{"product_id":"the-old-english-boethius-susan-irvine-9780674055582","title":"The Old English Boethius: With Verse Prologues and Epilogues Associated with King Alfred","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. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Susan Irvine\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0674055586\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780674055582\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Harvard University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/19\/2012\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 480\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.27lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.10h x 5.40w x 1.30d","brand":"Susan Irvine","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48216499224831,"sku":"9780674055582","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_b5dd5f0a-80ed-4827-ab25-e89b6f51f756.jpg?v=1771991406","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-old-english-boethius-susan-irvine-9780674055582","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}