Forbidden Romance

The Letters of Abelard and Heloise concern, centrally, a forbidden romance and its consequences. Peter Abelard quickly rose to prominence due to his extraordinary intellectual abilities and his innovative teachings. He won a number of disputations with older and putatively more accomplished scholars. Riding the wave of fame and the inevitable confidence it can bring, Abelard set his sights on seducing Heloise, a young girl who was widely renowned for her learning. Offering his skills as a private tutor, Abelard convinced Fulbert, Heloise's uncle, to let him live with them in order to teach Heloise directly.

Yet they were not engaged in learning for long, as a romance developed between them and passion broke out. While engaged in sexual romance, Abelard impregnated Heloise, and when Fulbert discovered this, Abelard married Heloise in secret so as not to harm his reputation. Fulbert revealed the marriage, which he had...