Marcovefa (6th-century – fl. 561) was a Frankish queen consort by marriage to King

Charibert I Charibert I (; ; 517 – December 567) was the Merovingian King of Paris, the second-eldest son of Chlothar I and his first wife Ingund. His elder brother Gunthar died sometime before their father's death. He shared in the partition of the Fran ...

Biography

Marcovefa was the daughter of a wool carder from the royal palace, according to

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (born ; 30 November – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encom ...

. She and her sister

Merofleda Merofleda (6th-century – fl. 561) was a Frankish queen consort by marriage to king Charibert I Charibert I (; ; 517 – December 567) was the Merovingian King of Paris, the second-eldest son of Chlothar I and his first wife Ingund. His elde ...

both became married to the King of Paris. This marriage aroused the indignation of Queen Ingoberga who was already married to the King. This situation created scandal. However, the issue of greatest concern to the Church was that Marcovefa had been a nun prior to their marriage. Initially, he refused to divorce Marcovefa, and was therefore excommunicated by the Church. Marcovefa was excommunicated, as well. Soon thereafter, Marcovefa died, with some seeing her death as punishment from God. This forced him to eventually divorce the sisters and take Ingoberga back. Still, according to Gregory, Marcowefa died shortly afterward, followed in the tomb by Charibert himself at the end of the year 567.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marcovefa 6th-century births 6th-century deaths 6th-century Frankish women 6th-century Frankish people Frankish queens consort Merovingian dynasty 6th-century queens consort 6th-century Christian nuns