The English and German translation traditions of Boethius’s "De consolatione philosophiae"

This article provides a full listing of all known translation of Boethius’s De consolation philosophiae into English and German. The two listings are part of a larger project that eventually will inventory all vernacular translations of the Consolatio, world-wide. The article indicates some of the comparable and contrasting aspects of the English and German translation traditions. The inventories of translations in each of these two large traditions has developed slowly, over the last century or so, as more past translations are discovered, and as new translations continue to be produced. Such comparable and contrasting aspects of the traditions reveal the interconnectedness between the translations within each tradition and the interconnectedness between the two traditions. This article suggests that studies of these two traditions will yield important scholarly information as studies of the translations and translation traditions proceed.