Early booklists from Exeter Cathedral and Christ Church Canterbury mention it,[3] along with Æthelweard's Chronicle and William of Malmesbury.
[5] The version in Otho A.vi attributes the work to Alfred the Great in both its prose and verse prologues, and this was long accepted by scholars.
These cares are very hard for us to reckon, that in his days came upon the kingdoms to which he had succeeded, and yet when he had studied this book and turned it from Latin into English prose, he wrought it up once more into verse, as it is now done.But the attribution is no longer considered reliable, and it is now usual simply to speak of the Old English Boethius, or at most to describe it as 'Alfredian', signalling that it was probably connected with Alfred's educational programme rather than being by Alfred.
In another of his works, the preface to the Old English translation of Gregory the Great's Pastoral Care, Alfred decries the lack of people who could read Latin in his kingdom, even among the clergy.
The translation of Boethius would not only bring this important work and philosophies to a larger readership, it would also promote the English language.