About Peter Abelard

Here are some recommended resources for exploring the life, times, and ideas of Peter Abelard:

• The best biography is Abelard: A Medieval Life by M.T. Clanchy
• A shorter treatment available on the web is this article from the Catholic Encyclopedia
• Abelard's autobiographical Historia Calamitatum is another good source (an excerpt is available on the web)
• The Letters of Abelard and Heloise are quite powerful and are usually bundled together with the Historia Calamitatum
• I enjoyed this essay on Abelard and Heloise by Eric Gans

Abelard's story, especially the story of his love affair with Heloise, has inspired quite a few artists over the centuries (from Alexander Pope to poets, playwrights, and novelists of the 20th century). Here is a sampling:

• Pope's poem Eloisa to Abelard, an answer to which was supplied by my friend Roger Donway in his poem Abelard to Heloise
• Peter Abelard, a novel by Helen Waddell (out of print but not hard to find in good used book stores)
• Abelard and Heloise, a play by Ronald Millar based heavily on Waddell's novel
• Stealing Heaven by Marion Meade, which was also made into a fairly good film
• Rage of the Heart, a musical by Enrico Garzilli (unfortunately the CD seems to be out of print); see also Astrid Ostheimer's unofficial Rage of the Heart website
• Abelard, a book-length poem by Cedric Whitman