Paul the Deacon

Paul the Deacon c.725-799?, 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.

Paul the Deacon ( Paulus Diaconus) (c.725–97), a Lombard who is one of the best chroniclers of the Dark Ages, author of the Historia Lombardorum, and an important figure in the Carolingian Renaissance.

Paul the Deacon (c.720–c.800), chronicler. Of Lombard descent, he received an exceptionally good education. He became a monk at Monte Cassino, perhaps c.760. About 781 he visited Charlemagne and remained in Francia for a few years. On his return he undertook his main work, the Historia Gentis Langobardorum covering the period from 568 to 744; it is the main source for the Lombard history of the time, being especially valuable for Franco-Lombard relations and for its vivid picture of life in that age.