 Abelard and Heloise...their passion brought tragedy,
their intellect survival.Pour qui fut châtré et puis moine Pierre Abélard à Saint-Denys Pour son amour eut cet essoyne Where is the very wise Heloise For whom was castrated and then a monk Pierre Abelard at Saint-Denis For his love he paid that penalty The love story of Abelard and Heloise is recognized as the first recorded modern love affair. It is marked by a shared passion: a passion for the sensual as well as the intellect. Their shared passion spiraled to complete fulfillment and destruction. The deep respect they held for each others' intellectual prowess propelled them into a state of sexual euphoria. Pierre Abelard (1079-1142) was a "dialectician, philosopher, and theologian", (The Catholic Encyclopedia) from a small town near Nantes, France. He was an intellectual who helped lead the way to individual thinking. As a young student he gained a reputation for questioning the philosophies and theories of the age on various subjects, above all religion and faith. He was not afraid to question, probe and correct his teachers who were the masters, the learned men of his time. This of course did not sit favorably with his elders who were quite obviously envious of his genius. This character flaw, as it was seen by his masters, is an element that would add to his and Heloise's demise. |
