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Heloise (12th Century)

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Religious Figure

The Resume

    (1101-May 16, 1164)
    Born in France
    Abbess of the Oratory of the Paraclete
    Known for her affair, marriage and correspondence with philosopher Peter Abelard
    Wrote 'Problemata Heloissae' ('Heloise's Problems'), a collection of 42 theological questions and Abelard's answers

Why she might be annoying:

    She and Abelard named their child Astrolabe after a scientific instrument.
    She wrote to Abelard, 'Even during Mass, when our prayers should be purer, lewd visions of those pleasures take such a hold upon my unhappy soul that my thoughts are on their wantonness instead of on prayers.'
    There is some question over whether she and Abelard are actually buried in their tomb at Pere Lechaise cemetery in Paris.

Why she might not be annoying:

    In an era when few women were literate, she knew Greek, Latin and Hebrew.
    After their marriage, she became a nun, Abelard became a monk, and he failed to even write to her for fifteen years.
    After their correspondence resumed, her letters to Abelard provide a rare glimpse into the life of a medieval woman.
    Her affair with Abelard inspired poems by Alexander Pope and Christina Rossetti.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 70.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 12 Votes: 58.33% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 22 Votes: 59.09% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 24 Votes: 54.17% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 21 Votes: 42.86% Annoying