Historia Calamitatum Analysis

Historia Calamitatum, a consolation letter written circa 1132 CE, portrays the life of a decidedly obnoxious man by the name of Peter Abelard. Within the first few pages, the reader is introduced to the egotistical author in such a way that leaves little room for a sympathetic audience. Most would say that this man is so insolent that he could not possibly present himself in a favorable light. That being said, one could also argue that Abelard wrote the letter to repent of his transgressions; after all, components of the letter sound more like a confession than a tale of woe. While both theories are immensely supported by evidence found in the text, neither argument takes into account Abelard’s pure genius and desire to ameliorate his peers.

To hear someone who is presumed to be this very arrogant and egotistical character write about himself in such a repulsive manner is rather shocking. He even admits that he is bothersome when he declared, “On several occasions I spoke out boldly in criticism of their intolerably foul practices, both in private and in public, and made myself such a burden and nuisance to them all that they gladly seized on the daily importunities of my pupils as a pretext for having me removed from their midst” (19). Abelard’s aggravating qualities don’t end there. He seems to have a mightier-than-thou attitude that makes him a highly disagreeable character. His attitude towards Anselm of Laon is disparaging at the very least. He depicts him as kindling a fire that “filled his house with smoke but did not light it up” and as the cursed fig tree (7). He doesn’t seem to treat Heloise much better. He describes her as not ranking the lowest in looks and believed her to be an easy conquest (10). He also doesn’t shy from using physical threats to get what he wants (11), and he never takes Heloise’s thoughts into consideration when he demands that they get married (14). Even so, Abelard occasionally lapses into an almost deplorable state of self-depreciation throughout the letter. In one instance he writes, “I began to think myself the only philosopher in the world, with nothing to fear

Regardless of how terribly Abelard declared he treated Heloise, she obviously deeply loved him. He recounts that she felt that “only love freely given should keep me for her, not the constriction of marriage ties, and if we had to be parted for a time, we should find the joy of being together all the sweeter the rarer our meeting were” (16). Abelard also had quite a large following of students for someone who treated others so terribly. Even when he lived in the wilderness of Troyes, his followers came and lived around him so that they could learn from him (28). Since Heloise, a highly intelligent woman, and his many educated students felt he was someone worth spending time with, it would come to reason that Abelard is not nearly as bad of a person as he is portraying. Why, then, does he depict himself in such a terrible manner? It appears that Abelard might be seeking penance, but from whom? He never outright addresses this, which would seem to refute the idea that it is an apology. So what is this letter, then? In the final pages, he begins to speak on how righteous men should not bemoan trials set before them by God (43). In a way, he is saying that he has repented and is now living a righteous life. By naming his enemies and drawing their attention to this text that reads like an apology to an unidentified person, he is essentially telling them how they must repent by