Chronicon Gothanum

The Chronicon Gothanum or Historia langobardorum codicis gothani (HLCGoth.) is a history of the Lombard people written at and for the court of King Pippin of Italy between the years 806 and 810. It is preserved in one twelfth-century codex, Forschungsbibliothek 84 at Gotha, from which it gets its Latin names. The text is ideologically pro-Carolingian, and among its sources are Isidore of Seville and possibly Jerome.

The Chronicon covers the period from the origins of the Lombards to the campaign of Pippin against Islamic Corsica: "Then the island of Corsica, oppressed by the Moors, his army liberated from their rule." This campaign is also recorded in the Annales regni Francorum, which place it in the year 806. Since the Chronicon also praises Pippin as if he is still living, it must have been written between the last event it records (806) and his death in 810.

Nothing about the author of the Chronicon Gothanum is known for certain. His pro-Carolingian stance has led some historians, such as Claudio Azzara and Stefano Gasparri, to believe that he was a Frank. Others, such as Stefano Cingolani, Bruno Luiselli and Magali Coumert, believe he was a Lombard, since in one passage he seems to identify with them when he refers to the Lombards during their time in Saxony as "our ancient forefathers". Another autobiographical detail is sometimes coaxed from the text when the author says that the remains of the residence of king Wacho were still visible in his day. Since Wacho was king during the Lombards' stay in Pannonia, and Pippin fought a war with the Avars in that region, it is possible that the author was with Pippin on the expedition and saw the remains of the house for himself. It is equally possible that he was merely reporting what he had heard.

The place of writing is also unknown: Coumert believes the author worked in the Abbey of Montecassino, while Walter Pohl hypothesised that it took place in Milan and Luigi Berto agrees that it is probably a north Italian work. Berto also concludes that the author was "probably a member of Pippin's court".

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