Abelard Pierre (1079 - 1142) - the most famous philosopher of the Middle Ages - went down in history as a recognized teacher and mentor, who had his own views on philosophy, fundamentally different from the rest.
His life was hard not only because of a disagreement of opinion with generally accepted dogmas; huge physical misfortune brought Pierre love: real, mutual, sincere. The philosopher described his hard life in a living language and understandable word in a work of an autobiographical character, The History of My Disasters.
The beginning of a difficult journey
Feeling an irresistible thirst for knowledge from an early age, Pierre refused an inheritance in favor of relatives, did not seduce a promising military career, giving himself completely to education.
After training, Abelard Pierre settled in Paris, where he took up teaching activities in the field of theology and philosophy, which subsequently brought him universal recognition and the glory of a skilled dialectic. At his lecture, set out in understandable elegant language, people from all over Europe converged.
Abelard was a very literate and well-read man, familiar with the works of Aristotle, Plato, Cicero.
Having absorbed the views of his teachers - supporters of various systems of concepts - Pierre developed his own system - conceptualism (something averaged between nominalism and realism), which was fundamentally different from the views of Champot - the French philosopher-mystic. Abelard’s objection to Champeau was so convincing that the latter even altered his concepts, and a little later he began to envy Pierre's fame and became his sworn enemy - one of many.
Pierre Abelard: teaching
Pierre in his works substantiated the ratio of faith and reason, giving preference to the latter. According to the philosopher, a person should not believe blindly, only because it is so customary in society. The teaching of Pierre Abelard lies in the fact that faith must be reasonably grounded and perfected in it by a person - a rational being - is capable of only polishing existing knowledge through dialectics. Faith is only an assumption about things inaccessible to human feelings.
In the work Yes and No, Pierre Abelard, briefly comparing biblical quotes with excerpts from the writings of priests, analyzes the views of the latter and finds inconsistency in their statements. And this makes one doubt in some dogmas and Christian dogma. Nevertheless, Abelard Pierre did not doubt the basic provisions of Christianity; he only offered a conscious assimilation of them. Indeed, a misunderstanding of the Holy Scriptures, combined with blind faith, is comparable to the behavior of a donkey who does not understand a bit in music, but is diligently trying to extract a beautiful melody from the instrument.
Abelard's philosophy in the hearts of many people
Pierre Abelard, whose philosophy found a place in the hearts of many people, did not suffer from excessive modesty and openly called himself the only philosopher, something standing on Earth. For his time he was a great man: women loved him, men admired him. The resulting fame Abelard reveled in full.
The main works of the French philosopher are Yes and No, The Dialogue between the Jewish Philosopher and the Christian, Know Thyself, Christian Theology.
Pierre and Eloise
However, Pierre Abelard brought great fame not for lectures, but for a romantic story, which determined the love of his life and became the cause of the misfortune that happened later on. Unexpectedly for him, the beauty of Eloise, who was 20 years younger than Pierre, became the chosen one of the philosopher. The seventeen-year-old girl was an orphan and was brought up in the house of her uncle, Canon Fulber, who did not have a soul in her.
At such a young age, Eloise was literate beyond her years and was able to speak several languages (Latin, Greek, Hebrew). Pierre, invited by Fulber to train Eloise, fell in love with her at first sight. Yes, and his student worshiped the great thinker and scientist, did not cherish a soul in her chosen one and was ready for anything for the sake of this wise and charming man.
Pierre Abelard: a biography of sad love
In this romantic period, the brilliant philosopher also proved himself as a poet and composer and wrote beautiful love songs for the young person, which immediately became popular.
Everyone around knew about the connection of lovers, but this did not bother Eloise, who openly called herself Pierre's mistress; on the contrary, she was proud of the role that she had inherited, because it was her, the orphan, that Abelard preferred to the beautiful and noble women curling beside him. Beloved took Eloise to Brittany, where she gave birth to a son, whom the couple had to leave for the education of strangers. They never saw their child again.
Later, Pierre Abelard and Eloise secretly married; if the marriage had been made public, then Pierre could not be a dignitary and build a career as a philosopher. Eloise, preferring the spiritual development of her husband and his career growth (instead of a burdensome life with baby diapers and eternal pots), hid her marriage and, upon returning to her uncle's house, said that she was Pierre's mistress.
The furious Fulber could not reconcile himself to the moral fall of his niece, and one night, along with his assistants, entered the house of Abelard, where he, sleeping, was tied up and scattered. After this brutal physical abuse, Pierre retired to Saint-Denis Abbey, and Eloise was tonsured a nun in the Argentean monastery. It would seem that earthly love, short and physical, lasting two years, is over. In fact, it simply grew into a different stage - spiritual closeness, incomprehensible and inaccessible to many people.
One against theologians
After some time in retreat, Abelard Pierre resumed lecturing, yielding to the numerous requests of students. However, during this period Orthodox theologians took up arms against him, who discovered in the treatise "Introduction to Theology" an explanation of the Trinity dogma contradicting church doctrine. This became the reason for accusing the philosopher of heresy; his treatise was burned, and Abelard himself was imprisoned in the monastery of St. Medard. Such a severe sentence aroused great discontent of the French clergy, many dignitaries of which were students of Abelard. Therefore, Pierre was subsequently given permission to return to Saint-Denis Abbey. But even there he showed his individuality, expressing his own point of view, thereby incurring the wrath of the monks. The essence of their discontent was the discovery of the truth about the true founder of the abbey. According to Pierre Abelard, he was not Dionysius the Areopagite - a disciple of the Apostle Paul, but another saint who lived in a much later period. The philosopher had to flee from embittered monks; he found refuge in a deserted area on the Seine near Nogent, where hundreds of students joined him, the comforter leading to the truth.
New persecution began on Pierre Abelard, due to which he intended to leave France. However, during this period he was elected abbot of the Saint-Gilde Monastery, where he spent 10 years. Eloise gave the Paraklet monastery; she settled with her nuns, and Pierre assisted her in managing affairs.
The charge of heresy
In 1136, Pierre returned to Paris, where he again began to lecture at the school of St. Genevieve. The teachings of Pierre Abelard and the generally recognized success did not give rest to his enemies, especially Bernard Clervosky. The philosopher again began to be persecuted. From Pierre’s writings, quotations were made with expressed thoughts that fundamentally contradicted public opinion, which served as a reason for the renewal of the charge of heresy. At the meeting in Sansa, Bernard acted as an accuser, and although his arguments were rather weak, influence played a large role, including on the pope; The Cathedral declared Abelard a heretic.
