Who are Abelard and Heloise?

        Abelard was a French scholar, teacher, writer, philosopher, lover, monk and all around trouble-maker until he passed away in 1142. Heloise was a French student, scholar, writer, lover, monk, abbess and all around trouble-maker until she passed away in 1164.  Together they were responsible for much, but  let's center on their writings.

   The original picture on our book-cover is in a 15th-century 'Romance of the Rose' ms. Here it is, in situ:

Click here to see an original manuscript page that contains part of our text -- a medievalist's delight!

        Abelard bares his soul in his Calamities -- a very unusual piece of writing not only for the content, but also because Abelard was reviving the genre of autobiography.  The letters of Heloise equally(?) manifest individualism. Her letters to him are startling in their directness and their unconventional emphasis on the self. 

              Having read the piece by Colin Morris on Individualism, get a good grasp on the elements that Morris emphasizes. Then read the Calamities and then focus on the first Letters (pp.1-129. but don't be shy about reading on....), looking for every piece of evidence that manifests Individualism, and of course, any contra-evidence for discussion in class. E.g., test Morris, p. 86: "glitter," "almost every paragraph," "vivid self-portraits," "value individuality" -- ???

           One question that comes up is:  Is there a discernable difference between the nature of individualism in the writings of Abelard versus that in Heloise? Is one more individualistic than the other? Is maturity an issue that comes into this discussion? How about obsession? Co-dependence? Love? Rationality? Introspection? Faith/spirituality? Lust? Authority?

        Related to all this is an Enlightenment concept by Kant explained here. Historians have argued that Abelard and Heloise support the concept of a 12th-Century Renaissance. Have they also anticipated and applied this principle of the Enlightenment, as formulated by Kant? Or not? One way to get at the heart of this question is through another: Did the commitment of Abelard and Heloise to higher education help, or hinder, their intellectual maturity?

          Have evidence at your fingertips for our discussion of this, and reasons ready in your mind.