''Boece'' is

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 translation into

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 English pe ...

of ''

The Consolation of Philosophy ''On the Consolation of Philosophy'' (), often titled as ''The Consolation of Philosophy'' or simply the ''Consolation'', is a philosophical work by the Roman philosopher Boethius. Written in 523 while he was imprisoned and awaiting execution ...

'' by

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known simply as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480–524 AD), was a Roman Roman Senate, senator, Roman consul, consul, ''magister officiorum'', polymath, historian, and philosopher of the Early Middl ...

. The original work, written in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

, stresses the importance of philosophy to everyday life and was one of the major works of philosophy in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

. As well as using philosophy to understand and deal with hardship, it is also an attempt by Boethius to improve the minds of the people in 6th century

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

by introducing them to Greek philosophy.

The translation

Chaucer's own motive for his translation may have been that the ''Consolation'' was not fulfilling its purpose of educating the common people. '' The Romance of the Rose'', another literary work Chaucer translated, actively encourages translation of the ''Consolation'': :Where lewid men might lere wit, :Whoso that woulde translaten it. Chaucer worked, in part, from a translation of the ''Consolation'' into French by Jean de Meun but is clear he also worked from a Latin version, correcting some of the liberties de Meun takes with the text. The Latin source was probably a corrupt version of Boethius' original, which explains some of Chaucer's own misinterpretations of the work. Chaucer also on occasion dispenses with direct translation and uses his own interpretation, with the help of commentaries by Nicholas Trivet and Guillaume de Conches.

Influence on Chaucer

The philosophical ideas of Boethius were important to many thinkers and writers of the Middle Ages, and Chaucer himself was not simply a translator but was also greatly influenced by his work. It adds a philosophical dimension to ''

The Knight's Tale "The Knight's 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, though his manners and c ...

'' missing from the original source of the story ( Boccaccio's '' Teseida''), '' The Tale of Melibee'' uses Boethius' doctrine of "patience sufferance", and many of Chaucer's other works show a familiarity with Boethius' conception of love as expressed in the ''Consolation''. Works by later writers, such as Thomas Usk and John Walton, made use of Chaucer's translation.

References

{{Authority control Middle English literature Translations into English Works by Geoffrey Chaucer