Abelard came to Paris and defeated every teacher in debate. He was the most popular lecturer of his age. Then he fell in love with Heloise, his student, and their affair became the most famous love story of the Middle Ages. Her uncle had Abelard castrated. He became a monk, she became a nun, and they wrote letters to each other for the rest of their lives. His philosophical method, Sic et Non (Yes and No), placed contradictory authorities side by side and forced students to reason their way through. It became the foundation of the scholastic method.
Abelard became the most famous teacher in Europe. Students traveled from across the continent to hear him lecture on logic and theology on the hill of Sainte-Genevieve. He was brilliant, arrogant, and knew it. His public demolitions of rival teachers made him enemies.
Words
“The beginning of wisdom is found in doubting; by doubting we come to the question, and by seeking we may come upon the truth.”
