the eleventh century four
were eminent at Paris: the schools of St. Denis, where the young
princes and nobles were educated; of the Parvis Notre Dame, for the
training of young _clercs_,[64] the famous _Scola Parisiaca_, referred
to by Abelard; of St. Genevieve; and of St. Victor, founded by William
of Champeaux, one of the most successful masters of Notre Dame. The
fame of this teacher drew multitudes of young men from the provinces
to Paris, among whom there came, about 1100, Peter Abelard, scion of a
noble family of Nantes. By his wit, erudition and dialectical sublety
he soon eclipsed his master's fame and was appointed to a chair of
philosophy in the school of Notre Dame. William, jealous of his young
rival, compassed his dismissal, and after teaching for a while at
Melun, Abelard returned to Paris and opened a school on Mont St.
Genevieve, whither crowds of students followed him. So great was the
fame of this brilliant lecturer and daring thinker that his school was
filled with eager listeners from all countries of Europe, even from
Rome herself.

[Footnote 64: Hence the name of _clerc_ applied to any student, even
if a layman.]

Abelard was proud and ambitious, and the highest prizes of an
ecclesiastical and scholastic career seemed within his grasp. But
Fulbert, canon of Notre Dame, had a niece, accomplished and passing
fair, Heloise by name, who was an enthusiastic admirer of the great
teacher. It was proposed that Abelard should enter the canon's house
as her tutor, and Fulbert's avarice made the proposition an acceptable
one. Abelard, like Arnault Daniel, was a good craftsman in his mother
tongue, a facile master of _versi d'amore_, which he would sing with a
voice wondrously sweet and supple. Now Abelard was thirty-eight years
of age: Heloise seventeen. _Amor al cor gentil ratto s'apprende_,[65]
and Minerva was not the only goddess who presided over their meetings.
For a time Fulbert was blind, but scandal cleared his eyes and Abelard
was expelled from the house; Heloise followed and took refuge with her
lover's sister in Brittany, where a child, Astrolabe, was born.
Peacemakers soon intervened and a secret marriage was arranged, which
took place early one morning at Paris, Fulbert being present. But the
lovers continued to meet; scandal was again busy and Fulbert published
the marriage. Heloise, that the master's advancement in the Church
might not be impeded, gave the lie to her uncle and fled to the nun