The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard:

Perceptions of Dialogue in Twelfth-Century France

Palgrave Macmillan, Apr 7, 2001 - History - 400 pages

This book examines a medieval text long neglected by most scholars. The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard looks at the earlier correspondence between these two famous individuals, revealing the emotions and intimate exchanges that occurred between them. The perspectives presented here are very different from the view related by Abelard in his "History of My Calamities," an account which provoked a much more famous exchange of letters between Heloise and Abelard after they had both entered religious life. Offering a full translation of the love letters along with a copy of the actual Latin text, Mews provides an in-depth analysis of the debate concerning the authenticity of the letters and look at the way in which the relationship between Heloise and Abelard has been perceived over the centuries. He also explores the political, literary, and religious contexts in which the two figures conducted their affair and offers new insights into Heloise as an astonishingly gifted writer, whose literary gifts were ultimately frustrated by the course of her relationship with her teacher.

What people are saying - Write a review

Review: The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard: Perceptions of Dialogue in Twelfth-Century France (The New Middle Ages)

User Review - Sherry - Goodreads

Only a short way into this book and it is proving invaluable to my research for my book-in-progress for Simon & Schuster about these famous French lovers. I've learned how these letters were ... Read full review

Review: The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard: Perceptions of Dialogue in Twelfth-Century France (The New Middle Ages)

User Review - James M. Madsen, MD - Goodreads

I have this book but haven't read *all* of it yet. There's pretty good evidence (discussed in the book) that these letters actually represent letters that Heloise and Abelard exchanged during their love affair. The letters reveal especially Heloise's erudition and gift for writing. Read full review

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References from web pages

The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard (0230608132) MEWS ...
Palgrave publishes a wide range of books in the humanities and social sciences and presently has over 10000 active titles. In subjects ranging from ...
www.palgrave-usa.com/ catalog/ product.aspx?isbn=0230608132

The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard: Perceptions
The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard: Perceptions of Dialogue in Twelfth-Century France. From: Church History | Date: 9/1/2002 | Author: Kramer, ...
www.encyclopedia.com/ doc/ 1G1-92136432.html

The Spirit of Things - 13/02/2000: The Lost Love Letters of ...
We examine the famous and tragic love between a troubadour/priest and his highly educated young student (later an Abbess) in 12th Century France Renowned ...
www.abc.net.au/ rn/ relig/ spirit/ stories/ s99224.htm

Church History: The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard ...
The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard: Perceptions of Dialogue in Twelfth-Century France. Kramer, Susan R. By Constant J. Mews. ...
findarticles.com/ p/ articles/ mi_hb050/ is_200209/ ai_hibm1G192136432/ print

| Review | The History Teacher, 35.3 | The History Cooperative
The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard: Perceptions of Dialogue in Twelfth-Century France, by Constant J. Mews, with translations by Neville ...
www.historycooperative.org/ journals/ ht/ 35.3/ br_14.html

The New York Times > Books > Sunday Book Review > Essay: Heloise ...
A flurry of new writing on the two ill-fated 12th-century lovers suggests a longing to recover the grandeur of high-stakes romance
www.nytimes.com/ 2005/ 02/ 13/ books/ review/ 13NEHRING.html?pagewanted=all& position=

H-France Reviews
[3] Constant J. Mews, The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard: Perceptions of Dialogue in Twelfth-Century France, with a translation by Neville ...
www.h-france.net/ vol5reviews/ newman2.html

Chicago Journals - The Journal of Religion
... a thesis Mews first advanced in his 1999 book, The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard: Perceptions of Dialogue in Medieval France. ...
www.journals.uchicago.edu/ cgi-bin/ resolve?id=doi:10.1086/ 504759

Weird Cultural Sean Stuff » Abelard and Heloise
... from the period of the affair (Constant Mews, The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard: Perceptions of Dialogue in Twelfth Century France (1999)). ...
www.seanr.ca/ wcss/ ?cat=5

globelink :: A Mythic Struggle
... is author of The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard: Perceptions of Dialogue in Twelfth-Century France (Palgrave Macmillan 1999) and Abelard and ...
www.globelink.org/ 2007season/ inextremis/ amythicstruggle/

About the author (2001)

Constant Mewsteaches in the Department of History at Monash University in Australia, where he is also Director of the Centre for Studies in Religion.

Neville Chiavaroli, a classicist and Italian translator, is a doctoral student in the Department of History at Monash University.

Bibliographic information

QR code for The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard

Title	The Lost Love Letters of Heloise and Abelard: Perceptions of Dialogue in Twelfth-Century France The New Middle Ages
Translated by	Constant J. Mews, Neville Chiavaroli
Edition	illustrated, reprint
Publisher	Palgrave Macmillan, 2001
ISBN	0312239416, 9780312239411
Length	400 pages
Subjects	Philosophy › History & Surveys › Medieval History / Medieval Literary Collections / Letters Literary Criticism / Medieval Philosophy / History & Surveys / Medieval Social Science / Gender Studies

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