1. margaret
queen of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, was the daughter of Waldemar IV. of Denmark, whose crown, on his death in 1375, she received in trust for her son Olaf; her husband, Hacon VIII. of Norway, died in 1380, and left her queen; Olaf died 1387, when she named her grand-nephew, Eric of Pomerania, her heir; the Swedes deposed their king next year, and offered Margaret the throne; she accepted it, put down all resistance, and ultimately brought about the Union of Calmar (1397), which provided for the perpetual union of the three crowns; her energy and force of character won for her the title of "Semiramis of the North" (1353-1412).
2. margaret
a simple, innocent girl in Goethe's "Faust," who is the victim of a tragic fatality; Faust meets her as she comes from church, falls in love with her, and seduces her; she slays the infant born, is convicted and condemned to death, and loses her reason; Faust would fain save her, but he is hurried away by Mephistopheles, and she is left to her fate.
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Definitions of margaret
