virtue. Knowing that it is written: "He that spareth the rod hateth his son,"9 she charged the governor who had the care of the nursery to curb the children, to scold them, and to whip them whenever they were naughty, as frolicsome childhood will often be. Thanks to their mother's religious care, her children surpassed in good behaviour many who were their elders; they were always affectionate and peaceable among themselves, and everywhere the younger paid due respect to the elder. Thus it was that during the solemnities of the Mass, when they went up to make their offerings after their parents, never on any occasion did the younger venture to precede the elder; the custom being for the elder to go before those younger according to the order of their birth.10 She frequently called them to her, and carefully instructed them about Christ and the things of Christ, as far as their age would permit, and she admonished them to love Him always. "O, my children," said she, "fear the Lord; for they who fear Him shall lack nothing,11 and if you love Him, He will give you, my dear ones, prosperity in this life, and everlasting happiness with all the saints." Such were this mother's wishes for her children, such her admonitions, such her prayers for them, poured out night and day with tears. She prayed that they might confess their Maker through the faith which works by love,12 that confessing they might worship Him, worshipping might love Him in all things and above all things, and loving might attain to the glory of the heavenly kingdom.13

CHAPTER II.

HER CARE FOR THE HONOUR OF THE REALM AND THE DISCIPLINE OF THE CHURCH.

12. Nor need we wonder that the queen governed herself and her household wisely when we know that she acted always under the wisest of masters, the guidance of the Holy Scriptures. I myself have had frequent opportunities of admiring in her how, even amidst the distractions of lawsuits, amidst the countless cares of state, she devoted herself with wonderful assiduity to the study of the word of God, respecting which she used to ask profound questions from the learned men who were sitting near her. But just as no one among them possessed a deeper intellect than herself, so none had the power of clearer expression. Thus it very often happened that these doctors went from her much wiser men than when they came. She sought with a religious earnestness for those sacred volumes, and oftentimes her affectionate familiarity with me moved me to exert myself to obtain them for her use.14 Not that in doing this she cared for her own salvation only; she desired that of others also.

13. First of all in regard to King Malcolm: by the help of God she made him most attentive to the works of justice, mercy, almsgiving, and other virtues. From her he learnt how to keep the vigils of the night in constant prayer; she instructed him by her exhortation and example how to pray to God with groanings from the heart and abundance of tears. I was astonished, I confess, at this great miracle of God's mercy when I perceived in the king such a steady earnestness in his devotion, and I wondered how it was that there could exist in the heart of a man living in the world such, an entire sorrow for sin. There was in him a sort of dread of offending one whose life was so venerable; for he could not but perceive from her conduct that Christ dwelt within her; nay, more, he readily obeyed her wishes and prudent counsels in all things. Whatever she refused, he refused also, whatever pleased her, he also loved for the love of her. Hence it was that, although he could not read, he would turn over and examine books which she used either for her devotions or her study; and whenever he heard her express especial liking for a particular book, he also would look at it with special interest, kissing it, and often taking it into his hands. Sometimes he sent for a worker in precious metals, whom he commanded to ornament that volume with gold and gems, and when the work was finished, the king himself used to carry the book to the queen as a loving proof of his devotion.

14. The queen on her side, herself a noble gem of royal race, much more ennobled the splendour of her husband's kingly magnificence, and contributed no little glory and grace to the entire nobility of the realm and their retainers. It was due to her that the merchants who came by land and sea from various countries brought along with them for sale different kinds of precious wares which until then were unknown in Scotland. And it was at her instigation that the natives of Scotland purchased from these traders clothing of various colours, with ornaments to wear; so that from this period, through her suggestion, new costumes of different fashions were adopted, the elegance of which made the wearers appear like a new race of beings.15 She also arranged that persons of a higher position should be appointed for the king's service, a large number of whom were to accompany him in state whenever he either walked or rode abroad. This body was brought to such discipline that, wherever they came, none of them was suffered to take anything from anyone, nor did they dare in any way to oppress or injure country people or the poor. Further, she introduced so much state into the royal palace, that not only was it brightened by the many colours of the apparel worn in it, but the whole dwelling blazed with gold and silver; the vessels employed for serving the food and drink to the king and to the nobles of the realm were of gold and silver, or were, at least, gilt and plated.

15. All this the queen did, not because the honours of the world delighted her, but because duty compelled her to discharge what the kingly dignity required. For even as she walked in state, robed in royal splendour, she, like another Esther, in her heart trod all these trappings under foot, and bade herself remember that beneath the gems and gold lay only dust and ashes. In short, in her exalted dignity she was always especially watchful to preserve humility. It was easy for her to repress all vain glory arising from worldly splendour, since her soul never forgot how transitory is this frail life. She always bore in mind the text which describes our condition in this our unstable humanity : "Man, born of a woman, living for a short time, is filled with many miseries. Who cometh forth as a flower and is destroyed, and fleeth as a shadow, and never continueth in the same state."16 She meditated without ceasing upon that passage of the Blessed Apostle James, where he asks: "What is our life ? It is a vapour which appeareth for a little while, and afterwards shall vanish away."17 And because, as the Scripture says, "Blessed is the man that is always fearful,"18 this worthy queen made it easier for her to shun sin by placing ever before her soul's eye, tremblingly and fearfully, the terrible day of judgment. With this thought she frequently entreated me to rebuke her without any hesitation in private whenever I saw anything worthy of blame either in her words or her actions. As I did this less frequently and sharply than she wished, she urged the duty on me, and chid me for being drowsy (so to speak) and negligent in her regard; for," as she said, " the just man shall correct me in mercy and shall reprove me ; but let not the oil," that is, the flattery, " of the sinner fatten my head."19 "Better are the wounds of a friend than the deceitful kisses of an enemy."20 She could speak thus because she courted censure as helping to her progress in virtue, where another might have reckoned it a disgrace.

16. Journeying thus onwards towards the heavenly country in thought and word and deed, this devout and god-worthy queen called on others to accompany her in the undefiled way, so that they with her might attain true happiness.

When she saw wicked men she admonished them to be good, the good to become better, the better to strive to be best. The zeal of God's house (that is, of the Church) had so consumed her that with apostolic faith she laboured to root up all weeds which had lawlessly sprung up therein. Observing that many practices existed among the Scottish nation which were contrary to the rule of the right faith and the holy customs of the universal Church, she caused frequent councils to be held, in order that by some means or other she might, through the mercy of Christ, bring back into the way of truth those who had gone astray.

17. Among these councils the most important is that in which for three days she, with a very few of her friends,21 combated the defenders of a perverse custom with the sword of the Spirit, that is to say, with the word of God.22 It seemed as if a second Helena were there present, for as that queen in former days by citing passages from the Scriptures overcame the Jews, so in our times did Queen Margaret overcome those who were in error. In this discussion the king himself took part as an assessor and chief actor, being fully prepared both to say and do whatever she might direct in the matter at issue. And as he knew the English language quite as well as his own, he was in this council a very exact interpreter for either side.

18. The queen introduced the subject under discussion by premising that all who serve one God in one faith along with the Catholic Church ought not to vary from that Church by new or far-fetched usages. She then laid it down, in the first place, that the fast of Lent was not kept as it ought to be by those who were in the habit of beginning it on the Monday of the first week in Lent; thus differing from the Holy Catholic Church, which begins it on the fourth day of the previous week at the commencement of Lent. The opponents objected thus: "The fast which we observe we keep according to the authority of the Gospel, which reports that Christ fasted for six weeks." She replied by saying: "Herein you differ widely from the Gospel, wherein we read that our Lord fasted for forty days, a thing which notoriously you do not do. For seeing that during the six weeks you deduct the six Sundays from the fast, it is clear that thirty-six days only remain on which to fast. Plainly, then, the fast which you keep is not that fast of forty days which is commanded by the Gospel, but consists of six and thirty days only. It comes then to this, you ought to do as we do. Like us, you should begin your fast four days before the first Sunday of Lent; that is, if you wish, according to our Lord's example, to observe an abstinence of forty days. If you refuse to do this, you will be the only persons who are acting in opposition to the authority of our Lord Himself and the tradition of the entire Holy Church." Convinced by this plain demonstration of the truth, these persons began henceforth the solemnities of the fast as Holy Church observes them everywhere.

19. The queen now raised another point; she asked them to explain why it was that on the festival of Easter they neglected to receive the Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ according to the usage of the Holy and Apostolic Church? They answered her thus : " The Apostle when speaking of persons who eat and drink unworthily, says that they eat and drink judgment to themselves.23 Now, since we admit that we are sinners, we fear to approach that mystery, lest we should eat and drink judgment to ourselves." "What!" said the queen to them; "Shall no one that is a sinner taste that holy mystery? If so, then it follows that no one at all should receive it, for no one is pure from sin; no, not even the infant, who has lived but one day upon the earth. And if no one ought to receive it, why did the Lord make this proclamation in the Gospel? Except you shall eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you shall not have life in you.' 24 But if you would understand the passage which you have quoted from the Apostle according to the interpretation of the Fathers, then you must give it quite a different meaning. The Evangelist does not hold that all sinners are unworthy of the sacraments of salvation; for after saying 'He eateth and drinketh judgment to himself,' he adds, 'Not discerning the Body of the Lord;' 25 that is, not distinguishing it by faith from bodily food. It is the man who, without confession and penance, and carrying with him the defilements of his sins presumes to approach the sacred mysteries, such a one, I say it is, who eats and drinks judgment to himself. Whereas we who many days previously have made confession of our sins and have been cleansed from their stains by chastening penance, by trying fasts, by almsgiving and tears-approaching in the Catholic faith to the Lord's Table on the day of His Resurrection, receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, the immaculate Lamb, not to judgment but to the remission of our sins, and as a health-giving preparation for eternal happiness." To these arguments they could not answer a word, and knowing now the meaning of the Church's practices, observed them ever after in the sacrament of salvation.

20. Again, there were certain places in Scotland in which Masses were celebrated according to some sort of strange rite, contrary to her usage of the whole Church. Fired by the zeal of God, the Queen attempted to root out and abolish this custom, so that henceforth, in the whole of Scotland, there was not one single person who dared to continue the practice.26 It was another custom of theirs to neglect the reverence due to the Lord's Day by devoting themselves to every kind of worldly business upon it just as they did upon other days. That this was contrary to the law, she proved to them as well by reason as by authority. "Let us venerate the Lord's Day," said she, "because of the resurrection of our Lord, which happened upon that day, and let us no longer do servile works upon it; bearing in mind that upon this day we were redeemed from the slavery of the devil. The blessed Pope Gregory affirms the same, saying: 'We must cease from earthly labour upon the Lord's Day and we must devote ourselves entirely to prayer, so that upon the day of our Lord's resurrection we may make expiation for such negligences as we may have committed during the six days.'"27

The same Father, Gregory, after censuring with the greatest severity a certain piece of worldly business which had been done on the Lord's Day, decreed that the persons who had advised it should be excommunicated for two months. The arguments of the queen were unanswerable; and from this time forward those prudent men paid such respect to her earnestness that no one dared on these days either to carry any burden himself or to compel another to do so.

21. Next, she proved how utterly abominable, yea more to be shunned by the faithful than death itself, was the unlawful marriage of a man with his step-mother, as also that the surviving brother should take to wife the widow of his deceased brother; both of which customs had heretofore prevailed in the country. In this council she succeeded in condemning and expelling from her realm many other inveterate abuses which had gained a footing therein, contrary to the Rule of Faith and the institutions and observances of the Church. For everything that she proposed she supported so strongly by the testimony of the Sacred Scriptures and the teaching of the holy Fathers, that no one on the opposite side could say one word against them; nay, rather, giving up their obstinacy and yielding to reason, they willingly consented to adopt all she recommended.28 Not many years ago, in Germany as well as Belgium, this custom was still kept up, of sending round the loving-cup at grace after dinner. Cf. Rock, "The Church of our Fathers," vol. ii. p. 335 et seq.)

CHAPTER III.

HER PIETY; HER CHARITY TO THE POOR; HER REDEMPTION OF ENGLISH CAPTIVES; HER MANNER OF PASSING LENT; HER BOOK OF THE GOSPELS.

22. THUS it came to pass that this venerable Queen, who by God's help had been so desirous to cleanse His house from all filth and error, was found day by day worthier of becoming His temple, as the Holy Spirit shone ever brighter in her heart. And I know of a truth that she was such, because I not only saw the works which she did outwardly, but besides this, I knew her conscience, for to me she revealed it. It was her good pleasure to converse with me on the most familiar terms, and to open her secret thoughts to me; not because there was anything that was good in me, but because she thought there was. When she spoke with me about the salvation of the soul and the sweetness of the life which is eternal, every word she uttered was so filled with grace that the Holy Spirit, Who truly dwelt within her breast, evidently spoke by her lips. So deep was her contrition that whilst she was talking, she seemed as if she could melt away in tears, so that my soul, pierced like her own, wept also. Of all living persons whom I know or have known she was the most devoted to prayer and fasting, to works of mercy and almsgiving.

23. Let me speak first of all about her prayerfulness. In church no one was so silent and composed as she, no one so wrapt in prayer. Whilst she was in the house of God she would never speak of worldly matters, or do anything which savoured of the earth; she was there simply to pray, and in praying to pour forth her tears. Only her body was then here below, her spirit was near to God, for in the purity of her prayer she sought nothing but God and the things which are God's. As for her fasting, I will say this alone, that the strictness of her abstinence brought upon her a very severe infirmity. 24. To these two excellent gifts of prayer and abstinence she joined the gift of mercy. For what could be more compassionate than her heart? Who could be more gentle than she towards the necessitous? Not only would she have given to the poor all that she possessed; but if she could have done so she would have given her very self away. She was poorer than any of her paupers; for they, even when they had nothing, wished to have something; while all her anxiety was to strip herself of what she had. When she went out of doors, either on foot or on horseback, crowds of poor people, orphans and widows flocked to her, as they would have done to a most loving mother, and none of them left her without being comforted. But when she had distributed all she had brought with her for the benefit of the needy, the rich who accompanied her, or her own attendants, used to hand to her their garments, or anything else they happened to have by them at the time, that she might give them to those who were in want; for she was anxious that none should go away in distress. Nor were her attendants at all offended nay rather each strove who should first offer her what he had, since he knew for certain that she would pay it back two-fold. Now and then she helped herself to something or other out of the King's private property, it mattered not what it was, to give to a poor person; and this pious plundering the King always took pleasantly and in good part. It was his custom to offer certain coins of gold upon Maundy Thursday and at High Mass, some of which coins the Queen often devoutly pillaged, and bestowed on the beggar who was petitioning her for help. Although the King was fully aware of the theft, he generally pretended to know nothing of it, and felt much amused by it. Now and then he caught the Queen in the very act, with the money in her hand, and laughingly threatened that he would have her arrested, tried, and found guilty. Nor was it towards the poor of her own nation only that she exhibited the abundance of her cheerful and open-hearted charity, but those persons who came from almost every other nation, drawn by the report of her liberality, were the partakers of her bounty. Of a truth then this text may be applied to her, "He hath dispersed abroad, he hath given to the poor, therefore his justice remaineth for ever."29

25. But who can tell the number of English of all ranks, carried captive from their own land by violence of war and reduced to slavery,30 whom she restored to liberty by paying their ransom? Spies were employed by her to go secretly through all the provinces of Scotland and ascertain what captives were oppressed with the most cruel bondage, and treated with the greatest inhumanity. When she had privately ascertained where these prisoners were detained, and by whom ill-treated, commiserating them from the bottom of her heart, she took care to send them speedy help, paid their ransom and set them at liberty forthwith. 26. At the period of which we are speaking, there were in many places throughout the realm of Scotland persons shut up in different cells, and leading lives of great strictness; in the flesh, but not according to the flesh; for being upon earth, they led the life of angels. These the Queen busied herself in often visiting and conversing with, for in them she loved and venerated Christ, and would recommend herself to their prayers. As she could not induce them to accept any earthly gift from her, she urgently entreated them to be so good as to bid her perform some almsdeed or work of mercy, and this devout woman did forthwith fulfil whatever was their pleasure, either by helping the poor out of their poverty or by relieving the distressed in their troubles, whatever these might be.31 27. Since the church of St Andrews was much frequented by the devout, who flocked to it from all quarters, she erected dwellings on either shore of the sea which divides Lothian from Scotland, so that the poor people and the pilgrims might shelter there and rest themselves after the fatigues of their journey. She had arranged they should there find all that they needed for the refreshment of the body. Servants were appointed, whose especial duty it was to see that everything which might be required for these wayfarers should be always in readiness, and who were directed to attend upon them with all diligence. Moreover, she provided ships for the transport of these pilgrims both coming and going, nor was it lawful to demand any fee for the passage from those who were crossing.

28. Having spoken of the daily manner of life of this venerable queen, as well as of her daily works of mercy, it is fitting that I should now attempt to say a few words as to the way in which she habitually spent the forty days before Christmas, and the entire season of Lent. After taking rest for a short period at the beginning of the night, she went into the church, and there, alone, she completed first of all the Matins of the Holy Trinity, then the Matins of the Holy Cross, and lastly the Matins of Our Lady. Having ended these, she began the offices of the Dead, and after these the Psalter; nor did she cease until she had reached its conclusion. When the Priests were saying the Matins and Lauds at the fitting hour, she in the meantime either finished the Psalter she had begun, or if she had completed it, began saying it a second time. When the office of Matins and Lauds was finished, returning to her chamber, along with the king himself, she washed the feet of six poor persons; and used to give them something wherewithal to relieve their poverty. It was the chamberlain's special duty to bring these poor people in every night before the queen's arrival, so that she might find them ready when she came to wait upon them. Having done this, she went to take some rest in sleep.

29. When it was morning she rose from bed and devoted a considerable time to prayer and the reading of the Psalms, and while thus engaged, she performed the following work of mercy. She ordered that nine little orphans utterly destitute should be brought in to her at the first hour of the day, and that some soft food such as children at that tender age like, should daily be prepared for them. When the little ones were carried to her she did not think it beneath her to take them upon her knee, and to get their pap ready for them, and this she put into their mouths with the spoon which she herself used. The queen, who was honoured by all the people, did this act of charity for the sake of Christ, and as one of Christ's servants. To this most loving mother might be applied with great propriety that saying of the blessed Job, "From my infancy mercy grew with me, and it came forth with me from my mother's womb."32

30. While this was going on, it was the custom to bring three hundred poor people into the royal hall, and when they were seated round it in order, the king and queen entered; whereupon the doors were shut by the servants, for with the exception of the chaplains, certain religious and a few attendants, no one was permitted to be present at the giving of these alms.33 The king on the one side and the queen on the other waited upon Christ in the person of His poor, and served them with food and drink which had been prepared for this special purpose. When the meal was finished, the queen's wont was to go into the church, and there with long prayers, with tears and sighs to offer herself as a sacrifice to God. Upon holy days, in addition to the hours of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Cross, and Holy Mary, recited within the space of a day and a night, she used to repeat the Psalter twice or thrice; and before the celebration of the Public Mass she caused five or six Masses to be sung privately in her presence.

31. These concluded, it was time for the queen's repast. But before this was served she herself humbly waited upon twenty-four poor people whom she fed; for without reckoning the alms-deeds which I have already mentioned, throughout the course of the year she supported twenty-four poor as long as she lived. It was her will that wherever she lived they also should be living in the neighbourhood; wherever she went they were to accompany her. Not until after she had devoutly waited upon Christ in these His poor was it her habit to refresh her own feeble body. In this meal she hardly allowed herself the necessaries of life, since the Apostle teaches us that we ought not to make provision for the flesh in its concupiscences.34 She ate no more than sufficed for the preservation of her life, and not to gratify her palate. Her meal-frugal and scanty-rather excited hunger than allayed it. She seemed to taste her food, not to take it. From this let it be understood, I pray you, how great was her abstinence when she fasted, remembering what it was when she feasted. Her whole life was one of exceeding temperance, but during the fasts (that is during the forty days before Easter and Christmas), the abstinence she was accustomed to afflict herself with was incredible. By reason of this excessive severity she suffered to the end of her life from an acute pain in the stomach; yet the weakness of her body did not impair her strength in good works. During this period she was assiduous in reading the sacred volumes, she was instant in prayer, her alms were unceasing, and she exercised herself wholly and watchfully in all the things of God. And knowing, as she did, that it is written, "Whom the Lord loveth He chastiseth, and He scourgeth every son whom He receiveth,"35 she willingly accepted with patience and thanksgiving the pains of the flesh, regarding them as the stripes of a most loving Father.

33. Devoted as she was to such works as these, and burdened by the like constant infirmities, God's power was made perfect in her weakness.36 Thus passing onwards from strength to strength, each day made her better. And now forsaking all things earthly with her whole soul, she longed for the things of heaven, yea, thirsted after them, exclaiming with the Psalmist in the language both of her heart and lips, "My soul hath thirsted after God, the living fountain; when shall I come and appear before the face of God?"37 I leave it to others to admire the tokens of miracles which they see elsewhere, I admire much more the works of mercy which I perceived in Margaret; for signs are common to the good and the bad, whereas works of piety and true charity belong to the good only. The former sometimes are the proof of holiness, the latter are that which constitutes it. Let us then, I repeat, admire in Margaret the actions which made her a saint, rather than the miracles which, had we any record of them, would have proved that she was one. In her character let us observe with admiration the works of the ancient Saints rather than their miracles-her justice, her piety, her mercy, and her love. Yet it will not be out of place if I here narrate one incident which may go to prove what the holiness of her life was.

33. She had a book of the Gospels beautifully adorned with gold and precious stones, and ornamented with the figures of the four Evangelists, painted and gilt. All the capital letters throughout the volume were radiant with gold. She had always felt a particular attachment for this book; more so than for any of the others which she usually read. It happened that as the person who carried it was once crossing a ford, he let the book, which had been carelessly folded in a wrapper, fall into the middle of the river. Unconscious of what had occurred, the man quietly continued his journey; but when he wished to produce the book, suddenly it dawned upon him that he had lost it. Long was it sought, but nowhere could it be found. At last it was discovered lying open at the bottom of the river. Its leaves had been kept in constant motion by the action of the water, and the little coverings of silk38 which protected the letters of gold from becoming injured by contact with the opposite page, were carried off by the force of the current. Who would fancy that the book could afterwards be of any value? Who would believe that even a single letter would have been visible? Yet of a truth, it was taken up out of the middle of the river so perfect, so uninjured, so free from damage, that it did not seem to have even been touched by the water. The whiteness of the leaves and the form of the letters throughout the volume remained exactly as they had been before it had fallen into the river, except that in part of the end leaves the least possible mark of damp might be detected. The book was conveyed to the queen, and the miracle was at the same time related to her; and she, having thanked Christ, valued it much more highly than she had done before.39 Whatever others may think, I for my part believe that this wonder was worked by our Lord out of His love for the venerable queen.

CHAPTER IV.

THE QUEEN'S PREPARATION FOR HER DEPARTURE,
HER SICKNESS AND HAPPY DEATH.

WHILST Almighty God was preparing everlasting rewards for her works of devotion, the queen was preparing herself with more than her usual assiduity for entering another life. Her own words made this more obvious shortly afterwards. It would seem that her departure from this world, as well as certain other events which were impending, had been known by her long beforehand. Therefore, summoning me to come to her privately, she began to recount to me in order the history of her life, and as she proceeded with it she shed floods of tears. In short, so deep was her compunction, and out of this compunction sprang such abundant tears, that - as it seemed to me - there was nothing whatever which at that time she might not have obtained from Christ. When she wept, I wept likewise; and thus we wept and at times were silent altogether, since by reason of our sobs we could not give utterance to words. For the flame of that compunction which consumed her heart reached my soul also, borne in thither by the spiritual fervour of her words. And when I heard the language of the Holy Ghost speaking by her tongue, and could thoroughly read the tenderness of her conscience by what she said, I judged myself unworthy of the grace of so exalted a familiarity.40

35. When she had ended what she had to say about matters which were pressing, she then addressed herself to me, saying: "I now bid you farewell. I shall not continue much longer in this world, but you will live after me for a considerable time. There are two things which I beg of you. One is, that as long as you survive you will remember me in your prayers; the other is, that you will take some care about my sons and daughters. Lavish your affection upon them; teach them before all things to love and fear God; never cease instructing them. When you see any one of them exalted to the height of an earthly dignity, then, as at once his father and his master in the truest sense, go to him, warn him lest through means of a passing honour he become puffed up with pride, or offend God by avarice, or through prosperity in this world neglect the blessedness of the life which is eternal. These are the things, said she, which I ask you-as in the sight of God, who now is present along with us both-to promise me that you will carefully perform." At these words I once more burst into tears, and promised her that I would carefully perform her wishes; for I did not dare to oppose one whom I heard thus unhesitatingly predict what was to come to pass. And the truth of her prediction is verified by present facts; since I survive her death, and I see her offspring elevated to dignity and honour. Thus, having ended the conference, and being about to return home, I bade the queen my last farewell; for after that day I never saw her face in the flesh.

36. Shortly afterwards she was attacked by an infirmity of unusual severity, and was purified by the fire of a tedious sickness before the day on which God called her to Himself. I will describe her death as I heard it narrated by a priest of hers, whom she loved more intimately than the others on account of his simplicity, his innocence, and his purity. After the queen's death he made an oblation in perpetual service for her soul, and having put on the monk's habit offered himself up as a sacrifice for her at the tomb of the uncorrupt body of the most holy Father Cuthbert. He was continually beside the queen during the last days of her life, and with his prayers recommended her soul to Christ when it was leaving the body. He gave me more than once a connected narrative of her decease as he saw it, for I frequently asked him to do so; and in doing this he was moved to tears. 37: "For a little more than half a year," said he, "she was never able to ride on horseback, and seldom to rise from her bed. On the fourth day preceding her death, while the king was absent on an expedition, and at so great a distance that it was impossible for any messenger, however swift, to bring her tidings of what was happening to him, she became sadder than usual. Then she said to me, for I was seated near her, 'Perhaps on this very day such a heavy calamity may befall the realm of Scotland as has not been for many ages past.' When I heard these words I paid no great attention to them, but a few days afterwards a messenger arrived who told us that the king was slain on the very day on which the queen had spoken the words narrated. As if foreseeing the future, she had been most urgent with him not to go with the army, but it came to pass-how I know not-that he failed to follow her advice.41 38. "On the approach of the fourth day after the king's death, her weakness having somewhat abated, the queen went into her oratory to hear Mass ; and there she took care to provide herself beforehand for her departure, which was now so near, with the holy Viaticum of the Body and Blood of our Lord. After partaking of this health-giving food she returned to her bed, her former pains having assailed her with redoubled severity. The disease gained ground, and death was imminent . . . . Her face was already covered with a deadly pallor, when she directed that I, and the other ministers of the sacred Altar along with me, should stand near her and commend her soul to Christ by our psalms. Moreover, she asked that a cross, called the Black Cross,42 which she always held in the greatest veneration, should be brought to her. There was some delay in opening the chest in which it was kept, during which the queen, sighing deeply, exclaimed, 'O unhappy that we are! O guilty that we are! Shall we not be permitted once more to look upon the Holy Cross!' When at last it was got out of the chest and brought to her, she received it with reverence, and did her best to embrace it and kiss it, and several times she signed herself with it. Although every part of her body was now growing cold, still as long as the warmth of life throbbed at her heart she continued steadfast in prayer. She repeated the whole of the Fiftieth Psalm, and placing the cross before her eyes, she held it there with both her hands.43 When Edward the First invaded Scotland, he seized on this cross as one of the English crown jewels, and carried it into England. Robert Bruce so vehemently demanded its restoration that Queen Isabella yielded it up on the pacification during her regency in 1327; but its surrender exasperated the English more than the most flagrant of her misdeeds.

39. "It was at this point that her son,44 who now, after his father, holds in this realm the reins of government, having returned from the army, entered the queen's bedroom. Conceive his distress at such a moment! Imagine to yourself how his heart was racked! He stood there in a strait; everything was against him, and whither to turn himself he knew not. He had come to announce to his mother that his father and brother were both slain, and he found that mother, most dearly beloved by him, at the point of death. He knew not whom first to lament. Yet the loss of his dearest mother, when he saw her lying nearly dead before his eyes, stung him to the heart with the keenest pang. Besides all this, the condition of the realm occasioned him the deepest anxiety, for he was fully aware that the death of his father would be followed by an insurrection. Sadness and trouble beset him on every side.45

40. "The queen, who seemed to the bystanders to be rapt in an agony, suddenly rallied and spoke to her son. She asked him about his father and his brother. He was unwilling to tell the truth, and fearing that if she heard of their death she herself would immediately die, he re-plied that they were well. But, with a deep sigh she exclaimed, "I know it, my boy, I know it. By this holy cross, by the bond of our blood, I adjure you to tell me the truth." Thus pressed, he told her exactly all that had happened. What could she do, think you? To murmur against God was with such a one impossible. At the same moment she had lost her husband and her son, and disease was bringing her to a cruel death, yet in all these things she sinned not with her lips, nor spoke foolishly against God. Raising her eyes and her hands towards heaven, she glorified God, saying, "All praise be to Thee, Almighty God, who hast been pleased that I should endure such deep sorrow at my departing, and I trust that by means of this suffering it is Thy pleasure that I should be cleansed from some of the stains of my sins."

41. "Feeling now that death was close at hand, she at once began the prayer which is usually uttered by the priest before he receives the Body and Blood of our Lord, saying, 'Lord Jesus Christ, who according to the will of the Father, through the co-operation of the Holy Ghost, hast by Thy death given life to the world, deliver me.' As she was saying the words, 'Deliver me,' her soul was freed from the chains of the body, and departed to Christ, the author of true liberty; to Christ whom she had always loved, and by whom she was made a partaker of the happiness of the saints, as she had followed the example of their virtues. Her departure was so calm, so tranquil, that we may conclude her soul passed at once to the land of eternal rest and peace. It was remarkable that her face, which, when she was dying had exhibited the usual pallor of death, became afterwards suffused with fair and warm hues, so that it seemed as if she were not dead but sleeping.46 Her corpse was shrouded as became a queen, and was borne by us to the Church of the Holy Trinity,47 which she had built. There, as she herself had directed, we committed it to the grave, opposite the altar and the venerable sign of the Holy Cross which she had erected. And thus her body at length rests in that place in which, when alive, she used to humble herself with vigils, prayers, and tears."

END OF TURGOT's LIFE.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES

1.Theodoricus in the "Acta Sanctorum," and in Pinkerton's edition. In the Cotton. MS., the words Per Turgotum Dunelmensem are added at the end of the paragraph, in a hand of the seventeenth century.

2. Open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it " (Ps. lxxxvii. l0). "For no one can fail in the Word who believes in the Word." "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God " (St John i. 1).

3. Rom. vii. 24.

4. Eccl. iii. 20.

5. See Duchesne, "Historiae Normannorum Scriptores."

6. St. Matth. vi. 33.

7. Dunfermline.

8. Not only in Saxon or Celtic times, but until the Reformation, one of the principal occupations of ladies was the embroidering of exquisite vestments for churches, so that the poet of old thus addresses them :-
"And ye, lovely ladies,
With your longe fyngres,
That ye have silk and sandel
To sowe when tyme is
Chesibles for chapelynes,
Churches to honoure."
(Vision of Piers Plowman, vol. i.
p. 117, ed. Wright.)
English ladies were so famous for embroidery in solid gold wire or gold thread, that it was called Opus Anglicum, (See Rock's Introduction to "Catalogue of Textile Fabrics in South Kensington Museum," and "Church of our Fathers," vol. ii. p. 276.)

9. Prov. xiii. 24.

10. Royal and noble personages were accustomed to make their offering at Mass. To do this they left their place, and advancing to the altar or to the entrance of the chancel, laid their gift in the hand of the celebrant or of the deacon. On this subject see "History of the Holy Eucharist in Great Britain," by Father Bridgett, vol. ii. p. 212; "Lay Folk's Mass Book," edited by Canon Simmons, pp, 231-248.

11. Psalm xxxiii. 10.

12. Galat. v. 6.

13. It is owing in great measure to this virtuous education given by Margaret to her sons that Scotland was governed for the space of 200 years by seven excellent kings, that is, by her three sons, Edgar, Alexander, David, by David's two grandsons, Malcolm IV, and William, and William's son and grandson, Alexander II, and III; during which space the nation enjoyed greater happiness than perhaps it ever did before or after. (Cf. Mr Innes, "Sketches of Scottish History," p. 158; Mr Hill Burton, "History of Scotland," vol. ii. pp. 190-198; Mr Robertson, " Scotland under her Early Kings," vol. ii. pp. 171-180.)
Orderic ("Migne," vol. 188, p. 620) wrote panegyrics on the three brothers, and especially on David; but it is William of Malmesbury who is most emphatic on the unparalleled purity of life of all three. One child only, Edmund, is spoken of as falling away from the bright example of his parent. But Edmund repented sincerely, and became a monk at Montacute, a monastery founded by William the Conqueror in Somersetshire. (Cf. "Will. Malms. Gest. Reg. Angl.," v. 400.)
The princesses, Matilda and Mary, were placed by their uncle Eadgar in the Abbey of Romsey, of which his surviving sister, Christina, was abbess. A few years later she followed her aunt Christina to Wilton Abbey, which was the place of nurture and education for many young princesses of the Anglo-Saxon royal families.

14. In the Middle Ages the Bible was comparatively seldom formed into one volume, and more commonly existed in its different parts. Even in the earliest periods we meet with notices of translations of numerous portions of the Inspired Writings into the various modern languages, and many copies of these different versions are still in preservation. We know of translations of the Bible into sixteen modern languages, made between the fourth and fifteenth centuries; and these must obviously have been written for the use of the laity, since the Scriptures were read by the monks and clergy in Latin, then the universal tongue of learned Christendom. Such, indeed, was often the openly avowed object. Thus Ælfric avers that he rendered the Scriptures into the vernacular "For the Edification of the Simple, who Know only that Language" (MSS. Camb. Wanley, 153), On this subject see Maitland's celebrated work "The Dark Ages," p. 187 et seq. (Cf L. A. Buckingham's "The Bible in the Middle Ages," L. 1853, p. 45, et seq.)

15. Hence, Lord Hailes conjectures that perhaps we owe to her the introduction of what we call Tartan. (Hailes, "Ann. Scot.," vol. i. p. 37.)

16. Job xiv. 1, 2

17. St Jas. iv. 15

18. Prov. xxviii. 14

19. Ps. cxl. 5.

20. Prov. xxvii. 6.

21. The names of those friends are not given by Turgot. But we know from other sources that Margaret had requested Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canterbury, to become her spiritual father. In conformity with this request, Lanfranc despatched to her three of his brethren, the senior being the English Goldwine, or Godwin, who were to lay the foundation of a renovated establishment. (Letter of Lanfranc to Queen Margaret, "Migne, Patres Latini," Saec, xi. Col. 549)

22. Ephes. vi. 17.

23. 2 Cor. xi. 29.

24. St John vi. 54.

25. 2 Cor xi. 29.

26. Turgot, unfortunately, does not say in what the strangeness of the rites consisted. On this subject, says the late Bp Forbes, we cannot do better than quote the words of that learned antiquary, the Right Reverend Bishop Kyle: "The contemporary biographer of St Margaret tells us that certain priests in Scotland followed, in celebrating Mass, a rite which to him and the Queen appeared barbarous; which rite she laboured so effectually to abolish, that none in Scotland in his time adhered to it, I suspect that in this last point he was mistaken. For we learn that the Keledei (Cele De, one who has devoted himself to the service of God, long after St Margaret's days, were permitted to observe in their own churches or chapels a rite different from what was followed by the rest of the Scottish clergy. The rite of the Keledei was probably the same with that which St Margaret wished to bring into conformity with the general use of the Western Church; but neither her biographer nor the chronicles of the Culdean observance give us the least hint wherein its peculiarity consisted. (Lib. Ecclesiae B. Terrenani de Arbuthnot, p. liv.) There is no mention of Culdees in Scotland until the ninth century, as Chalmers testifies. They were secular canons who had been established since the ninth century. But although they were for the most part clerics, the name seems to have been given also to pious, unmarried laymen, inasmuch as they formed a community, and lived together. The later Bollandists have likewise come to the conclusion that they were secular canons or brothers, and appeared, at soonest, in the year 8oo. (Bollandists, vol. viii., Oct., p. 86: Disquisitio in Culdaeos, cf. Dr Reeves, "The Culdees of the British Islands," Dublin, 1864.)

27. "Ep. S. Gregorii Magni," lib. xiii., c. 1 opp. ii. p. 1214, ed. Bened.

28. Even the smallest circumstances of every-day life were sought out by St Margaret and put to spiritual profit. Having observed that many neglected to give due thanks to God after meals, she introduced the practice of drinking a health at rising from table to those who had complied with that duty. Hence this cup was called the Grace Drink, or St Margaret's Blessing. A similar custom is related in some Anglo-Saxon chronicles. On high festivals and other solemn occasions, to the abbot or prior of the monastery there was brought a large bowl filled with wine, of which he drank a little, and handed this "poculum charitatis," or love-cup, to his monks, each of whom took a short draught in like manner: after this ceremony, which was meant as a symbol of brotherly affection and good will one towards another, was said grace, which finished with a prayer for their benefactors alive and dead (Cod. Dip. Anglo Sax. v. iv., p. 304). A relic of this Anglo-Saxon custom may yet be seen in the grace-cup of the universities, and the loving-cup passed round among the guests at the great dinners given by the Lord Mayor of London.

29. Ps. cxi. 9.

30. So great was the desolation of England after the conquest, that many became slaves to any one who would feed them. Remigius, Bishop of Lincoln, and St Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester, preached against the wicked custom by which men sold their country-folk, sometimes their kinsfolk, to a life of shame or of bondage in foreign lands. (Giraldus, "Vita Rem.," c. 3, 4, 5.) The slave trade was severely condemned by the council of London in 1103. ("Mansi Collectio Concil.," xx. p. 1152.)

31. Some of these Anchorites were her own Saxon countrymen, driven by the Norman conqueror into exile. Although seclusion and continual prayer have been practised by Christians in all ages since the commencement of the Church, yet the eremitical life has assumed its external form principally as the result of persecutions. Like the days of which the Apostle wrote to the Hebrews, "they wandered about in sheep-skins, in goat-skins, being in want, distressed, afflicted, of whom the world was not worthy: wandering in deserts, in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth" (Heb. xi. 37). Many who thus began this life under compulsion found so great a sweetness in uninterrupted intercourse with God, and in the perfect subjection of the body to the soul, that they clung to it when they might have returned to an easier mode of life. "It is probable that among those Anchorites who commended themselves so much to her favour were the Cele De of Lochleven, for we find Malcolm and Margaret, king and queen of Scotia, giving devoutly the town of Ballechristin to God the Omnipotent and the Keledei of Louchleven, with the same liberties as before. ("Chart. Prior, S.A.," p. 115 ) Bishop Fothad too (here called Modach, son of Malmy Kel, a man of most pious memory, bishop of St Andrews, with whose life and doctrine the whole region of the Scots was happily enlightened), gives to God and St Servanus and the hermit Keledei on the island of Lochleven, living there in the school of all virtues, devoutly and honourably, with the same liberties,the church of Auchterderran." ("Chart. Prior, S.A." p. 117; W. F. Skene, "Celtic Scotland," vol. ii. p. 351.)

32. Job xxxi. 18.

33. That this access to her might be easier, she is said to have frequently sat in an open field, where every one who pleased might have an opportunity of speaking to her with greater freedom; and there is still shown, on the road to (Queensferry, rather more than a mile from Dunfermline, a stone in the form of a seat, which, according to a constant tradition, she sometimes made use of for that purpose. It is marked in the maps of the roads published not long since, as being near the fourteenth mile from Edinburgh, with the name of St Margaret's Stone affixed to it. ("The Life of St Margaret," by the Right Rev. T. Geddes, Aberdeen, 1794, p. 34.)

34. Rom. xiii. 14.

35. Prov. iii. 11, 12.

36. 2 Cor. xii. 9.

37. Ps. xii. 3.

38. Panniculi de Serico. It is by no means uncommon to see specimens of these leaves still remaining between the leaves of MSS. as ancient as the days of St Margaret. 39 This Book of Gospels was found in July 1887, and is now one of the treasures of the Bodleian Library. A facsimile has been published by David Douglas, Edinburgh.

40. Instead of the above paragraph, Capgrave's abridgment of this biography, printed also by Surius, has as follows: "Habebat confessarium Turgotum, secundum Priorem Dunelmix. Illi ergo ad se accersito, vitam suam replicare coepit, et ad singula verba lachrymarum flumina profundere; tantaque erat sub ejus sermonibus compunctio, tantus lachrymarum imber, ut nihil proculdubio esse videretur, quod tunc a Christo impetrare non posset." This is copied by Pinkerton, p. 381.

41. We have no very clear account of the immediate cause which led to the open breach between William and Malcolm. But it is plain from the Peterborough Chronicle that William was in the wrong, and refused to do something for Malcolm which he had promised to do. Malcolm entered the earldom of Northumberland, and ravaged it after his usual fashion as far as some point which, there is no reason to doubt, was in the near neighbourhood of Alnwick. We may fairly accept the tradition which carries him to the spot known as Malcolm's Cross, where a commemorative rood was erected, and where the ruins of a Romanesque chapel may still be seen. The spot is on high ground overlooking the river Alne, while on the opposite side of the stream a lower height is crowned by the town of Alnwick, and by such remains of its famous castle as modern innovation has spared. By ambush or some other stratagem Earl Robert of Mowbray led his forces against the Scottish king unawares, under circumstances which are not detailed, but which have led even English writers to speak of the attack as treacherous. Malcolm was killed; and with him died his son and expected heir, Edward. The actual slayer of Malcolm was his gossip Morel, Earl Robert's nephew and steward, guardian of the rock and fortress of Bambrough. (E. Freeman, "The Reign of William Rufus," vol. ii. p. 15,) Simeon of Durham says that he was cut off near the river Alne, and that part of his army fell by the sword, and part escaping the sword were carried away by the inundation of the river, then more than usually swollen after the winter rains. Two of the natives placed the body of the king in a cart, as none of his men were left to commit it to the ground, and buried it at Tynemouth. Thus terminated his long reign of thirty-five years." (Cf. Sim. Dun. de Gest. Reg. ad an. 1093.) By some of the Scotch chroniclers Malcolm is said to have been slain at Inneraldan, by others at Alnwick.
The character of Malcolm was variously regarded by the English and by his own subjects. The English historians, who had mainly to record his frequent invasions of Northumberland, regarded him as a man of barbarous disposition, delighting, at the instigation of his avarice, to ravage and devastate the northern districts of England; while they attributed any better traits in his character to the humanising influence of his consort Queen Margaret. By his Celtic subjects he was known as Malcolm Ceanmor, or great head, and was esteemed, according to the testimony of St Berchan, as
"A king, the best who possessed Alban;
He was a king of kings fortunate.
He was the vigilant crusher of enemies.
No woman bore or will bring forth in the East
A king whose rule will be greater over Alban;
And there shall not be born for ever
One who had more fortune and greatness."
On his death he left the kingdom in possession, for the first time, of the same southern frontier which it ever after retained. (F. Skene, "Celtic Scotland," vol. i. pp. 431, 432.)

42. "Crucem Scotia nigram," Brit. Mus. MS. Tiberius, E. i. 186a.

43. The Black Cross was enclosed in a black case, whence it was called the Black Cross. The cross itself was of gold, and set with large diamonds. "It is about an ell long," says Aelred, "manufactured in pure gold, of most wonderful workmanship, and may be shut and opened like a chest. Inside is seen a portion of our Lord's Cross (as has often been proved by convincing miracles), having a figure of our Saviour sculptured out of massive ivory, and marvellously adorned with gold. Queen Margaret had brought this with her to Scotland, and handed it down as an heirloom to her sons; and the youngest of them, David, when he became king, built a magnificent church for it near the city, called Holy-Rood." (Bollandists, vol. xxi. p. 335.)

44. "Filius suus Edgarus." (MS. Tiberius, E. i., 186.)

45. A party among the Scots hated the rule of Malcolm, as being a favourer of Sassenaghs and foreigners; and a party was already in arms preparing to besiege the Castle of Edinburgh.

46. The place of her death is not mentioned by Turgot in the Life. Fordun (v. 21) states that Margaret died in Edinburgh "in castro puellarum;" and on the 16th of November in the year 1093, according to the Chronicle of Mailros. See also the Surtees "Simeon," p. 262. Wynton relates the occurrence as follows:
"As thys dede all thys ware doune
Come wything til Saynt Margret soune
The Revelatyoune that west maist,
That scho had of the Haly Gast.
Than wyth devot and gud intent
Scho tuk the Haly Sacrament
Of Goddis Body blyst werray
Wyth the last unctyoune; and that dai
Of al charges scho yhald hyr gwyte
And til the Creatoure hyr Spyryte
In-til the Castelle of Edynburgh," etc.
(Wynton's "Orygynale Cronikil," vol. ii. pp. 271, 272.)

47. Dunfermline Abbey.

McMaster University, 2000

[Augustinus]

Sainte Marguerite Reine d'Ecosse

Au martyrologe, on relève vingt-et-une Marguerite (dont le nom signifie perle précieuse), depuis la jeune martyre, décapitée à Antioche vers 303, jusqu'aux deux religieuses guillotinées à Orange le 9 juillet 1794 : Marguerite de Justaumont et Marguerite Charransol. La Margaret anglo-saxonne fêtée aujourd’hui, arrive chronologiquement en seconde position, et mérita si bien son prénom que l’introït de sa messe, la salue comme admirable par son exquise charité envers les pauvres ; de plus, l'évangile (Matthieu XIII, 45-46) est la parabole de la perle précieuse.

Petite nièce du saint roi Edouard le Confesseur1 , née vers 1045, Marguerite naquit exilée en Hongrie où elle resta jusqu'à l'âge de neuf ans. Revenue en Angleterre, elle dut fuir l'invasion normande (1066), et se réfugier en Ecosse où elle fut accueillie par le roi Malcolm III2 qui l’épousa en 1070, au palais de Dunfermline3. En vingt-trois ans de mariage, ce couple exemplaire eut huit enfants : six garçons (Edouard, Ethelred, Edmond, Edgard4, Alexandre5, David6) et deux filles (Edith7 et Marie) dont deux auront l’honneur des autels (David, roi d’Ecosse, et Edith, reine d'Angleterre).

Malcolm III était un rude guerrier, peu lettré, bien qu'il parlât trois langues vivantes, mais profondément amoureux et admiratif de sa femme qui, avec intuition et tact, devint l’inspiratrice des réformes du royaume : plusieurs conciles nationaux où la reine s’entretenait doctement avec les théologiens et les pontifes, ramenèrent les Ecossais aux pratiques romaines ; rappel des commandements de l'Eglise, spécialement la communion pascale et le repos dominical ; extirpation des rites païens, fâcheusement mêlés au culte, surtout pendant la messe ; proscription des mariages entre proches parents ; début du carême fixé au mercredi des cendres ; fondation d'une abbaye locale sur le modèle de Cluny ; construction d'une église dédiée à la Sainte Trinité.

Chaque matin de l'avent et du carême, la souveraine lavait les pieds de six pauvres et soignait personnellement neuf orphelins, puis, l'après-midi, avec le roi, elle servait trois cents miséreux comme des hôtes privilégiés. Si le peuple les surnommait la providence des pauvres gens, certains courtisans craignaient la ruine des finances publiques ; la reine leur répondit : « La main des pauvres, voilà bien la sûre et unique assurance des trésors royaux. Ce coffre-fort, les voleurs les plus habiles ne parviendront jamais à le forcer ! » Son ami et confesseur Thierri, son premier biographe écrivit : « Malcolm apprend de son épouse comment passer une nuit d'adoration. La ferveur du roi étonne. N'acquiert-il pas l'esprit de componction et le don des larmes, signe extérieur de repentir !... Constamment, la souveraine encourage son illustre époux aux œuvres de justice et de miséricorde aussi bien qu'à la pratique de toutes vertus chrétiennes. »

La chambre de la reine Marguerite était un véritable atelier tout rempli des ornements liturgiques qu’elle confectionnait avec de précieux tissus qu’elle faisait importer d’Italie. La nuit, après avoir pris quelque repos, elle se relevait pour prier, récitait les matines de la Sainte-Trinité, à quoi elle ajoutait celles de la Sainte-Croix ou celles de la Sainte-Vierge ; souvent, elle disait aussi l’office des morts et lisait des psaumes avant que de dire des laudes. Au matin, elle faisait quelques charités, entendait une ou plusieurs des messes basses de ses chapelains, puis assistait à la messe solennelle.

« Elle gardait la plus rigoureuse sobriété dans ses repas, ne mangeant qu’autant qu’il fallait pour ne pas mourir, et fuyant tout ce qui aurait pu flatter la sensualité. Elle paraissait plutôt goûter que manger ce qu’on lui présentait. En un mot , ses œuvres étaient plus étonnantes que ses miracles : car le don d’en faire lui fut aussi communiqué. Elle possédait l’esprit de componction dans un degré éminent. Quand elle me parlait des douceurs ineffables de la vie éternelle, ses paroles étaient accompagnées d’une grâce merveilleuse. Sa ferveur était si grande en ces occasions, qu’elle ne pouvait arrêter les larmes abondantes qui coulaient de ses yeux ; elle avait une telle tendresse de dévotion, qu’en la voyant, je me sentais pénétré d’une vive componction. Personne ne gardait plus exactement qu’elle le silence à l’église ; personne ne montrait un esprit plus attentif à la prière. »

Réaliste et lucide, Marguerite d’Ecosse établit la religion, la justice et la paix, pour le bonheur de ses sujets, et ses contemporains lui rendirent un hommage unanime : « Si, dans tout notre pays, des Higlandes au Cheviot Hills, elle fonde églises, hospices et monastères, sa réalisation principale demeure celle du bienfait. » Sous son impulsion, Malcolm fit bâtir la cathédrale de Durham, fonda le monastère de la Trinité à Dunferline, et, avec l’accord du pape, créa les évêchés de Murray et Carthneff qui s’ajoutèrent aux quatre évêchés existants. Pour l'Ecosse, les vingt-et-une années de ce règne demeurent un âge d'or venu, dirent les vieux hagiographes, de ce qu’« Une source pure donne de belles eaux ; une sainte mère, une sainte reine, forment de belles âmes. »

En 1093, Malcolm III défendait l’Ecosse contre Guillaume le Roux8, fils de Guillaume le Conquérant, quand, le 13 novembre, à Alnwick (Northumberland), il fut tué au combat, avec son fils-aîné, comme la reine en eut le pressentiment : « Le jour même de la mort du monarque, la reine apparaît triste et pensive. Elle confie à ses suivantes : Aujourd'hui, ce 13 novembre, peut-être l'Ecosse est-elle frappée d'un malheur si grand qu'elle n'en éprouva pas de semblable depuis de longues années. Le quatrième jour (16 novembre), lors d'une accalmie de santé car elle est malade depuis six mois, la souveraine se fait porter dans son oratoire. De retour en ses appartements, la fièvre qui redouble et les douleurs qui augmentent, l'obligent à s'aliter. Les chapelains recommandent son âme à Dieu. Elle envoie chercher une croix. Marguerite embrasse délicatement le crucifix et forme à plusieurs reprises, sur elle-même, le signe sacré du salut. Ensuite, serrant la croix entre ses mains, la pieuse reine y fixe don regard et récite le Miserere ... Sur ce, arrive du front son fils Edouard qui croit prudent d'énoncer la pieuse restriction mentale : Malcolm se porte bien ! La reine réplique doucement : Certes, il se porte si bien que je vais vite le rejoindre là-haut. Et puis, tous les assistants, émus jusqu'aux larmes, écoutent la dernière prière de la moribonde : Dieu tout-puissant, merci de m'avoir envoyé si grande peine, à la fin de ma vie. Puisse-t-elle, avec votre miséricorde, me purifier de mes péché ! Seigneur Jésus qui, par votre mort, avez donné la vie au monde, délivrez-moi du mal ! Marguerite expira. Il y avait dans sa mort tant de tranquillité, tant de paix, qu’ on ne saurait douter que son âme ait été admise dans le séjour de l’éternelle tranquillité, de la paix éternelle. Chose prodigieuse ! son visage sur lequel la mort avait mis sa pâleur habituelle, reçut, après la mort même, une teinte si pure et si parfaite de rose et de blanc, qu’on eût pas dit que la reine était décédée, mais qu’elle dormait. »

On enterra la reine Marguerite dans l’église de la Sainte-Trinité de Dunfermline, contre l’autel, en face de la croix qu’elle avait plantée, où elle fut bientôt rejointe par son époux. Le 21 septembre 1249, le pape accorda une indulgence à qui visiterait l’église de Dunferline au jour de sa fête ; elle fut canonisée en 1251 par Innocent IV. A l'époque de la réforme protestante (1538), ses restes furent pieusement enlevés par les catholiques et transportés en Espagne où, pour les accueillir, Philippe II édifia une chapelle à l'Escurial. En 1673, à la demande instante du recteur de l'église romaine Saint-André des Ecossais, Clément X, proclama Marguerite patronne de l'Ecosse. A ce titre, ses clients, descendants des Pictes, des Scots et des Angles, vénèrent et invoquent dans une même prière « le bon et pieux roi Malcolm, avec son épouse, la charitable Marguerite qui, tous deux, jamais les pauvres n'oublièrent. » Le chef de sainte Marguerite, donné à Marie Stuart, fut sauvé par un bénédictin qui le porta à Anvers (1597) ; on le donna aux jésuites écossais de Douai d’où il disparut à la Révolution.
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NOTE

1 Saint Edouard le Confesseur, né en 1002 et mort en 1066, fut roi d’Angleterre de 1042 à 1066. Guillaume le Conquérant et Harold II se disputèrent son héritage.

2 Malcolm III Canmore, né vers 1031 et mort en 1093, fut roi d’Ecosse de 1058 à 1093.

3 Dunfermline était une résidence royale où, en souvenir de son mariage, la reine Marguerite fit construire une église en l'honneur de la Sainte-Trinité, et, selon toute vraisemblance, y plaça trois moines envoyés de Cantorbéry par l'archevêque Lanfranc (avant 1089). Les fils de Malcolm et de Marguerite poursuivirent l'œuvre commencée : la grande nef romane, qui existe encore, fut construite sous Alexandre I°, mais c'est sous David I° que la fondation prit toute son ampleur : le roi obtint de Cantorbéry (1128) une nouvelle colonie de moines avec un abbé. L'église abbatiale fut consacrée en 1150. Elle fut longtemps, la nécropole des rois d'Écosse.

4 Edgard, déposséda l’usurpateur Donald VIII (1093-1097) et fut roi d’Ecosse de 1097 à 1107.

5 Alexandre I° le Farouche, fut roi d’Ecosse de 1107 à 1124.

6 Saint David I°, né vers 1084 et mort en 1153, fut roi d’Ecosse de 1124 à 1153.

7 Sainte Edith, dite Mathilde, épousa Henri I° d’Angleterre (1100) et mourut en 1118.

8 Guillaume II le Roux, né en 1056, fut roi d’Angleterre de 1087 à 1100.

FONTE.

[Augustinus]

[Augustinus]

Infanzia di Margherita

Parte da Wearmouth per sfuggire a Guglielmo il Conquistatore

Matrimonio di Margherita

Fa costruire la Dunfermline Abbey

Lava i piedi ai poveri

Margherita ed i mercanti

Margherita nel consiglio del re Malcom

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Margherita ed il marito, re Malcom, con i figli Edgardo, Alessandro I e Davide I, re di Scozia, e Matilda, futura moglie di Enrico I e santa

Margherita soccorre gli orfani

Partenza di Malcom, accompagnato nel 1093, dal figlio Edoardo, che lascia Margherita per andare a combattere contro il figlio di Guglielmo il conquistatore

Morte di Malcom vicino Alnwick

Morte di Margherita, che muore abbracciando una Croce sul petto, nel castello di Edinburgo

Veglia sul corpo di Margherita

Sepoltura di Margherita dinanzi all'altare maggiore a Dunfermline

Traslazione delle reliquie di S. Margherita nel 1259, dopo la canonizzazione ad opera di Innocenzo IV (1250) nel nuovo sepolcro nell'abbazia di Dunfermline

[Augustinus]

[Augustinus]