Book Description
1893. In this sketch, Compayre seeks to give an idea of what these great associations (universities) of masters and students which played such an important part in the past, must have been in their beginnings, in their internal organization, their programs of study, their methods of instruction, and finally, in their general spirit and external influence. Contents: Part I. The Origins of the Universities: Abelard the Forerunner of the Universities; The General Causes of the Rise of Universities; The Rise of Universities; Part II. The Organization of the Early Universities: Privileges of the Universities; Nations and Faculties; Government of Universities; System of Graduation. Part III. The Course of Study and the Methods of Teaching: The Faculties of Arts; The Faculties of Theology; The Faculties of Civil and Canon Law; The Faculties of Medicine. Part IV. General Spirit and Influence of the Early Universities: Manners and Habits of Students and Teachers; and External Influence of the Universities and their Spirit of Freedom. ... Read more

Book Description

Customer Reviews (1)

This is a real historical detective story
The writer of Medievel mysteries Umberto Eco, after seeking his counsel, called Etienne Gilson an "Illustrious medievalist... dear and unforgettable" (quoted from the intro of the book "The Name of the Rose"). Well, Etienne Gilson, in this book, "Heloise and Abelard" sets out to solve a real mystery set in medieval times; that of the intricacies of love, an unplanned pregenancy, and the resultant problems (Abelard ,was castrated (but two of his assailants were, under Christian justice at the time, given the same treatment, as well as having their eyes gouged out)). Gilson in the manner of detective and psychologist, as well as historian, attempts to deal out justice as well as look inside people's hearts, and discover their true intents (which he admits in the end, God only knows). The true story of Heloise's love for Abelard is one of the most endearing ever told and something that many medievalists tinker around with (including Heiko Oberman) Abelard was on superstar status, in his day, as a professor of theology and philosophy in age where students had much more leeway to choose their teachers and professors were paid by the number of students they had; Abelard was so popular he had to hold classes outside. Part history, part philosophy (or history of philosophy), and Gilson takes some liberties at psychologizing a bit. If you like Umberto Eco you might like this book as well, but read about them on the internet or in an encyclopedia before you start, if you know nothing about them, as Gilson gets right into the detectiving with little background details. There are all kinds of devious and/or devoted monks that Abelard must contend with, like the monks in Umberto Eco's stories.

Favorite quotes, from the book:

"Their appeal (Heloise and Abelard's) is to a system of ethics which separates the order of acts from the order of intensions(65)."

"They both played the comedy of sanctity(53)."

"What is a husband but a domesticated beast of burden"(31, Gilson quoting Theophratus).

Some interesting words on marriage, death, love, loyalty, wisdom, sorrow, and providence are also expounded on. Gilson (despite Heiko Oberman in his book "Dawn of the Reformation" placed Gilson, with the name of Arnold Toynbee, as an arbitrary period in history making sophist) clearly states, in the last chapter, that separating the medieval times with the Renaissance -- especially given what huge a word renaissance entails and the disparaging implications for the time previous -- points out the silliness of such a word as Abelard and, especially, Heloise have many "Renaissance" charatoristics despite belonging to the Medieval age.

Some of the writing is superfluous, as Gilson repeats himself longwindedly. Also Gilson seems to be inconsistent in the final pronouncement upon whether Abelard submitted his soul's salvation to Heloise's prayers or the joy of sacrifice to God.

... Read more

Book Description
Heloise was the niece of the canon of Notre Dame, Fulbert, who entrusted her to Peter Abelard, a peripatetic teacher, for instruction. They were married secretly, and after the revelation of this marriage by Fulbert, he sent his men to castrate Abelard. Consequently, Heloise entered the convent of Argenteuil. Abelard was a French philosopher and theologian. This work tells their tale. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

An Overlooked Masterpiece
I came across a used two-volume hardcover edition of this novel at a church flea market and bought it because it was pretty old (1925) and because I knew something of the Héloïse and Abélard story from having recently seen a movie called "Stealing Heaven" which despite being borderline softcore porn did a fantastic job in terms of bring across the starcrossed lovers' passion and devotion to each other.Though this book was far from erotic in nature, I was by no means disappointed with it and was so impressed with it in fact that I was surprised I had never heard of it before.

I don't know if the edition that I'm reviewing follows this convention (or lack of convention as the case may be), but in the edition I have there are no quotation marks used to separate the speech of the characters from the narrative.At first I found it difficult to read because of this, but I got used to it after a few pages, and now I feel it adds to the charm of the book, which at times almost fools you into believing you are reading an actual medieval text.

The prose is sometimes florid in the way that Romantic poetry often is, but never so much as to become ridiculous or sappy.In fact sometimes it is through understatement that the author brings across the deep love felt between the two main characters, and he does bring it across, time and time again, most admirably.George Moore really brings these two historical figures to life in this book.

Though much of the book consists of Héloïse and Abélard's conversations, it is never boring.But this is not a book for someone who's looking for lots of action or steaming sex scenes, obviously.And this is definitely not a fast read so it should be enjoyed when you have plenty of time on your hands.I recommend it to anyone who is interested in medieval times, history and philosophy, especially of medieval Brittany, Arthurian romance, the Court of Love, etc. or to anyone who's looking for a great read and may have never heard of this excellent work before. ... Read more

Product Description
Copyright 1899 by Ferd P. Kaiser. All rights reserved. Publisher: The Werner Company Akron, Ohio. St. Louis, Missouri: Ferd P. Kaiser, 1900, St. Louis, Missouri, 1900. Hardcover Cloth. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Hardcover Cloth. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. This is a ten-volume set. ... Read more