History Of The Langobards, by Paul The Deacon

This book, admittedly obscure, was written in the late 8th century AD by an illustrious Lombard who had retired to a monastery but served as an occasional diplomat in the court of Charlemagne [1], with whom he carried on witty and cultured inside jokes and scholarly conversation. The book itself, which is fragmentary because the author died before it could be finished, is largely responsible for the survival of much of the history of the Lombards, from their early origins (it is claimed) in Scandinavia to their period of dominance in Italy and their intermittent conflicts with their neighbors, like the Arabs, the Byzantine Greeks, the Romans, the Franks, the Slavs, and the Bavarians. Much of this book, in fact, the main part of the body, consists of several interrelated areas of historical chronicle. One is a set of origin stories and the political history of the Lombards (called the Langobards here), full of intrigue and civil war, another is the account of their relations with other nations, be it in marriage alliances or warfare, and the other is various religious matters including miracles and church politics.

In addition to the chronicle-like history of Paul The Deacon, whose history reads much like Bede, and may in fact have drawn somewhat heavily from him, this book contains a biographical sketch of the life of Paul the Deacon, including an interesting family history that involved his work in rescuing family members from captivity in France. Additionally there are appendices that demonstrate the putative source relationships (since the author, like many of his contemporaries, was not very precise about his citations, even though he did mention at least some of his sources), and also some extended examples of his poetry, translated into English. Overall, the book is an intriguing read and it manages to capture the flavor of an accomplished collector and compiler of history.

Intriguingly, this book is the subject of frequent debate, at least among those people who are aware of its existence. On the one hand, this was an immensely popular source of history about Italy during the period from the sixth to the eighth centuries during much of the Middle Ages, but now that we have found some of the sources that this book made use of, in some form or another, this book is no longer considered to be original, and its chronology in some parts is a bit muddled. That said, this is a book written with a great deal of humanity, a sense of balance and fair-mindedness that is impressive in any age, as well as a modesty and decency. In particular, the author shows a great appreciation for the stratagems by which the weaker defeat the stronger, whether in battle, or in the aftermath of the battle, such as the ways in which some Lombard princesses preserved their virtue by making themselves unappealing to the Avar troops who held them captive. As a whole, this book is a notable example of the sort of history source that would later become a series of wikipedia entries, focused mainly on details without critical analysis. That said, this is a good example of that type of history, and so despite the fact that this is not a book to everyone’s tastes, at least not contemporary tastes, it, like Eusebius and Josephus and Livy, is a good example of a worthwhile type of history that deserves appreciation.

[1] See, for example:

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2014/02/22/non-book-review-charlemagnes-early-campaigns-768-777/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2015/05/06/non-book-review-the-medieval-way-of-war/

https://edgeinducedcohesion.wordpress.com/2014/05/10/lest-darkness-fall/