The Greatest Love Story of All Time? Heloise and Abelard
FYSEMR 65H
Subject & Catalog Number
Course Information
Description
Ever yearn to travel back in time? Heloise and Peter Abelard, woman and man, student and teacher, nun and monk, embody much that is fascinating about the twelfth century and what subsequent ones, including ours, have made of it. The seminar adventures into letters written by the two, together with adaptations of their lives, from the Middle Ages to the present, into poems, novels, plays, films, and artworks. Along the way, we delve into similarities and differences between handwritten manuscripts on parchment and books printed on paper as well as between spoken and written words.
As the title announces, the seminar emphasizes the loves of two extraordinary individuals. The theme encompasses the immense and mystifying spectrum of this feeling, including intense affections within a romantic couple, deep but differing bonds between individual believers and their God, passions that folks feel for vocations and avocations, and other types of pleasure also. It probes central issues of individuality and the power of institutions. We will explore who Abelard and Heloise were as persons and as a couple (before and after his castration), what they reveal about their now-distant days, and what they can help us to perceive about our own selves and moment in history. They taught each other much and can teach us nowadays too. Does human nature change? Are human beings today unique? Should we be as open to the inspiration of people from the past as from other cultures today?
Note: This course can be used to fulfill the Language & Literature distribution requirement for the undergraduate secondary field in Medieval Studies.
Class Notes
First-Year Seminars are available only to first-year students. You may apply to both Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 First-Year Seminars via the FYS lottery between July 6 and August 6, 2026 at 11:59PM-midnight.
You may apply to as many seminars each term as you would like, but we recommend you apply to at least six in fall and three in spring.
As part of your application, you must provide a brief statement on why you are interested in each seminar. You will be notified of lottery results for both fall and spring seminars at 5 pm on August 11. If you are unsuccessful in the lottery, you may still join any seminar with open seats. A list of open seminars and instructions on next steps will be available on the First-Year Seminar Program website August 11 at 12 Noon.
Not Available for Cross Registration
