Nar. Manlius Boethius (died ''circa'' 487) was a Roman and Italian aristocrat, who was appointed

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

for 487. He was likely the father of the Roman philosopher,

Boethius Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius, commonly known as Boethius (; Latin: ''Boetius''; 480 – 524 AD), was a Roman senator, consul, ''magister officiorum'', historian, and philosopher of the Early Middle Ages. He was a central figure in the tr ...

Life

He was probably the son of Boethius, the

praetorian prefect of Italy The praetorian prefecture of Italy ( la, Praefectura praetorio Italiae, in its full form (until 356) ) was one of four praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided. It comprised the Italian peninsula, the Western Balkans, ...

, who was put to death by Emperor

Valentinian III Valentinian III ( la, Placidus Valentinianus; 2 July 41916 March 455) was Roman emperor in the West from 425 to 455. Made emperor in childhood, his reign over the Roman Empire was one of the longest, but was dominated by powerful generals vying ...

in 454, and probably the father of the famous philosopher

; if this identification is correct, he died not long after 487, for Boethius is known to have been orphaned as a young boy and adopted by the aristocrat

Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus Quintus Aurelius Memmius Symmachus (died 526) was a 6th-century Roman aristocrat, an historian and a supporter of Nicene Christianity. He was a patron of secular learning, and became the consul for the year 485. He supported Pope Symmachus in the ...

. Boethius' career can be derived from a

consular diptych In Late Antiquity, a consular diptych was a type of diptych intended as a de-luxe commemorative object. The diptychs were generally in ivory, wood or metal and decorated with rich relief sculpture. A consular diptych was commissioned by a ''consu ...

preserved in

Brescia Brescia (, locally ; lmo, link=no, label= Lombard, Brèsa ; lat, Brixia; vec, Bressa) is a city and ''comune'' in the region of Lombardy, Northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Alps, a few kilometers from the lakes Garda and Iseo ...

. He was ''

praefectus urbi The ''praefectus urbanus'', also called ''praefectus urbi'' or urban prefect in English, was prefect of the city of Rome, and later also of Constantinople. The office originated under the Roman kings, continued during the Republic and Empire, an ...

'' of Rome (date unknown), then

Praetorian prefect of Italy The praetorian prefecture of Italy ( la, Praefectura praetorio Italiae, in its full form (until 356) ) was one of four praetorian prefectures into which the Late Roman Empire was divided. It comprised the Italian peninsula, the Western Balkans, ...

at some point between 480 and 487, when he was appointed consul (not recognised in the East), ''praefectus urbi'' for the second time and ''patricius''. This diptych records his second name abbreviated NAR. E. Weigand explained this abbreviation to mean . Although Nonius is a common name under the early Empire, Alan Cameron has pointed out the combination "Nonius Arrius" has been attested only twice in the 300 years prior to Boethius. He further notes the abbreviation "N. Ar." is unattested except for this consular diptych. Based on these considerations, he believes this explanation is untenable, and proposes NAR should be read as an abbreviation for one of two names: either "Narius", "a securely if sparsely attested Italian name"; or as an engraving error for MAR, an abbreviation for "Marius", a far more common name.Alan Cameron
"Boethius' Father's Name", ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik''
44 (1981), pp. 181-183

Life

Notes

Further reading