执事保罗的《伦巴德人史》是中世纪史学的代表性著作之一，记载了自伦巴德民族出现至伦巴德国王利乌特去世为止六百多年间伦巴德人的历史。
伦巴德人起源自斯堪的纳维亚地区，先后迁徙至波西米亚地区、潘多尼亚地区，于公元568年进入意大利地区并建立伦巴德王国，成为意大利地区一股强大的政治力量。伦巴德王国先后存在近二十位统治者，经历了强盛、衰落、复兴、再衰落的几个阶段。公元774年，查理曼征服伦巴德王国，伦巴德王国灭亡。
执事保罗既是历史作者也是游吟诗人，学识渊博，文采斐然。他出身自伦巴德贵族，自幼前往伦巴德宫廷接受贵族教育，学成后在伦巴德宫廷任职多年。自伦巴德宫廷卸任后，保罗前往蒙特卡西诺修道院隐居，接触了大量修道院资源。保罗一生笔耕不辍，留下了许多诗篇及著作，主要有：《罗马历史》、《梅茨主教传》、《教皇格里高利的生平》和《伦巴德人史》。《伦巴德人史》是保罗最为重要的作品。
《伦巴德人史》是考察伦巴德人最重要的史料。除了广泛流传的手抄本外，意大利语、法语、德语、英语版本等先后面世。其中，英译本由威廉·福特完成。英译本《伦巴德人史》共有两版，分别出版于1907年以及1974年。后者经由爱德华·皮特重新编辑整理，于书名、目录、前言、简介以及附录上有所调整。两版英译本《伦巴德人史》对执事保罗以及伦巴德人相关研究做出了不同阐释，均具有很高的学术价值。
《伦巴德人史》一书共分为六卷，自伦巴德民族起源起笔，依据年代顺序记述了伦巴德统治者的交替以及主要政治事件，同时不乏同一时期内其他国家的基本情况以及影响基督教发展的重大事件。《伦巴德人史》一书既有助于初步认识伦巴德民族以及伦巴德王国的基本史实，又有助于形成有关意大利地区的整体史观。
执事保罗对于《伦巴德人史》的编排以及对书中所载事件的处理，充分展现了执事保罗的史学思想。一方面，作为一名虔诚的天主教徒，保罗在书中记载的神迹故事、对天主教徒的溢美之词等，表明了保罗的基督教史观；另一方面，保罗对于伦巴德人的迁徙、联姻等事件力图真实客观的叙述，又体现了保罗基于当下的历史认知。
此外，执事保罗的生活年代使他经历了伦巴德王国的衰落与查理曼的征服，见证了加洛林王朝的统治。身份的多重性以及生活经历的复杂性使得《伦巴德人史》中既具有浓厚的基督教史观色彩，也有世俗取向，对于当下政治事件的解释则具有现实的意图或目标。解读《伦巴德人史》有助于研究加洛林时代史学特点。

Paul the Deacon's History of the Lombards is one of the representative works of medieval historiography, recording the history of the Lombards for more than six hundred years from the emergence of the Lombard nation to the death of King Liutprand of Lombard.
The Lombards originated from Scandinavia and migrated to Bohemia and Pendonia before entering Italy in 568 A. D. and establishing the Lombard kingdom, which became a powerful political force in the Italian region. Under the leadership of these rulers, the Lombard kingdom went through several stages of strength, decline, revival and decline again. In 774 A. D. , Charlemagne conquered the Lombard kingdom and the Lombard kingdom came to an end. The Lombard nation-state had typical features of Germanic peoples in terms of political and economic systems and religious beliefs, but also retained its own national identity. Politically, there was a transition from clan chieftainship to the king as the main leader of the state, and the dukes had autonomy; economically, there was a transition from nomadic economy to agrarian economy, and foreign trade flourished; religious beliefs changed from pagan worship to the coexistence of Arianism and Catholicism, and finally the Catholic faith prevailed.
Paul the Deacon was both a historical writer and a troubadour, and was a learned and brilliant writer. He came from the Lombard nobility and went to the Lombard court from an early age to receive a noble education, after which he served at the Lombard court for many years. After leaving the Lombard court, Paul went into seclusion at the Monastery of Monte Cassino, where he had access to a large number of monastic resources. Throughout his life, Paul wrote a large number of poems and books, including: Historia Romana, the Deeds of the Bishops of Metz, Life of Gregory the Great, and History of the Lombards. The History of the Lombards is Paul's most important work.
The History of the Lombards is the most important historical source for examining the Lombards. In addition to the widely circulated manuscript, Italian, French, German, and English versions have appeared. Among them, the English translation was done by William Ford. There were two editions of the English translation of the History of the Lombards, published in 1907 and 1974 respectively. The main content of the two English translations remained the same, while the latter was re-edited by Edward Pitt, with adjustments to the title, table of contents, preface, introduction, and appendices. The two editions of the History of the Lombards provide different interpretations of Paul the Deacon and related studies of the Lombards, which can complement each other and are of great scholarly value.
The History of the Lombards is divided into six volumes, beginning with the origins of the Lombard nation and covering chronologically the succession of Lombard rulers and major political events, as well as basic information about other nation-states and major events affecting the development of Christianity during the same period. The History of the Lombards contributes both to our initial understanding of the basic historical facts of the Lombard nation and the Lombard kingdom, and to the development of a holistic view of the history of the Italian region.
Deacon Paul's arrangement of the History of the Lombards and his treatment of the events contained in the book fully demonstrate Deacon Paul's historiographical thought and historical perception. On the one hand, as a devout Catholic, Paul's stories of miracles and his praise of Catholics in the book show Paul's Christian view of history; on the other hand, Paul's attempt to give a true and objective account of the migration and marriage of the Lombards is free from the domination of the Christian teleological view of history and reflects Paul's present-day-based perception.
In addition, Paul the deacon lived in a time when he experienced the decline of the Lombard kingdom and the conquest of Charlemagne, and witnessed the reign of the Caroline dynasty. The multiplicity of identities and the complexity of his life experiences make the History of the Lombards both strongly Christian in culture, secular in orientation based on historical developments, and political in purpose with the intention of explaining the political events of the time. The reading of the History of the Lombards contributes to the study of the historiographical features of the Caroline era.