He undertook various diplomatic missions, and upon the death of his brother Stephen II (26 April 757) he was elected to succeed him, while the Byzantine faction opposed him with the archdeacon Theophylact. Paul notified his election to the King of the Franks, Pippin, without however seeking any confirmation from him, and on 29 May, after overcoming the opposition of the opposing faction, he was consecrated.
His pontificate was chiefly devoted to the effort to consolidate the nascent Papal State against the encroachments of the Lombards. To this end, Paul maintained continuous relations with King Pippin, repeatedly invoking his intervention to overcome the obstinacy of Desiderius, who refused to surrender the cities of Bologna, Imola, Ancona, and Numana, which had been promised to Stephen II. Instead of accepting the protectorate offered to him over the duchies of Spoleto and Benevento, Pippin intervened in the dispute with conciliatory intent, hoping to ally Desiderius and Paul I against the possibility of a Byzantine attack. In 760 an agreement seemed to have been reached between the Pope and the Lombard king, which was confirmed only at the meeting in Rome in 765, while Desiderius managed to evade almost all the commitments previously undertaken.
In the East, where the iconoclastic persecution grew ever more violent, Paul I sent a legation to Constantine V Copronymus in 763, which attempted to alienate Pippin from Paul I through the imperial secretary George and the “grammarian” Peter of Pisa. Here Paul, besides teaching what little Greek he knew, gave free rein to his poetic inspiration; among other things, to please Angliannus, bishop of Metz, he composed in verse, shortly after 783, his *Libellus de numero vel ordine episcoporum qui sibi ab ipso praedicationis exordio in Mettensi civitate successerunt*, which later served as a model for similar compilations. Besides extracts from Pompeius Festus, Paul also compiled a collection of homilies by the Fathers for liturgical and practical use by Frankish bishops, which was widely used. After about four years, around 786, he returned to the desired Montecassino, where he compiled a *Life of St Gregory the Great* and a selection of the letters of this Pope to satisfy the desire of his friend Adalhard, abbot of Corbie. An *Expositio super Regulam sancti Benedicti*, the first of its kind, is very probably a work of this latter period of his life, during which he also, according to common opinion, wrote the *Historia Langobardorum*, which he carried from the legendary origins down to the death of King Liutprand. It is to this work above all that Paul’s fame is attached; he is indeed the only historian of his people, and he wrote of them with filial affection, though without concealing their original barbarism. The documentary material was very scarce, and Paul did not shrink from using epic legends or traditional memories still alive in his duchy of Friuli. He used a *Historia* by Secundus of Trent, the *Editio* of Rotari, and the *Origo gentis Langobardorum*, which is usually published with it, some documents of the church of Aquileia, the biographies of the *Liber Pontificalis*, a catalogue of the Roman provinces, some inscriptions, and the works of St Gregory the Great. He had before him the works of Jordanes, St Isidore of Seville, St Gregory of Tours, and St Bede. Pliny, Virgil, and Servius, his commentator, other Latin poets and historians, were not without influence; so that Paul also informs us about his culture, which was certainly not inconsiderable for his time; a culture attested also by his verses, which are mostly written with good metre and often with true poetic sensibility. With Paulinus of Aquileia, Paul is a good witness to the extent to which Lombard Italy could contribute to the cultural field in the 8th century so as to be able to contribute to the Carolingian Renaissance. Paul died indeed towards the end of that century.
PAUL I, POPE, saint — Lead bulla.
PAUL THE DEACON — Collection of letters of St Gregory the Great, compiled by P. D. and sent to Adalhard. This is probably the autograph — Leningrad, Library, cod. lat. F. V. I, 7, f. 30.
PAUL II, POPE. — Born in Venice on 23 February 1417, of the noble house of Barbo, he died in Rome on 26 July 1471.
He was created cardinal on 18 December 1440 by Eugenius IV, and on 30 August 1464 was elected pope, after the death of Pius II. He was crowned at St Peter’s on 16 September 1464.
He began, while still a cardinal, the great palace with its garden, attached to his titular church of St Mark, and showed himself an enthusiastic collector of gems, antiquities, medals, and works of art; he was less favourable to humanists, thinking they misdirected youth. As pope, he declared that he did not consider himself bound by the electoral capitulation concluded and sworn during the conclave, as it infringed the legitimate authority of the pope.
He governed with great mildness and strove to suppress the factions and private reprisals that disturbed order and peace in the city; he provided for the food supply and encouraged agriculture; he subjected the city statutes to a revision (1469) to improve public administration; he promoted public entertainments. To secure the patrimony he subdued the Anguillara and in the summer of 1469 worked to restore order in Romagna and peace in Italy. He vainly attempted to promote an expedition against the Turks, who were extending their conquests in Greece and the Aegean islands, and refused to recognize George Podiebrad as king of Bohemia because he favoured heretics. He received the Emperor Frederick III at Rome at Christmas 1468, George Scanderbeg in 1466, Borso d’Este in 1471, then created duke; he gave refuge to Catherine, queen of Bosnia, who had fled her kingdom in 1467; he provided for the reorganization of the Knights of Rhodes. In the reorganization of the Curia he wished to reduce the number of abbreviators, provoking the anger of the curial officials affected (1464), especially Bartolomeo Platina, who insolently attacked the pope and was even imprisoned. Rumours later spread of revolutionary intentions on the part of those who, together with Pomponius Laetus, composed the Roman Academy, as if they intended to repeat the deeds of Stefano Porcari, taking advantage of disturbances that broke out in 1468. Faced with an inquiry, some fled, others like Pomponius and Platina were put on trial, but since nothing positive was found against them, in the spring of 1469 they were set free.
The pope was buried in St Peter’s Basilica, but his magnificent tomb was dismantled during the rebuilding of the basilica. — See pl. LIV.