Maroveus (french: Marovée) was the

bishop of Poitiers The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Poitiers ( Latin: ''Archidioecesis Pictaviensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Poitiers'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church in France. The archepiscopal see is in the city of Poitiers ...

in the late sixth century, between 565×573 and 590×594. Maroveus's predecessor, Pascentius, took over around 561 during the reign of

Charibert I Charibert I (french: Caribert; la, Charibertus; 517 – December 567) was the Merovingian List of Frankish kings, King of Paris, the second-eldest son of Chlothar I and his first wife Ingund, wife of Clotaire I, Ingund. His elder brother Guntha ...

, but the date of the end of his episcopate is unknown. Pascentius was still bishop in 565, when

Venantius Fortunatus Venantius Honorius Clementianus Fortunatus ( 530 600/609 AD; french: Venance Fortunat), known as Saint Venantius Fortunatus (, ), was a Latin poet and hymnographer in the Merovingian Court, and a bishop of the Early Church who has been venerate ...

dedicated his ''Life'' of

Hilary of Poitiers Hilary of Poitiers ( la, Hilarius Pictaviensis; ) was Bishop of Poitiers and a Doctor of the Church. He was sometimes referred to as the "Hammer of the Arians" () and the "Athanasius of the West". His name comes from the Latin word for happy or ...

to him. Maroveus became bishop before 573, while

Sigebert I Sigebert I (c. 535 – c. 575) was a Frankish king of Austrasia from the death of his father in 561 to his own death. He was the third surviving son out of four of Clotaire I and Ingund. His reign found him mostly occupied with a successful civ ...

was king. His episcopate for the period 585–590 is well known because

Gregory of Tours Gregory of Tours (30 November 538 – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours, which made him a leading prelate of the area that had been previously referred to as Gaul by the Romans. He was born Georgius Floren ...

's ''History of the Franks''. According to Gregory of Tours, in 585, King

Guntram Saint Gontrand (c. 532 in Soissons – 28 March 592 in Chalon-sur-Saône), also called Gontran, Gontram, Guntram, Gunthram, Gunthchramn, and Guntramnus, was the king of the Kingdom of Orléans from AD 561 to AD 592. He was the third eldest and ...

demanded the submission of Poitiers, which he claimed had broken its oath to him. Maroveus declined on behalf of the people, whereupon the region was ravaged. When Guntram's envoys again demanded submission, Maroveus melted down a chalice to make coin to pay them off., dates this episode to 584. Maroveus was on poor terms with Queen

Radegund Radegund ( la, Radegundis; also spelled ''Rhadegund, Radegonde, or Radigund''; 520 – 13 August 587) was a Thuringian princess and Frankish queen, who founded the Abbey of the Holy Cross at Poitiers. She is the patron saint of several churches ...

and her religious foundation in Poitiers,

Holy Cross Abbey Holy Cross Abbey ''(Mainistir na Croise Naofa)'' was a Cistercian monastery in Holycross near Thurles, County Tipperary, Ireland, situated on the River Suir. It takes its name from a relic of the True Cross or Holy Rood. History A supposed fra ...

. He refused to formally deposit the relic of the

True Cross The True Cross is the cross upon which Jesus was said to have been crucified, particularly as an object of religious veneration. There are no early accounts that the apostles or early Christians preserved the physical cross themselves, althoug ...

which she had acquired in the abbey and did not attend the ceremony when it was performed by

Eufronius Eufronius or Euphronius was the eighth Bishop of Tours; he served from 555 to 573, and was a near relative of Gregory of Tours. When upon the death of Bishop Gunthar, King Chlothar's nominee declined appointment to the See, it remained vacant for ...

. He refused to officiate or even attend her funeral in 587, which was officiated instead by Gregory of Tours. His attitude probably stemmed from a belief that the abbey and its relic challenged his authority as bishop. After Radegund's death, according to Gregory of Tours, Maroveus had his authority over the abbey confirmed by King

Childebert II Childebert II (c.570–596) was the Merovingian king of Austrasia (which included Provence at the time) from 575 until his death in March 596, as the only son of Sigebert I and Brunhilda of Austrasia; and the king of Burgundy from 592 to his de ...

, but in 589, led by two royal women, Basina and Clotild, the nuns rebelled. When Maroveus gathered his fellow bishops Gundegisel of Bordeaux, Nicasius of Angoulême and Safarius of Périgueux in the church of Saint Hilary in Poitiers in order to censure the nuns, the bishops were attacked by a mob and forced to disperse. When Clotild imprisoned the Abbess Leubovera in 590, Maroveus threatened to "rouse the townsfolk and free" her, but in the event she was rescued by a royal official, Flavianus. According to Gregory of Tours, around 589, when the burden of taxation at Poitiers was falling heavily on the poor because of outdated tax registers, Maroveus successfully pleaded for a reassessment from Childebert II, bringing much relief on the poor of the city. Around the same time, Gregory and Maroveus were charged by Childebert to mediate between Berthegund and Ingitrude, but while the former came before the bishops in

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

, the latter refused. Maroveus seem to have been succeeded as bishop around 590 by Plato. He was certainly gone by 594.

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Bibliography

* * * * * * * * {{refend 6th-century births 590s deaths Bishops of Poitiers