Shakespeare made familiar the name of Malcolm III, King of Scotland. Malcolm's wife was an English princess named Margaret. Margaret (d. 1093) was married in 1070 despite a leaning to the religious life. At her instigation many abuses were reformed and synods held to regulate the Lenten fast and Easter Communion. Her great personal piety found expression in her personal practice of prayer and fasting and in her charity to the poor. She encouraged the founding of schools, hospitals, and orphanages. Together, Margaret and her husband rebuilt the monastery of Iona and founded Dunfermline Abbey, under the direction of the...
