Anicius Manlius Severinus Boëthius, commonly called Boethius (c. 480–524 or 525), is a philosopher of the early 6th century.

He was born in Rome to an ancient and prominent family which includes 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, of the noble Anicia family, enters public life at a young age and is already a senator by the age of 25.

Boethius himself is consul in 510 in the kingdom of the Ostrogoths.

In 522 he sees his two sons become consuls.

Boethius is imprisoned and eventually executed by King Theodoric the Great, who suspects him of conspiring with the Eastern Roman Empire.

While jailed, Boethius composes his Consolation of Philosophy, a philosophical treatise on fortune, death, and other issues.

The Consolation becomes one of the most popular and influential works of the Middle Ages.