Selected poems of Paul the Deacon and Peter of Pisa, with an introduction, translation and commentary

Abstract

This thesis contains the first translation into English of a poetic exchange between two grammarians, Peter of Pisa and Paul the Deacon, writing at the court of Charlemagne in the late-eighth century. These six poems contain riddles and they reveal an intellectual competition between Peter, Paul, and Charlemagne. These poems represent a keyhole through which we can peer into everyday life at court in the late-eighth century. Yet, despite the fascinating contents of these poems, and despite the great historical significance of Peter of Pisa, but more importantly, of Paul the Deacon, they have received almost no scholarly attention. Therefore, this thesis aims to fill that gap in the scholarship by presenting the first comprehensive study of these six poems.

The analysis undertaken in this study was interdisciplinary. The main focuses were philological and metrical, but these were complemented by both literary and historical approaches. A comprehensive introduction alongside a thorough commentary will show the influence on these authors of different literary traditions, namely, classical, late antique, insular and peninsular, and Christian. Furthermore, these texts reveal the complex interpersonal relationships of the three men involved in the exchange. The intricacies of the contents, on the one hand, and, on the other, the extent to which these poems are intertwined, also reflect the political environment of the writers. The end result is a deeper understanding of these poems: how they were constructed, what they mean, and in what context they were written.

Date of Award	30 Jul 2020
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of St Andrews
Supervisor	Roger Rees (Supervisor) & James Palmer (Supervisor)