A Matter of Faith and Works: Byzantine Leaders and Christian Leadership in the Historia Langobardorum
Abstract
The late eighth-century Historia Langobardorum by Paul the Deacon is a narrative
history of the Lombard people from their mythic origins up to the reign of King Liutprand in
Italy in 744. As the only history of its kind, scholars are forced to rely on it for much of what
they know about the Lombards and Italy from the sixth to eighth centuries. While historians have
had much to say about what the Historia tells us about the Lombards and other groups, very little
has been said about the presence and portrayal of Byzantine figures within the text. Furthermore,
it is often assumed that Paul, who was a Lombard himself, was simply writing to glorify and
preserve the memory of his people. My thesis reveals a deeper objective behind the text while
providing an in-depth investigation of Byzantines within its pages. I argue that the Historia
Langobardorum was written to promote an ideal of Christian leadership based upon orthodox
faith and good works, in which the careers of Byzantine leaders, especially emperors, played a
critical role. Among Byzantine authority figures, correct belief and righteousness are rewarded
and heresy and wickedness are punished. These themes are tied to Lombard leaders as well, but
Byzantines served an especially important role in their construction. Paul’s narrative was
intentionally designed to encourage an understanding of Christian governance idealized during
the Carolingian Renaissance.
Table of Contents
Introduction -- Justinian and Nares -- Justin II and Tiberius II -- Constans II, Lombard rulers, and the mantle of Christian kingship -- Conclusion.
Degree
M.A.