Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius
Roman philosopher and statesman Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (c.475 - 524). Original Publication: From Vie Des Hommes Illustres by Andre Thevet, pub. 1584. (Photo by Hulton Archive)
Boethius (Anicius Manlius Severinus - c.480-524) Roman philosopher and statesman. His commentaries on Aristotle and the Neoplatonist philosopher Porphyry became the standard medieval European texts on Logic. Woodcut from Liber chronicarum mundi (Nuremberg (Nuremberg, 1493). (Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)
Boethius. Found in the Collection of Galleria nazionale delle Marche, Urbino. (Photo by Fine Art Images/Heritage Images)
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524
philosopher statesman theologian
Boethius was born as Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius around 480 A.D. in Rome, Kingdom of Odoacer into the ancient Roman family of the Anicii which included emperors Petronius Maximus and Olybrius and many consuls. His father Manlius Boethius was appointed consul in 487 A.D.
His father died when Boethius was young. He was then adopted and raised by Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus, an aristocrat known to his father.
Little is known of Boethius' formal education. Some scholars believe that Boethius was educated in the East as he was fluent in Greek, a rare skill at the time in the Western Empire. The French scholar Pierre Courcelle was of the view that Boethius studied at Alexandria with the Neo-Platonist philosopher Ammonius Hermiae. However, the claims have not been proven.
Boethius entered the service of Theodoric the Great at a young age. He had become a senator by the time he was 25. One of the earliest tasks he undertook for the king was to investigate allegations that the paymaster of Theodoric's bodyguards had debased the coins of their pay.
According to documented proofs, Boethius produced a waterclock which king Theodoric gave to king Gundobad of the Burgunds. He also recruited a lyre-player to perform for king Clovis of the Franks.
He found considerable success in his public service and held several important positions during Theodoric's reign. He was an intellectual with interests in scholarly pursuits and it was his dream to translate into Latin the complete works of Aristotle with commentary and all the works of Plato.
He started working on the translations during the 500s, and began translating Porphyry's 'Eisagogē', a 3rd-century Greek introduction to Aristotle's logic, and elaborated it in a double commentary.
In 510 A.D., he became the consul, and during his consulship, he translated the Katēgoriai, and also translated and wrote two commentaries on the second of Aristotle's six treatises, the Peri hermeneias. He also wrote two short works on the syllogism.
He continued to enjoy much power and prestige in his public career and was appointed to the office of magister officiorum, one of the most senior administrative officials in the late Roman Empire, in 522 A.D. By this time two of his sons had also been appointed co-consuls.
During this time, Boethius was working on revitalizing the relationship between the Roman See and the Constantinopalian See. Both were parts of the same Church but disagreements had crept up between them. His attempts to reconcile the disagreeing parties led to a series of events that culminated in his losing the royal favor.
He fell from power in 523 A.D. and the king Theodoric the Great had him arrested and sentenced to death. During his imprisonment while awaiting execution, he wrote the treatise Consolation of Philosophy which went on to become his best-known work and also one of the seminal works of the Middle Ages. Boethius was executed in 524 A.D. after a year of imprisonment.
Anicius Boethius was a prominent figure in the Middle Ages who went from being the consul to a king, to a prisoner accused of treason. His writings on philosophy and religion were significant contributions to the tone and ideals for the Middle Ages. His work in musical theory continues to influence music, and musicians, to this day.
Boethius was a devoted Christian and is recognized as a martyr for the Catholic faith by the Roman Martyrology. He was declared a saint by the Sacred Congregation of Rites in 1883.
In what served as the foundation of musical composition in the Middle Ages, Boethius outlines the critical elements of harmony and dissonance. He gives the reader a basis for evaluating how music is composed, and why some compositions are more or less pleasing than others. Boethius writes of music as a force that unites human rational and emotional selves. One listens to music aware of the count of its beat, the intervals between notes, and the way in which harmonies come together with our rational mind. This process of listening to beat, melody, harmony, and dissonance, is one that affects us emotionally; it can raise tension or soothe the soul.
Boethius believed that music was more than a fun pastime, but rather it was a way we connected to the divine. He believed that there were three levels of connection to the divine in music. The first level was music that governed the movement and timing of heavenly bodies; a movement which he compared to a celestial dance through the sky. The second was the music of the body. This connection was made through singing and creating harmony with nature. The third level addresses the music produced through instruments. Describing music in this way encapsulated the predominantly religious worldview of the Middle Ages.
Quotations:
"Nothing is miserable unless you think it so; and on the other hand, nothing brings happiness unless you are content with it."
"Who would give a law to lovers? Love is unto itself a higher law."
"All fortune is good fortune; for it either rewards, disciplines, amends, or punishes, and so is either useful or just."
Boethius married his foster father Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus' daughter, Rusticiana. Their children included two boys, Symmachus and Boethius, who followed in their father's tradition and became consuls on growing up.
