Paul the Deacon

Paul the Deacon [Paul of Friuli]. b. ca. 730; d. Montecassino ca. 799. Of noble Italian birth, Paul the Deacon was educated at the court of King Rachis at Pavia before becoming attached to the court of Duke Arichis of Benevento. He entered the monastery of Montecassino after the Carolingian conquest of Italy (773-4). His letter (782) to Charlemagne, petitioning for the release of his brother Arichis, a Lombard prisoner, brought him to the attention of the Frankish king, who summoned Paul the Deacon to court. He returned to Montecassino before 787. Paul the Deacon’s literary career had begun while in Italy, where he wrote a Historia Romana and many panegyrics for his Italian patrons. His...