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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why did Peter the Venerable send Abelard away?
(a) To have an operation.
(b) To recuperate.
(c) To find a safe refuge.
(d) To instruct monks.

2. In Letter 6, what does Heloise ask Abelard to do for her?
(a) Free her from the convent.
(b) Lay out acts of devotion for her to perform.
(c) Write down the history of her misfortunes.
(d) Proscribe rules for her convent.

3. How many nuns are needed to run a convent, according to Abelard?
(a) One.
(b) Seven.
(c) Five.
(d) Three.

4. Which is not a part of the Rule Abelard describes to Heloise in Letter 8?
(a) The life of continence.
(b) The life of poverty.
(c) The life of prayer.
(d) The life of silence.

5. For what does Abelard ask Heloise at the end of Letter 7?
(a) Forgiveness.
(b) Details of her life in the convent.
(c) Her prayers.
(d) A sketch of the rule she requested from him.

6. To what does Abelard respond at first in Letter 7?
(a) Heloise's request for leniency.
(b) Heloise's request for patience.
(c) Heloise's initial quotes about nuns' practices.
(d) Heloise's demand for information.

7. What does Letter 7 describe to Heloise?
(a) Examples of women who bore more than men could bear.
(b) Reasons why women should not receive lighter burdens.
(c) Reasons why women should receive lighter burdens.
(d) Examples of women favored by the church.

8. How does Abelard say errors should be corrected?
(a) Leniently.
(b) Compassionately.
(c) Vigorously.
(d) Reciprocally.

9. What does Peter the Venerable say is his estimation of Abelard?
(a) A brilliant religious thinker.
(b) An effective bureaucrat.
(c) Truly a great man.
(d) A skilled manager.

10. For what did Heloise ask Peter the Venerable in her response?
(a) A sealed document containing Abelard's absolution.
(b) A certificate of Abelard's death.
(c) A record of Abelard's last days.
(d) A letter to the pope on Abelard's behalf.

11. Who sent Letter 9?
(a) Abelard.
(b) Heloise.
(c) The Abbott of Cluny.
(d) The pope.

12. What was Heloise's response to Peter the Venerable's letter?
(a) Nostalgia.
(b) Shame.
(c) Pride.
(d) Envy.

13. How does Abelard define poverty?
(a) Lack of property.
(b) Wisdom.
(c) Refusal to own property.
(d) Wealth in divine possessions.

14. Who does Peter the Venerable cite to Heloise in his letter?
(a) Women who loved great men.
(b) Women who overcame difficulties.
(c) Women who led nations.
(d) Women who led other women.

15. Why does Heloise argue for special dispensations?
(a) Not everyone can emulate the sufferings of Christ the same way.
(b) Monastic life was designed for ascetics, not for everyone.
(c) She does not want certain nuns to be sent away from the convent.
(d) Monastic life should not be imposed on people who will only fail at it.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did the sender of Letter 9 ask from his correspondent?

2. What does Abelard mean to indicate by the example of the Sibyl's prophecies?

3. What contrast does Abelard describe between early practice and current practice?

4. What should nuns primarily think about, according to Abelard?

5. What does Abelard rely on in providing a rule for the lives of the nuns at Paraclete?

(see the answer keys)

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