Day 9 ST. MARGARET, ST. ANDREW, ROBERT THE BRUCE

FIFE

ST. MARGARET (1045-1093)

Margaret was probably from Hungary. She married marred King Malcolm III of Scotland in 1070. She was known for her deep piety and charity.

Margaret established a ferry across the Firth of Forth so travelers could make their way to St. Andrews. The towns of North and South Queensbury are named in her honor.

Margaret’s relationship with God has been described as genuine and intense. She spent much time each day in prayer and devotional reading at a cave on the banks of the Tower Burn— today called St. Margaret’s Cave. She served orphans and the poor each day before she ate and washed their feet following the example of Jesus.

Margaret and Malcolm had eight children. Three of them were Kings of Scotland.

Malcolm and their oldest son, Edward, were killed in the Battle of Alnwick on November 13, 1093. She died three days later, reportedly from grief. She was 49 years old.

SAINT ANDREWS

The town of Saint Andrews is named after Andrew, one of Jesus’ disciples and patron saint of Scotland. It is said that his relics were brought there in the 700s. This made it a major pilgrimage site and the reason Margaret established a ferry across the Firth of Forth.

During the Middle Ages (5th to 15th century), St. Andrews served as Scotland’s ecclesiastical center. St. Andrews Cathedral was the largest church ever built in Scotland. In 1472, the bishop of St. Andrews was promoted to Archbishop, giving St. Andrews the same spiritual and political power as Canterbury in England.

During the Reformation, the Castle served as the home of Cardinal Beaton, who was brutal to Reformers. The castle’s dungeon served as a prison for reformers. The Castle’s “Bottle Dungeon” was a bottle-shaped prison chamber used for isolating and punishing prisoners for extended periods of time in dark and unsanitary conditions.

George Wishart, the first Scottish reformer, was executed at St. Andrews. In retaliation, Protestant Reformers overtook the castle and killed Cardinal Beaton. Many Reformers, including John Knox, took refuge in the castle until it fell to Catholic French forces in 1547.

In 1560, Scotland officially broke from the Roman Catholic Church.