Letters of Abelard and Heloise

I just finished a classic book of letters, written by Peter Abelard and Heloise d’Argenteuil, over the course of their life-long, 12th century love affair. I won't try to retell the entire story here, but it's the touching story of a real couple that endures great strife before, during and long after their troubled marriage together.

Peter, a scholar renowned across Europe, and Heloise, a serious student of classical letters, fall in love but are quickly forced to separate due to bizarre and extreme circumstances.

Many years later, after Peter had become a monastic leader and Heloise was cloistered in a nunnery, they resumed their relationship through written correspondence. They discuss their earlier life and marriage together, but also speak of their new lives devoted to the church, religion, and their respective monastic lives.

A strongly religious collection of letters, it was interesting to see frequent quotations and references of classical sources by both Abelard and Heloise. It seems that even the church was tolerant, perhaps even expecting, the citation of Plato and Aristotle to explain and support religious thinking.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the story was to see just how real the emotions of the two could be, that far in the remote past, and from noted religious leaders. Their humanity came through on every page, a glimpse into the difficulty of monastic life.