Abelard and Heloise (Great Medieval Thinkers) [Hardcover]

Constant J. Mews (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195156889 | ISBN-13: 978-0195156881 | Publication Date: January 13, 2005

Constant J. Mews offers an intellectual biography of two of the best known personalities of the twelfth century. Peter Abelard was a controversial logician at the cathedral school of Notre-Dame in Paris when he first met Heloise, who was the brilliant and outspoken niece of a cathedral canon and who was then engaged in the study of philosophy. After an intense love affair and the birth of a child, they married in secret in a bid to placate her uncle. Nonetheless the vengeful canon Fulbert had Abelard castrated, following which he became a monk at St. Denis, while Heloise became a nun at Argenteuil. Mews, a recognized authority on Abelard's writings, traces his evolution as a thinker from his earliest work on dialectic (paying particular attention to his debt to Roscelin of Compi�gne and William of Champeaux) to his most mature reflections on theology and ethics. Abelard's interest in the doctrine of universals was one part of his broader philosophical interest in language, theology, and ethics, says Mews. He argues that Heloise played a significant role in broadening Abelard's intellectual interests during the period 1115-17, as reflected in a passionate correspondence in which the pair articulated and debated the nature of their love. Mews believes that the sudden end of this early relationship provoked Abelard to return to writing about language with new depth, and to begin applying these concerns to theology. Only after Abelard and Heloise resumed close epistolary contact in the early 1130s, however, did Abelard start to develop his thinking about sin and redemption--in ways that respond closely to the concerns of Heloise. Mews emphasizes both continuity and development in what these two very original thinkers had to say.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Mews argues convincingly that Heloise was not merely an apt pupil but an intelletual peer who changed Abelard's thinking, particularly in ethics."--CHOICE

"Mews shows that Heloise and Abelard's literary partnership went far beyond love letters.... Mews has done us a great service in examining Heloise not just as a lover but as a writer, liturgical collabortaor, and theological thinker in her own right."--Books&Culture

"A beautifully detailed historical account of the two figures." --Speculum

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Constant J. Mews is Director of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology at Monash University in Australia. He is the author of The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard: Perceptions of Dialogue in Twelfth-Century France (1999).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (January 13, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195156889
• ISBN-13: 978-0195156881
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,756,591 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Abelard and Heloise (Great Medieval Thinkers), September 22, 2008

By 

Timothy E. Maher - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Abelard and Heloise (Great Medieval Thinkers) (Paperback)

Very good book and should be read with the others in the (Great Medieval Thinkers)series to get a complete overview where the foundations of our thelogy system developed from.