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''On the Consolation of Philosophy'' ('' la, De consolatione philosophiae'')'','' often titled as ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' or simply the ''Consolation,'' is a
philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
work by the Roman statesman
Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the t ...
. Written in 523 while he was imprisoned by King
Theodoric Theodoric is a Germanic given name. First attested as a Gothic name in the 5th century, it became widespread in the Germanic-speaking world, not least due to its most famous bearer, Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths. Overview The name ...
, it is often described as the last great Western work of the Classical Period. Boethius's ''Consolation'' heavily influenced the philosophy of
late antiquity Late antiquity is the time of transition from classical antiquity to the Middle Ages, generally spanning the 3rd–7th century in Europe and adjacent areas bordering the Mediterranean Basin. The popularization of this periodization in English h ...
, as well as
Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
and early
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...
Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...
.
Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ' ...
placed Boethius the "last of the Romans and first of the Scholastics" among the doctors in his Paradise (see ''
The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature an ...
'') (see also below).


Description

''On the Consolation of Philosophy'' was written in AD 523 during a one-year imprisonment Boethius served while awaiting trial—and eventual execution—for the alleged crime of
treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
under the
Ostrogothic The Ostrogoths ( la, Ostrogothi, Austrogothi) were a Roman-era Germanic people. In the 5th century, they followed the Visigoths in creating one of the two great Gothic kingdoms within the Roman Empire, based upon the large Gothic populations who ...
King
Theodoric the Great Theodoric (or Theoderic) the Great (454 – 30 August 526), also called Theodoric the Amal ( got, , *Þiudareiks; Greek: , romanized: ; Latin: ), was king of the Ostrogoths (471–526), and ruler of the independent Ostrogothic Kingdom of Italy ...
. Boethius was at the very heights of power in
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, holding the prestigious office of ''
magister officiorum The ''magister officiorum'' (Latin language, Latin literally for "Master of Offices", in gr, μάγιστρος τῶν ὀφφικίων, magistros tōn offikiōn) was one of the most senior administrative officials in the Later Roman Empire and ...
'', and was brought down by treachery. This experience inspired the text, which reflects on how evil can exist in a world governed by God (the problem of
theodicy Theodicy () means vindication of God. It is to answer the question of why a good God permits the manifestation of evil, thus resolving the issue of the problem of evil. Some theodicies also address the problem of evil "to make the existence o ...
), and how happiness is still attainable amidst fickle fortune, while also considering the nature of happiness and God. In 1891, the academic Hugh Fraser Stewart described the work as "by far the most interesting example of
prison literature Prison literature is a literary genre characterized by literature that is written while the author is confined in a location against his will, such as a prison, jail or house arrest.Tony Perrottet. "Serving the Sentence", '' New York Times Book ...
the world has ever seen." Boethius writes the book as a conversation between himself and a female personification of philosophy. Philosophy consoles Boethius by discussing the transitory nature of fame and wealth ("no man can ever truly be secure until he has been forsaken by Fortune"), and the ultimate superiority of things of the mind, which she calls the "one true good". She contends that happiness comes from within, and that virtue is all that one truly has, because it is not imperiled by the vicissitudes of fortune. Boethius engages with the nature of
predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby ...
and
free will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to ac ...
, the
problem of evil The problem of evil is the question of how to reconcile the existence of evil and suffering with an omnipotent, omnibenevolent, and omniscient God.The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,The Problem of Evil, Michael TooleyThe Internet Encyc ...
,
human nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...
,
virtue Virtue ( la, virtus) is morality, moral excellence. A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is Value (ethics), valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. In other words, it is a behavior that sh ...
, and
justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
. He speaks about the nature of free will and
determinism Determinism is a philosophical view, where all events are determined completely by previously existing causes. Deterministic theories throughout the history of philosophy have developed from diverse and sometimes overlapping motives and cons ...
when he asks if God knows and sees all, or does man have free will. On human nature, Boethius says that humans are essentially good and only when they give in to "wickedness" do they "sink to the level of being an animal." On justice, he says criminals are not to be abused, rather treated with sympathy and respect, using the analogy of doctor and patient to illustrate the ideal relationship between prosecutor and criminal.


Outline

''On the Consolation of Philosophy'' is laid out as follows: *Book I: Boethius laments his imprisonment before he is visited by Philosophy, personified as a woman. *Book II: Philosophy illustrates the capricious nature of Fate by discussing the "wheel of Fortune"; she further argues that true happiness lies in the pursuit of wisdom. *Book III: Building on the ideas laid out in the previous book, Philosophy explains how wisdom has a divine source; she also demonstrates how many earthly goods (e.g., wealth, beauty) are fleeting at best. *Book IV: Philosophy and Boethius discuss the nature of good and evil, with Philosophy offering several explanations for why evil exists and why the wicked can never attain true happiness. *Book V: Boethius asks Philosophy about the role Chance plays in the order of everything. Philosophy argues that Chance is guided by
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
. Boethius then asks Philosophy about the compatibility of an omniscient God and
free will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to ac ...
.


Interpretation

In the ''Consolation'', Boethius answered religious questions without reference to Christianity, relying solely on natural philosophy and the Classical
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
tradition. He believed in the correspondence between faith and reason. The truths found in Christianity would be no different from the truths found in philosophy. In the words of Henry Chadwick, "If the ''Consolation'' contains nothing distinctively Christian, it is also relevant that it contains nothing specifically pagan either... tis a work written by a Platonist who is also a Christian." Boethius repeats the
Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...
model of the
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's sur ...
in the center of a spherical cosmos. The philosophical message of the book fits well with the religious piety of the Middle Ages. Boethius encouraged readers not to pursue worldly goods such as money and power, but to seek internalized virtues. Evil had a purpose, to provide a lesson to help change for good; while suffering from evil was seen as virtuous. Because God ruled the universe through Love, prayer to God and the application of Love would lead to true happiness.Sanderson Beck (1996). The Middle Ages, with their vivid sense of an overruling fate, found in Boethius an interpretation of life closely akin to the spirit of Christianity. The ''Consolation'' stands, by its note of fatalism and its affinities with the Christian doctrine of humility, midway between the pagan philosophy of
Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born ...
and the later Christian philosophy of consolation represented by
Thomas à Kempis Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380 – 25 July 1471; german: Thomas von Kempen; nl, Thomas van Kempen) was a German-Dutch canon regular of the late medieval period and the author of '' The Imitation of Christ'', published anonymously in Latin in the ...
.''
The Cambridge History of English and American Literature ''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature'' is an encyclopedia of literary criticism that was published by Cambridge University Press between 1907 and 1921. Edited and written by an international panel of 171 leading scholars and ...
''
Volume I Ch.6.5: ''De Consolatione Philosophiae''
1907–1921.
The book is heavily influenced by
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
and his
dialogues Dialogue (sometimes spelled dialog in American English) is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange. As a philosophical or didactic device, it is chi ...
(as was Boethius himself). Its popularity can in part be explained by its
Neoplatonic Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some id ...
and Christian ethical messages, although current scholarly research is still far from clear exactly why and how the work became so vastly popular in the Middle Ages.


Influence

From the
Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippi ...
epoch to the end of the Middle Ages and beyond, ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' was one of the most popular and influential philosophical works, read by statesmen, poets, historians, philosophers and theologians. It is through Boethius that much of the thought of the Classical period was made available to the Western Medieval world. It has often been said Boethius was the "
last of the Romans The term Last of the Romans ( la, Ultimus Romanorum) has historically been used to describe a person thought to embody the values of ancient Roman civilization – values which, by implication, became extinct on his death. It has been used to d ...
and the first of the
Scholastics Scholasticism was a medieval school of philosophy that employed a critical organic method of philosophical analysis predicated upon the Aristotelian 10 Categories. Christian scholasticism emerged within the monastic schools that translate ...
". Translations into the
vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...
were done by famous notables, including
King Alfred Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who ...
(
Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th ...
),
Jean de Meun Jean de Meun (or de Meung, ) () was a French author best known for his continuation of the '' Roman de la Rose''. Life He was born Jean Clopinel or Jean Chopinel at Meung-sur-Loire. Tradition asserts that he studied at the University of Paris. He ...
(
Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intel ...
),
Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...
(
Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old Englis ...
),
Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". Eli ...
(
Early Modern English Early Modern English or Early New English (sometimes abbreviated EModE, EMnE, or ENE) is the stage of the English language from the beginning of the Tudor period to the English Interregnum and Restoration, or from the transition from Middle E ...
) and
Notker Labeo Notker Labeo (c. 950 – 28 June 1022), also known as Notker the German ( la, Notcerus Teutonicus) or Notker III, was a Benedictine monk and the first commentator on Aristotle active in the Middle Ages. "Labeo" means "the thick-lipped one". Late ...
(
Old High German Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050. There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old Hig ...
). Boethius's ''Consolation of Philosophy'' was translated into
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
by Alberto della Piagentina (1332), Anselmo Tanso (Milan, 1520),
Lodovico Domenichi Lodovico Domenichi (1515–1564) was an Italian translator. Biography Lodovico Domenichi was born in Piacenza (Italy) in 1515. After studying Law at the University of Padua, he pursued a literary career. He lived in Piacenza, Venice and Florence ...
(Florence, 1550),
Benedetto Varchi Benedetto Varchi (; 1502/15031565) was an Italian humanist, historian, and poet. Biography Born in Florence to a family that had originated at Montevarchi, he frequented the neoplatonic academy that Bernardo Rucellai organized in his garden, th ...
(Florence, 1551), Cosimo Bartoli (Florence, 1551) and Tommaso Tamburini (Palermo, 1657). Found within the ''Consolation'' are themes that have echoed throughout the Western canon: the female figure of wisdom that informs Dante, the ascent through the layered universe that is shared with Milton, the reconciliation of opposing forces that find their way into Chaucer in ''The Knight's Tale'', and the Wheel of Fortune so popular throughout the Middle Ages. Citations from it occur frequently in
Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: ' ...
's ''
Divina Commedia The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature an ...
''. Of Boethius, Dante remarked: "The blessed soul who exposes the deceptive world to anyone who gives ear to him." Boethian influence can be found nearly everywhere in
Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...
's poetry, e.g. in ''
Troilus and Criseyde ''Troilus and Criseyde'' () is an epic poem by Geoffrey Chaucer which re-tells in Middle English the tragic story of the lovers Troilus and Criseyde set against a backdrop of war during the siege of Troy. It was written in '' rime royale'' a ...
'', ''
The Knight's Tale "The Knight's Tale" ( enm, The Knightes Tale) is the first tale from Geoffrey Chaucer's '' The Canterbury Tales''. The Knight is described by Chaucer in the " General Prologue" as the person of highest social standing amongst the pilgrims, t ...
'', ''
The Clerk's Tale "The Clerk's Tale" is the first tale of Group E (Fragment IV) in Geoffrey Chaucer's ''The Canterbury Tales''. It is preceded by The Summoner's Tale and followed by The Merchant's Tale. The Clerk of Oxenford (modern Oxford) is a student of what ...
'', ''
The Franklin's Tale "The Franklin's Tale" ( enm, The Frankeleyns Tale) is one of '' The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. It focuses on issues of providence, truth, generosity and ''gentillesse'' in human relationships. Synopsis A medieval franklin was fre ...
'', ''
The Parson's Tale "The Parson's Tale" seems, from the evidence of its prologue, to have been intended as the final tale of Geoffrey Chaucer's poetic cycle '' The Canterbury Tales''. The "tale", which is the longest of all the surviving contributions by Chaucer's ...
'' and ''
The Tale of Melibee "The Tale of Melibee" (also called "The Tale of Melibeus") is one of '' The Canterbury Tales'' by Geoffrey Chaucer. This is the second tale in the collection told by Chaucer himself. After being interrupted by the host Harry Bailly, Chaucer la ...
'', in the character of Lady Nature in '' The Parliament of Fowls'' and some of the shorter poems, such as ''Truth'', ''The Former Age'' and ''Lak of Stedfastnesse''. Chaucer translated the work in his '' Boece''. The
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
composer
Luigi Dallapiccola Luigi Dallapiccola (February 3, 1904 – February 19, 1975) was an Italian composer known for his lyrical serialism, twelve-tone compositions. Biography Dallapiccola was born in Pisino d'Istria (at the time part of Austria-Hungary, current ...
used some of the text in his choral work '' Canti di prigionia'' (1938). The
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
n composer Peter Sculthorpe quoted parts of it in his opera or music theatre work ''
Rites of Passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of ''rite ...
'' (1972–73), which was commissioned for the opening of the
Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th-century architec ...
but was not ready in time.
Tom Shippey Thomas Alan Shippey (born 9 September 1943) is a British medievalist, a retired scholar of Middle and Old English literature as well as of modern fantasy and science fiction. He is considered one of the world's leading academic experts on the ...
in '' The Road to Middle-earth'' says how "Boethian" much of the treatment of evil is in Tolkien's ''
The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high-fantasy novel by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, intended to be Earth at some time in the distant past, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's bo ...
''. Shippey says that Tolkien knew well the translation of Boethius that was made by King Alfred and he quotes some "Boethian" remarks from
Frodo Frodo Baggins is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's writings, and one of the protagonists in ''The Lord of the Rings''. Frodo is a hobbit of the Shire who inherits the One Ring from his cousin Bilbo Baggins, described familiarly a ...
,
Treebeard Treebeard, or ''Fangorn'' in Sindarin, is a tree-giant character in J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings''. He is an Ent and is said by Gandalf to be "the oldest living thing that still walks beneath the Sun upon this Middle-earth.", bo ...
and
Elrond Elrond Half-elven is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium. Both of his parents, Eärendil and Elwing, were half-elven, having both Men and Elves as ancestors. He is the bearer of the elven-ring Vilya, the Ring of ...
. Boethius and ''Consolatio Philosophiae'' are cited frequently by the main character Ignatius J. Reilly in the
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...
-winning ''
A Confederacy of Dunces ''A Confederacy of Dunces'' is a picaresque novel by American novelist John Kennedy Toole which reached publication in 1980, eleven years after Toole's death. Published through the efforts of writer Walker Percy (who also contributed a foreword) ...
'' (1980). It is a prosimetrical text, meaning that it is written in alternating sections of
prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the fo ...
and metered verse. In the course of the text, Boethius displays a virtuosic command of the forms of
Latin poetry The history of Latin poetry can be understood as the adaptation of Greek models. The verse comedies of Plautus, the earliest surviving examples of Latin literature, are estimated to have been composed around 205-184 BC. History Scholars conve ...
. It is classified as a
Menippean satire The genre of Menippean satire is a form of satire, usually in prose, that is characterized by attacking mental attitudes rather than specific individuals or entities. It has been broadly described as a mixture of allegory, picaresque narrative, and ...
, a fusion of
allegorical As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...
tale,
platonic dialogue Socratic dialogue ( grc, Σωκρατικὸς λόγος) is a genre of literary prose developed in Greece at the turn of the fourth century BC. The earliest ones are preserved in the works of Plato and Xenophon and all involve Socrates as the p ...
, and lyrical poetry. Edward Gibbon described the work as "a golden volume not unworthy of the leisure of
Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...
or Tully." In the 20th century there were close to four hundred manuscripts still surviving, a testament to its popularity. Of the work,
C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univer ...
wrote: "To acquire a taste for it is almost to become naturalised in the Middle Ages."


Reconstruction of lost songs

Hundreds of Latin songs were recorded in
neume A neume (; sometimes spelled neum) is the basic element of Western and Eastern systems of musical notation prior to the invention of five-line staff notation. The earliest neumes were inflective marks that indicated the general shape but not nec ...
s from the ninth century through to the thirteenth century, including settings of the poetic passages from Boethius's ''The Consolation of Philosophy''. The music of this song repertory had long been considered irretrievably lost because the notational signs indicated only melodic outlines, relying on now-lapsed oral traditions to fill in the missing details. However
research conducted
b
Dr Sam Barrett
at the
University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, extended in collaboration with medieval music ensemble
Sequentia A sequence (Latin: ''sequentia'', plural: ''sequentiae'') is a chant or hymn sung or recited during the liturgical celebration of the Eucharist for many Christian denominations, before the proclamation of the Gospel. By the time of the Council of ...
, has shown that principles of musical setting for this period can be identified, providing crucial information to enable modern realisations. Sequentia performed th
world premiere
of the reconstructed songs from Boethius's ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' at
Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...
, in April 2016, bringing to life music not heard in over 1,000 years; a number of the songs were subsequently recorded on the CD
Boethius: Songs of Consolation. Metra from 11th-Century Canterbury
' (Glossa, 2018). The detective story behind the recovery of these lost songs is told i
a documentary film
an
a website
launched by the University of Cambridge in 2018 provides further details of the reconstruction process, bringing togethe
manuscriptsreconstructions
an
video resources


See also

*
Allegory in the Middle Ages The four senses of Scripture is a four-level method of interpreting the Bible. This method originated in Judaism and was taken up in Christianity by the Church Fathers. In Kabbalah the four meanings of the biblical texts are literal, allusive, ...
*
Stoicism Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting tha ...
* The Wheel of Fortune *
Consolatio :''See also the Catharist Consolamentum The ''Consolatio'' or consolatory oration is a type of ceremonial oratory, typically used rhetorically to comfort mourners at funerals. It was one of the most popular classical rhetoric topics,Ernst Robert ...
*''
Metres of Boethius ''The Old English Boethius'' is an Old English translation/adaptation of the sixth-century '' Consolation of Philosophy'' by Boethius, dating from between c. 880 and 950. Boethius's work is prosimetrical, alternating between prose and verse, and ...
'' *
Girdle book Girdle books were small portable books worn by medieval European monks, clergymen and aristocratic nobles as a popular accessory to medieval costume, between the 13th and 16th centuries. They consisted of a book whose leather binding continued l ...
*
Prosimetrum A ''prosimetrum'' (plural ''prosimetra'') is a poetic composition which exploits a combination of prose (''prosa'') and verse (''metrum'');Braund, Susanna. Prosimetrum. In Cancil, Hubert, and Helmuth Schneider, eds. ''Brill's New Pauly''. Brill O ...


References


Sources

* Boethius
''The Consolation of Philosophy''
** Trans. Richard H. Green, (Library of the Liberal Arts), 1962. ** Trans. Joel C. Relihan, (Hackett Publishing), 2001. ** Trans. P. G. Walsh, (Oxford World's Classics), 2001. ** Trans.
Victor Watts Victor Watts, (18 April 1938 – 21 December 2002) was a British toponymist, medievalist, translator, and academic, specialising in English place names. He served as Master of Grey College, Durham from 1989 until his sudden death in 2002. He ...
, (Penguin Classics), 2000. * Sanderson Beck
''The Consolation of Boethius''
an analysis and commentary. 1996. * * . * Henry Chadwick, ''Boethius: The Consolations of Music, Logic, Theology and Philosophy'', 1990, * . * ''
The Cambridge History of English and American Literature ''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature'' is an encyclopedia of literary criticism that was published by Cambridge University Press between 1907 and 1921. Edited and written by an international panel of 171 leading scholars and ...
''
Volume I Ch.6.5: ''De Consolatione Philosophiae''
1907–1921. * Relihan, Joel C., ''Ancient Menippean Satire'', 1993, * Relihan, Joel C., ''The Prisoner's Philosophy: Life and Death in Boethius's Consolation, '' 2007, . * Cochrane, Charles Norris., ''Christianity and Classical Culture'', 1940, .


External links


''The Consolation of Philosophy''
many translations and commentaries from
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''Consolatio Philosophiae''
in the original Latin with English comments at the University of Georgetown
''Consolatio Philosophiae''
from
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, HTML conversion, originally translated by H. R. James, London 1897.
''The Consolation of Philosophy''
Translated by: W.V. Cooper : J.M. Dent and Company London 1902 The Temple Classics, edited by Israel Golancz M.A. Online reading and multiple ebook formats at Ex-classics. * Medieval translations int
Old English
by
Alfred the Great Alfred the Great (alt. Ælfred 848/849 – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who bo ...
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Old High German
by
Notker Labeo Notker Labeo (c. 950 – 28 June 1022), also known as Notker the German ( la, Notcerus Teutonicus) or Notker III, was a Benedictine monk and the first commentator on Aristotle active in the Middle Ages. "Labeo" means "the thick-lipped one". Late ...

Middle (originally Old) French
by
Jean de Meun Jean de Meun (or de Meung, ) () was a French author best known for his continuation of the '' Roman de la Rose''. Life He was born Jean Clopinel or Jean Chopinel at Meung-sur-Loire. Tradition asserts that he studied at the University of Paris. He ...
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Middle English
by
Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for '' The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He w ...
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''First Performance in 1000 years: lost songs from the Middle Ages are brought back to life''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Consolation Of Philosophy, The 524 6th-century Latin books Dialogues Latin prose texts Medieval philosophical literature Prison writings Theodicy Visionary literature