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The Letter Collection of Peter Abelard and Heloise

the Late Betty Radice translator David Luscombe editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Oxford University Press

Published:22nd Aug '13

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

The Letter Collection of Peter Abelard and Heloise cover

The collected letters of Peter Abelard and Heloise provide an extraordinarily vivid account of one of the most celebrated love affairs in the western world. It was an affair that developed into a vigorous quarrel and raised fundamental questions about love, marriage, and religious life, and also provided a uniquely valuable illustration of the intellectual and religious ferment that is called the Renaissance of the twelfth century. Abelard was the leading philosopher of his time and a very public figure in France, as well as being a fiercely attacked theologian and unpopular abbot. Heloise, his brilliant pupil, lover, and wife, also became a nun and abbess, much against her will. She provoked this brilliantly written correspondence which is widely regarded as one of the finest literary compositions of the twelfth century. These letters have for many centuries given enjoyment to their readers and have inspired numerous creative imitations. They have also given rise to huge disagreements over their historical content and significance. The collection opens with an autobiography which contains the story of the calamities that followed Abelard's successes - his castration, his condemnation for heresy, and the unhappiness of the couple's separation. Heloise's letters show an exceptional outpouring of grief and bitter recrimination. Yet the correspondence closes with thoroughly serious, scholarly, and original enquiries into the origins and development of pagan, Jewish, and Christian ideals of religious life both male and female. It constitutes a fundamental source for discussion and debate about important features of thought and religion in the Middle Ages. A new critical edition based on all the manuscripts has long been needed. Its appearance here with a facing English translation, a full introduction, extensive annotation taking into account recent scholarship, and detailed indexes will enable all kinds of readers to enjoy the letters and to join the debates which they always stir.

On account of the fullness, accurary, and clarity with which the evidence for the Latin text and its context is presented, I am convinced that the volume will frequently be consulted by scholars who seek further to understand one of the most dynamic and interesting periods of medieval history. * Alexander Andrée, University of Toronto, The Journal of Medieval Latin *
David Luscombe's massive and surely definitive edition...adds a rich apparatus of commentary...We should give thanks for Luscombe's learned, comprehensive and humane exposition. * The Times Literary Supplement *
magisterial... a daunting achievement that, for the first time, lets readers compare all the available manuscripts and read the canonical letters from beginning to end. * Edward Mendelson, London Review of Books *
A landmark in Abelardian scholarship. * Wim Verbaal, Revue d'Histoire Ecclesiastique *
This new edition of the letter collection of Abelard and Heloise is a wonderful and seminal contribution to the scholarship, which should be unanimously welcomed ... The edition itself is meticulous and based on a study of all the Latin manuscripts, at least two of which have not been used in previous editions. * Hannah Skoda, English Historical Review *

  • Winner of Winner of the British Academy Medal 2014; joint winner of the J. Franklin Jameson Award 2015.

ISBN: 9780198222484

Dimensions: 218mm x 148mm x 49mm

Weight: 1084g

792 pages