Table Of Contentthe cambridge companion to
BOETHIUS
Eachvolumeofthisseriesofcompanionstomajorphilosophers
contains specially commissioned essays by an international
team of scholars, together with a substantial bibliography,
andwillserveasareferenceworkforstudentsandnon-special-
ists. One aim of the series is to dispel the intimidation such
readersoftenfeelwhenfacedwiththeworkofadifficultand
challengingthinker.
Boethius(c.480–c.525/6),thoughaChristian,workedinthe
traditionoftheNeoplatonicschools,withtheirstronginterest
in Aristotelian logic and Platonic metaphysics. He is best
knownfor hisConsolationof Philosophy,whichhewrotein
prison while awaiting execution, and which was a favourite
source for medieval philosophers and poets like Dante and
Chaucer.Hisworksalsoincludealongseriesoflogicaltrans-
lations, commentaries and monographs and some short but
densely argued theological treatises, all of which were enor-
mously influential on medieval thought. But Boethius was
more than a writer who passed on important ancient ideas
to the Middle Ages. The essays here, by leading specialists,
which coverall the main aspects of his writing and its influ-
ence, show that he was a distinctive thinker, whose argu-
ments repay careful analysis and who used his literary
talents in conjunction with his philosophical abilities to
presentacomplexviewoftheworld.
Newreaderswillfindthisthemostconvenient,accessible
guidetoBoethiuscurrentlyavailable.Advancedstudentsand
specialists will find a conspectus of recent developments in
theinterpretationofBoethius.
JOHN MARENBON is a Senior Research Fellow at Trinity
College,Cambridge.HispublicationsincludeThePhilosophy
ofPeterAbelard(1997,1999)andBoethius(2003).
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The Cambridge Companion to
BOETHIUS
Edited by John Marenbon
Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2009
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Firstpublished2009
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ISBN978-0-521-87266-9
1. Boethius,d.524. 2. Philosophy,Medieval. I. Marenbon,John.
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contents
Listofcontributors pagexi
ListofabbreviationsofBoethius’works xiv
Listofabbreviations xv
Introduction:readingBoethiuswhole 1
john marenbon
PartI BeforetheConsolation 11
1 Boethius’lifeandtheworldoflateantique
philosophy 13
john moorhead
2 TheAristoteliancommentator 34
sten ebbesen
3 Thelogicaltextbooksandtheirinfluence 56
christopher j. martin
4 Boethiusonutterances,understandingandreality 85
margaret cameron
5 TheOpusculasacra:Boethiusandtheology 105
david bradshaw
6 Themetaphysicsofindividualsinthe
Opusculasacra 129
andrew arlig
7 ThemedievalfortunesoftheOpusculasacra 155
christophe erismann
ix
Cambridge Collections Online © Cambridge University Press, 2009
Description:Boethius (c.480-c.525/6), though a Christian, worked in the tradition of the Neoplatonic schools, with their strong interest in Aristotelian logic and Platonic metaphysics. He is best known for his Consolation of Philosophy, which he wrote in prison awaiting execution. His works also include a long
