7. When Peter Abelard Had an Affair With His Student Heloise, Her Uncle Castrated Him
In 1115, the philosopher and teacher Peter Abelard met Heloise d’Argenteuil, the niece of one of his contemporaries, Canon Fulbert of Notre Dame. In her late teens to early twenties, Heloise was nearly twenty years younger than Abelard, with a keen intelligence that intrigued him. Convincing Fulbert to hire him as Heloise’s live-in tutor, Abelard had an affair with Heloise. When she became pregnant, the couple married in secret to protect Abelard’s career. When Fulbert announced the marriage, the couple denied it, much to the canon’s embarrassment. To protect her from Fulbert, Abelard sent Heloise to a convent.
The move convinced Fulbert that Abelard abandoned Heloise. He hired men to break into Abelard’s rooms and castrate him. Humiliated, Abelard became a monk, devoting the rest of his life to education and scripture. Persuaded by her husband to take holy orders, Heloise became a well-respected prioress. The couple did not speak for many years, and he publicly assumed responsibility for their relationship. They never saw each other again, exchanging letters that would remain relatively unknown until the seventeenth century. After his death in 1142, Heloise tended Abelard’s grave until she died in 1163.