Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius (ca. 480–524 or 525) was a Christian or pagan philosopher of the 6th century. He was born in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
to an ancient and important family which included emperors Petronius Maximus

Petronius Maximus

Flavius Anicius Petronius Maximus , was a Roman Empire aristocrat, and briefly Western Roman Emperor with the designation and name Dominus Noster Flavius Anicius Petronius Maximus Augustus during part of the year 455, more exactly between March 17, 455 and May 31, 455....
and Olybrius

Olybrius

Flavius Anicius Olybrius After the Sack of Rome by the Vandals King Geiseric in 455, Olybrius fled to Constantinople, where in 464 he was made Roman consul, and about the same time ca 454 married Placidia, daughter of Valentinian III and Licinia Eudoxia....
and many consuls

Roman consul

Consul was the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire.During the time of ancient Rome as a Republic, the Consuls were the highest civil and military magistrates, serving as the head of government for the Republic....
. His father, Flavius Manlius Boethius, was consul in 487 after Odoacer

Odoacer

Odoacer , also known as Odovacar , was a Germanic general and the first non-Roman King of Italy after 476. He deposed the last Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustus, that year, but continued to rule first as a nominal client of Julius Nepos and, after Nepos' death in AD 480, as a client of the Eastern Roman Emperor....
deposed the last Western Roman Emperor. Boethius himself was consul in 510 in the kingdom of the Ostrogoths.

Discussion

Ask a question about 'Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius'

Start a new discussion about 'Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius (ca. 480–524 or 525) was a Christian or pagan philosopher of the 6th century. He was born in Rome

Rome

Petronius Maximus

Olybrius

Roman consul

Odoacer

Theodoric the Great

File:Theodoric bronze weight inlaid with silver issued by prefect Catulinus Rome 493 526.jpg'Theodoric the Great' , known in Latin as 'Flavius Theodericus' and in Greek sources, was king of the Ostrogoths , ruler of Italy , and regent of the Visigoths ....
, who suspected him of conspiring with the Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire and Eastern Roman Empire are conventional names used to describe the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on its capital of Constantinople....
.

Early life

Boethius' exact birth date is unknown. It is generally established at around AD 480, the same year of birth as St. Benedict. Boethius was born to a patrician

Patrician

The term "patrician" originally referred to a group of elitism citizens in ancient Rome, including both their natural and adopted members. In the late Roman empire, the class was broadened to include high council officials, and after the fall of the Western Empire became a term for Byzantine Imperial governors in the West....
family which had been Christian for about a century. His father's line included two popes, and both parents counted Roman emperors among their ancestors.

Although Boethius is believed to have been born into a Christian family, some scholars have conjectured that, like Julian the Apostate

Julian the Apostate

Flavius Claudius Julianus, known also as Julian or Julian the Apostate , was Roman Emperor of the Constantinian dynasty. He was the last non-Christian Roman Emperor, and expended much energy during his reign attempting to supplant the growing power of Christianity within the empire with officially revived Religion in ancient Rom...
, Boethius abandoned Christianity for paganism. A particularly extreme position is that of Momigliano: "Many people have turned to Christianity for consolation. Boethius turned to paganism. His Christianity collapsed — it collapsed so thoroughly that perhaps he did not even notice its disappearance."

It is unknown where Boethius received his formidable education in Greek. Historical documents are ambiguous on the subject, but Boethius may have studied in Athens, and perhaps Alexandria. Since the elder Boethius is recorded as proctor of a school in Alexandria circa AD 470, the younger Boethius may have received some grounding in the classics from his father or a close relative.

As a result of his education and experience, Boethius entered the service of Theodoric the Great

Theodoric the Great

File:Theodoric bronze weight inlaid with silver issued by prefect Catulinus Rome 493 526.jpg'Theodoric the Great' , known in Latin as 'Flavius Theodericus' and in Greek sources, was king of the Ostrogoths , ruler of Italy , and regent of the Visigoths ....
, who in 506 had written him a graceful and complimentary letter about his studies. Theodoric subsequently commissioned the young Boethius to perform many roles.

Late life

Boethius Imprisoned Consolation of Philosophy 1385

By 520, at the age of about forty, Boethius had risen to the position of magister officiorum
Magister officiorum

In Late antiquity, the Ancient Rome position of magister officiorum can first be traced to the rule of Roman Emperor Constantine I, but may have been first established by Diocletian....
, the head of all the government and court services. Afterwards, his two sons were both appointed consuls, reflecting their father's prestige.

In 523, however, Theodoric ordered Boethius arrested on charges of treason, possibly for a suspected plot with the Byzantine Emperor Justin I

Justin I

Flavius Iustinus , known in English as Justin I, was a List of Byzantine Emperors , who rose through the ranks of the army of the Byzantine Empire and ultimately became its emperor, in spite of the fact he was illiterate and almost seventy years old at the time of accession....
, whose religious orthodoxy (in contrast to Theodoric's Arian

Arianism

Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius , a Christian priest, who was first ruled a heresy at the First Council of Nicea, later exonerated and then pronounced a heretic again after his death....
opinions) increased their political rivalry. Boethius himself attributes his arrest to the slander of his rivals. Theodoric was feeling threatened by events, however, and several other leading members of the landed elite were arrested and executed at about the same time. Also, because of his previous ties to Theodahad

Theodahad

File:Theodahad.jpgFile:Theodahad_534_536_Ostrogoth_minted_in_Rome.jpgTheodahad was the King of the Ostrogoths from 534 to 536 and a nephew of Theodoric the Great through his sister....
, Boethius apparently found himself on the wrong side in the succession dispute following the untimely death of Eutharic, Theodoric's announced heir. Whatever the cause, Boethius found himself stripped of his title and wealth and imprisoned at Pavia

Pavia

Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po River....
, where he was executed the following year. The method of his execution varies in the sources; he was perhaps killed with an axe or a sword, or was clubbed to death. His remains were entombed in the church of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro

San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro

San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro is a Roman Catholic Church basilica of the Augustinians in Pavia, Italy, in the Lombardy region. Its name refers to the mosaics of gold leaf behind glass tesserae that formerly decorated the ceiling of the apse....
in Pavia. In Dante

DANTE

DANTE is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various National Research and Education Networks in Europe and surrounding regions....
's Paradise of The Divine Comedy
The Divine Comedy

The Divine Comedy , written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and his death in 1321, is widely considered the central epic poem of Italian literature, and is seen as one of the greatest works of world literature....
, the spirit of Boethius is pointed out by St. Thomas Aquinas:

The soul who pointed out the world's dark ways,

To all who listen, its deceits unfolding.

Beneath in Cieldauro lies the frame

Whence it was driven; from woe and exile to

This fair abode of peace and bliss it came.

Works

Boethius's best known work is the Consolation of Philosophy
Consolation of Philosophy

Consolation of Philosophy is a philosophy work by Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, written in about the year 524. It has been described as the single most important and influential work in the West on Medieval and early Renaissance Christianity, and is also the last great Western work that can be called Classical....
, which he wrote most likely while in exile under house arrest or in prison while awaiting his execution, but his lifelong project was a deliberate attempt to preserve ancient classical knowledge, particularly philosophy. He intended to translate all the works of Aristotle

Aristotle

Aristotle was a Greeks philosopher, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. He wrote on many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, Poetics , theater, music, logic, rhetoric, politics, government, ethics, biology and zoology....
and Plato

Plato

Plato , was a Classical Greece Greeks philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Platonic Academy in Ancient Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the western world....
from the original Greek

Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
into Latin

Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
. His completed translations of Aristotle's works on logic

Logic

Logic is the study of the principles of valid demonstration and inference. Logic is a branch of philosophy, a part of the classical Trivium . The word derives from Greek language ?????? , fem....
were the only significant portions of Aristotle available in Europe until the 12th century. However, some of his translations (such as his treatment of the topoi

Inventio

Inventio is the system or method used for the discovery of arguments in Western rhetoric and comes from the Latin word, meaning "invention" or "discovery"....
in The Topics
Topics (Aristotle)

The Topics is the name given to one of Aristotle's six works on logic, collectively known as the Organon. The other five are:*Categories ...
) were mixed with his own commentary, which reflected both Aristotelian and Platonic concepts.

Boethius also wrote a commentary on the Isagoge
Isagoge

The Isagoge or "Introduction" to Categories , written by Porphyry in Ancient Greek and translated into Latin by Boethius, was the standard textbook on logic for at least a millennium after his death....
by Porphyry

Porphyry (philosopher)

Porphyry of Tyre was a Phoenician Neoplatonism philosopher. He is important in the history of mathematics because of his Life of Pythagoras and his commentary on Euclid's Euclid's Elements, used by Pappus of Alexandria when he wrote his own commentary....
, which highlighted the existence of the problem of universals

Problem of universals

The problem of universals is an ancient problem in metaphysics about whether Universal exist. Universals are general or abstract qualities, characteristics, properties, kinds or relations, such as being male/female, solid/liquid/gas or a certain colour, that can be predicated of individuals or particulars or that individuals or particulars...
: whether these concepts are subsistent entities which would exist whether anyone thought of them, or whether they only exist as ideas. This topic concerning the ontological nature of universal ideas was one of the most vocal controversies in medieval philosophy

Medieval philosophy

Medieval philosophy is the philosophy of Europe and the Middle East in the era now known as medieval or the Middle Ages, the period roughly extending from the fall of the Roman Empire in the fifth century A.D....
.

Besides these advanced philosophical works, Boethius is also reported to have translated important Greek texts for the topics of the quadrivium

Quadrivium

The quadrivium comprised the four subjects, or arts, taught in medieval University after the trivium . The word is Latin, meaning "the four ways" or "the four roads": the completion of the liberal arts....
. His loose translation of Nicomachus

Nicomachus

Nicomachus was an important mathematician in the ancient world and is best known for his works Introduction to Arithmetic and The Manual of Harmonics in Greek language....
's treatise on arithmetic (De institutione arithmetica libri duo) and his textbook on music (De institutione musica libri quinque, unfinished) contributed to medieval education. His translations of Euclid

Euclid

Euclid , floruit 300 BC, also known as Euclid of Alexandria, was a Greek mathematics and is often referred to as the Father of Geometry. He was active in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy I ....
on geometry and Ptolemy

Ptolemy

Claudius Ptolemaeus , known in English as Ptolemy , was a Roman Greek mathematics, Greek astronomy, geographer and astrologer. He lived in History of Roman Egypt, and was probably born there in a town in the Thebaid called Ptolemais Hermiou; he died in Alexandria around 168 AD....
on astronomy, if they were completed, no longer survive.

In his "De Musica", Boethius introduced the threefold classification of music:
1. Musica mundana — music of the spheres/world
2. Musica humana — harmony of human body and spiritual harmony
3. Musica instrumentalis — instrumental music (incl. human voice)

Boethius also wrote theological treatises, which generally involve support for the orthodox position against Arian

Arianism

Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius , a Christian priest, who was first ruled a heresy at the First Council of Nicea, later exonerated and then pronounced a heretic again after his death....
ideas and other contemporary religious debates. His authorship was periodically disputed because of the secular nature of his other work, until the 19th century discovery of a biography by his contemporary Cassiodorus

Cassiodorus

Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus Senator , commonly known as Cassiodorus, was a Roman Empire statesman and writer, serving in the administration of Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths....
which mentioned his writing on the subject.

Boethius has been called by Lorenzo Valla

Lorenzo Valla

Lorenzo Valla was an Italy Renaissance humanism, rhetorician, and education. His family was from Piacenza; his father, Luca della Valla, was a lawyer....
the last of the Romans

Last of the Romans

The description Last of the Romans has historically been given to any man thought to embody the values of Culture of Ancient Rome - values which, by implication, became extinct on his death....
and the first of the scholastic philosophers

Scholasticism

Scholasticism was the dominant form of theology and philosophy in the Western Europe in the Middle Ages, particularly in the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries....
. Despite the use of his mathematical texts in the early universities, it is his final work, the Consolation of Philosophy
Consolation of Philosophy

Consolation of Philosophy is a philosophy work by Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, written in about the year 524. It has been described as the single most important and influential work in the West on Medieval and early Renaissance Christianity, and is also the last great Western work that can be called Classical....
, that assured his legacy in the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
and beyond. This work is cast as a dialogue between Boethius himself, at first bitter and despairing over his imprisonment, and the spirit of philosophy, depicted as a woman of wisdom and compassion. Alternately composed in prose and verse, the Consolation teaches acceptance of hardship in a spirit of philosophical detachment from misfortune. Parts of the work are reminiscent of the Socratic method

Socratic method

The Socratic Method , named after the classical Greece Philosophy Socrates, is a form of philosophy inquiry in which the questioner explores the implications of others' positions, to stimulate rational thinking and illuminate ideas....
of Plato's dialogues, as the spirit of philosophy questions Boethius and challenges his emotional reactions to adversity. The work was translated into Old English

Old English language

Old English is an early form of the English language that was spoken and written in parts of what are now England and south-eastern Scotland between the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century....
by King Alfred, and into later English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
by Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer was an English author, poet, philosopher, Bureaucracy, Noble court and diplomat. Although he wrote many works, he is best remembered for his unfinished frame narrative The Canterbury Tales....
and Queen Elizabeth; many manuscripts survive and it was extensively edited, translated and printed throughout Europe

Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
from the 14th century onwards. Many commentaries on it were compiled and it has been one of the most influential books in European culture. No complete bibliography has ever been assembled but it would run into thousands of items.

"The Boethian Wheel" (or "The Wheel of Fortune

The Wheel of Fortune

The Wheel of Fortune, or Rota Fortunae, is a concept in medieval and ancient philosophy referring to the capricious nature of destiny. The wheel belongs to the goddess Fortuna , who spins it at random, changing the positions of those on the wheel - some suffer great misfortune, others gain windfalls....
") was a concept, stretching back at least to Cicero

Cicero

Marcus Tullius Cicero was a Ancient Rome philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Constitution of the Roman Republic. Cicero is widely considered one of Rome's greatest rhetoric and prose stylists....
, that Boethius uses frequently in the Consolation; it remained very popular throughout the Middle Ages, and is still often seen today. As the wheel turns those that have power and wealth will turn to dust; men may rise from poverty and hunger to greatness, while those who are great may fall with the turn of the wheel. It was represented in the Middle Ages in many relics of art depicting the rise and fall of man.

Veneration

He is recognized as a saint

Saint

A saint in Christianity is a human being who has been called to holiness. The term is used differently by various denominations, with some, such as the Anglicans, Methodists, and Lutherans distinguishing between Saints and saints....
by the Roman Catholic Church

Roman Catholic Church

The Roman Catholic Church, officially known as the Catholic Church is the world's largest Christianity Ecclesia , representing over half of all Christians and one-sixth of the world population....
. His feast day is October 23. Pope Benedict XVI has insisted on his relevance to modern day Christians.

Discography

Carlo Forlivesi
Carlo Forlivesi

Carlo Forlivesi is an Italian composer, performer and researcher.Forlivesi was born in Faenza, Emilia-Romagna. He studied at Bologna Conservatory, Milan Conservatory and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia of Rome....
, Boethius (2008) for biwa
Biwa

The biwa is a Japanese short-necked fretted lute, and a close variant of the Chinese pipa. The biwa is the chosen instrument of Benzaiten, goddess of music, eloquence, poetry, and education in Japanese Buddhism....
. The piece is included in the CD album SILENZIOSA LUNA
Silenziosa Luna

Silenziosa Luna - ???? is an album of Italian composer Carlo Forlivesi. It was released in 2008 by ALM Records ."Silenziosa luna" is a quotation from Giacomo Leopardi's poem Canto notturno di un pastore errante dell'Asia....
(ALCD 76).

External links

by Boethius
at Patron Saints Index
at The Online Library of Liberty
— Benedict XVI Zenit.com