Abbo Cernuus

He who increaseth knowledge, increaseth sorrow. This article contains spoilers, meaning it has information and facts concerning recent or upcoming releases from the Assassin's Creed series. If you do not want to know about these events, it is recommended to read on with caution, or not at all. This template should be removed from the article 12 November 2021.

Abbo of Cernuus was a Benedictine monk from Neustria and secretly a member of the Hidden One who operated in the Carolingian Empire during the late 9th century, operating under the pseudonym of AC.

Being an eyewitness to the siege of Paris from 885 to 886., Abbo documented his accounts of the events, written in Latin, in the De bellis Parisiacæ urbis.

Biography

Abbo Cernuus was believed to have been born in the middle of 9th century. As a monk, one of his works was the De bellis Parisiacæ urbis or Bella Parisiacæ urbis ("Wars of the City of Paris"), which detailed events of the siege and its aftermath. After Charles the Fat's death, Abbo regarded Odo of France to be the legitimate successor of West Francia.

During the mass departure of the Hidden Ones from the Roman Empire's provinces of Britannia and Gaul, a few Hidden Ones opted to remain behind. By the 9th century, Abbo was one of those who inherited the mantle passed down by those who had decided to stayed and dedicated themselves to keeping the former bureaus in Paris and the surrounding cityside safe, assassinating soldiers backed by the Bellatores Dei who attempted to break into them.

During her time in Francia, the Viking jarlskona Eivor Varinsdottir of the Raven Clan managed to unlock the entrance to the abandoned Hidden Ones' bureau in Paris and explored it. Before Eivor could leave, she heard the soft footsteps of Abbo, who had left her a strange letter signed "AC" with an apology for the dead soldiers and a poem:

"This place of honor forever holding, the deeds that were done
We abide always many in number, yet together are one
Whose firm faith and whose lonely labor, serve only the fight
I must yet stay unknown in the darkness, so you may work in the light."

Respecting AC's request to remain anonymous, Eivor decided to keep the short sword Joyeuse as a gift after unlocking it from inside the bureau.

From Eivor's investigation at Saint-Germain-des-Prés, the Viking found a dead body and account of a cloaked figure guarding the place from any raiders or unwelcomed visitors. Abbo happened to be a monk of the church and actually took part in making sure no one desecrated the holy grounds. The populace thought and claimed that the figure was the ghost of Saint Germain protecting the abbey.

Legacy

In 2020, Shaun Hastings mentioned Abbo in a Database entry about Francia, describing the monk as "tricky" and noting that "nothing about [him] was straightforward". In that same entry, he named Abbo of Cernuus rather than Abbo Cernuus, even though Cernuus, meaning "the crooked", shouldn't be formatted as a toponymic or patrial byname.

Behind the scenes

On 7 September, 2021, the official Assassin's Creed Twitter revealed Abbo of Cernuus as the identity of "AC".

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed: Valhalla – The Siege of Paris (mentioned only)