Abelard: A Medieval Life [Paperback]

M. T. Clanchy (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0631214445 | ISBN-13: 978-0631214441 | Publication Date: May 12, 1999

Michael Clanchy introduces the reader to medieval life through the experience of Peter Abelard, the master of the Paris schools.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is one of the best books on medieval culture I have ever read, and I was so delighted by it I was sorry to get to the end and to have to put it down." Norman F. Cantor, New York University <!--end-->

"A great book, 'unique' like its hero" Jaques Le Goff, Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Science Sociales

"A crowning achievement of writing medieval history in our generation." John W. Baldwin, John Hopkins University

"Michael Clanchy's book will rank for some time as the best scholarly biography of Abelard. It is a compelling and convincing account that draws together the many disparate facets of the life of one of the most energetic minds and personalities of the twelfth century, or indeed of the Middle Ages." Times Literary Supplement

"It takes a touch of genius to bring a twelfth-century intellectual to life in this way." The English Historical Review

"The new biography by Michael Clanchy ... [is now] the standard historical study of Abelard's life. It is a work of great energy and insight ... It also provides analyses based on a thorough knowledge of Abelard and Abelard studies, that are as stimulating as they are provocative." The Medieval Review, August 1999

"Here is a fresh and central reconstruction of Abelard as a person, based on the research and text editions of previous decades, that puts him at the very center of medieval life and culture and thus makes him relevant for our own times." Revue d'histoire ecclesiastique

"This marvelous book about one of the most controversial and interesting of twelfth-century men deserves the warmest welcome...It will surely establish itself and maintain a place for many years, as an accessible and balanced assessment of Abelard ..." Reviews in History

"This book is much more than a life of Abelard: it is also an excellent survey of the twelfth century, which, while remaining faithful to the highest standards of scholarship, reads much like a good novel. This is a rare case indeed: a book with much to offer to specialists and beginners, which can also be recommended to historians and theologians alike." Theological Studies

"This is one of the half-dozen best books ever written about the European Middle Ages. M.T. Clanchy integrates ecclesiastical, cultural, and social history, and the biography of a great mind and academic with depth of learning, subtlety of insight, and skillful and at times elegant writing that are rarely seen among medievalists ... My only regret is that I came to the end of it too quickly. I would gladly have remained immersed in Abelard and Heloise and their world for another two or three hundred pages ... Clanchy's Aberlard will stay with you and haunt your sensibility and imagination." American Historical Review

"Clanchy has performed a valuable service in bringing together often difficult and specialised scholarship into accessible form for the general reader." Journal of Religious History

Book Description

Discover medieval life through the experience of Peter Abelard, the master of the Paris schools whose career included seducing Heloise (his student), being castrated, accused of treason, condemned as a heretic (twice) as well as writing his memoirs - his "story of calamities."

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Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell (May 12, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0631214445
• ISBN-13: 978-0631214441
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #899,839 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What Did Heloise Know and When Did She Tell Abelard?, June 1, 2002

By 

Edward Garea "Edward Garea" (Branchville, New Jersey United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Abelard: A Medieval Life (Paperback)

M. T. Clanchy has written what will surely be regarded as the definitive biography of Abelard in years to come. Clanchy presents us with a portrait of a philosopher/theologian who made enemies with the same ease that he applied to the problems of God and man. Instead of a sterilt, academic look at the man's thought we are instead treated to a panorama of medieval politics and their impact upon both the man and his thought, which was responsible for getting Abelard in hot water on many an occasion, coming as he did under the jaundiced eye of the Inquisition. Along the way Abelard picks up his own personal Inquisitor in the person of St. Bernard, who finds himself at odds with Abelard's writings and Ableard's frequent public defense of his thought.

As if this weren't enough, what separates this work from the rest is its speculation on the role of Heloise in the thought of Abelard. The standard portrait of Heloise through they years has been one of a young woman was was taught, then seduced by her teacher, Peter Abelard. They married, the marriage was annuled by her family and Abelard paid the price by being castrated. Heloise escaped to a monastery where she became a nun and later superior. But history also tells us that Heloise was very respected for her sagacity and intelligence. Clanchy makes the obvious speculation that as their relationship as lovers grew over the years, so did their intellectual partnership. He points to several instances where the thought of Abelard undergoes changes after the relationship with Heloise was well underway. Given the times and the historical portrait of both lovers, this argument comnes across as a refreshing revision in the intellectual development of one of Europe's leading thinkers.

For those interested in the development of medieval philosophy and those interested in a good solid biography, this volume fills both needs without insulting its reader.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book, December 29, 2010

By 

D. Wolf (Rochester, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Abelard: A Medieval Life (Paperback)

This is a terrific book which is far more interesting than I even hoped it would be when I purchased it. This is a book which provokes thought and makes me want to read more about a period of time (and the people who made it) of which I knew/know very little.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enter the Medieval University with One of Its Founders..., March 3, 2008

By 

Ray "A Reader" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Abelard: A Medieval Life (Paperback)

"Abelard: A Medieval Life" is a scholarly, yet ultimately readable, biography of this most fascinating of medieval scholars. With its superb eye for detail, the text, one of the only to be released on abelard in the last decades, is likely to become a new standard of the subject for the foreseeable future. Written with more of an eye for detail and explanation rather than splash and panache, the text is a comprehensive introduction to the life and work of Abelard, including a chronology of the man, the places he lived and the positions he held, and all the well-known issues surrounding his "abrasive" personality. At some 400 pages, the book will take a few days to digest, but the information and insight the work offers is a rare treat, and will more that satisfy the needs of current scholarship when investigating Abelard and the cast of characters (William of Champeaux, Roscelin of Compiègne, Hugh of St Victor, Anselm of Laon, Peter the Venerable, Heloise, and many others) that surround the story.

Clanchy's work is written at the highest level, with an eye towards scholarship rather than popular narrative. As with any such work, this can make for some difficult reading at places. This approach, however, allows for the book to have lasting value as a reference to both Abelard and to the time and issues he worked in, including the rise of the medieval university and some of the issues that were debated at the time (universals, "mysteries," the advent of scholasticism, and so forth).

The book is divided into sections that treat Abelard's life in chronological order, with each focusing on a particular aspect of Abelard's life at each phase (e.g., "Master," "Logician," "Man," "Lover," "Theologian," "Heretic," and so on). A short "Who's Who" of personages is at the rear of the book, which can be helpful to keep track of the numerous individuals at play in the story. From a scholarly viewpoint, perhaps one of the strongest elements of the text is the extensive bibliography which Clanchy has put together to illustrate his subject. This bibliography can serve as the starting point to numerous derivative studies.

Abelard was a man of startling contradictions, yet we recognize the "personality type" right away once we know the narrative well enough. Surely the story of Heloise and Abelard has held the attention of nearly one millennia of readers, and their honorary grave at Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris is still regularly decorated with flowers from those who still follow the story with great interest. It is probably not possible to understand Abelard without understanding Heloise, but this book, a truly well-written and fascinating work, allows us to examine this medieval scholar anew, and ponder the loves, goals, and motives that lay behind his now famous place in history.