ABSTRACT
The translation of Boethius’s De consolatione philosophiae was undertaken by Alfred as part of a far-reaching educational policy which entailed translating certain essential books from Latin into English so that they could be read by a much wider audience. 1 It is clear that for Alfred translation was anything but mere transliteration. Even allowing to his own words hwilum… word be worde, hwilum andgit of andgite their widest and most generous interpretation, Alfred can still be seen to take a remarkable freedom with his Boethian source. 2 The passages drawing on classical mythology show some of Alfred’s most marked divergences from his source.
