Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius

Wikipedia Biographical Summary:

"...Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius, commonly called Boethius (/boʊˈiːθiəs/; also Boetius /boʊˈiːʃəs/; c. 480–524 or 525 AD), was a philosopher of the early 6th century. He was born in Rome to the ancient and prominent Anicia family, which included emperors Petronius Maximus and Olybrius and many consuls. His father, Flavius Manlius Boethius, was consul in 487 after Odoacer deposed the last Western Roman Emperor. Boethius himself entered public life at a young age and was already a senator by the age of 25. He was consul in 510 in the kingdom of the Ostrogoths. In 522 he saw his two sons become consuls. Boethius was imprisoned and eventually executed by King Theodoric the Great, who suspected him of conspiring with the Eastern Roman Empire. While jailed, Boethius composed his Consolation of Philosophy, a philosophical treatise on fortune, death, and other issues. The Consolation became one of the most popular and influential works of the Middle
Ages..."

"...Boethius was born around 480 AD,[7] but his exact birth date is unknown. Boethius was born to a patrician family; his father Manlius Boethius was appointed consul in 487. However, his father died when Boethius was young, and he was adopted by another patrician, Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus..."

"...Boethius married his foster-father's daughter Rusticiana, and their children included two boys, Symmachus and Boethius. He held many important offices during Theodoric's reign, including being appointed consul for the year 510, but Boethius confesses in his De consolatione philosophiae that his greatest achievement was to have both his sons made co-consuls for the same year (522) one representing the east and the other the west, and finding himself sitting "between the two consuls and as if it were a military triumph let your largess fulfill the wildest expectations of the people packed in their seats around you".

In 522, the same year his two sons were appointed joint consuls, Boethius accepted the appointment to the position of magister officiorum, the head of all the government and court services.

In 520, Boethius was working to revitalize the relationship between the Church in Rome and the Church in Constantinople. This may have set in place a course of events that would lead to loss of royal favour.

In 523 Boethius fell from power. After a period of imprisonment in Pavia for what was deemed a treasonable offense, he was executed in 524..."

"...Boethius is recognized as a martyr for the Catholic faith by the Roman Martyrology. His cult is held in Pavia and in the Church of Santa Maria in Portico in Rome. His feast day is October 23.[62] He was declared a saint by the Sacred Congregation of Rites in 1883, and Pope Benedict XVI explains the relevance of Boethius to modern day Christians by linking his teachings to an understanding of Providence..."

SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boethius