Paul the Deacon (c.725–799?)

Encyclopædia Orbis Latini

Lombard historian. He received a good education, probably at Pavia, and he learned Latin thoroughly and some Greek. He lived at Monte Cassino and at Charlemagne’s court. His first work was a continuation of the Roman history of Eutropius through Justinian. He also wrote a history of the diocese of Metz, a source for information about the early family of Charlemagne. Paul’s chief work is a history of the Lombards, drawn from sources now lost, covering the last half of the 6th, the 7th, and the first half of the 8th cent. It is one of the oldest histories of a Germanic nation by a German. He also wrote homilies, poems, and a commentary on the Benedictine rule. He is frequently called by his Latin name, Paulus Diaconus.