ABELARD, PETER

ABELARD, PETER (1079–1142), logician and Christian theologian. Peter Abelard was born at Le Pallet, outside of Nantes (Brittany). He chose to pursue the study and teaching of logic and journeyed to hear the lectures of Roscelin of Compiègne at Loches (Anjou); he later went to Paris to attend classes with the renowned dialectician William of Champeaux. His celebrated controversy with William on the question of universals revealed the persuasiveness of Abelard's quick mind and penetrating insight. Abelard's own teaching career began in Melun and Corbeil to the south of Paris, but he soon returned to Paris, teaching at Nôtre-Dame and at Mont-Sainte-Geneviève, just across the Seine from the capital.

Abelard's interest in applying twelfth-century methods of dialectical inquiry to Christian doctrine led him to study theology at Laon (c. 1113) with Anselm of Laon, who was recognized for his lectures on patristic teaching and for his role in the formation of a standardized biblical commentary (Glossa ordinaria ). Abelard's return to Paris before he completed the course of studies was influenced by several factors. He was indeed disenchanted with Anselm's method, which, although it organized information in a systematic fashion, relied more on repeating past authority than on any personal critique. The work at Laon was a formidable accomplishment, but Peter wanted more. He was determined to bring a fresh approach to theology.

It was at this time that Abelard met Héloïse, the niece of Fulbert, a canon of Nôtre-Dame. Peter became her tutor, friend, and lover. Much of their early relationship—the love affair, the birth of their son Astrolabe, a secret marriage followed by the punitive castration of Abelard ordered by Fulbert—is recorded by Peter in The Story of My Misfortunes. After the tragedy and his loss of prestige as a teacher, Abelard insisted that Héloïse enter religious life at the convent of Argenteuil (c. 1119) while he made profession at the royal Abbey of Saint-Denis. Peter Abelard was officially affiliated with Saint-Denis for almost four years. During this time he studied the sources of the Christian tradition. The brilliant mind that had once captured the imagination of students of logic was now applied to sorting out a coherent presentation of doctrine from a nearly unintelligible accretion of teachings. The task was awesome. Abelard's Sic et non (Yes and No) faced the problem directly by arranging conflicting patristic opinions around key doctrinal issues. The work was timely and challenging. Students, armed with the exegetical principles enunciated in the prologue, were eager to resolve the 158 questions. Abelard's second theological work from this time was a discussion of the Trinity structured within dialectical analysis (Theologia "Summi boni" ) and was not favorably received. The text was in fact condemned at a public trial in Soissons (1121). His treatise was burned, and Peter was temporarily confined to the nearby Abbey of Saint-Medard. He returned to Saint-Denis but only briefly; in 1122, Abelard was released from the obligation of residency there.

Humiliated at the turn of events in his life, Peter sought solitude. When he was given land along the banks of the Ardusson at Quincy (Troyes), he built an oratory and dedicated it to the Paraclete. Within a short time, however, students came to his retreat. In his teaching, he began to modify his approach in his discussion of the Trinity, and he composed the first draft of his second major theological treatise, Christian Theology. Abelard then accepted election as abbot of Saint-Guildas, a monastery near Vannes (Brittany), and unsuccessfully attempted monastic reform (c. 1127).

Little is known of Abelard's public activities after this. But in 1129, Suger, then abbot of Saint-Denis, reclaimed the lands of Argenteuil from Héloïse's community. She turned to Peter for assistance, and he gave them the oratory he had built. When the foundation was confirmed by Innocent II and the bishop of Troyes (1131), Héloïse became the first prioress. As cofounder with Héloïse, Abelard was considerably involved in the formation of the ideals that would shape the community's life. Héloïse's critique of the Benedictine rule (letter 6 of the published correspondence of Héloïse and Abelard), for example, elicited two doctrinal letters from Abelard: On the Origin of Nuns and Rule of Life (letters 7 and 8). Abelard also replied to forty-two questions on problematic scriptural texts sent by Héloïse (Problemata Heloissae ) and commented extensively on the opening chapters of Genesis (Expositio in Hexaemeron ). He prepared a collection of sermons, prayers, a breviary, and 143 hymns as well. His recommendations about the study of biblical languages (letter 9) and his instruction on reading scripture gave Héloïse extraordinary directives concerning the relationship of study to understanding the scriptures.

This work with the Paraclete was, however, only one aspect of Abelard's achievement. From 1135 onward, he was engaged in the composition of his Ethics, in expounding Paul's Letter to the Romans, and in drafting a new study on the Trinity (Theologia "Scholarium" ). Several doctrinal letters and Dialogue of a Philosopher with a Jew and with a Christian are also the work of these fruitful years. But the newness of Abelard's ideas and the rigor with which he upheld the primacy of dialectics for a true theology threatened many. William of Saint-Thierry and Bernard of Clairvaux were among Peter's opponents, and through their efforts there was a second condemnation of Abelard by the Council of Sens (1140). Peter insisted that his teaching was misunderstood and intended to appeal his case with the pope. Ill health made a journey to Rome impossible, however, and Abelard retired to Cluny, where he was befriended by its abbot, Peter the Venerable. The final writings, Apology and Confession of Faith, reflect Abelard's sincerity and doctrinal orthodoxy. Abelard ultimately left Cluny for Saint-Marcel-sur-Saône, a smaller priory, where he died, probably in 1142.

Although Abelard's initial fame rested on his success as a teacher of logic, within a few decades his commentaries on logic (the Introductiones parvulum and the Logica ingredientibus ), as well as his own treatise, the Dialectica, were replaced by the metaphysics of Aristotle. In the theological arena, Abelard exercised unusual leadership as a teacher during the formative years in the developing theology of the schools. His students were numerous, and a few school works, such as the Sentences of Hermann (Epitome theologiae Christianae ) or the considerable exposition of Pauline writings (Commentaria Cantabrigiensis ), rely heavily on Abelard's teaching. Several well-known masters also turned to Abelard as a significant thinker. Perhaps the most important of these is Peter Lombard, whose Book of Sentences, modeled on Abelard's Sic et non, contains many of Abelard's opinions and became the primary text for training theologians during the next four hundred years. However, the most lasting influence Peter held was with the community of the Paraclete. Until its dissolution during the French Revolution (1792), the monastery held its own as the special foundation of Héloïse and Master Peter, preserving Abelardian manuscripts and conserving the finer points of his teachings.

The literary legacy of Abelard records the genius of a probing, mature, and experienced teacher. He expounded texts vigorously and forged seminal ideas for the development of Christian thought. He opposed Augustinian views on several counts, denying for example that the guilt of Adam was transmitted to humanity. Abelard created a more precise language to describe the interior character of sin and moral culpability and considered consent as the single factor that could render human behavior sinful. He also believed that the redemption theories that expressed the notion of a price or ransom imposed on God were unacceptable. Instead, Abelard held that Christ's redemptive work as the incarnate Word, in life as in death, was the supreme expression and fulfillment of God's creative love. Finally, Abelard's approach to theology was part of a new mode of thought that brought questions, debate, and systematization to the fore as the science of sacred doctrine. Abelard did this with bravado, drawing upon the best in these procedures, creating a few himself, and integrating both method and doctrine through the filter of his penetrating intelligence.

Bibliography

In the nineteenth century, scholarly research on the twelfth century as a locus for monastic reform and the rise of the schools fostered a renaissance in Abelardian studies. The nineteenth-century editions of Abelard's theological writings remain invaluable: volume 178 of the Patrologia Latina, edited by J.-P. Migne (Paris, 1885), and Petri Abaelardi opera, 2 vols., edited by Victor Cousin (Paris, 1849–1859). More recent critical editions and major studies of Abelard's works are listed below, in chronological order.

Texts and Studies

Buytaert, Eligius M., ed. Petri Abelardi opera theologica. 2 vols. In Corpus Christianorum, Continuatio Mediaevalis, vols. 11 and 12. Turnhout, 1969. Includes a comprehensive bibliography up to 1967.

Jolivet, Jean. Arts du langage et théologie chez Abélard. Études de philosophie mediévale, no. 57. Paris, 1969.

Luscombe, David E. The School of Peter Abelard. Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought, n.s. no. 14. Cambridge, 1969.

Luscombe, David E. Peter Abelard. The Historical Association, General Series, no. 95. London, 1979. Includes an excellent updated bibliography, a list of English translations of Abelard's works, a summary of the best scholarly articles, and a critique of the most significant studies on Abelard.

Peppermüller, Rolf. Abaelards Auslegung des Römerbriefes. Beiträge zur Geschichte der Philosophie und der Theologie des Mittelalters, n.s. no. 10. Münster, 1972.

Weingart, Richard E. The Logic of Divine Love: A Critical Analysis of the Soteriology of Peter Abailard. Oxford, 1970.

Essay Collections

Peter Abelard. Edited by Eligius M. Buytaert. Proceedings of the International Conference, Louvain, 10–12 May 1971. Mediaevalia Lovanensia, series I, studia II. Louvain, 1974.

Pierre Abélard, Pierre le Vénérable: Les courants philosophiques, littéraires et artistiques en occident au milieu du douzième siècle. Abbaye de Cluny, 2–9 July 1972. Colloques internationaux du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, no. 546. Paris, 1975.

Petrus Abaelardus (1079–1142): Person, Werk und Wirkung. Proceedings of the International Colloquium, Trier, 17–19 April 1979. Edited by Rudolph Thomas, David E. Luscombe, et al. Trier theologische Studien, no. 18. Trier, Germany, 1981.

Eileen F. Kearney (1987)