Alfred's introduction to Boethius

I expected bias and found it. I'll put a few comments in brackets in my text but, I have to say, if Boethius sent a letter like that to the Byzantine emperor then he was nuts to do so. I try to keep my translation as close to the author's words as possible.

At that time, the Goths of Scythia, kindred to the Romans, won the Roman kingdom, having risen up and with their kings, called Raedegota and Alaric, stormed the city of Rome. (Radagaisius was dead by 406, having been defeated by Stilicho. Alaric took Rome in 410 dying that same year.) They subjugated all of the Italian kingdom that lies between the mountains and Sicily; and then after them, the aforementioned King Theodoric seized that same kingdom. (as you may see from my timeline at right, Theodoric was not born until about 45 years later. He took the kingdom almost 85 years after Alaric) This Theodoric was an Amelung. He was Christian, although he persisted in the Arian heresy. He vowed his friendship to the Romans so they might be in possession of all their old rights and he performed that vow with great evil and ended very wroth with many a crime.

That was in addition to other countless evil, he slew John, then named pope. There was a certain consul, what we call a commander, who was named Boethius. He was into book-craft (scholarship) and on worldly custom he was the wisest. He then perceived the manifold evil that King Theodoric did with that Christendom and with Roman torments. He then remembered their ease and their old rights that they had under their Caesars (under Nero? Caligula? Tiberius?) their old lords. Then he began to think and to learn for himself how they might take that kingdom from the wicked king and to bring the ruler to the orthodox and righteousness. (Boethius denied sending a letter. ) He secretly sent a letter to the Caesar in Constantinople. (Zeno had given the kingdom to Theodoric, who although king of the Ostrogoths never called himself anything but Patrician over the Western Roman Empire) There is the chief city of the Greeks and their throne because the Caesar was their lord from ancient times.

He asked him (Justin I) to help him to their Christianity and to their old rights. When the bloodthirsty king Theodoric perceived this, he commanded that Boethius be brought to jail and locked therein. Then it befell that the mercy-worthy man came to greater distress. Then he was much more troubled in his mind as his mind was much more accustomed to worldly prosperity. And he remembered no solace within that prison, and he fell prostrate down on the floor, and stretched himself out, very despondent, and sad, he began to weep for himself and thus singing he quoth,"

from here it moves into the Lay of Boethius which includes some lines that are not in the Latin version. In spite of being the slayer of a pope and of Boethius, Theodoric was immortalized in heroic verse as Dietrich von Berne. In the Nibelungenlied, he, Attila and Hildebrand are the sole survivors of the massacre at Etzelburg. It is he who tackles Hagen and ties him up for Kriemhild.

Almost forgot to add, I took this text in the OE from A Guide to Old English, seventh edition, Bruce Mitchell and Fred. C. Robinson.

Boethius

For my summer holidays, I am going to tackle Boethius in Latin. I may post some translations occasionally. As I was considering the reception of his work, I remembered King Alfred did a translation of De Consolatione Philosophiae into Old English. Yeah, yeah, did Alfred actually do the translation? Who cares? This morning, I don't. It looks interesting too. I think I will read the two side by side. Chaucer also did a translation of Boethius. It looks very interesting as well. I think I will read all three.

While reading the introduction to Chaucer's translation, in an 1868 publication with Richard Morris as translator and commentator that the university library has an online link to, I could not help but chuckle at Morris' comments about how noble Boethius was and how terrible Theodoric was to suspect him of treason. Boethius wrote a book supporting the Catholic view on the trinity and condemning Arianism. What did he expect? When your king is an Arian, you are taking your life into your hands in calling him a heretic.(Boethius probably did not attack Theodoric in print but heresy was a serious business) Morris also compared him to Cato the Younger, who took his own life, and was an insufferable prig. He also called Boethius 'the last Roman'. I thought that title belonged to Aetius.

Alfred prefaced his translation with the historical background to the book. I think I shall tackle that first. I expect some bias in his presentation.

An Easter Story

A few days ago, I was in the grocery store and spotted some Eccles cakes which I brought. Yum. It does not take much to get me wondering why these are associated with Easter and were these the cakes that King Alfred the Great is rumoured to have burned at Athelney?

In 879 around Easter, Alfred was hiding in the swamps of Somerset with a small remnant of his army. This is written by Alfred's biographer Asser. Asser does not mention any cakes, he does not even mention Alfred lodging with any peasants who fail to recognize their king. The story appears later in the Vita Prima Sancti Neoti. It is disputed if Neot was related to Alfred or not. It seems unlikely as his name is said to be Cornish and Alfred left nothing to Glastonbury where he is said to have visited Neot, but Asser also wrote that he was related to the king.

The story goes that while Alfred was in the Somerset swamps (or wetlands as some might prefer) he received a lesson in humility from the saint. Alfred had three older brothers and was never expected to gain the throne, hence the 'Alf' prefix to his name (which means elf-counsel) rather than 'Aethel' (meaning prince) like his brothers. His brothers all died fighting the Vikings, yet the clerics, Asser included, stated that the attacks by the Vikings, slaughter of people with no regard to age except those that were sellable as slaves were taken and sold, was all due to Alfred being a sinner. Could Alfred not have been afflicted with leprosy or something instead? The Vikings had been harassing England since before Alfred was born, how awful to blame his failures at battle on God being not pleased with him. As it was Alfred suffered from ill health ( said to possibly be Crohn's Disease) but he did his best to preserve his people. If Neot had been son of the King of Kent, then he was not any more successful in repelling Viking attacks in spite of his holiness.

While he was hiding in Somerset, St. Neot's Life says that he took shelter in the hut of a swineherd, being alone and without his men. One day, while the swineherd was tending his swine, and his wife was busy tending to domestic chores, she asked Alfred to keep an eye on the loafs (not cakes) that were in the oven. Alfred, who was a little pre-0ccupied, was deep in thought and did not notice the loafs were starting to burn. The housewife came back and chided him saying that he has no interest in tending them but he probably has no such difficulty in eating them. After which he recognized this as a duty sent to him by God and he tended the loafs with much diligence after that. When he left the swamps, after learning his lesson, he rallied the English and scored a decisive victory against the Vikings at the Battle of Ethandun.

The Vita Prima Sancti Neoti was written 100-150 years after the events had taken place. The incident it reports also resembles the trials of Marius (Julius Caesar's uncle) at Mintunae when he was fleeing from Sulla. However it made its way into Asser's Life of Alfred in 1574, when the Archbishop of Canterbury, Matthew Parker, inserted it into the first printing of Asser's book. The story took hold and has been repeated ever since. It is a lovely story. If you eat any cake or loafs over the Easter Weekend, have a thought for poor Alfred and all the difficulties he endured. He was a fellow lover of books.

the above image is courtesy of Wikicommons

Here is a nice history on the Eccles cake by the Salford Town Council.