What does the story of Abelard and Heloise tell us about the changes that took place in European thought and culture in the tw
What does the story of Abelard and Heloise tell us about the changes that took place in European thought and culture in the twelfth century?
The twelfth period was a period of revolutionary changes in religion, culture, social and intellectual life in Europe. Many historians have argues that the twelfth century was actually the beginning of the modern age. Humanism is believed to have originated from this period, while scholarship and philosophy were becoming increasingly popular. 'Of course, medieval society wasn't quiet the same as contemporary western culture; for one thing, it was profoundly religious and although church and state separate, the church itself was a government that was in some ways more powerful than the king'.1 During this period the worldview was dramatically different from that of today. The 'reform movement, which you might call the religious right of its day, believed that not only sex but also sexual fantasies were inherently evil and enforced chastity was high on the agenda'.2 The love story of Abelard and Heloise is one of the most famous of the Middle Ages and occurs in the middle of this movement. Peter Abelard was one of the greatest logicians and philosophers of the twelfth century renaissance and is widely known today because of his autobiographical Historia Calamitatum and the exchange of letters that followed between him and his young student Heloise who later became his lover, wife and sister in religion. Abelard and Heloise reveal much about themselves and the culture of the twelfth century through their writings. Theirs is a story about passion, faith, heresy, brutality and intellectual brilliance and through it was can question medieval attitudes to sex, gender, marriage as well as faith and learning.
Peter Abelard (1070-1142) was one of the great wandering scholars of the twelfth century. 'The son of a Breton nobleman, Abelard, showed his intellectual promise early in his life and even before he finished his elementary studies was already challenging his teachers'.3 Abelard studied under the orthodox William of Champaux, however instead of following in the steps of his teachers Abelard worked out his own philosophy. 'Abelard was a restless, vain and contentious man who got into trouble with the medieval church not so much for his views - which by today's standards seem rather innocuous - but for the way in which he stated his views'.4 His first book Sic et Non (yes and no) quoted from the bible, the church fathers and papal letters and showed that they contradicted themselves when it comes to interpreting the scriptures. Abelard's point was that ' church could not rely solely on the authority of tradition to solve such basic questions of faith since the tradition itself was imperfect'.5 For Abelard, people showed think for themselves and use reason and logic to answer such questions. ' " Diligent and constant questioning is the fundamental key to all wisdom," he wrote in the book majestic preface; " by doubting we come to inquire and by inquiring we come to the truth" '.6 This technique shocked Abelard's contemporaries, as 'scripture for these men was the truth'.7 Despite the constant complaints Abelard received from the church he devoted himself to teaching large crowds of students in Paris and attracted students from all over Europe who came in the ' " firm belief that there was nothing he couldn't teach them" '.8Abelard also devoted himself to a young girl named Heloise who was the niece of a canon named Fulbert. Abelard was attracted to her, not only by her beauty but also by her knowledge's which was very rare in women at this time because women were rarely educated, which he writes about in his Historia Calamitatum.
"NOW there dwelt in that same city of Paris a certain young girl named Heloise, the niece of a canon who was called Fulbert. Her uncle's love for her was equalled only by his desire that she should have the best education, which he could possibly procure for her. Of no mean beauty, she stood out above all by reason of her abundant knowledge of letters. Now this virtue is rare among women, and for that very reason it doubly graced the maiden, and made her the most worthy of renown in the entire kingdom."9
Abelard agreed ...
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"NOW there dwelt in that same city of Paris a certain young girl named Heloise, the niece of a canon who was called Fulbert. Her uncle's love for her was equalled only by his desire that she should have the best education, which he could possibly procure for her. Of no mean beauty, she stood out above all by reason of her abundant knowledge of letters. Now this virtue is rare among women, and for that very reason it doubly graced the maiden, and made her the most worthy of renown in the entire kingdom."9
Abelard agreed to tutor Heloise, found her sexually irresistible and soon seduced her.10
"Under the pretext of study we spent our hours in the happiness of love, and learning held out to us the secret opportunities that our passion craved. Our speech was more of love than of the books, which lay open before us; our kisses far outnumbered our reasoned words. Our hands sought less the book than each other's bosoms. - Love drew our eyes together far more than the lesson drew them to the pages of our text"11
But what began as sexual conquest turned to genuine love.12 Heloise became pregnant and Abelard couldn't 'successfully sidestep the rules of society because the society of the time wouldn't accept a premarital affair'13 Abelard offered to secretly marry but she goes against the established norms of society by arguing that marriage was inappropriate for a scholar since all scholars were regarded as clerics and subject to the same laws of chastity as monks. Heloise argued that she would rather be Abelard's concubine than his wife and seems more concerned about the detrimental effects a marriage would have on Abelard's reputation' " The name of wife may seem more sacred or more binding but sweeter for me will always be the word mistress or, if you will permit me, that of concubine or whore... I humbled myself before thee the fuller grace I might obtain from thee, and so also damage less the fame of thine excellence... " '14 For Heloise 'marriage would destroy the disinterested and gratuitous character of her love. She preferred a free union, but Abelard imposed marriage upon her, probably in the hope of placating Fulbert and regaining his respectability'.15 Her attitude towards marriage reflects her individuality and shows that she indeed was unlike other women of her time, as she didn't consider marriage as part of love. However Fulbert still enraged about the loss of his family honour, sent a group of thugs to Abelard's house on night where they attacked him in his sleep and castrated him. The ' humiliation of his wound, which quickly became known throughout Europe led Abelard to renounce the world and enter a monastery'.16 At Abelard's insistence Heloise entered a nunnery where she spent the remainder of her life. Some years following their separation Abelard wrote their story in a letter to a friend, which he entitled Historia Calamitatum. Heloise somehow got a copy of this letter. She wrote to Abelard and began the correspondence that has made them famous.
Castration wasn't Abelard's only misfortune. His writings continuously got him into trouble he had many opponents within the catholic church but above all he clashed with Bernard of Clairvaux. It was ' Abelard's whole approach rather than any particular set of his ideas that infuriated Bernard'.17 He was objected to the way Abelard used reason and logic and also to what he thought was a rationalism that depicted the importance of faith. Abelard encouraged his students to ' hold the basic tenets of faith up to questioning. " The faith of the common people is being held up to scorn; the secrets of god himself are torn open; the most sacred matters are discussed with reckless abandon...." '18 Essentially both Abelard and Bernard spoke ' fundamentally different languages, and their conflict illustrates the tensions existing in Latin Christendom as a result of new learning'.19 Abelard faced two trials of heresy in his lifetime, which were based on ' fear and anti-intellectualism'.20 At his first trial Abelard was accused of claiming the there was more than one god because he had applied logic to the trinity. Abelard was ordered to burn his books, which seems to suggest that to be ' an adventurous intellectual in an authoritarian and conservative society was extremely risky'.21 Through the efforts of Bernard Abelard was condemned heretic in 1140 but died before he could appeal to the pope. The conflict between Abelard and Bernard wasn't one of ' religious versus secular life, it was "faith with reason versus faith without reason" and faith without reason won in the end'.22
It seems that the twelfth century was driven by the politics of the time. Abelard and Heloise's affair took place between the first two crusades, when monasticism was on the rise, and when the reform movement was beginning to take over the monasteries and vilify philosophers.23 Clergy were previously free to have wife's or lovers but were now subject to the same laws of chastity as monks which is the reason why their relationship had to remain secret. Public knowledge would bring shame and embarrassment to the family and would remove their family honour. Had it not been for the expectations of the society and this reform movement Abelard and Heloise would have been free to make their own choices. They wouldn't have had to keep their affair so secret and their love affair wouldn't have ended in such tragic circumstances. The story shows how the twelfth century society shaped the lives of the people that lived in it.
The twelfth century is often credited as the age of " The Discovery of the Individual". The period brings light to certain individuals, which previously wasn't very common. Abelard and Heloise were outstanding individuals by any judgement but the fact that they lived in a time when people were expected to maintain the norms of society makes them even more outstanding. Heloise's attitude to sex, marriage and love were quite different from other women of the twelfth century. She enjoyed premarital sex and wrote freely about it in her early letters. In some ways, we should view Heloise was a modern women. During the twelfth century sex wasn't something that should be talked about freely. It was viewed as something that was evil and chastity was high on the agenda. However Heloise was a 'sexually complex women whose ideals were as threatening to the reformist movement as Abelard's were' and it was her 'ideas about submissiveness and freedom, about sexuality and religion that made her famous'24
Religious belief is what drove all people of their age. Abelard and Heloise believed in pure intension but had never intended to weaken the power of god. The basis of Abelard's philosophy was that you had to apply logic to religion to find the truth. He taught this philosophy to Heloise and the two of them came to believe that god would judge them by their intensions, rather than their actions. Heloise says that "It is not the deed but the intention of the doer which makes the crime, and justice should weigh not what was done, but the spirit in which it is done"25 Abelard repeats this saying that "It is not so much what things are done as the spirit in which they are done that we must consider"26. However following their entry into religious life they both begin to differ. Abelard devoted himself to both god and his work. He no longer thinks of Heloise as his wife or lover but his sister in religion. However the thoughts of Heloise are quite different and she writes "Everything we did and also the times and places are stamped on my heart along with your image, so that I live through it all again with you. 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."27 She makes it clear that she is still in love with him but he responds urging her to accept God "I thought that this bitterness of heart at what was so clear an act of divine mercy had long since disappeared".28
Through their writings Abelard and Heloise leave a highly detailed account of their remarkable lives. They reveal much both about themselves and the world in which they lived. They prove themselves to be individuals who were not afraid to express their believes when through they run contrary to social norms. Theirs is a story about "love, religion and philosophy". It reveals how the religious conflict of the day had huge effects on the ideas of sex and gender. It shows how a man whose new ideas of reason and logic were condemned and reveals the tensions that existed among intellectuals because of these new ideas and new learning. At finally this is a story that reveals the true love and passion of two individuals who were able to 'rise above the rest of their generation to pursue their ideals with drive and passion'29
Bibliography
Backman, Clifford, The Worlds of Medieval Europe, (Oxford 2003)
Luscombe, D.E, Peter Abelard (London 1979)
Brooke, Christopher, The Twelfth Century Renaissance, (London 1969)
http://www.analytical-essay-writing.com/papers/ess40.shtml
http://ericrichardson.com/verbal/individualism/
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/abelard-sel.html
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/heloise1.html
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/lecture1a.html
http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/abelard.html
http://www.powells.com/review/2004_12_24.html
NAME: Grainne Quigley
STUDENT NUMBER: 03370551
COURSE: Arts
SUBJECT: History
TUTOR: Laura O'Brien
GROUP NUMBER: Monday 9am
TITLE: What does the story of Abelard and Heloise tell us about the changes that took place in European thought and culture in the twelfth century?
http://www.powells.com/review/2004_12_24.html
2 http://www.powells.com/review/2004_12_24.html
3 Clifford Backman, The Worlds of Medieval Europe (Oxford 2003), p.235
4 http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/lecture1a.html
5 Clifford Backman, The Worlds of Medieval Europe (Oxford 2003), p.235
6 Clifford Backman, The Worlds of Medieval Europe (Oxford 2003), p.235
7 http://www.historyguide.org/intellect/lecture1a.html
8 Clifford Backman, The Worlds of Medieval Europe (Oxford 2003), p.235
9 http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/abelard-sel.html
0 Clifford Backman, The Worlds of Medieval Europe (Oxford 2003), p.235
1 http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/abelard-sel.html
2 Clifford Backman, The Worlds of Medieval Europe (Oxford 2003), p.235
3 http://www.analytical-essay-writing.com/papers/ess40.shtml
4 http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/heloise1.html
5 D.E. Luscombe, Peter Abelard (London 1979), pg 13
6 Clifford Backman, The Worlds of Medieval Europe (Oxford 2003), p.235
7 Clifford Backman, The Worlds of Medieval Europe (Oxford 2003), p.235
8 Clifford Backman, The Worlds of Medieval Europe (Oxford 2003), p.235
9 Clifford Backman, The Worlds of Medieval Europe (Oxford 2003), p.236
20 http://www.powells.com/review/2004_12_24.html
21 D.E. Luscombe, Peter Abelard (London 1979), pg 5
22 http://www.powells.com/review/2004_12_24.html
23 http://www.powells.com/review/2004_12_24.html
24 http://www.powells.com/review/2004_12_24.html
25 http://ericrichardson.com/verbal/individualism/
26 http://ericrichardson.com/verbal/individualism/
27 http://www.powells.com/review/2004_12_24.html
28 http://www.powells.com/review/2004_12_24.html
29 http://ericrichardson.com/verbal/individualism/
