2012/01/01 by Glynnis M. Cropp · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · #Medieval Literature and History #Medieval European Literature and History #Medieval Philosophy and Theology
paper · doi:10.1163/9789004225381_010
openalex publication_date 2012/01/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/23
The De consolatione philosophiae (Consolatio) and the example of Boethius imprisoned in Pavia, a victim of tyranny and injustice, listening to the soothing, but searching, discourse of Philosophia, have appealed for many centuries to people in adversity. In no other country than France, in no other language than French did so many vernacular translations of the Consolatio exist in the Middle Ages. Before the translations into French, two other vernacular works, inspired by the Consolatio , appeared in the 11th and 12th centuries: the Occitan Boecis and the Anglo-Norman Roman de Philosophie . France also contributed significantly to the Latin commentary tradition by the commentary of William of Conches, which, together with the commentaries of Nicholas Trevet, an English Dominican, and of his near contemporary William of Aragon, provided the main sources of explanation and interpretation of Boethius's text for the translators. Keywords:Boethius; De consolatione philosophiae (Consolatio) ; France; Middle Ages; Roman de Philosophie ; vernacular translations