Paul the Deacon

Paul the Deacon (c. 720s – 13 April 799) was a Lombard monk, historian, and scholar whose works were widely used throughout the early Middle Ages. Best known for the Historia Langobardorum, a narrative of Lombard origins and migrations, he is one of the most significant early medieval historians of Italy. Paul was educated in the Lombard kingdom and later became active within the intellectual circles of Charlemagne’s court, where he contributed to the broader scholarly activity associated with the Carolingian Renaissance.^[1]

Dom Paul the Deacon OSB
Portrait of Paulus Diaconus from a 10th-century manuscript (Laurentian Library Plut. 65.35 fol. 34r)
Title	Deacon
Personal life
Born	Paulus Warnefridus c. 720s Cividale del Friuli, Kingdom of the Lombards
Died	13 April in 796, 797, 798, or 799 AD Monte Cassino, Patrimony of Saint Peter
Nationality	Lombard
Parent(s)	Warnefrid and Theodelinda
Known for	History of the Lombards
Occupation	Benedictine monk, scribe, and historian
Religious life
Religion	pre-Schism Latin Church
Order	Benedictines
Ordination	c. 782

In addition to his historical writings, Paul produced a continuation of Eutropius’s Breviarium, a collection of homilies for the Frankish church, a history of the bishops of Metz, poems and epitaphs, and an epitome of Festus’s De verborum significatu. His works drew on a wide range of classical, patristic, and early medieval sources and circulated extensively in monastic and ecclesiastical settings.^[2] Through both his Lombard identity and his Carolingian patronage, Paul played an important role in shaping the historical and literary culture of the eighth and ninth centuries.^[3]

Early Life and Background

Paul was born in the Duchy of Friuli in the early eighth century, likely into a family of local Lombard nobility. His birth name was Winfrid, and later sources suggest that he received the monastic name Paulus after entering religious life. Although details about his early years are limited, the surviving accounts indicate that he benefited from a high level of education, which may have been connected to the Lombard royal court at Pavia. He studied grammar, literature, and some Greek, and his training introduced him to both classical authors and Christian writers, influences that remained visible in his later works.^[4][5]

Service in the Lombard Kingdom

Much of Paul’s early career unfolded under the later Lombard kings. He is believed to have served at the court of King Desiderius, possibly in an administrative or secretarial capacity.^[6] Paul’s literary talents attracted the attention of Desiderius’s daughter Adelperga, for whom he composed a continuation of Eutropius’s Breviarium. His presence in Benevento and his association with the ducal court there reflect the mobility of Lombard elites in the final decades of the kingdom.

Transition to Carolingian Rule

The Frankish conquest of the Lombard kingdom in 774 marked a turning point in Paul’s life. He appears to have left Pavia around the time of Charlemagne’s capture of the city, and his family was directly affected by the political upheaval. His brother Arichis was taken to Francia as a prisoner following unrest in Friuli. Paul later appealed to Charlemagne for his brother’s release, which was eventually granted. These events brought Paul into contact with the emerging intellectual networks surrounding the Carolingian court.^[7]

Monte Cassino and Later Years

Paul entered monastic life sometime before 782 and became a monk at Monte Cassino, one of the most important Benedictine centers in early medieval Italy. His reputation as a scholar and writer reached Charlemagne, who invited him to participate in ecclesiastical and literary projects associated with the Carolingian Renaissance. Paul contributed to the compilation of a homiliary for the Frankish church and produced historical, grammatical, and liturgical works that circulated widely.^[8] He spent his final years at Monte Cassino, where he continued to write and revise his texts until his death on 13 April, probably in 799.^[9]

Works

Historia Langobardorum

Main article: History of the Lombards

Paul’s most famous work is the Historia Langobardorum, a six-book narrative written near the end of his life. It traces the legendary origins of the Lombards, their migrations, and their settlement in Italy, and extends to the reign of King Liutprand (d. 744). Although unfinished, it is one of the principal sources for Lombard history. The work reflects both Paul’s Lombard heritage and his exposure to Carolingian historical interests, and it draws on a wide range of written and oral materials, including the Origo gentis Langobardorum, the Liber pontificalis, the lost history of Secundus of Trent, and Beneventan annals.^[10][11] Its descriptions of political life, regional identities, and relations with the Franks make it a key text for understanding the transition from Late Antiquity to the early Middle Ages.

Historia Romana

Paul composed a continuation of Eutropius’s Breviarium while associated with the ducal court at Benevento between 766 and 771. At the request of Adelperga, he expanded the original Roman history by integrating material from Scripture, patristic writers, and other Christian sources. His six added books carry the narrative to the mid-sixth century and were widely copied during the Middle Ages.^[12] The work became a standard school text and influenced how later medieval scholars understood the end of the western Roman Empire.

Homiliary

At Charlemagne’s request, Paul compiled a collection of homilies for use in the Frankish church. Drawing on patristic and early medieval authors, the compilation was intended to provide suitable readings for the liturgical year and played a role in Carolingian efforts to standardize preaching and ecclesiastical instruction.^[10] The homiliary circulated across the Carolingian world and contributed to the broader program of religious and educational reform.

Liber de episcopis Mettensibus

Paul wrote a short history of the bishops of Metz at the request of Bishop Angilram. Completed before 766, it is the earliest surviving example of an episcopal catalogue north of the Alps.^[13] The text reflects growing Carolingian interest in documenting the history of local churches and was later copied in monastic and cathedral settings. A modern English translation was published in 2013.

Poetry and Other Works

Paul composed numerous poems, epitaphs, and occasional verses, many of which survive in early medieval manuscript collections. These include verses written for members of the Carolingian family and an epitaph for Arichis II of Benevento.^[14] His poetic corpus was edited in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, with later scholarship revising some earlier attributions. He also produced an epitome of Sextus Pompeius Festus’s De verborum significatu, which he dedicated to Charlemagne, as well as other grammatical and hagiographical works attributed to him in medieval sources.