Marriage of Saint Margaret with King Malcolm
Primary
Alexander Runciman
(Edinburgh, Scotland, 1736–1785)
NationalityScottish, Europe
Dateafter 1772
MediumEtching
DimensionsSheet: 8 7/8 × 7 3/8 in. (22.5 × 18.8 cm)
Credit LineBlanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, The Leo Steinberg Collection, 2002.1246
Rights Statement
Collection AreaPrints and Drawings
Object number2002.1246
On View
Not on viewRunciman's etching is a reproduction of a scene from his decorative cycle for the staircase at Penicuik House in Scotland, now destroyed. The patron meant to celebrate Scottish history by featuring one of its most beloved historical figures, Saint Margaret.
Margaret's marriage to Malcolm III of Scotland in 1070 is a medieval example of the political function of such unions. Margaret was the sister of a pretender to the throne in England after William the Conqueror invaded England in 1066. Although she had planned to live a contemplative life in a convent, she needed protection from her family's rivals. She consented to the marriage they arranged and is credited with converting her Scottish husband and with enlightening the reputedly primitive Scottish court.
Exhibitions
