Marculf (in French ''Marcoult'', ''Marcouf'', ''Marcoul'' or ''Marcou'') (d. 558) was the abbot at Nantus in the

Cotentin The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its west lie the Gu ...

. He is regarded as a

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

and is associated with the healing of scrofula.

Life

Marculf was born in the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

colony of

Bayeux Bayeux (, ; ) is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. It is also known as the fir ...

around AD 500. The accounts of his life are merged with that of Saint Helier, whom he sent to convert the inhabitants of

Jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

to Christianity. Marcouf also visited Jersey himself, where

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divi ...

s are ascribed to him. He died on May 1, 558, in the Îles Saint-Marcouf off the east coast of the

Cotentin Peninsula The Cotentin Peninsula (, ; ), also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, is a peninsula in Normandy that forms part of the northwest coast of France. It extends north-westward into the English Channel, towards Great Britain. To its west lie the Gu ...

. His

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

s were transferred to the abbey of Corbény in

Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

, where they played a part in the coronation ceremonies of

kings of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

, crowned at

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

, and in the tradition of the

royal touch The royal touch (also known as the king's touch) was a form of laying on of hands, whereby List of French monarchs, French and English monarchs touched their subjects, regardless of social classes, with the intent to cure them of various diseas ...

. The traditional power ascribed to French and English kings to cure scrofula ( the king's Evil) by the laying on of hands derives from the

efficacy Efficacy is the ability to perform a task to a satisfactory or expected degree. The word comes from the same roots as '' effectiveness'', and it has often been used synonymously, although in pharmacology a distinction is now often made betwee ...

of the relics of Marcouf, according to the chronicle of Joan of Arc, '' Chronique de la Pucelle''. The north ambulatory of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Coutances contains the Chapel of Saint Marcouf, with a stained glass window showing scenes from the saint's life.

References

External links

*
M. Charles Grosset, "A Theory on the Evangelisation of the Cotentin"
558 deaths People from Bayeux Roman Catholic monks French Christian monks 6th-century Frankish saints Year of birth unknown {{France-saint-stub

Life

See also

References

External links