medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear List,
As I am working on the life of Astralabe, Abelard's son, I have given his
parents' marriage, and the circumstances of his conception, some
consideration. I have a paper summarising my research that I will happily
send to any interested party. Please e-mail me mailto:[log in to unmask]
although it is a bit long to send as an attachment.
Like Werner Roble I have also done some work on Heloise's background. Werner
Roble has published my paper on Heloise on his web site EVEN THO he has come
to totally different conclusions from mine.
However I am - like Werner Robl - an amateur in mediaeval history.
I believe that Heloise was herself illegitimate and the child of a priest
and a nun. Thus her attitude to marriage might be somewhat casual.
(Christopher Brooke: "The medieval idea of marriage" thinks that Heloise was
the child of clerical concubinage.)
Heloise's refusal to marry Abelard seems to have arisen from her belief that
marriage and "philosophy" were incompatible. Marriage would also have
sabotaged Abelard's promotion prospects in the church.
Abelard wanted to marry her out of a chivalrous sense of honour and also in
order to put himself right with his colleague, Canon Fulbert, whom he had
betrayed and dishonoured by his seduction of Fulbert's ward. Please note
that it was FULBERT who was betrayed and dishonoured by the seduction, not
Heloise. The offence was against the woman's family, not to the woman
herself. Her consent - or otherwise - was irrelevant.
It was impossible for Heloise to resist Abelard's pressure to marry her. She
had eloped with him, she was a guest of his family and she had no other
economic support (that we know of) for herself or her child. Also he legal
guardian, Canon Fulbert, had consented to the marriage. It was his consent
that mattered, not her's. She was probably also justly afraid of how her
uncle would treat her on her return. In fact Abelard records that she later
fled from her uncle's abuse although it is not clear whether this was
physical or only verbal.
Once Abelard (in his post-calamity state of mind) had resolved to become a
monk, Heloise was OBLIGED to become a nun. Because they were a married
couple, either BOTH had to "enter religion" or neither. Once again Heloise's
course of action was dictated by the men she was dependent on.
She simply had to make the best of a bad job - as women always had done up
to the 1960s in the Western World and still have to in much of the rest of
the world. It is interesting that Heloise EXPRESSED an independent
expression, and that it was recorded. I do not believe Abelard "faked"
Heloise's anti-marriage views. For one thing he was a man with a high regard
for truth even if his view of truth was (like everyone's) biassed. But he
was clearly surprised that she did not fall on his neck in thankfulness when
he announced they were to marry.
Sorry if this is a bit long.
Comment on the bones in a sequal ...
Brenda M.C.
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