Abstract
This paper focuses on the letters of Heloise and Abelard, and claims they are enlightening, for their correspondence includes discussions about the nature and aspects of medieval society, such as prevailing views about love and marriage, monasticism, scholarship, and the consequences of family feuds. The experiences of Heloise and Abelard are extraordinary, for Abelard was a brilliant young philosopher who seduced his brilliant and beautiful student, Heloise. When she got pregnant and they secretly married, Heloise's relatives were furious because they believed she had been terribly victimized by Abelard and took vengeance by castrating him.

From the Paper
"The letters of Heloise and Abelard are enlightening, for their correspondence includes discussions about the nature and aspects of medieval society, such as prevailing views about love and marriage, monasticism, scholarship, and the consequences of family feuds. The experiences of Heloise and Abelard are extraordinary, for Abelard was a brilliant young philosopher who seduced his brilliant and beautiful student, Heloise. When she got pregnant and they secretly married ..."

Tags:monasticism, Middle, Ages, romance

Abstract
This paper analyzes "The Letters of Heloise and Abelard" by Betty Radice. It looks at the wide range of issues that the correspondence of Heloise and Abelard touch on, such as love and marriage, monasticism, scholarship and the consequences of family feuds. The paper also looks briefly at the characteristics of each lover as can be seen through their writing.

From the Paper
"The second letter, in which Heloise writes to Abelard asking why he has not written to her in ten years, is especially interesting in that it reveals that Heloise had little choice but to enter a convent in obedience to Abelard. (Radice 53) His advice to her about running the convent reflected the prevailing consensus that shipping women off to a convent if they got into any sort of trouble was the best way to deal with scandals, for it was commonly believed that life in a convent would eliminate the temptation to sin, instill piety and provide a religious environment conducive to repentance."
"Monasteries served the same purpose for men, and Abelard entered one for the same reasons he advised Heloise to enter a convent. But entering a monastery was voluntary for men and was not a coercive sanction imposed by society on men for sexual indiscretions. A pervasive double standard existed in medieval times, for men were not held by society to the same sexual standards as women. This double standard even extended to the clergy, who were not officially permitted to marry and were expected to be celibate. But many members of the clergy married anyway, and had mistresses, without suffering any consequences in the form of social ostracism or punitive action from the Vatican."

Tags:marriage, monasticism, scholarship, temptation, feud

Abstract
This paper discusses the love letters of the twelfth century French couple, Abelard and Heloise in the context of the social mores of the time, and focuses primarily upon their ideas concerning marriage, philosophy, and love.

Tags:letters, abelard, heloise

Abstract
This paper examines the lives and times of the twelfth century lovers Abelard and Heloise, as revealed in the correspondence that has been preserved as "The Letters of Abelard and Heloise." The writer discusses how, in addition to autobiographical information, the forces reshaping European demographics and society during the twelfth century are evident within the pages of the text. The revolutionary new disputation technique in teaching, the emergence of the Cathedral schools, reforms within the Church, the controversial debate surrounding the universals, as well as the censorship of Abelard's work are all well represented within "The Letters of Abelard and Heloise."

From the Paper
"The first-born son of a Breton knight, Abelard became so enamored with learning that he surrendered his right to primogeniture to his younger brothers in order to pursue his studies. He explains in his Historia calamitatum that he rejected the life of a soldier and "withdrew from the court of Mars in order to kneel at the feet of Minerva," choosing the "conflicts of disputation instead of the trophies of war" (58). He studied under noted scholars, among them Roscelin, Anselm of Laon, and William of Champeaux, and amassed an ever widening group of his own students, before eventually securing the chair of Notre Dame for himself."

Tags:dialectic theology scripture reform, Athanasian Creed, monastic Realism

Abstract
This paper discusses Peter Abelard and the influence of his ideas on his time. The writer provides a brief biography and describes how Abelard applied 12th century methods of dialectical inquiry to Christian doctrine. One of Abelard's most controversial ideas was that all redemption theories linked to the Catholic Church that expressed the need for paying a price or ransom imposed on God (i.e. indulgences) were unacceptable, unnecessary and immoral. The paper concludes that Abelard's personal view of Christian theology brought about a new method of thought filled with questions, almost to the point of viewing theology from a scientific/logical platform, and continues to influence scholars and thinkers today.

From the Paper
"It was during this time that Abelard first encountered Heloise, the niece of Fulbert, a canon at the great cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Slowly, Abelard became Heloise's teacher and friend and eventually her lover. The entire story of his relationship with Heloise, starting with their love affair, the birth of their son Astrolabe and their secret marriage which was highly criticized by Fulbert, was later recorded in Abelard's The Story of My Misfortunes. As a result of his relationship with Heloise, Abelard's profession as a teacher was destroyed, yet after insisting that Heloise enter a religious life at the convent of Argenteuil around 1119, he managed to vindicate himself and became linked with the royal Abbey of Saint-Denis, where he remained for more than four years."

Tags:Augustine, sin, moral, Cluny, logic, metaphysics

Abstract
This paper explains that, although the moral, inferred from Jean-Jacques Rousseau's novel "La Nouvelle Heloise", is not necessarily negative or dangerous, the themes that Rousseau exploits can be seen to present a moral danger. If read as an advocacy of relationships outside marriage, which give into passion, disregard class divisions, refuse conventions and ignore parental authority, the author believes that this novel can be seen as being morally dangerous. However, if the reader looks at the aspect of virtue, the paper concludes that "La Nouvelle Heloise" also can be considered morally uplifting just as Rousseau believed. The paper contains several quotations in French.

From the Paper
"The danger becomes further evident when ultimately, Julie and Saint-Preux's affair could be said to have caused the death of Julie's mother. Julie's mother falls ill and dies after she discovers the letters between Julie and Saint-Preux (who is now in Paris), which suggests that the correspondence and the shock was likely to have caused the death. Julie feels guilty and coupable, as though it is her actions that are to blame for the death - namely giving in to passion and ignoring her father's authority, and this guilt is a heavy burden - "je ne vois plus que ma honte; ma vie n'est plus que peine et douleur"."

Tags:affairs, class differences, passion, father's authority, virtue

Abstract
This paper examines how the marriage, fate, and monasticism of Abelgard and Heloise relate to the 12th century. The paper points out that their clergy vows are in direct conflict with their love, as both are piously religious people, dedicated to serve only the church, in a time when the focus on religion is serious and significant. The paper concludes that because there is tremendous pressure to uphold their commitments of piety, they have no choice but to endure their respective fates and deal with the issues resulting from their love.

From the Paper
"From the letters, it seemed that Heloise and Abelard disagreed on their opinions of marriage. The differences in how men and women perceived marriage in the 12th century are noticeable in Abelard's letter to Philinites. Abelard talks about her uncle, separating him from Heloise, after discovering that they were lovers, writing, "the town talk at last reached Fulbert's ears...I was obliged to leave the Canon's house..." (10). Going against what was suitable regarding marriage in the 12th century, Abelard takes Heloise away before getting her uncle's consent, "this carrying off of Heloise was sufficient revenge on Fulbert" (13). Despite his real love for Heloise, Abelard regards marriage as vengeance towards her uncle. He secretly sends Heloise to Brittany with intentions on marry her, " I took a journey into Brittany in order to bring hack my dear Heloise, whom I now considered my wife" (14). When he arrives Heloise dislikes the idea of marriage. He states, "she urged all that was possible to divert me from marriage"( 14). She even appeals to Abelard's sister, Lucilla, to discourage him from wedding."

Tags:monasticism, clergy, vows, piety

Abstract
This paper discusses the relations between the sexes, both within and outside the Church in the 12th Century. It uses the example of Pierre Abelard's writings to Heloise, to qualify points made.

From the Paper
"Most students of medieval history or theology know the story of Pierre Peter Abelard, a famous theologian and philosopher whose views got him denounced as a heretic in the 12th century. However it is not as a philosopher that he is best remembered, but his popular fame resulted from his tragic love affair with Heloise exchanging famous letters of love and suffering ..."

Tags:Abelard, Heloise, morals, status of women, Church elite, forgeries

Abstract
This paper provides a book summary about "La Nouvelle Heloise" by Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who wrote the book in the 1700s in the form of love letters. The writer of this paper discusses the book's plot, summary and several important aspects of its make up.

From the Paper
"The first three parts of the book are devoted entirely to her falling grace and the deep and all consuming passion that can occur between lovers. Many times the very act of staying hidden and having to sneak around to meet creates the excitement that the affair might otherwise not have offered. This seems to be the case at least partially in the case of these two lovers. The letters in the first part of the book give the reader a blueprint of how they reunited, and who made the first move. (It was him). The reader is taken on an exploratory journey of love and longing that must be hidden for the sake of the woman s virtue and relationship with her children."

Tags:literary, 1700, lover, Julie, letters