 An elegy composed by Paulinus II, Patriarch of Aquileia on the occasion of the death of his friend Eric, reveals that Eric had been born at ""urbs dives Argentea"", a Latin name of Frankish Strasbourg.The elegy and another work of Paulinus called the "Liber Exhortationis," a work which draws from the Bible and certain Fathers of the Church to offer instruction on how to live a morally upright Christian life while carrying out secular duties, indicates that Eric was a pious Catholic.Eric was appointed to the Carolingian Duchy of Friuli in 789, about two years after the death of the previous duke, Marcarius.