medicine, disease and death in late antiquity italy: an approach to the «historia langobardorum» of paulus diaconus

During the period known as Late Antiquity, populations of Germanic origin begin to settle in the Italian Peninsula, notably among them a population of ostrogoths and lomgobards. This essay attempts to outline the state of medicine and medical practice in lonbards communities during this time, and trace, through written sources and an analysis of the known the Historia Langobardorum of Paulus Diaconus. This analysis will help to reveal the precarious state of health at this time, one characterized by a series of widespread diseases, a high infant mortality rate, and certain serious pathologies.