Melvyn Bragg on Héloïse and Abelard
Dan Snow's History Hit
English - March 31, 2019 02:00 - 28 minutes - 38.6 MB - ★★★★★ - 53 ratingsHistory Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Melvyn Bragg talks to Dan about a philosopher and a scholar in the 12th century. Abelard was one of the best known theologians of the medieval era, and his love affair with Héloïse, characterised famously by the letters that they sent to each other are legendary.
Such was the passion of their affair, Héloïse once wrote to Abelard, “If the Emperor Augustus were to ask me to be his wife and help him control the greatest empire in the world, I would think it more honourable to be your whore, than his wife.” Melvyn Bragg has dug into these letters, and he has written a novel based on their lives.
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Producer: Natt Tapley
Audio: Peter Curry
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