Medieval Scholar Impregnates and Marries Student, and Her Family Go Medieval on Him
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Romeo and Juliet might be the world’s best known star crossed lovers, but they are fictional characters, conceived in the imagination of William Shakespeare and brought to life by his quill. For real life star crossed lovers, perhaps none are more famous than Heloise and Abelard, two medieval scholars whose romance ended as painfully – especially for him – as it gets.
Peter Abelard (1079 – 1142) was born into minor French nobility in Brittany, and from an early age, he exhibited a love of learning that marked him for a life of scholarship. His father encouraged him to study the liberal arts, and by his early 20s, Abelard was famous for his debating skill, particularly in philosophy. Like some super smart people, however, he also gained a reputation for arrogance.
By 1115 Abelard was an accomplished theologian, the master of Notre Dame, and a canon in the archdiocese that included Paris. That was when he ran into Heloise d’Argenteuil (circa 1095 – 1164), who lived in the precincts of Notre Dame under the care of her uncle, a secular canon named Fulbert. A rarity in her day, Heloise had mastered Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and had gained renown for her knowledge of classical studies.
Abelard wormed his way into Fulbert’s household, claiming that he could not afford a place of his own, and offering to tutor his niece in lieu of rent. Fulbert agreed, tutor and pupil soon hit it off, and in 1115, Heloise and Abelard began an affair. It was torrid, and given their circumstance, the duo were too blinded by their passion to pay heed to the risks involved.