The history of Malcolm’s career would be incomplete without an allusion to one who exercised so great an influence over his court and people as Queen Margaret. Firmly convinced of the infallibility of his queen, whom he appears to have regarded as the incarnation of all that was pure and holy upon earth, the king submitted to her guidance implicitly in all matters connected with religion; and Margaret, conscious of her own learning and eloquence, and perhaps not unwilling to display her undoubted talents, frequently summoned the clergy to meet in council, and laid before them her opinions on the state of the Scottish church; Malcolm on such occasions acting as interpreter, and supporting her views on ecclesiastical subjects with all the weight of his own temporal authority.[178] Her piety was fervent and sincere, though imbued with much of the formalism of the age. Every morning a certain number of poor were ranged in front of the palace, and it was the first daily duty of the king and queen to wash their feet, and to supply them with food and clothing. Every night Margaret arose for midnight prayer, and the severity of the discipline to which she chose to subject herself, laid the foundation of a painful and lingering disease which eventually shortened her life. But her influence was not confined to matters of religion alone, and it was through Margaret that pomp and ceremonial were first introduced at the Scottish court, the king no longer riding out without a royal escort, nor regaling his nobility in the rude fashion of his ancestors, but astonishing them with a display of gold and silver plate.[179] A corresponding degree of magnificence was encouraged amongst the courtiers, foreign traders were invited to bring their rich and varied wares to Scottish ports, whilst it was signified that all who wished to earn the royal favour must become purchasers of the costly novelties.[180] In short, to the influence of Margaret may be attributed the foundation of that change, which gradually converted the king of Scotland from a rude and simple chieftain, surrounded by congenial and semi-barbarous followers, into a feudal monarch in the midst of a knightly and chivalrous court. The impress of her character is very visible in the dispositions and qualities of her children; and if from her they inherited the love of ostentation and display, which seems to have been the foible of their amiable mother, it must not be forgotten that from her also they derived the purity of life for which they were all alike distinguished, and which was so eminent a feature in the character of a queen, in whose presence not even a word that could give offence was ever known to have been uttered.