The account of the deposition of Beatrice in Beatrice de Planissoles and Peter AbelardÆs account of his life story in Historia Calamitatum (The Story of My Misfortunes) share much in common despite some significant distinctions. One of the most significant distinctions is that in Beatrice de Planissoles, Beatrice has not committed any sin of which we are aware. The charges of heresy against her are primarily hearsay and from secondhand accounts. In Historia Calamitatum, however, Abelard definitely commits a sin when he consummates his relationship with Heloise, resulting in the birth of a child and his castration by her angry relatives.
Despite this major distinction, one an imagined sin and one a real sin, both works demonstrate the fanatical, hypocritical, and dominant institution of religion during the middle ages. In AbelardÆs Historia Calamitatum, we see that education and the advance of science are viewed as a threat to the authority and power of religion. Even AbelardÆs mentors resent him for his mental prowess which typically highlights their own theories as incomplete or invalid. Abelard appears to be prosecuted throughout every field of study due to his inquiries which traditionally challenge established views that posit God and religion as the center of the universe. As he maintains, ôNow this venerable man...began to persecute me for my lecturing on the Scriptures no less bitterly than my former master, William, had done for my work in philosophyö (Abelard 6).
AbelardÆs views on God, religion, Christ and Christianity are often in contrast to and in conflict with established beliefs. Abelard is not above making distinctions between good Christians and not good Christians. He becomes so low in spirit that he seeks refuge with Christ in an environment that is far from Christ-like. As he notes, ôI thought I could for a while avoid the plottings of my enemies. But thereby I fell among Christians and mon...