Abbo Cernuus

Who is Abbo Cernuus?

Abbo Cernuus, Abbo Parisiensis, or Abbo of Saint-Germain was a Neustrian Benedictine monk and poet of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris. He was born about the middle of the ninth century.

Abbo was present at the Siege of Paris by the Vikings in 885–886. He was the only eyewitness who wrote a description of it, in Latin verse, with an account of subsequent events to 896, the so-called De bellis Parisiacæ urbis or Bella Parisiacæ urbis. Abbo also left some sermons for the instructions of clerics in Paris and Poitiers.