Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (Boethius)
Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (Boethius)
Circa 476-524 c.e.
Statesman, philosopher
Treason by Association. Boethius was born into a noble family. His father held the consulate in 487 C.E. but died prematurely. It was during his lifetime that the last Roman emperor was deposed, leaving the city ruled by a native senate at the mercy of Theodoric, king of the Goths. Initially, Boethius was held in high esteem by Theodoric. Boethius held the consulate in 510 on his own, and his sons served in 522. On this occasion he delivered a panegyric on the barbarian ruler. But when one of the Roman patricians was accused of treason with the Eastern Roman empire, the delicate arrangement exploded. Boethius rushed to Verona to defend his compatriot but found himself accused of treason by association. After a lengthy imprisonment in which he wrote the Consolation of Philosophy, Boethius was condemned without trial and executed in 524.
Sources
Henry Chadwick, Boethius: The Consolations of Music, Logic, Theology, and Philosophy (Oxford: Clarendon Press / New York: Oxford University Press, 1981).
Margaret T. Gibson, ed., Boethius: His Life, Thought, and Influence (Oxford: Blackwell, 1981).