Heloise to Abelard

The Lovers
Heloise (c. 1098-1164) was raised by her uncle Fulbert and educated at the convent at Argenteuil. When she was about 17 she had a passionate affair with the brilliant theologian and philosopher Peter Abelard, her private tutor. She bore him a son, Astralabe. Soon after, the couple were secretly married, but to protect her reputation and Abelard's career, Heloise agreed to enter the convent at Argenteuil, where she later became abbess. Famous for her intellect and erudition, she wrote and spoke Latin, read Greek, and had an encyclopedic knowledge of the classics and scriptures. In later life she founded several convents, but remained deeply in love with Abelard all her life, and was eventually buried beside him. They now lie in Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris.	Peter Abelard (1079-1142) was one of the leading French philosophers of his time. He is best known for his moving relationship with Heloise, and the barbaric revenge of her uncle Fulbert, who had him castrated. During his monastic life Abelard made notable contributions to the development of teaching methods, to theological inquiry, and to questions of faith and ethics. In Sic et non he laid down rules for resolving apparently contradictory biblical texts. He also did important work on the theology of the Trinity and on the philosophical question of whether abstract ideas can be said to exist. An outstanding teacher, he was one of a cluster of scholars whose presence in the city led ultimately to the foundation of the University of Paris. Although his controversial views were officially condemned by the church in 1121 and 1140, he was a man who deep faith shone through a troubled life.

The Lovers

Heloise
(c. 1098-1164)
was raised by her uncle Fulbert and educated at the convent at Argenteuil. When she was about 17 she had a passionate affair with the brilliant theologian and philosopher Peter Abelard, her private tutor. She bore him a son, Astralabe. Soon after, the couple were secretly married, but to protect her reputation and Abelard's career, Heloise agreed to enter the convent at Argenteuil, where she later became abbess. Famous for her intellect and erudition, she wrote and spoke Latin, read Greek, and had an encyclopedic knowledge of the classics and scriptures. In later life she founded several convents, but remained deeply in love with Abelard all her life, and was eventually buried beside him. They now lie in Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris.

Peter Abelard
(1079-1142)
was one of the leading French philosophers of his time. He is best known for his moving relationship with Heloise, and the barbaric revenge of her uncle Fulbert, who had him castrated. During his monastic life Abelard made notable contributions to the development of teaching methods, to theological inquiry, and to questions of faith and ethics. In Sic et non he laid down rules for resolving apparently contradictory biblical texts. He also did important work on the theology of the Trinity and on the philosophical question of whether abstract ideas can be said to exist. An outstanding teacher, he was one of a cluster of scholars whose presence in the city led ultimately to the foundation of the University of Paris. Although his controversial views were officially condemned by the church in 1121 and 1140, he was a man who deep faith shone through a troubled life.

Mid-12th Century

You know, beloved, as the whole world knows, how much I have lost in you, how at one wretched stroke of fortune that supreme act of flagrant treachery robbed me of my very self in robbing me of you; and how my sorrow for my loss is nothing compared with what I feel for the manner in which I lost you. You are the sole cause of my sorrow, and you alone can grant me the grace of consolation. You alone have the power to make me sad, to bring me happiness or comfort. God knows I never sought anything in you except yourself; I wanted simply you, nothing of yours.
    I looked for no marriage-bond, no marriage portion, and it was not my own pleasures and wishes I sought to gratify, as you well know, but yours. The name of wife may seem more sacred or more binding, but sweeter to me will always be the word mistress, or, if you will permit me, that of concubine or whore.
    Remember, I implore you, what I have done, and think how much you owe me. While I enjoyed with you the pleasures of the flesh, many were uncertain whether I was prompted by love or lust; but now the end is proof of the beginning. I have finally denied myself every pleasure in obedience to your will, kept nothing of myself except to prove that now, even more, I am yours.
    And so, in the name of God to whom you have dedicated yourself, I beg you to restore your presence to me int he way you can--by writing me some word of comfort, so that in this at least I may find increased strength and readiness to serve God. I beg you, thing what you owe me, give ear to my pleas, and I will finish a long letter with a brief ending; farewell, my only love.

Their Story

Text from
Famous Love Letters
Messages of Intimacy and Passion
Edited by Ronald Tamplin