Margaret Knox
Encyclopedia
Margaret Knox née Stewart (1547- after 1612), was a Scottish noblewoman and the second wife of Scottish reformer John Knox
, whom she married when she was 17 years old and he 54. The marriage caused consternation from Mary, Queen of Scots, as the couple had married without having obtained royal consent.
, and Agnes Cunningham. The family was staunchly Protestant, and also related to the Scottish royal family and the Hamiltons
. Margaret had three sisters and four brothers, including James Stewart, Earl of Arran
.
, and a close friend of her father. His first wife, Marjorie Bowes had died in December 1560, leaving him with two small sons, Nathaniel and Eleazer. The marriage was strongly criticised by Queen Mary, as they had married without having first obtained her consent. Margaret, as the Queen's relative, was required to ask the monarch for permission to marry.
The couple made their home on Edinburgh
's Royal Mile
, and together they had three daughters:
Margaret served as Knox's secretary, and later, when he became ill, his nurse. Following Knox's death in November 1572, the General Assembly, at the suggestion of the Regent
Morton
, allowed Margaret to receive, for the year succeeding her husband's death, his pension of 500 merks.
In January 1574, she married her second husband, Sir Andrew Ker of Faldonside. He had been part of the conspiracy of Protestant nobles, led in March 1566 by Patrick Ruthven, 3rd Lord Ruthven
, who had stabbed to death Queen Mary's Italian secretary, David Rizzio
in the presence of the Queen, who was almost six months pregnant at the time. It was Ker who had held his pistol at Mary's side, while she was constrained to watch Rizzio's killing.
Together they had a number of children.
On 8 April 1574, a Charter of Alienation confirmed Kerr's provision for Margaret, in her widowhood, of the liferent of a third of ancestral lands in Haddingtonshire. Kerr died on 19 December 1599, and she did not remarry.
Margaret died sometime after 1612.
John Knox
John Knox was a Scottish clergyman and a leader of the Protestant Reformation who brought reformation to the church in Scotland. He was educated at the University of St Andrews or possibly the University of Glasgow and was ordained to the Catholic priesthood in 1536...
, whom she married when she was 17 years old and he 54. The marriage caused consternation from Mary, Queen of Scots, as the couple had married without having obtained royal consent.
Family
Margaret Stewart was born in 1547, the daughter of Andrew Stewart, 2nd Lord OchiltreeAndrew Stewart, 2nd Lord Ochiltree
Andrew Stewart, 2nd Lord Ochiltree fought for the Scottish Reformation. His daughter married John Knox and he played a part in the defeat of Mary, Queen of Scots at the battle of Langside....
, and Agnes Cunningham. The family was staunchly Protestant, and also related to the Scottish royal family and the Hamiltons
Clan Hamilton
The House of Hamilton, occasionally and erroneously referred to as Clan Hamilton, is a Scottish family who historically held broad territories throughout central and southern Scotland, particularly Ayrshire, Lanarkshire and the Lothians...
. Margaret had three sisters and four brothers, including James Stewart, Earl of Arran
James Stewart, Earl of Arran
Captain James Stewart, Earl of Arran was created Earl of Arran by the young King James VI, who wrested the title from James Hamilton, 3rd Earl of Arran...
.
Marriages and children
On 26 March 1564, she married her first husband, John Knox, leader of the Scottish ReformationScottish Reformation
The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...
, and a close friend of her father. His first wife, Marjorie Bowes had died in December 1560, leaving him with two small sons, Nathaniel and Eleazer. The marriage was strongly criticised by Queen Mary, as they had married without having first obtained her consent. Margaret, as the Queen's relative, was required to ask the monarch for permission to marry.
The couple made their home on Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
's Royal Mile
Royal Mile
The Royal Mile is a succession of streets which form the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland.As the name suggests, the Royal Mile is approximately one Scots mile long, and runs between two foci of history in Scotland, from Edinburgh Castle at the top of the Castle...
, and together they had three daughters:
- Martha Knox (1565–1592), married Alexander Fairlie, by whom she had issue.
- Margaret Knox (b.1567), married Zachary Pont, by whom she had issue.
- Elizabeth Knox (1570- January 1622), married in 1594, John WelshJohn WelshJohn Welsh may refer to:*John Welsh of Ayr, religious leader*John Welsh of Irongray, religious leader*John Welsh , FRS , Superintendent of Kew Observatory*John Welsh *John Welsh...
, minister of Ayr, by whom she had issue.
Margaret served as Knox's secretary, and later, when he became ill, his nurse. Following Knox's death in November 1572, the General Assembly, at the suggestion of the Regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
Morton
James Douglas, 4th Earl of Morton
James Douglas, jure uxoris 4th Earl of Morton was the last of the four regents of Scotland during the minority of King James VI. He was in some ways the most successful of the four, since he did manage to win the civil war which had been dragging on with the supporters of the exiled Mary, Queen of...
, allowed Margaret to receive, for the year succeeding her husband's death, his pension of 500 merks.
In January 1574, she married her second husband, Sir Andrew Ker of Faldonside. He had been part of the conspiracy of Protestant nobles, led in March 1566 by Patrick Ruthven, 3rd Lord Ruthven
Patrick Ruthven, 3rd Lord Ruthven
Patrick Ruthven, 3rd Lord Ruthven , played an important part in the political intrigues of the 16th century. He succeeded to the lordship in December 1552...
, who had stabbed to death Queen Mary's Italian secretary, David Rizzio
David Rizzio
Davide Rizzio, sometimes written as Davide Riccio or Davide Rizzo , was an Italian courtier, born close to Turin, a descendant of an ancient and noble family still living in Piedmont, the Riccio Counts de San Paolo et Solbrito, who rose to become the private secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots...
in the presence of the Queen, who was almost six months pregnant at the time. It was Ker who had held his pistol at Mary's side, while she was constrained to watch Rizzio's killing.
Together they had a number of children.
On 8 April 1574, a Charter of Alienation confirmed Kerr's provision for Margaret, in her widowhood, of the liferent of a third of ancestral lands in Haddingtonshire. Kerr died on 19 December 1599, and she did not remarry.
Margaret died sometime after 1612.