De consolatione philosophiae [The Consolation of Philosophy]

Boethius is best known for his De Consolatione Philosophiae, the text contained in LJS 347. Written while in prison awaiting his execution, it imagines a conversation between the author and Lady Philosophy where they discuss the attainment of happiness and the vicissitudes of fortune. The text alternates between poetry and prose. De Consolatione Philosophiae stands apart from Boethius’s other writings as a literary work of philosophical meditations. However, the importance of the liberal arts to Boethius is still evident, and in the conversations between the author and Lady Philosophy the liberal arts are presented as a primary means for the mind to ascend to true freedom.

Though written in England several centuries later than LJS 101, LJS 347 also shows ample evidence of use and study, perhaps in an educational setting. On fols. 1v and 2r, the pages shown, there are many notes written between the lines of text and a hand drawn in the margin to mark an important passage.