Similarities Between Abelard And Heloise

Jayeola Gloria Apapa

HIS 121 AA

November 13th, 2015

Abelard and Heloise: The Personal is History

The mutual passion between Abelard and Heloise was very brief, yet it drastically changed the course of their lives, setting both on a path of struggle and suffering. Heloise was renowned for her intellect and extensive knowledge of Latin, logic and philosophy which, at the time, was rather unusual for a woman. Abelard, on the other hand, was one of the most influential philosophers and theologians of the twelfth century. Their enduring fame, however, rests upon the letters they wrote to each other and to others which documented their ill-fated relationship for posterity. These letters, written over a decade after their affair ended, trace

their struggle to make peace with a life to which they did not completely consent, and they also shed light on the scholastic culture, religious life, and gender relations during the middle ages.
Most of what is known about Abelard’s early life and career comes from his “Historia Calamitatum”— an autobiographical letter he wrote to a fellow monk with the aim of cheering his friend up. “There are times when example is better than precept for stirring or soothing human feelings,” he writes, “and so I propose to follow up the words of consolation I gave you in person with the history of my own misfortunes…In comparison with my trials you will see that your own are nothing, or only slight, and will find them easier to bear” (Letter 1, 3). Peter Abelard was born in 1079 in Le Pallet a few miles east of Nantes, in Brittany, the eldest son of a minor noble family. His father encouraged Abelard as well as his brothers to study the liberal arts and he excelled at the art of dialectic. Upon discovering that academic life suited him better than a military one, Abelard renounced his claims to his family inheritance and moved to Paris to study under William of Champeaux.
Abelard, who was immensely proud of his intellect, became disillusioned at the Paris school; he found William’s lectures boring and his logic faulty. According to Abelard, William became hostile because Abelard was superior to him intellectually. This was the first of his many disputes with his academic peers and superiors. At the time, the main institutions of higher education were often affiliated with a cathedral or other church body, but any philosopher with a good reputation and a large following could set up his own school. Despite opposition from his former teacher, Abelard set up his own school at Melun, a favoured royal residence; he later moved his school to he moved to Corbeil, nearer Paris (Letter 1, 4).
After his success in dialectic, Abelard moved to Laon to study theology with the renowned of Anselm of Laon.

Again, he was unimpressed by Anselm's teaching. In response to a dare, Abelard began to offer a series of lectures on the Book of Ezekiel. These lectures became wildly popular. Anselm’s felt his authority as head of the school was being threatened, and he forced Abelard to leave. Despite his lack of official credentials, Abelard began teaching theology, and became even more renowned throughout Paris.

In the “Historia Calamitatum”, Abelard portrays the academic community in Paris as vibrant extremely competitive, and rife with jealousy. According to him, William’s unconcealed jealousy got him the support of William’s enemies (Letter 1, 4). “Anselm,” he writes, “was now wildly jealous…and by the suggestions of some of his pupils he began to attack me for lecturing on the Scriptures in the same way as my master William had done previously over philosophy” (Letter 1, 8).

From his letter, we also sense that great importance was placed on education— especially in Latin, religion, and philosophy— during the middle ages. Being a philosopher or a member of the clergy was a prestigious occupation. Abelard had a huge following of students, and thousands gathered to hear his lectures. In short, he was a 12th century version of a modern

celebrity.
At this point in his career, had won universal acclaim for his teaching and as a result came to think of himself as the “only philosopher in the world, with nothing to fear from anyone” (Letter 1, 9). It was at this point of his career that Abelard, now at the height of his fame, encountered romance for the first time.
There was in Paris at the time a young girl named Heloise, the niece of Fulbert, one of the canons, and so much loved by him that he had done everything in his power to advance her education in letters. In looks she did not rank lowest, while in the extent of her learning, she stood supreme…I considered all the usual attractions for a lover and decided she was the one to bring to my bed, confident that I should have easy success; for at that time I had youth and exceptional good looks as well as my reputation to recommend me, and feared no rebuff from any woman I might choose to honor with my love. Knowing the girl’s knowledge and love of letters I thought she would be all the more ready to consent, and that even when separated we could enjoy each other’s presence by exchange of written messages in which we could write many things more audaciously than we could say them, and so never lack the pleasures of conversation (Letter 1, 10).
With the intention of seducing Heloise, Abelard convinced Fulbert to employ him as Heloise’s tutor, and in 1115 he began an affair with her. The affair interfered with his career, and once Fulbert found out, he separated them. However, they continued to meet in secret until Heloise became pregnant. Abelard sent her to live with his family where she gave birth to their son. To appease Fulbert and protect his reputation, Abelard proposed a secret marriage. Heloise initially opposed it, but the couple were married. When Fulbert publicly disclosed the marriage, and Heloise denied it, Abelard sent her to the convent at Argenteuil, where she had been brought up, in order to protect her from her uncle. Fulbert, convinced that Abelard wanted to get rid of Heloise by forcing her to become a nun, arranged for a band of men to break into Abelard’s room and castrate him as he slept. Abelard’s castration marks a turning point in his relationship with Heloise. Filled with shame at his situation, Abelard became a monk in the abbey of St Denis, and Heloise became a nun simply because he asked her to.
At St. Dennis, Abelard resumed teaching and seemed to regain some of his former influence and prestige. While at the abbey, he published the Theologia. He was accused of heresy based on his interpretation of the Trinitarian dogma in his book. The papal legate convicted him of heresy without a fair trial, and Abelard was made to burn the Theologia himself (Letter 1, 27). According to Abelard, the abbey at St Dennis “was completely worldly and depraved, with an abbot whose pre-eminent position was matched by his evil living and notorious reputation” (Letter 1, 19).
Abelard therefore decided to leave the abbey of St. Dennis, and he accepted an offer from the monks of the Abbey of Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys to become their abbot. Abelard, however, regretted his decision. The region was inhospitable, and he did not understand the language and culture of the natives. In addition, the monks were hostile. Abelard disapproved of their lack of morals, and they resisted his attempts to curb their excesses and restore order (Letter 1, 34). Like in St Dennis, Abelard’s relations with the community deteriorated. The monks shamelessly stole from the abbey’s coffers, and the even tried to kill him on numerous occasions. Abelard’s letter shows the corruption that was prevalent in the Catholic Church at the time.
Heloise had become head of the convent at Argenteuil, but she and her nuns werere expelled from Argenteuil by the abbot of St Dennis after he won possession of the convent.

After reading a copy of Abelard’s Historia Calamitatum, Heloise reestablished contact with Abelard by sending him a letter. In her first letter, she chastises him for not writing to her during their long separation (Letter 2, 53). Heloise also accused Abelard of not loving her: “It was desire, not affection which bound you to me, the flame of lust rather than love. So when the end came to what you desired, any show of feeling you used to make went with it. This is not merely my opinion, beloved, it is everyone’s” (Letter 2, 53). In one of her letters, she writes very frankly about her sexual frustration.

In my case, the pleasures of lovers which we shared have been too sweet— they cannot displease me, and can scarcely shift from my memory. Wherever I turn, they are always there before my eyes, bringing with them awakened longings and fantasies which will not let me sleep. Even during the celebration of Mass, when our prayers should be purer, lewd visions of those pleasures take such hold of my unhappy soul….Even in sleep I know no respite. Sometimes my thoughts are betrayed in a movement, of my body, or they break out in an unguarded word (Letter 4,

69).
She emphasized her commitment and devotion to him by writing that she would have followed him anywhere, even to Hell (Letter 2, 54). For her, Abelard came first and God was a distant second.
It is obvious from Abelard’s response to Heloise’s letters that he had no romantic feelings for her at this point in their relationship. To him, Heloise had become his “dearly beloved sister in Christ” (Letter 3, 56). He viewed his castration as an act of mercy on God’s part in order to save both of their souls (Letter 1, 9). “So intense were the fires of lust which bound me to you that I set those wretched, obscene pleasures, which we blush even to name, above God as above myself; nor would it seem that divine mercy could have taking action except by forbidding me these pleasures altogether, without future hope” (Letter 5, 81). His letters to Heloise become increasingly impersonal, and he even complains about her bitterness at the fact that they were both forced into religious against their will (Letter 5, 79).
Their correspondence also reflects medieval Christian perspectives on the genders. Unsurprisingly, Abelard appears to be someone who thought very little of women, and sometimes he writes to Heloise in a rather condescending manner. He viewed his sexual relationship Heloise as sinful and impure as well as the cause of his downfall (Letter 1, 9). He also frequently refers to women as weaker and inferior to men. Heloise also conforms to the medieval view of women as agents of destruction. “Is it the general lot of women,” she writes, “to bring total ruin on great men? Hence the warning about women in Proverbs: ‘But now my son, listen to me, attend to what I say: do not let your heart entice you to her ways….she has wounded and laid low so many…He who is pleasing to God eludes her, but the sinner is her captive” (Letter 4, 67).
From his letters, it is cannot be concluded that Abelard never loved Heloise. He had gone through the humiliating ordeal of his castration and was living in a precarious situation at the time the letters were written. He had definitely changed from the hugely successful philosopher whose intention was to seduce Heloise. On the other hand, it is clear from her letters that Heloise still loved Abelard passionately.