Some Remarks on the Sources of Historia Langobadorum by Paul The Deacon

Abstract

This study consists of several notes concerning the use of sources in Paul the Deacon's Historia Langobardorum (HL). In the first section, Paul's use of Palladius as a source for the passage HL I,5 is suggested and Paul' alleged employment of Bede's De temporum ratione and Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum in the passages HL I,25 and HL VI,15 is reevaluated.

In the second section, the passage HL I,27, pertaining the problem of the existence of the Lombard poetic tradition in Paul's time, is discussed and an alternative reading is suggested.

Keywords

• early medieval historiography
• the Lombards
• Paul the Deacon
• Historia Langobardorum
• Quellenforschung
• Bede
• oral tradition