Background
The real Margaret had died in 1290 at Orkney, and her father, King Eric II of Norway, died in 1299, succeeded by his brother Haakon V of Norway.
The real Margaret had died in 1290 at Orkney, and her father, King Eric II of Norway, died in 1299, succeeded by his brother Haakon V of Norway.
The following year a woman arrived at Bergen, Norway in a ship from Lübeck, Germany, claiming to be Margaret, and accused several people of treason. The people of Bergen and some of the clergy there supported her claim, even though the late King Erik had identified his dead daughter"s body, and even though the woman appeared to be about 40 years old, whereas the real Margaret would have been 17. The story of the betrayed Princess was spread through popular ballads in Norway and Scotland.
Some years later a small Saint Margaret Church (Margaretaskirk) was built in Bergen near the place of execution, although this was frowned on by the authorities, and it became the centre of a local martyr cult.