Peter Abelard and Heloise

Peter Abelard the name by which he is best known (his French name was Pierre Abélard) 1079-1142 was a French philosopher and theologian although he became better known for his scandalous romance of Héloise. In 1117 Abelard began tutoring Héloise, but quickly fell in love with her and she became pregnant. The problem was if he got married he would lose his job as Canon of Notre Dame Cathedral. He wanted to marry her, but she argued that his work as a philosopher was far too important to be jeopardized by the restraints of marriage. Eventually, they did marry, secretly after Héloise gave birth to a son. After her uncle discovered the marriage he hired thugs to beat him up and castrate Peter. Abelard retreated to a monastery at the Abbey of St. Denis and became a monk. He admonished Héloise to enter a convent and become a nun, which she did under protest. She eventually ended in the abbess and became one of the most literate women of her time, living an exemplary and pure life as an able administrator. For some time she continued to protest and at about 1132 Abelard and Héloise began their famous correspondence that stands as a pillar of romantic classics. The last months of his life were spent under the protection of Peter the Venerable of Cluny, where he died. Abelard's body was taken to the Paraclete and upon Heloise's death, she was buried next to him. They now lie together in a single tomb in the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.