Letters of Abelard and Heloise  

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-The '''''Letters of Heloise and Abelard''''' is a series of letters between French priest [[Peter Abelard]] and his female student [[Héloïse d’Argenteuil]] after their [[separation]] and his [[castration]]. These letters were also the inspiration for [[Alexander Pope]]'s poem "[[Eloisa to Abelard]]".+The '''''Letters of Heloise and Abelard''''' are a series of letters between French priest [[Peter Abelard]] and his female student [[Héloïse d’Argenteuil]].
-These letters are only known by posthumous copies which makes it impossible to ascertain their authenticity, no original copies of these letters exist. Yet even if other authors have been attributed to the letters, the name of [[Jean de Meung]] has cropped up, the letters' authenticity remain the most probable thesis.+There are two time periods in this correspondence, the first, only recently discovered, are the so-called ''[[epistolae duorum amantium]].
-The story of Heloise and Abelard is one of an illicit love of Heloise for, and secret marriage to, her teacher [[Pierre Abélard]], and the brutal vengeance her family exacts when they [[Castration|castrate]] him, not realizing that the lovers had married.+The second period of letters comes after the publication of ''[[Historia Calamitatum]]'', the story of the Abelard's misfortunes as told by himself, and consists of six letters. The first of them is entitled 'Abelard to Philintus' and is followed by a letter from Heloise to Abelard and an answer by Abelard. After this Heloise writes two more letters and finally receives a last answer. The letters were written in Latin.
- +
-== Castration episode ==+
-:"[Philintus] bribed my servants; an assassin came into my bedchamber by night, with a razor in his hand, and found me in a deep sleep. I suffered the most shameful punishment that the revenge of an enemy could invent; in short, without losing my life, I lost my [[manhood]]. So cruel an action escaped not justice, the villain suffered the same mutilation, poor comfort for so irretrievable an evil. I confess to you that shame more than any sincere penitence made me resolve to hide myself from the sight of men, yet could I not separate myself from my Heloise."[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Letters_of_Ab%C3%A9lard_and_H%C3%A9lo%C3%AFse/Letter_1] in a translation/edition by [[John Hughes (poet)|John Hughes]]+
- +
-:"[Philintus] bribed my servants; an assassin came into my bedchamber by night, with a razor in his hand, and found me in a deep sleep. I suffered the most shameful punishment that the revenge of an enemy could invent; in short, without losing my life, I lost my manhood. So cruel an action escaped not justice, the villain suffered the same mutilation, poor comfort for so irretrievable an evil. I confess to you that shame more than any sincere penitence made me resolve to hide myself from the sight of men, yet could I not separate myself from my Heloise." --[[The Love Letters of Abelard and Heloise Trans. by Anonymous, edited by Israel Gollancz and Honnor Morten]]+
 +The letters are only known by posthumous copies which makes it impossible to ascertain their authenticity, no original copies of these letters exist. The historicity of the letters is discussed at length by [[Constant Mews]].
== Publication history == == Publication history ==
-The original Latin text was published in Paris in [[1616]], but it was only after the publication of a French translation of the correspondence in [[1693]] that these letters began to attract wide public attention.+The original Latin text was published in Paris in [[1616]], edited by [[François d'Amboise]], but it was only after the publication of a French translation of the correspondence in [[1693]] that they began to attract wide public attention.
- +
-[[John Hughes (poet)|John Hughes]] (c. 1678-1720) was not a great poet, but his translation of the ''Letters of Abelard and Heloise'', preceded by a summary of their lives by [[Pierre Bayle]] (first published in 1713), was of enormous popularity throughout the eighteenth century.+
- +
-==Cultural references==+
-===Literary===+
- +
-The [[Mark Twain]] book, [[The Innocents Abroad]] tells a satirical version of the story of Abélard and Héloïse.+
- +
-In the novel [[The Romantic]] by [[Barbara Gowdy]] the two central characters take their names from Héloïse and Abélard (Louise and Abélard in the novel).+
- +
-''[[Julie, or the New Heloise]]'' by [[Jean-Jacques Rousseau]] is a reference to the illicit love affair between Abelard and Heloise.+
- +
-===Poetry===+
- +
-François Villon's [[Ballade des Dames du Temps Jadis]] ("Ballad of the Ladies of Times Past") mentions Héloïse and Abélard in the second stanza.+
- +
-Their story inspired the poem "The Convent Threshold" by the Victorian English poet [[Christina Rossetti]], as well as the poem "[[Eloisa to Abelard]]" by the English poet [[Alexander Pope]].+
- +
-===Stage and film===+
- +
-[[Howard Brenton]]'s play ''[[In Extremis|In Extremis: The Story of Abelard and Heloise]]'' premiered at [[Shakespeare's Globe]] in {{As of|2006|lc=on}}.+
- +
-The film [[Stealing Heaven]] (1988) chronicles their story and stars [[Derek de Lint]], [[Kim Thomson]], and [[Denholm Elliott]].+
- +
-In the film [[Being John Malkovich]], the character Craig Schwartz, a failed puppeteer, stages a sidewalk puppet show depicting correspondence between Héloïse and Abélard.+
- +
-Director and writer [[Norman Szabo]] created an animated feature called [[William Shakespeare's Abelard + Heloise]].+
- +
-[[Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind]] makes several references to the story of Abelard and Heloise in both script and plot.+
- +
-===Music===+
- +
-The song Heloise by [[Frank Black]] from the [[Devil's Workshop]] album refers to this story.+
- +
-[[The Lady Who Sailed the Soul]] by [[Cordwainer Smith]] refers to the lovers.+
- +
-The song Nora by [[Richard Shindell]] features a verse about Heloise and Abelard.+
- +
-The [[Cole Porter]] song [[Just One of Those Things]] alludes to this story.+
- +
-The two protagonists in spanish singer-songwriter [[Joaquín Sabina]]'s song, [[Pájaros de Portugal]], are named Abelardo and Eloísa (Abelard and Heloise in spanish)+
- +
-The song "Abelard and Heloise" features on [[Seventh Angel]]'s latest album [[The Dust of Years]]. The lyrics are based on the couple's famous correspondence.+
- +
-===Other===+
-The French luxury fashion brand [[Chloé]] has a bag named in her honor, the Héloïse.+[[John Hughes (poet)|John Hughes]] (c. 1678-1720) translated the ''Letters of Abelard and Heloise'', in an edition preceded by a summary of their lives by [[Pierre Bayle]] (first published in 1713).
 +===Public domain versions===
 +There is a Wikisource version here[http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Letters_of_Ab%C3%A9lard_and_H%C3%A9lo%C3%AFse], edited by [[Israel Gollancz]] and [[Honnor Morten]] (1861-1913) in 1901, but Wikisource does not include the comments and introductions. However, Sacred-Texts has them here[http://www.sacred-texts.com/chr/aah/aah01.htm]
 +==See also==
 +*[[Epistolae duorum amantium]]
 +*[[Historia calamitatum]]
 +*[[Star-crossed]]
 +*[[Letters of Abelard and Heloise (John Hughes translation)]]
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The Letters of Heloise and Abelard are a series of letters between French priest Peter Abelard and his female student Héloïse d’Argenteuil.

There are two time periods in this correspondence, the first, only recently discovered, are the so-called epistolae duorum amantium.

The second period of letters comes after the publication of Historia Calamitatum, the story of the Abelard's misfortunes as told by himself, and consists of six letters. The first of them is entitled 'Abelard to Philintus' and is followed by a letter from Heloise to Abelard and an answer by Abelard. After this Heloise writes two more letters and finally receives a last answer. The letters were written in Latin.

The letters are only known by posthumous copies which makes it impossible to ascertain their authenticity, no original copies of these letters exist. The historicity of the letters is discussed at length by Constant Mews.

Publication history

The original Latin text was published in Paris in 1616, edited by François d'Amboise, but it was only after the publication of a French translation of the correspondence in 1693 that they began to attract wide public attention.

John Hughes (c. 1678-1720) translated the Letters of Abelard and Heloise, in an edition preceded by a summary of their lives by Pierre Bayle (first published in 1713).

Public domain versions

There is a Wikisource version here[1], edited by Israel Gollancz and Honnor Morten (1861-1913) in 1901, but Wikisource does not include the comments and introductions. However, Sacred-Texts has them here[2]

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Letters of Heloise and Abelard" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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