Boethius

Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius was born to a noble Roman family around 480 CE. He was an outstanding scholar and philosopher, who was especially important in the transmission of Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle into late Roman and mediaeval culture. In his time, Rome had recently come to be ruled by Gothic kings. He became the pre-eminent courtier and minister of the Ostrogoth Theodoric, but fell into disfavour, was imprisoned, and was executed in 524 on suspicion of treason. While in prison, he wrote “The Consolation of Philosophy”, which became one of the best loved and most influential works of the European middle ages.