Margaret of Scotland:
- Ken Kalis
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
A Holy Queen Who Reformed a Nation (c. 1045–1093)
I just met Margaret recently and was thrilled to see such a holy woman of God in the Middle Ages.
The times were dark, but she was light, not of herself, of Jesus.
My Dad liked to say "Saints are like stained glass windows letting the glory of God shine through".
Margaret had "a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price." 1 Peter 3:4
Lord Jesus, I come to You today, asking, seeking, and knocking for such a spirit to rule my life. Amen
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A Princess Formed by the Word of God
Margaret was born around 1045, the granddaughter of the English King Edmund Ironside. Her early childhood was shaped not by privilege but by displacement: a royal family on the run from political upheaval.
They found refuge in the Christian court of Hungary, a place where the Scriptures were honored, monasteries flourished, and young Margaret absorbed a serious, disciplined faith.
She grew up loving the Bible, memorizing its cadences, and adopting a life of fasting, almsgiving, and daily intercession long before she ever saw a throne.
“Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised.”— Proverbs 31:30
Margaret's Providential Arrival in Scotland
Returning to England after the Norman Conquest, Margaret’s family fled again—this time across the North Sea. A storm forced their ship to land on the Scottish coast.
King Malcolm III (the same Malcolm we know from Macbeth) welcomed them with generosity, and in time, he proposed marriage to the young, devout princess.
Margaret hesitated—she preferred a life of prayer. But godly duty prevailed. She accepted, believing her marriage could be a place of faithful service. And it was.
Malcolm was a brave warrior-king, rough in manners and untrained in Christian discipline. Yet he loved Margaret deeply. Her gentle example softened him, and her reverence for Scripture shaped his reign.
The king who could barely read would sit patiently while his wife read him the Word of God.
Reforming a Nation from Within
Margaret’s reforms did not begin in the royal court—they began at the royal table.
She insisted on regular Scripture readings. She reformed corrupt customs. She corrected abuses in worship. She established proper Sabbath observance and restored biblical order to the Church in Scotland.
She called councils, encouraged clergy to live holy lives, and aligned the Scottish church more closely with both Scripture and historic Christian practice.
But her reforms were never harsh. She led with humility.
Her charity was legendary. Each morning she and Malcolm served orphans with their own hands before taking their own meals. She fed the poor, redeemed captives, and built homes for strangers. When she died, the poor called her a “mother.”
“Blessed is she that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver her in time of trouble.”— Psalm 41:1
A Holy Life, A Holy Death
Worn out by fasting, ceaseless labor, and grief over Malcolm’s death in battle, Margaret died on November 16, 1093. Her last words were a prayer of trust in Jesus and a plea for mercy.
Centuries later, the Church recognized her sanctity, but Scripture had recognized it long before:
“Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.”— Proverbs 31:28
Her legacy continues in the thousands of Scottish families who were touched by her compassion, the churches she reformed, and the example of Christian queenship she modeled—an example rooted not in power, but in service.
Margaret's Lessons for Today
1. Holiness in private becomes holiness in public. Margaret’s reforms began with her own heart and rippled outward.
2. Scripture can soften even the hardest warrior. Malcolm, the battle-hardened king, sat humbly under the reading of God’s Word.
3. Charity builds bridges; doctrine cannot cross alone. Her love opened the nation’s heart long before her reforms shaped its laws.
4. A single godly life can redirect a nation. Her impact is still felt almost a thousand years later.
Lord Jesus, give us the courage, humility, and devotion of Margaret of Scotland. Teach us to love Your Word, to serve the poor, to strengthen our families in holiness, and to reform the small corner of the world You have given us. Make us instruments of Your peace, for Your glory alone. Amen.
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The praises of that saint we sing,
To whom all lands their tribute bring,
Who with indomitable heart,
Bore throughout life true woman’s heart.
Restraining every froward sense
By gentle bonds of abstinence,
With prayer her hungry souls she fed,
And thus to heavenly joys hath sped.
King Christ, from whom all virtue springs,
Who only doest wondrous things,
As now to Thee she kneels in prayer,
In mercy our petitions hear.
All praise to God the Father be,
All praise, eternal Son, to Thee;
Whom with the Spirit we adore
Forever and forevermore.
-Silvio Antoniano, in the Roman Breviary (Venice, Italy: 1603) (Fortem, virili pectore). Translated to from Latin to English by J. Athelstan Riley (1858–1945) in The English Hymnal (London: Oxford University Press, 1906)-
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