Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Norway

Margaret of Scotland
Queen consort of Norway
Tenure 1281 – 9 April 1283
Born (1261-02-28)28 February 1261
Windsor Castle, Windsor, Berkshire, England
Died 9 April 1283(1283-04-09) (aged 22)
Tønsberg, Vestfold, Norway
Burial Old Cathedral, Bergen
Spouse Eric II of Norway
Issue Margaret, Maid of Norway
House Dunkeld
Father Alexander III of Scotland
Mother Margaret of England

Margaret of Scotland (Old Norse: Margrét Alexandersdóttir; Norwegian: Margrete Alexandersdotter; Scottish Gaelic: Maighread Nic Rìgh Alasdair; 28 February 1261 – 9 April 1283) was Queen of Norway as the wife of King Eric II.[1]

Biography

She was born at Windsor Castle, the daughter of King Alexander III of Scotland and his first wife, Margaret of England. Margaret came to Norway at 20 years of age to marry the 13-year-old king Eric Magnusson. Eric became king of Norway on 9 May 1280. A marriage contract was signed in royal burgh of Roxburgh on 25 July 1281. The treaty also included a provision for the children of Margaret and Eric to succeed to throne of the kingdom of the Scots. Margaret's dowry was set at 14,000 marks sterling. The year after the wedding was held in Bergen, Norway when Margaret was also crowned queen.

The marriage between Margaret and Eric stands out as a typical marriage of political note. It would reconcile and resolve the Scottish-Norwegian antagonisms that had developed since 1266 resulting from the terms of the Treaty of Perth.[2] Under the treaty, Norway had given up the Hebrides and the Isle of Man to Scotland, in return for a lump sum of 4000 marks and an annuity of 100 marks. Scotland also confirmed Norwegian sovereignty over Shetland and Orkney Islands.

Queen Margaret died in Tønsberg, during or shortly after giving birth to Margaret, Maid of Norway, who would become queen regnant of the Kingdom of Scotland upon the death of her grandfather, King Alexander III on 19 March 1286.[3]

Queen Margaret was buried in the Old Cathedral on Holmen in Bergen. This cathedral was demolished in 1531. The site, in present-day Bergenhus Fortress, is marked by a memorial.

Ancestry

Sources

The primary Scottish accounts of the life of Margaret are found in the Chronicle of Lanercost and the Chronica Gentis Scotorum by John of Fordun. The date of the death of Queen Margaret is given as 9 April 1283 in the Chronica Gentis Scotorum, but the Chronicle of Lanercost states her death to have been 27/28 February 1283.

References

  1. ↑ Margrete Aleksandersdotter – utdypning (Store norske leksikon)
  2. ↑ Agreement between Magnus IV and Alexander III, 1266
  3. ↑ Margrete Eiriksdotter – utdypning (Store norske leksikon)

Other sources

Margaret of Scotland, Queen of Norway
Born: 28 February 1261 Died: 9 April 1283
Norwegian royalty
Preceded by
Ingeborg Eriksdotter		 Queen consort of Norway
1281–1283 		Succeeded by
Isabel Bruce
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