The Ostrogothic Kingdom in the Old English "Boethius" and the Germanic myth of Origin in Anglo-Saxon England
The Ostrogothic Kingdom in the Old English "Boethius" and the Germanic myth of Origin in Anglo-Saxon England

Summary/Abstract: The purpose of the article is to elucidate the Old English "Boethius", Old English translation of Boethius’s "Consolation of Philosophy", the translation of which is attributed to King Alfred the Great (849-899 A.D). The article provides a special focus on the versified proem to the prosometric version of "Boethius". The proem, arguably, represents a view of Ostrogothic Kingdom of Theodoric that counters the notion of Germanic myth of origin pervading Anglo-Saxon textual culture and the memory of Theodoric as Germanic ruler of Rome that is evident in Old English poetic tradition. The Old English "Boethius", arguably, contests the established tradition to promote a Christian grooming of the Anglo-Saxon notion kingship in keeping with the Alfredian programme of cultural reform.

• Details
• Contents