boethius and the consolation of philosophy

525), and medieval verses from laments through to love songs. These poems include passages from the classics by Horace and Virgil, poetic sections from works by late antique authors such as the Roman statesman and philosopher Boethius (c. Musical notation survives in manuscripts copied across the Latin West from the 9th through to the 12th century CE for hundreds of Latin poems. The resource seeks to provide access to source materials, to explain techniques of reconstruction, to offer versions created to date, and to receive feedback on the methods employed.

This website introduces one body of song within this largely unknown repertory, songs from Boethius' De consolatione philosophiae (On the Consolation of Philosophy). Such is the case for arguably the earliest layer of a continuous tradition of European song, which survives in the form of notated Latin lyrics bridging late antiquity and the early middle ages. This thesis explores other ways in which Lady Philosophy consoles Boethius, most importantly through indicating acceptable ways to behave and to engage with grief.The prospect of recovering the music of lost songs of the distant past is tantalising, even more so when traces survive in unfamiliar notations that cannot be fully reconstructed. Research on the Consolation of Philosophy has focussed on Lady Philosophy’s rational arguments, delineating a healing worldview to Boethius. In addition, this thesis uses various adaptations and translations of the Consolation of Philosophy from the Medieval period to compare the function of the dialogue form, and the use of personifications to the consolatory meaning of the text. To this end, this thesis will consider specific features of the Consolation, its use of personifications, and the dialogue form, from the perspective of emotional practices established by Monique Scheer (2012) and Christoph Jedan’s (2020) five axis model of consolation. Accordingly, this thesis argues against satirical readings of the Consolation, like those presented by Joel Relihan (2007), and against John Marenbon’s interpretation that the text explores the limitations in Lady Philosophy’s ability to console. This thesis considers how Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy can be read as a consolatory text, and what consolation strategies are used within it.

Boethius and the consolation of philosophy