Abstract
Background: Since the date commonly assigned to Abelard’s death is 21 April 1142, Peter the Venerable’s first letter to Heloise was, as his apologetic words suggest, considerably belated. Besides the ever pressing and diverse duties of which he complained, his sojourn in Spain lasted from March to October 1142. His absence may well have extended into 1143, which would have delayed his learning of Abelard’s death and his response to Heloise’s own previous letter. In any case his moving, and famous, letter responding to hers was perhaps not quickly composed. Sadly, Heloise’s “kind letter” also later became a “lost letter” and with it more specific expression of the affection she had shown him both in the letter and the gifts she had sent earlier.
Translated from The Letters of Peter the Venerable, ed. Constable, 1.115, 303–308.
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© 2009 Estate of Mary Martin McLaughlin and Bonnie Wheeler
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McLaughlin, M.M., Wheeler, B. (2009). Peter the Venerable: A Letter to Heloise. In: McLaughlin, M.M., Wheeler, B. (eds) The Letters of Heloise and Abelard. The New Middle Ages. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230101876_18
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230101876_18
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, New York
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