{"product_id":"the-old-english-boethius","title":"The Old English Boethius","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Old English Boethius\u003c\/i\u003e boldly refashions in Anglo-Saxon guise a great literary monument of the late-antique world, \u003ci\u003eThe Consolation of Philosophy.\u003c\/i\u003e Condemned to death for treason around 525 ce, the Roman scholar Boethius turned to philosophy to transform his personal distress into a powerful meditation on fate, free will, and the human capacity for virtue in a flawed, fallen world. Boethius's Latin dialogues found a receptive audience in Anglo-Saxon England, where they were translated into Old English some time around 900. The translator (traditionally identified with King Alfred) freely adapts the Latin for a new audience: the Roman Fabricius, for example, becomes the Germanic weapon-smith Weland. The translation replicates Boethius's alternation of prose and verse-only in this case Old English prose alternates with alliterative verse.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn later centuries Chaucer and Queen Elizabeth each turned \u003ci\u003eThe Consolation of Philosophy\u003c\/i\u003e into English, but the Old English translation was the first to bring it to a wider vernacular audience. Verse prologues and epilogues for works traditionally associated with King Alfred fill out the volume, offering readers a fascinating glimpse of the moment when English confidently claimed its birthright as a literature capable of anything, from sublime ideas to subtle poetry.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Malcolm R. Godden","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42848934592573,"sku":"9780674055582","price":55.76,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/7689\/2989\/files\/9780674055582_bfd8633f-e766-46f3-9270-38c2438ecb0f.jpg?v=1766990565","url":"https:\/\/www.palmleaf.com.au\/products\/the-old-english-boethius","provider":"Palmleaf","version":"1.0","type":"link"}