A letter from Peter the Venerable (1143-44)

Translated letter:

I was delighted to receive the kind letter you sent to me some time ago by my son Thibaut, and I embraced it as a friend for the sake of its sender.  I wanted to write immediately what was in my heart, but I could not do so, prevented as I was by the troublesome demands of my duties, to which I am very often – indeed, almost always – compelled to yield.  I have only just snatched what time I could in a day of confusing interruptions.

I really should have hastened to make at least the recompense of words for your affection for me, of which both your letter and the gifts you sent me earlier made me aware.  I should have shown you how large a place of love for you in the Lord I keep in my heart.  Certainly, I have not just begun to love someone whom I remember having loved for a long time.  I had not altogether left my first youth, I had not quite reached young manhood, when the fame, not yet of your piety, but of your distinguished and praiseworthy studies became known to me.

I heard then that a woman, though still not freed from worldly ties, was deeply devoted to literary studies, which is most unusual, and to the pursuit of wisdom, albeit wisdom of the world.  I heard that she could not be prevented by worldly pleasures, frivolities, and delights from the useful purpose of learning the arts.  In a time when a detestable laziness keeps almost everyone from these studies, and when the progress of wisdom can come to a standstill – I do not say among women, by whom it is entirely rejected, but when it can hardly find virile minds among men – you, through your praiseworthy zeal, have completely excelled all women, and surpassed almost all men.

In the words of the Apostle (Gal. 1:15), as it pleased him who brought you forth from your mother’s womb to call you by his grace, it was not long before you exchanged this devotion to learning for a far better one.  Now fully and truly a woman of wisdom, you have chosen the Gospel instead of logic, the Apostle in place of philosophy, Christ rather than Plato, the cloister instead of the Academy.  You have snatched the spoils from the defeated enemy and, passing through the desert of this pilgrimage with the treasures of the Egyptians, you have built in your heart a precious tabernacle for God.  You have sung a song of praise as Miriam did when Pharaoh was drowned (Exod. 15:20), and carrying in your hands the tambour of holy mortification as she once did, you have sent forth with skilled musicianship a new melody to the very ears of God.

In assuming the struggle that, with God’s grace, you will continue successfully, you have now trampled underfoot the ancient serpent who is always lying in wait for women, and you have so driven him out that he will never dare to tempt you further.  “He has not his like among the strong things of earth, that fearless nature, that heaven-confronting eye.  Over all the pride of earth he reigns supreme,” according to the words of God himself to the holy Job (41:24-25), and you have chained him up to lament for you and the handmaids of God who dwell with you.  Truly this is a singular miracle, to be praised above all wondrous works, that he whom the prophet Ezekiel (31:8) called a tree so tall that “in God’s own garden cedar could not overtop it, fir-tree match it for height,” was brought low by the frail sex, and the strongest of archangels overcome by the weakest of women.  In such a duel, the Creator gains the very greatest glory and, on the other hand, the utmost humiliation is heaped upon the deceiver.  In this struggle he earns the reproach of having been not only foolish but, above all, ridiculous, because he aspired to equal the divine majesty when he could not even win a brief battle with woman’s weakness.  The woman who is victorious in such a contest deserves to wear on her head a jeweled crown from the King of Heaven, so that, as she was the weaker physically in the battle just ended, she might seem the more glorious in her eternal reward.

I offer these words, dearest sister in the Lord, not to flatter you, but to encourage your devotion to that great good in which you have persevered for some time.  In this way you may be more eager to continue preserving it carefully and by your words and your example, according to the grace God gives you, you may inspire those holy women who serve the Lord with you to strive anxiously in the same contest.  Although you are a woman, you are one of those creatures whom the prophet Ezekiel saw, who should not only burn like flaming coals but should glow and shine like torches (1:14).

You are truly a disciple of truth, but you are also by that very obligation, in so far as it concerns those committed to your care, a mistress of humility.  Plainly, God has imposed on you the complete mastery of humility and of all celestial discipline.  You should, therefore, be concerned not only for yourself, but also for the flock committed to your care and on behalf of everyone, you should in every way receive a greater reward.  Surely the palm of victory awaits you as the leader of your flock since, as you know best, as many times as this world and the prince of this world have been overcome through your leadership, so many triumphs, so many glorious trophies, will await you with the eternal King and Judge.

It is not altogether unusual among mortals for women to be ruled by women and not entirely strange also for them to fight in battle, and even accompany men themselves to battle.  If the saying is true that it is “not unlawful to learn from the enemy,” it is written that among the pagans, Penthesilea, the queen of the Amazons, with her followers, who were not men but women, often fought in battle at the time of the Trojan War, and that among the people of God, too, the prophetess Deborah inspired Barach, the judge of Israel, against the heathen (Judges 4:9).  Why, then, should it not be permitted for women of courage, going forth to battle against a strong army, to be made leaders of the Lord’s army, since that Deborah fought against the enemy with her own hand, which seemed most unbecoming?  Why should not this Deborah of ours lead, arm, and inspire men themselves in the divine warfare?  After King Jabin had been defeated, and the leader, Sisera, slain, and the godless army destroyed, that other Deborah at once sang a song, and she sang it devoutly in praise of God.  With God’s grace, you shall be doing this, too, after the victory over enemies stronger by far has been given to you and your companions, and you shall never cease to sing, far more gloriously, that song of yours which, thus rejoicing, you shall sing, just as you shall never cease rejoicing.  Meanwhile you shall be with the handmaidens of God – that is, with the celestial army – as that other Deborah was with her own Jewish people.  Hence you shall never rest from so gainful a contest at any time or in any case, except in victory.

Since the name, Deborah, as your learning knows, means `bee’ in Hebrew, you shall also be in this way another Deborah, that is, a bee.  You shall make honey, but not for yourself alone, since whatever good you have gathered in different ways and from different sources you shall pour forth, by example, by words, and in every possible way, upon the sisters of your house and upon all others.  In this short span of mortal life, you shall satisfy yourself with the secret sweetness of sacred learning and the holy sisters with public preaching, so that, according to the words of the prophet (Joel 3:18):  “The mountain slopes will drop with new wine and the hills will flow with milk and honey.”  Although these words may be said concerning this present time of grace, nothing prevents their being understood concerning the time of glory – indeed, it is even sweeter.  It would be a pleasure for me to continue discussing this further with you, because I am not only delighted by your celebrated learning, but far more attracted by your piety, which is praised by many.

If only our order of Cluny had you!  If only the pleasant prison of Marcigny held you, along with the other handmaids of Christ awaiting celestial freedom there!  I should prefer to have the riches of piety and learning rather than the treasures of any king, and I should rejoice to see that illustrious body of sisters shine more brilliantly with you dwelling there.  You yourself would gain no little benefit from them, and you would marvel to behold the highest worldly nobility and pride trampled underfoot.  You would see all kinds of magnificence transformed into a wonderful austerity and what were once impure vessels of the devil turned into the purest temples of the Holy Spirit.  You would see the daughters of God, snatched as if by theft from Satan and the world, building high walls of virtues on the foundation of innocence and extending the roof of this happy edifice even to the heights of heaven.  You would rejoice to see those distinguished by angelic virginity, together with the most chaste widows, all now buried bodily in the tomb of blessed hope, and all alike awaiting the glory of that great and blessed resurrection beneath the narrow walls of this house.

Since you may have all these blessings and perhaps greater ones in the companions whom God has given you, it may be that nothing can be added to your zeal for holiness.  Yet our community would, I feel, be greatly enriched if your gifts were added to it.  Although this may have been denied us in your case, by the providence of God that disposes all things, it was granted in the case of your own Master Peter, who is often and always to be named with honor, the servant and truly the philosopher of Christ, whom in the last years of his life the same divine providence brought to Cluny.  And he enriched her in and by that gift which is more precious than gold and topazes (Ps. 118:127).

A brief word cannot describe his holy, humble, and devout life among us, as Cluny bears strong witness.  Unless I am mistaken, I do not remember ever having seen his like in the appearance and actions of humility, so that even to the very discerning, St. Germain would not have appeared more humble, or St. Matrin poorer.  When, at my command, he took a superior rank in the great assembly of our monks, he seemed the least in the plainness of his clothing.  I often marvelled as he walked before me, according to custom, in processions with the others.  Indeed, I was almost astounded that so famous a man could belittle and humble himself in this way.  While some of those vowed to the religious life wish the habits they wear to be exceedingly expensive, he was most austere in this and, content with a simple garment of any kind, he asked for nothing more.  He observed this same austerity also in food and drink and in all that concerned his body, and by his words and his life he condemned, I do not say excess alone, but everything except what was really necessary, both for himself and for everyone.

He read constantly, he prayed often, and his silence was perpetual, except in familiar conversation with the brothers or in public discussion when they were assembled together and he was pressed to speak to them on sacred subjects.  He frequented the sacraments as often as he could, offering the sacrifice of the immortal Lamb of God.  Indeed, after the apostolic favor had been granted, by letters and through my efforts, his attendance at the sacraments was almost continual.  What more can I say?  With his mind, his tongue, and his work, always serving God, always philosophical, ever more learned, he meditated, taught, and spoke.

Living in this way with us for some time, this simple and upright man, fearing God and withdrawing from evil, consecrated to the Lord the last days of his life.  To end these days, since he was troubled more than ever by an eruption of the skin and other bodily afflictions, I sent him to Saint-Marcel-lès-Châlon.  In that pleasant setting, which surpasses almost all regions of our Burgundy, I hope to provide a proper place for him, near the city, to be sure, yet close by the River Saone.  There, as much as his illness permitted, he renewed his former studies and was always bending over his books.  He did not, in the words of Gregory the Great, allow a single moment to be wasted but was always praying or reading or writing or dictating.

In these holy activities, the coming of the angelic visitor found him, not sleeping, as many are, but vigilant.  It found him truly watchful, and summoned him not as the foolish, but as the wise virgin to the marriage-feast of eternity.  He brought with him a lamp full of oil, I mean a conscience filled with the testimony of a holy life.  To pay the common debt of mortality, he was seized by illness and, as it worsened, he was in a short time brought to his end.  Then, truly, how holy, how devout, how catholic was the confession he made, first of his faith and then of his sins!  With what longing of his loving heart he received the last repast of the journey and the pledge of eternal life, the body of the Lord our Redeemer!  How faithfully he commended to him his body and soul here and forever; his brothers in religion are witnesses along with all those who dwell in that monastery where the body of the holy martyr, Marcellus, lies.

So Master Peter brought his days to a close, and he who was known throughout almost the whole world for his unique mastery of knowledge and was everywhere famous, persevered, meek and humble, in the discipleship of him who said (Matt. 11:29):  “Learn from me; I am gentle and humble of heart,” and thus passed over to him, as we rightly believe.  Now, venerable and dearest sister in the Lord, this man to whom you were bound first by the ties of the flesh and later by the much stronger and better bond of divine love, with whom and under whom you have long served the Lord – this man, I say, in your place and as another you, Christ cherishes in his own embrace.  He holds him to be restored to you by his grace at the coming of the Lord, when he descends from heaven with the singing of archangels and the sound of the trumpet.  Remember him in the Lord.  Remember me also, if it pleases you.  And solicitously commend to those holy sisters who serve the Lord with you, the brothers of our congregation and the sisters who everywhere in the world are serving, as well as they can, the same Lord as you do.

Original letter:

Venerabili et in Christo plurimum dilectae sorori Eloysae abbatissae, frater Petrus humilis Cluniacensium abbas, salutem quam promisit deus diligentibus se. Accaeptis litteris caritatis tuae, quas michi nuper per filium meum Theobaldum misisti, gavisus sum, et eas mittentis gratia amicabiliter amplexus sum. Volui statim rescribere quod animo insederat, sed impedientibus importunis curarum exactionibus, quibus plerumque immo pene semper caedere compellor, non potui. Vix tamen a tumultibus tandem interpolata die, quod concaeperam attemptavi. Visum est ut affectui tuo erga me quem et tunc ex litteris, et prius ex michi missis xeniis cognoveram, saltem verborum vicem rependere festinarem, et quantum in corde meo locum tibi dilectionis in domino servarem, et quantum in corde meo locum tibi dilectionis in domino servarem, ostenderem. Revera enim non nunc primum diligere incipio quam ex multo tempore me dilexisse reminiscor. Necdum plene metas adolescentiae excesseram, necdum in iuveniles annos evaseram, quando nomen non quidem adhuc religionis tuae, sed honestorum tamen et laudabilium studiorum tuorum, michi fama innotuit. Audiebam tunc temporis, mulierem licet necdum saeculi nexibus expeditam, litteratoriae scientiae quod perrarum est, et studio licet saecularis sapientiae, summam operam dare, nec mundi voluptatibus, nugis, vel deliciis, ab hoc utili discendarum artium proposito retrahi posse. Cumque ab his exercitiis detestanda desidia totus pene torpeat mundus, et ubi subsistere possit pes sapientiae, non dicam apud sexum femineum a quo ex toto explosus est, sed vix apud ipsos viriles animos invenire valeat, tu illo efferendo studio tuo, et mulieres omnes evicisti, et pene viros universos superasti. Mox vero iuxta verba apostoli, ut complacuit ei, qui te segregavit ab utero matris tuae, vocare te per gratiam suam [Gal.1:15], longe in melius disciplinarum studia commutasti, et pro logica aevangelium, pro phisica apostolum, pro Platone Christum, pro academia claustrum, tota iam et vere philosophica mulier elegisti. Eripuisti victis spolia hostibus, et thesauris Aegyptiacis per huius peregrinationis desertum transiens; preciosum in corde tuo tabernaculum deo erexisti. Cantasti cum Maria, demerso Pharaone, canticum laudis [Exod.15:20], et beatae mortificationis tympanum, ut olim illa prae manibus gerens, novi modulaminis melos usque ad ipsas deitatis aures docta tympanistria, transmisisti. Conculcasti iam incipiendo quod per omnipotentis gratiam bene perseverando conteres, vetusti anguis ac semper mulieribus insidiantis caput, atque ita elides, ut nunquam ulterius contra te sibilare audeat. Ostentui facis et facies superbum principem mundi, et illum qui divina voce vocatur rex filiorum superbiae [Job 41:25], iuxta ipsius dei ad beatum Iob verba, tibi ac tecum cohabitantibus ancillis dei alligatum [Job 40:24] ingemiscere coges. Et vere singulare miraculum ac super omnia miranda opera extollendum eum quo iuxta prophetam: Cedri non fuerunt altiores in paradyso dei, et cuius summitatem frondium abietes non adaequaverunt [Ezech.31:8], a fragili sexu vinci, et fortissimum archangelum a muliere infirmissima superari. Gignitur tali duello maxima gloria conditori, infertur econverso summa ignominia decaeptori. Exprobratur ei hoc certamine non solum stultum, sed et super omnia ridiculum fuisse, illum aspirasse ad aequalitatem sublimissimae maiestatis, qui nec breve luctamen ferre praevalet femineae debilitatis. Sustinet caput cuiuslibet victricis illius, merito talis victoriae, gemmeam a rege caelorum coronam, ut quanto in transacta pugna carne infirmior, tanto in remuneratione sempiterna appareat gloriosior. Haec carissima in domino soror vere non adulando, sed exhortando dico, ut magnum in quo aliquamdiu perstitisti bonum attendens, ad caute illud conservandum animosior reddaris, et sanctas illas quae tecum domino serviunt, secundum gratiam a deo tibi collatam, ut in eodem sollicite agone contendant, verbis pariter et exemplis accendas. Es enim unum de animalibus illis, quae Ezechiel propheta vidit [Ezech.1:14], licet sis mulier, quae non tantum ut carbo ardere, sed ut lampas ardere debes pariter et lucere. Es quidem discipula veritatis, sed est etiam ipso officio, quantum ad tibi commissas pertinet, magistra humilitatis. Humilitatis plane, et totius caelestis disciplinae tibi a deo magisterium impositum est, unde non solum tui, sed et commissi gregis curam habere, et pro universis maiorem universis debes mercedem recipere. Manet tibi certe palma pro omnibus quia ut optime nosti, quotquot ducatu tuo mundum mundique principem vicerint, tot tibi triumphos, tot gloriosa trophaea apud aeternum regem et iudicem praeparabunt. Sed nec omnino apud mortales insolitum est feminas feminis principari nec ex toto inusitatum etiam praeliari, ipsos insuper viros ad praelia comitari. Nam si verum est quod dicitur: Fas est, et ab hoste doceri [Ovid, Metam. 4.428], et apud gentiles, Amazonum regina Penthesilea cum suis Amazonibus non viris sed mulieribus Troiani belli tempore sepe pugnasse scribitur; et in populo etiam dei, prophetissa Debora, Barach iudicem Israel contra ethnicos animasse legitur. Cur ergo non liceat feminas virtutis contra fortem armatum ad praelia procaedentes ductrices fieri exercitus domini, cum et illa quod quidem indecens videbatur, manu tamen propria contra hostes pugnaverit, et haec nostra Debora viros ipsos ad bella divina commoverit, armaverit, accenderit? victo dehinc Iabin rege, occiso Sisara duce, deleto prophano exercitu, cecinit statim canticum illa, illudque dei laudibus devota dicavit. Erit dei gratia hoc faciente post datam tibi tuisque de longe fortioribus hostibus victoriam, longe tuum gloriosius canticum, quod sic laeta cantabis, ut nunquam postea laetari, nunquam cantare desistas. Interim eris ancillis dei, hoc est caelesti exercitui, quod illa suo Iudaico populo Debora, nec a tam lucroso certamine aliquo tempore, quolibet casu, nisi vincendo cessabis. Et quia hoc nomen Debora, ut tua novit eruditio, lingua Hebraica apem designat, eris etiam in hoc et tu Debora, id est apis. Mellificabis enim tu, sed non soli tibi, quia quicquid boni per diversos et a diversis collegisti, exemplo, verbo, modisque quibus poteris, domesticis sororibus, seu quibuslibet aliis totum refundes. Satiabis hoc exiguo vitae mortalis tempore, et te ipsam sacrarum litterarum secreta dulcedine, et beatas sorores aperta praedicatione, quousque iuxta vocem propheticam, in illa quae promittitur die distillent montes aeternam dulcedinem, et colles fluant lac et mel [Joel 3:18]. Hoc enim licet de hoc tempore gratiae dicatur, nil obstat, immo et dulcius est, ut de tempore gloriae accipiatur. Dulce michi esset diu tecum de huiusmodi protrahere sermonem, quia et famosa eruditione tua delector, et praedicata michi a multis religione tua longe magis allicior. Utinam te Cluniacus nostra habuisset, utinam te iocundus Marciniaci carcer, cum ceteris Christi ancillis libertatem inde caelestem expectantibus inclusisset. Praetulissem opes religionis ac scientiae maximis quorumlibet regum thesauris, et illarum sororum illud praeclarum collegium cohabitatione tua clarius rutilare gauderem. Retulisses et ipsa ab ipsis non modicum quaestum et summam mundi nobilitatem, ac superbiam, pedibus substratam mirareris. Cerneres omnigenos saeculi luxus, miranda parcitate mutatos, et sordida quondam vasa diaboli, in mundissima spiritus sancti templa conversa. Videres puellas dei Sathanae vel mundo velut furto subtractas, super innocentiae fundamentum altos virtutum erigere parieres, et usque ad ipsa caeli fastigia, felicis fabricae cacumen producere. Laetareris angelica virginitate florentes castissimis viduis iunctas, et universas pariter, beatae illius et magnae resurrectionis gloriam sustinentes, infra arta septa domorum etiam corporaliter beatae spei velut sepulchro iam conditas. Quae licet omnia et fortassis maiora, cum tibi datis a deo collegis habeas, licet forte nichil ad sacrarum rerum studium pertinens tibi addi possit, augeretur tamen augmento gratiarum tuarum, non parvis ut arbitror commodis, res publica nostra. Sed quamvis a dispensatrice omnium rerum providentia dei, hoc nobis de te negatum sit, concessum tamen est de illo tuo, de illo inquam sepe ac semper cum honore nominando, servo ac vere Christi philosopho, magistro Petro, quem in ultimis vitae suae annis, eadem divina dispositio Cluniacum transmisit et eam in ipso et de ipso super omne aurum et topazion [Ps.118:127] munere cariore ditavit. Cuius sanctae, humili ac devotae inter nos conversationi, quod quantumve Cluniacus testimonium ferat, brevis sermo non explicat. Nisi enim fallor, non recolo vidisse me illi in humilitatis habit et gestu similem, in tantum ut nec Germanus abiectior, nec ipse Martinus bene discernenti pauperior appareret. Cumque in magno illo fratrum nostrorum grege, me compellente gradum superiorem teneret, ultimus omnium vestitu incultissimo videbatur. Mirabar sepe, et in processionibus eo me cum reliquis pro more praecaedente, pene stupebam, tanti tamque famosi nominis hominem, sic se ipsum contempnere, sic se abiicere posse. Et quia sunt quidam religionis professores qui ipsum quem gerunt habitum religiosum nimis esse cupiunt sumptuosum, erat ille prorsus parcus in istis et cuiusque generis simplici veste contentus, nil ultra quaerebat. Hoc et in cibo, hoc et in potu, hoc et in omni cura corporis sui servabat, et non dico superflua, sed et cuncta nisi valde necessaria, tam in se quam in omnibus, verbo pariter et vita dampnabat. Lectio erat ei continua, oratio frequens, silentium iuge, nisi cum aut fratrum familiaris collatio, aut ad ipsos in conventu de divinis publicus sermo eum loqui urgebant. Sacramenta caelestia, immortalis agni sacrificium deo offerendo prout poterat frequentabat, immo postquam litteris et labore meo, apostolicae gratiae redditus est, pene continuabat. Et quid multa? Mens eius, lingua eius, opus eius, semper divina, semper philosophica, semper eruditoria meditabatur, decebat, fatebatur. Tali nobiscum vir simplex et rectus, timens deum, et recedens a malo, tali inquam per aliquantum temporis conversatione, ultimos vitae suae dies consecrans deo, pausandi gratia, nam plus solito, scabie et quibusdam corporis incommoditatibus gravabatur, a me Cabilonem missus est. Nam propter illius soli amenitatem, qua cunctis pene Burgundiae nostrae partibus praeminet, locum ei habilem, prope urbem quidem, sed tamen Arari interfluente provideram. Ibi iuxta quod incommoditas permittebat, antiqua sua renovans studia, libris semper incumbebat, nec sicut de magno Gregorio legitur momentum aliquod preterire sinebat, quin semper aut aret, aut legeret, aut scriberet, aut dictaret.1 In his sacrorum operum exercitiis, eum adventus illius aevangelici visitatoris reperit, nec eum ut multos dormientem sed vigilantem invenit. Invenit eum vere vigilantem, et ad aeternitatis nuptias, non ut fatuam, sed ut sapientem virginem evocavit. Attulit enim ille secum lampadem plenam oleo, hoc est, conscietiam refertam sanctae vitae testimonio. Nam ad solvendum commune mortalium debitum, morbo correptus, eoque ingravescente, in brevi ad extrema perductus est. Tunc vero quam sancte, quam devote, quam catholice, primo fidei, dehinc peccatorum confessionem fecerit, quanto inhiantis cordis affectu, viaticum peregrinationis, ac vitae aeternae pignus, corpus scilicet redemptoris domini accaeperit, quam fideliter corpus suum et animam hic et in aeternum ipsi commendaverit, testes sunt religiosi fratres, et totus illius monasterii, in quo corpus sancti martyris Marcelli iacet, conventus. Hoc magister Petrus fine dies suos consummavit, et qui singulari scientiae magisterio, toti pene orbi terrarum notus, et ubique famosus erat, in illius discipulatu, qui dixit: Discite a me quia mitis sum et humilis corde [Matth.11.29]; mitis et humilis perseverans, ad ipsum ut dignum est credere, sic transivit. Hunc ergo venerabilis et carissima in domino soror, cui post carnalem copulam tanto validiore, quanto meliore divinae caritatis vinculo adhesisti, cum quo et sub quo diu domino deseruisti, hunc inquam loco tui, vel ut te alteram in gremio suo confovet, et in adventu domini, in voce archangeli, et in tuba dei descendentis de caelo, tibi per ipsius gratiam restituendum reservat. Esto ergo in domino memor ipsius, esto etiam si placet et mei, et sanctis sororibus tecum domino famulantibus fratres congregationis nostrae, ac sorores quae ubique terrarum pro posse suo eidem cui et tu domino famulantur, sollicite commenda.

Historical context:

In answer to a letter from Heloise which is not extant, Peter praises her learning for which she was renowned even before she went into religious life as well as her religious virtues and then describes the life Peter Abelard led in his last years at Cluny.

Scholarly notes:

1. John the Deacon, Vita S. Gregorii, 1.8.

Printed source:

The Letters of Peter the Venerable, ed. Giles Constable, 2v (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1967), ep.115, v1, p.303-08.  Translation by Mary Martin McLaughlin, The Letters of Heloise and Abelard, ed. Bonnie Wheeler (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009),  294-98, reprinted here with the generous permission of the editor. 

Date:

1143-44