47 pages • 1 hour read
Peter Abelard, HeloiseThe Letters Of Abelard And Heloise
Nonfiction | Collection of Letters | Adult | Published in 1133A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Concluding MatterChapter Summaries & Analyses
Concluding Matter Summary
The concluding matter includes two hymns written by Abelard, “Sabbato Ad Vesperas–Vespers: Saturday Evening” and “In Parasceve Domini: III, Nocturno–Good Friday: The Third Nocturn.” The first hymn is longer and reflects on the Sabbaths, Jerusalem, truth and joy, exile and homecoming, and eternal praise of God. The second hymn is brief and reflects on Christ’s passion, Good Friday, and Easter.
The concluding matter also includes an appendix of excerpts from the “lost love letters” of Heloise and Abelard. It should be noted that these letters, which exist in a single 15th-century copy, have not been confirmed as written by Heloise and Abelard. Rather, they were written anonymously, and some scholars have postulated that they were written by Heloise and Abelard in the early years of their relationship. The letters differ in style from their letters written after taking religious vows. Clanchy notes that the excerpts provide “an intriguing new problem in the history of Abelard and Heloise” (237).
The excerpts are fervent love letters between two individuals who are entirely enamored with and overwhelmed with love for one another. The woman writes that “my breast blazes with the fervor of love” and the man responds to “my star…my greatest hope” (238-39). The lovers write back and forth, detailing how they suffer in love and absence and how their only consolation is in each other. The female lover notes that she feels unworthy of her male counterpart and unable to express her love as well as he. He encourages her to write more and refers to their love as “a particular force of the soul” and that “the two of us have a love that is pure, nurtured, and sincere” (241). In one of the final excerpts, the man tells the woman not to concern herself with the jealousy and backbiting of those who criticize “such a conspicuous and fitting friendship as ours” (244). The woman confirms that she submits herself to his rule and follows him in everything, and he responds that he is her servant.
Lastly, the concluding matter includes two maps for reference: one of the Kingdom of France, and the other of Paris in Abelard and Heloise’s time.
Concluding Matter Analysis
In regard to Abelard’s two hymns, we must remember that both Heloise and Abelard composed prose, verse, and music. In her first letter to Abelard, Heloise notes that he could win the heart of any woman through his composing and singing. The hymns are evidence that Abelard continued to compose as a monk, and it may be that his songs were sung at the Paraclete.
In regards to the Appendix and the love letters attributed to Heloise and Abelard, Clanchy notes the excitement among the scholarly community regarding the find, because it may provide another piece to the puzzle of Abelard and Heloise. We must keep in mind, however, that it has not yet been confirmed that the letters belong to the two, although the evidence is strong. If the correspondence is indeed theirs, it is entirely different from their correspondence a decade after taking religious vows. We find them amid a fiery and consuming love affair. Rather than regretting their sins, the man and woman in the letters revel in their love for one another. The letters invoke lust but also love, as the man reinforces that their love is pure and sincere. Unlike their later letters, which are filled with references to religious works, these letters are filled with references to the liberal arts and sciences. If these are indeed the works of Heloise and Abelard, they provide crucial insight into their mindsets during their love affair and a potent comparison with their later letters and mindsets.
