Letters of Abelard and Heloise

‘God knows I never sought anything in you except yourself. I wanted simply you, nothing of yours’ The story of the doomed relationship between Abelard and Heloise is one of the world’s most celebrated and tragic love affairs. It is told through the letters of Peter Abelard, a French philosopher and one of the greatest logicians of the twelfth century, and his gifted pupil Heloise. Through their impassioned writings unfolds the story of a romance, from its reckless, ecstatic beginnings through to public scandal, an enforced marriage and its devastating consequences. These eloquent and intimate letters express a vast range of emotions from adoration and devotion to reproach, indignation and grief, and offer a timeless and moving analysis of love. This is a revised edition of Betty Radice’s acclaimed translation, in which Michael Clanchy, the biographer of Abelard, provides new notes and introductory guidance through recent scholarship concerning the authenticity of these letters. This volume comprises Abelard’s remarkable autobiography and the subsequent correspondence between Heloise and Abelard, including his spiritual advice to her and her nuns, together with the letters of Peter the Venerable concerning them.
The Letters of Abelard and Heloise Acknowledgments Preface to the Revised Edition Chronology Introduction The Letters of Abelard and Heloise in Today's Scholarship Further Reading Letter 1. Historia calamitatum: Abelard to a Friend: The Story of His Misfortunes The Personal Letters Letter 2. Heloise to Abelard Letter 3. Abelard to Heloise Letter 4. Heloise to Abelard Letter 5. Abelard to Heloise The Letters of Direction Letter 6. Heloise to Abelard Letter 7. Abelard to Heloise (summarized) Letter 8. Abelard to Heloise Abelard's Confession of Faith Letters of Peter the Venerable and Heloise Peter the Venerable: Letter (98) to Pope Innocent II Peter the Venerable: Letter (115) to Heloise Heloise: Letter (167) to Peter the Venerable Peter the Venerable: Letter (168) to Heloise Two Hymns by Abelard Sabbato ad Vesperas In Parasceve Domini: III. Nocturno Appendix: An Excerpt from the 'Lost Love Letter' of Heloise and Abelard Maps The Kingdom of France in the time of Abelard Paris in the time of Abelard Notes Index