History of the Lombards
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A Lombard writing after his people's kingdom has been conquered by Charlemagne gives them a history, drawing on lost sources and on his own family's memory.
- a conquered people's history written for the record rather than for revenge
- lost sources preserved through quotation
- family memory admitted as evidence and labelled as such
- legendary material included with its status stated
The six books run from Scandinavian origins through the invasion of Italy to the early eighth century, stopping before the Frankish conquest the author lived through. Paul had served at the Lombard court and later at Charlemagne's, and the work is neither triumphal nor bitter but preservative. He quotes documents and earlier histories now lost, records his own great-grandfather's escape from Avar captivity, and includes legend where he says it is legend.
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