The Love Letters of Abelard and Heloise - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1908388757 ISBN 13: 9781908388759

Publisher: Aziloth Books, 2012

Synopsis

Almost one thousand years ago two people fell in love. Peter Abelard was the tutor of nineteen year old Heloise, and nearly twenty years her senior. It was a torrid affair, Heloise fell pregnant, and her guardian, Abbot Fulbert, plotted a hideous revenge. Abelard was seized and castrated. The lovers responded to this catastrophe by retreating into separate religious orders and seeking peace in the service of God. Years later a letter from Abelard to a friend falls by chance into Heloise's possession. She writes to him and there follows a series of letters that, even today, has the power to shock, excite and move the reader to tears. The poignant yearning to see one another once more is in every line of their correspondence. Heloise's timeless declarations of love could have been written only yesterday; her reckless, ruthless honesty, her apotheosis of love over morality - 'If the emperor Augustus saw fit to honor me with marriage ... it would be dearer to me to be called not his empress, but your whore' - cannot fail but impress with its hopeless, defiant fidelity. Absolutely captivating.

About this title

About the Author

Abelard and Heloise are nearly as famous a pair of tragic lovers as the fictional Romeo and Juliet; their shared passion for knowledge, religious faith, and one another sealed their destiny. Abelard was a well-respected, 12th-century Parisian scholar and teacher, and Heloise was his talented young student. The two relate their story through a set of letters to one another and intimate acquaintances. Their ardor is unmistakable; as Abelard writes to his love, "So intense were the fires of lust which bound me to you that I set those wretched, obscene pleasures, which we blush even to name, above God as above myself..." This forbidden lust resulted in a pregnancy and secret marriage, and when their union could no longer withstand the challenges in its path, each lover sought refuge in the church--Abelard became a monk and Heloise an abbess. Their correspondence continued as both achieved success in their new careers but continued to struggle with their feelings for one another; the set of letters powerfully articulates the wide range of emotions they experienced. So timeless is their love story that--after eight centuries--their passion, their devotion, and their struggle still resonate with readers.

Edition details

• Publisher: Aziloth Books
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1908388757
• ISBN 13: 9781908388759
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 110
• Editor: Gollancz Sir Israel, Morten Honnor