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 his [[castration]] and their [[separation]]. 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. The history of the letters is discussed at length by [[Constant Mews]]. | + | 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. |
| - | ===From her point of view=== | + | |
| - | Living within the precincts of Notre-Dame, under the care of her uncle, the canon Fulbert, was [[Héloïse d’Argenteuil|Héloïse]]. She was remarkable for her knowledge of [[classics|classical letters]], which extended beyond [[Latin]] to [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]]. Abélard sought a place in Fulbert's house, and then seduced Héloïse. The affair interfered with his career, and Abélard himself boasted of his conquest. Once Fulbert found out, they were separated, but met in secret. Héloïse became pregnant and was sent by Abélard to Brittany, where she gave birth to a son she named Astrolabe after the [[astrolabe|scientific instrument]]. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | To appease Fulbert, Abélard proposed a secret marriage in order not to mar his career prospects. Héloïse initially opposed it, but the couple married. When Fulbert publicly disclosed the marriage, and Héloïse denied it, she went to the convent of [[Argenteuil]] at Abélard's urging. Fulbert, believing that Abélard wanted to be rid of Héloïse, had him [[castration|castrated]], effectively ending Abélard's romantic career. Héloïse was forced to become a [[nun]]. Héloïse sent letters to Abélard, questioning why she must submit to a religious life for which she had no calling. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | According to historian [[Constant Mews]] in his ''The Lost Love Letters of Héloïse and Abélard'', a set of 113 anonymous love letters found in a 15th century manuscript represent the correspondence exchanged by Héloïse and Abelard during the earlier phase of their affair. These are not to be confused with the accepted [[Héloïse d’Argenteuil|letters of Abélard and Héloïse]] which were written nearly fifteen years after their romance ended. | + | |
| - | ===From his point of view=== | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | == Castration episode == | + | |
| - | :"Violently incensed, [Fulbert and his henchmen] laid a plot against me, and one night, while I, all unsuspecting, was asleep in a secret room in my lodgings, they broke in with the help of one of my servants, whom they had bribed. There they had vengeance on me with a most cruel and most shameful punishment, such as astounded the whole world, for they cut off those parts of my body with which I had done that which was the cause of their sorrow. This done, straightway they fled, but two of them were captured, and suffered the loss of their eyes and their genital organs." --''[[Historia calamitatum]]'' | + | |
| + | 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. | + | [[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== | ==See also== | ||
| *[[Epistolae duorum amantium]] | *[[Epistolae duorum amantium]] | ||
| *[[Historia calamitatum]] | *[[Historia calamitatum]] | ||
| + | *[[Star-crossed]] | ||
| + | *[[Letters of Abelard and Heloise (John Hughes translation)]] | ||
| {{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} | ||
Revision as of 10:51, 21 February 2012
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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
- Epistolae duorum amantium
- Historia calamitatum
- Star-crossed
- Letters of Abelard and Heloise (John Hughes translation)
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.
