History Video Blog #15

Posted on February 15, 2010 by admin

Peter Abelard (1079-1142) was once the most recognized celebrity in Europe. He was from Brittany and was raised by a father who loved literature and sought to inculcate writing and literature into his sons. Pierre was the oldest and was quite precocious. At a young age he had a grasp of logic and would engage in disputations with local yokels older than he, until he ended up in Paris at the cathedral school of the most famous logic teacher of the day, William of Champeaux. As a student, Abelard would disagree openly with William and, being quicker, would make jokes at his expense. Finally, young Abelard decided he himself wanted to teach and moved to Melun, 25 miles SE of Paris. This essentially ruined the career of William, and Abelard eventually came back to Paris, where he was the toast of the town. Students flocked in droves. He was the biggest draw in Paris and had a continent-wide reputation.

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Abelard was a brilliant narcissist. He presented  his lectures in a dry way with unforgettable humor, and was one of those teachers who awe students with their mind, rather than inspire them to greater things. He was entertainment, and students latched on to every word. He was apparently great at academics, but was a hopeless klutz in almost everything else. Besides being handsome, women were very much attracted to his confidence and to that sense of the helpless little boy who needs a feminine hand to take care of him. Heloise herself later said that every woman in Europe dreamed of sharing a bed with him. He had a hypnotic effect on women and young men wanted to advance their careers by taking lessons from him.

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  • http://www.readwithjoy.com Dee Anne

    Can I go back further than high school? My sixth grade teacher is my most inspiring teacher. Mr. Anderson cared about and made a difference in the lives of his students. I’m 35 years old, and he still checks in with me a few times a year to see how I am doing!! Mr. A. made learning fun, and I haven’t been so eager to learn science I as was then. (I kept hoping to find a biology teacher in college that would bring biology to life the way Mr. A. did. I never found one.)

  • http://www.emmahouse.org admin

    What a strange name for a science teacher!

  • http://www.elfnaturals.com andrew elf

    Coach Leierer, High School football coach and p.e.teacher. He inspired me, accepted me and filled the gap for fatherless, confused young man.
    He also gave me the starting nod at QB on the varsity squad my sophomore year in high school as I led the mighty langley falcons to dominating victories.

  • http://starttags.com/tags/de-champeaux de champeaux

    [...] and thought some of you might be interested in taking this voice over course in New York. StewartHistory Video Blog #15 | The Raft… local yokels older than he, until he ended up in Paris at the cathedral school of the most [...]