His fellow-disputants have
their places in the history of philosophy; the story of Abelard's
love for Heloise has set him apart, so that he has lived for eight
centuries less as a fearless thinker and masterly logician than as
one of the glowingly romantic figures of the Middle Ages.
"A FRIEND"
It is not known to whom Abelard's letter was addressed, but it may
be guessed that the writer intended it to reach the hands of
Heloise. This actually happened, and the first and most famous
letter from Heloise to Abelard was substantially an answer to the
"Historia Calamitatum."
WILLIAM OF CHAMPEAUX
William of Champeaux (Gulielmus Campellensis) was born about 1070
at Champeaux, near Melun. He studied under Anselm of Laon and
Roscellinus, his training in philosophy thereby being influenced by
both realism and nominalism. His own inclination, however, was
strongly towards the former, and it was as a determined proponent
of realism that he began to teach in the school of the cathedral of
Notre Dame, of which he was made canon in 1103. In 1108 he withdrew
to the abbey of St. Victor, and subsequently became bishop of
Chalons-sur-Marne. He died in 1121. As a teacher his influence was
wide; he was a vigorous defender of orthodoxy and a passionate
adversary of the heterodox philosophy of his former master,
Roscellinus.
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