The story begins sometime probably in the late 1110's, when famed logician and chair of the Notre Dame Cathedral school - then the preeminent university in Europe - Pierre Abelard, took on the teenage Heloise as a student. By this time Abelard was already probably one of the most well-known people in Europe: not only did he hold a high position in the university, but he had single-handedly brought down the philosophical idea of "realism" which had dominated the intelligentsia of the continent for about two centuries. As such, he seems to have been the most prominent and historically important thinker of the 12th century. According to contemporary accounts he could draw crowds of hundreds of students even when he began to speak impulsively on a subject. He was entirely devoted to science and philosophy, and many people sought him to teach their children.
Heloise's life up to this point is somewhat unclear, although it appears that she herself, even as a woman and teenager (remember that this was a time when women had basically no rights, were considered scientifically as being of lesser intelligence, and had absolutely no intellectual clout whatsoever) had made a name for herself as a scholar. Although she had come from a lower middle class type of family she received a thorough education and was fluent in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and kept up correspondences with many great scholars. Just the fact that someone of Abelard's standing was willing to take her, a young woman of no family, on as a pupil indicates how highly she was held in regard.
Heloise lived with her uncle in Paris, and Abelard agreed to live with them for a while to tutor her. No one knows exactly how it all happened, but according to Abelard himself he "seduced" her while she was his student. Apparently too besotted to keep things to himself, he told his friends about their relationship, which of course was a huge scandal that was a blow to his career as a serious scholar and philosophical authority. Heloise's uncle was furious at discovering the affair, kicked Abelard out, and forbade them from ever seeing each other. Knowing that appearing to cast her off would be best for his career, at this point Abelard only continued to meet her in secret.
But of course these things are always found out...Heloise soon became pregnant. Being that she was unmarried and already shamed by the affair, her uncle was once again furious and took measures to ruin Abelard's career. Abelard sent Heloise to Brittany, where his family was from, to have the baby. She named the little boy Astrolab, as in the scientific instrument. (See, celebrity baby names have always been crazy!)
Desperate to re-legitimize his career, appease the uncle, and by all accounts still being head over heels for Heloise, Abelard insisted that they marry in secret. However, when her uncle made the marriage public scandal broke out all over again. For some reason Heloise denied the marriage (for Abelard's sake or her own is unclear to me), and Abelard arranged for her to enter a convent a little outside of Paris while he stayed in the city. This was to protect her and their baby from the scandal in Paris and her angry uncle, but it appeared to the uncle as if Abelard were now trying to get rid of Heloise, to shut her away from the outside world and forget about her. The uncle had Abelard castrated, making it so that they could never legitimately be together since I don't believe castrated men were allowed to marry in the Church at this time (ignoring the fact that they were in fact already married, because Heloise continued to deny it). Also it obviously ended any intimacy between them that might have persisted. Heloise was forced to become a nun.
During the aftermath of this they kept up a passionate and frustrated correspondence, with Heloise questioning why she had to submit to becoming a nun when she had no desire to be one. They were clearly still in love at this time but Abelard was not allowed to see her in the convent.
He became a monk in an abbey outside of Paris, hoping he could continue his writing and learning in more obscurity, but lots of pesky wannabe students followed him there, asking if he could recommence his classes like before. His discourses took on a more religious tone, but he had gained back his philosophical authority - despite now having lots of intellectual enemies who sought to exploit his story with Heloise to discredit him. In 1121, shortly after he began taking students again, he was tried for heresy, a crime which at the time could be punished with death. He escaped that fate, although his most recent book was publicly burned and he was shut up in an obscure monastery.
By this time he seems to have become somewhat bitter and nasty, as there are many contemporary accounts of him purposefully antagonizing the other monks. Feeling stifled and not having any friends left now, he left the monastery and became a hermit. Of course, once his new location was discovered students again flocked to his door. He reluctantly recommenced teaching but was afraid he'd be targeted again, and eventually fled to Brittany to live in more solitude.
Around this time Heloise's convent was disbanded, and he used his influence to set her up as abbess at a new place. Abelard appears to have found some peace in his new environment, and he wrote letters of Heloise urging her to accept the fact that they could never be together in the way they wished. She eventually did accept this and their next fifteen years of correspondence became an intriguing collection of relatively platonic philosophical and theological debates. These letters, and the earlier letters, are truly great to read, if you are interested and ever get a chance. Especially interesting is that Heloise initiated discussion of some of their toughest intellectual material.
Gradually people began again to come to Abelard for lessons, but many years later his enemies again arranged to have him tried for heresy. He was condemned by Rome and died in 1142 on his way to make a personal plea to the Pope. His body was laid to rest in Heloise's convent, and she was buried beside him when she died in 1164.
Their remains were supposedly moved to Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, although the original convent still claims to have them. The monument to them in the Paris cemetery is really beautiful, and a tradition sprang up that couples will leave love letters in it either as a tribute to the doomed pair or to help out their relationship. If you go to their monument there are indeed always letters there.
2 comments:
how was the uncle powerful enough to order a castration?
The uncle was a canon of Notre Dame, so he was a priest who lived under monastic rule. Anyway, there is evidence that Heloise's family was wealthy and did have some people in government positions. But really, in the 11th century it would not have been too hard to find someone to pay to do something like that if you had a bit of money. Since the scandal was well known by that time and Abelard already had enemies I imagine more people were willing to conspire with the uncle to do it.
Post a Comment