Читать книгу History Of The Lombards - Paolo Diacono – Paulus Diaconus - Страница 9

The work was written by Paolo Diacono in the Benedictine monastery of Montecassino in the two years after his return from the Frankish court of Charlemagne where he worked as a grammarian. The Historia tells the story of a part of the people called Winili, who will later take the name of Lombards after the heroic and mythical battle against the Vandals. So following the events of the various kings, the story takes us to Pannonia and from there to Italy. At this point the author tells us about Italy at the time of the Lombard conquest, of Alboino and Rosmunda, of the ten years of anarchy followed by the election of a king. From here, the Historia takes up the narration of the court events. Autari, Teodolinda, Rotari, the compelling story of Grimoaldo and the last king mentioned by Paolo, the famous Liutprando, the one of the much discussed donation of Sutri to the Pope, the presumed beginning of the temporal power of the popes, enter the scene, but this donation is in fact a refund, the real donation is prior to Liutprando.

The author does not fail to broaden his gaze, also by telling ecclesiastical events, from a strictly Catholic point of view, he does not fail to tell us about the Byzantine emperors and the events of the near and fatal Franco kingdom. The story is often inaccurate and sometimes patently wrong, but still gives a correctly pro-Lombard picture of the whole that highlights the Franco-Papal factionalism in the Italic affairs.

Another peculiarity of the story is the Friulian note, Paolo, originally from Cividale, keeps us constantly informed about what happens in the north east of Italy but also in Benevento, his place of residence, Duchy closely linked to Friuli and the Lombard crown .

Paolo's historical sources are: Origo gentis Longobardorum, an ancient song that narrates the legend of Scandinavian origin, Secondo di Non, Gregorio di Tours, Isidoro of Seville, Beda the Venerable and the Annals of Benevento.

Book I (First) tells us about the origins of the Lombards, describing the various stages of approach to Italy until the victory of Alboino over the Gepidi and the departure for the peninsula, in addition to the events of San Benedetto.

Book II (Second) tells the entry into Italy (with a description of the peninsula), the conquest of Pavia by Alboino, the intrigue of his wife Rosmunda and the assassination of the beloved king, to end with the ten years of anarchy of the dukes.

book III (Third) tells us about the difficulties of the Empire of Constantinople, the three frank invasions, of Autari who marries the Catholic Teodolinda.

Book IV (Quarto) tells of the kings Agilulfo, Rotari and Grimoaldo with all its history, from the sack of Cividale by the Avari, to the conquest of the royal palace of Pavia.

Book V (Fifth) continues the detailed narration of the difficult period of the reign, Grimoaldo defeats Franks and Byzantines, deceives the Avars and consolidates the Kingdom. The chapter ends with the battle between Cuniperto and Alachis.

Book VI (Sesto) restarts from Cuniperto, tells us of his reign but also ranges over the Franco kingdom, the Empire and the Saracens. Then comes the despotic but capable Ariperto, the long struggle with the noble Ansprando, father of Liutprando, the last of which the author speaks to us, because Paolo, disappointed, will leave the work unfinished.

I must add that the copyist, the one who manually copied the original text, probably added many errors to the text that was already inaccurate in itself, or rather, copying from a copy produced a sum of errors.

This inconvenience will be solved with the invention of printing. Paolo himself confuses places and peoples, wrong years, in short, it is not a scientific text, but its historical importance because it shows us those centuries from the Lombard point of view.