For the main facts of Abelard's life his own writings remain the
best authority, but through his frequent contact with many of the
foremost figures in the intellectual and clerical life of the early
twelfth century it has been possible to check his own account of
his career with considerable accuracy. The story told in the
"Historia Calamitatum" covers the events of his life from boyhood
to about 1132 or 1133,--in other words, up to approximately his
fifty-third or fifty-fourth year. That the account he gives of
himself is substantially correct cannot be doubted; making all due
allowance for the violence of his feelings, which certainly led him
to colour many incidents in a manner unfavourable to his enemies,
the main facts tally closely with all the external evidence now
available.
A very brief summary of the events of the final years of his life
will serve to round out the story. The "Historia Calamitatum" was
written while Abelard was still abbot of the monastery of St.
Gildas, in Brittany. The terrors of his existence there are fully
dwelt on in his autobiographical letter, and finally, in 1134 or
1135, he fled, living for a short time in retirement.
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