32. Medieval Star-Crossed Love
Romeo and Juliet might have had the world’s most star-crossed love affair. However, they are fictional characters, conceived in the imagination of William Shakespeare and brought to life by his quill. For real-life star-crossed love, the most famous is probably that of Heloise and Abelard, two medieval scholars whose romance ended as painfully – especially for him – as it gets.
Peter Abelard (1079 – 1142) was born into minor French nobility in Brittany. From an early age, he exhibited a love of learning that marked him for a life of scholarship. His father encouraged him to study the liberal arts, and by his early 20s, Abelard was famous for his debating skills, particularly in philosophy. Like some super smart people, however, he also gained a reputation for arrogance.