Soon after meeting near the famed city of love, Paris, Heloiseand Abelard fall into a deep and passionate love. Abelard is a well-known man and famous teacher; his students are considered to be lucky to study with him. Heloise, however, surpasses his other students with her multi-linguicism and impressive scholarship. Whether it be fate or their mutual intelligence, Heloise and Abelard make a quick connection. Since Heloise is one of Abelard's pupils, the love quickly invites scandal. When Fulbert, Heloise's uncle and sole guardian, discovers their romance, he forbids it. The two lovers continue their affair in secret, but it becomes impossible to hide when Heloise gets pregnant. After the birth of their son, Heloise is sent away to live in a convent, and Abelard soon follows her suit, becoming a monk after a violent run-in with Fulbert and his friends. Each struggle with their own religious journey, one born from necessity and shelter, the other from devotion. Though apart, Heloise and Abelard try to stay in touch and sustain their love, despite the public scandal and unfavorable odds. Told through a series of letters, witness the intimacy of this 12th century romance. Filled with scandal, passion, and emotion, The Letters of Abelard and Heloise gives readers a personal view into the famed and real-life relationship of Abelard and Heloise. This classic romance has since inspired love stories, while Abelard and Heloise remain legends in French history, and fascinating characters of history. Heloise's embodiment of feminist values provide much needed representation in classic literature. With a brilliant new cover design and a readable font, The Letters of Abelard and Heloise not only tells the true and dramatic story of a forbidden romance, but also offers insight into Middle Age culture and religious life.

‘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.

Abelard's major ethical writings--Ethics, or Know Yourself, and Dialogue between a Philosopher, a Jew and a Christian, are presented here in a student edition including cross-references, explanatory notes, a full table of references, bibliography, and index.