Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- The writing and pronunciation of Old English
- I Teaching and learning
- 1 In the Schoolroom (from Ælfric's Colloquy)
- 2 A Personal Miscellany (from Ælfwine's Prayerbook)
- 3 Medicinal Remedies (from Bald's Leechbook)
- 4 Learning Latin (from Ælfric's Excerptiones de arte grammatica anglice)
- 5 A New Beginning (Alfred's preface to his translation of Gregory's Cura pastoralis)
- 6 The Wagonwheel of Fate (from Alfred's translation of Boethius's De consolatione Philosophiae)
- II Keeping a record
- III Spreading the Word
- IV Example and Exhortation
- V Telling Tales
- VI Reflection and lament
- Manuscripts and textual emendations
- Reference Grammar of Old English
- Glossary
- Guide to terms
- Index
6 - The Wagonwheel of Fate (from Alfred's translation of Boethius's De consolatione Philosophiae)
from I - Teaching and learning
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Preface
- List of abbreviations
- Introduction
- The writing and pronunciation of Old English
- I Teaching and learning
- 1 In the Schoolroom (from Ælfric's Colloquy)
- 2 A Personal Miscellany (from Ælfwine's Prayerbook)
- 3 Medicinal Remedies (from Bald's Leechbook)
- 4 Learning Latin (from Ælfric's Excerptiones de arte grammatica anglice)
- 5 A New Beginning (Alfred's preface to his translation of Gregory's Cura pastoralis)
- 6 The Wagonwheel of Fate (from Alfred's translation of Boethius's De consolatione Philosophiae)
- II Keeping a record
- III Spreading the Word
- IV Example and Exhortation
- V Telling Tales
- VI Reflection and lament
- Manuscripts and textual emendations
- Reference Grammar of Old English
- Glossary
- Guide to terms
- Index
Summary
Boethius's De consolatione Philosophiae (‘On the Consolation of Philosophy’) was one of the most widely read and influential books of the Middle Ages, as its survival in more than four hundred manuscripts attests. Written in Latin, the work inspired many translations, including one by Chaucer. Boethius, born about AD 480, was a patrician Roman with a passion for philosophy and education. He was appointed to high political office in the Roman Empire under the Ostrogoth king, Theodoric (493–526), but during a period of political unrestwas suspected by the king of plotting against him andwas imprisoned, before being executed without trial c. 526. His De consolatione, written in prison, was Boethius's way of coming to terms with his unexpected fate. It purports to be a dialogue between himself and a figure called Philosophia (often rendered as ‘Lady Philosophy’), who visits him in his cell. As he rails against the injustice of fortune, she counters with careful comments and elucidations which point insistently to the existence of a divine scheme of things. From this Boethius obtains some peace of mind in his trouble.
It is not surprising that Alfred felt a special sympathy for the work. He, too, had experienced the lowest ebb of misfortune, in his case when the Danes had overrun Wessex and forced him into hiding. Even after the surprise victory at Edington in 878, which enabled him to come back and build the basis of a stable English kingdom, the Danish threat continued, and he was afflicted by illness.
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- Information
- The Cambridge Old English Reader , pp. 37 - 42Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2004