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Astralabe

The Life and Times of the Son of Heloise and Abelard

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  • © 2023

Overview

Authors:
  1. Brenda M. Cook

    1. Independent Scholar, Portsmouth, UK

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  • Provides a comprehensive record of references to Astralabe
  • Critically considers the history and context of medieval twelfth century that shaped Astralabe’s life
  • Adds a one-of-kind biography of Astralabe to the saga of Abelard and Heloise

Part of the book series: The New Middle Ages (TNMA)

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About this book

Two of the most notable figures from the Middle Ages–the volatile, brilliant Abelard and the equally brilliant Heloise–became the parents of their son Astralabe before Abelard’s infamous, brutal castration. The couple spent the rest of their lives as monastics, in each other’s orbits if not in shared presence, as they became movers in the glittering monastic world of the early twelfth-century France. What happened to their strangely named Astralabe? Astralabe: The Life and Times of the Son of Heloise and Abelard rescues the “lost son” from footnotes and fiction and attempts to tell instead the story of a real man living in Europe in the twelfth century. This book assembles the references to Astralabe, provides background in the history of France and Switzerland, uncovers Abelard’s relationships with his family, with the ruling house of Brittany and more, and most importantly draws together all that is known of Astralabe.

Keywords

Table of contents (18 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxvi
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Star-Crossed Lovers: An Affair and Its Consequences

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 1-9

  3. Astralabe in Fiction

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 11-18

  4. Astralabe in Fact

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 19-27

  5. The ‘Distaff Side’: La Belle, La Sage Heloise

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 29-42

  6. The Flight into Brittany

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 43-65

  7. A Boy Was Born in Brittany

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 67-87

  8. The ‘Spear Side’: Legend, Lore and Lineage

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 89-113

  9. Son and Father; Mother and Son

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 115-144

  10. The Song for Young Astralabe

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 145-166

  11. The Exorcism

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 167-187

  12. Kith and Kin

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 189-207

  13. Fortune’s Wheel

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 209-232

  14. A Monk in the Making

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 233-251

  15. The Paraclete, the Abbess and Her Son

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 253-278

  16. Blood and Grief: The Foundation of the Cistercian Abbey of Hauterive

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 279-304

  17. The Fourth Abbot of Hauterive

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 305-328

  18. The Statue of Venus: The Mystery of the Kaiserchronik

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 329-352

  19. Conclusions

    • Brenda M. Cook
    Pages 353-356

  20. Back Matter

    Pages 357-429
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Authors and Affiliations

  • Independent Scholar, Portsmouth, UK

    Brenda M. Cook

About the author

Brenda M. Cook is a British independent scholar and retired librarian of the Institute of Archeology, University of London.

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Astralabe

  • Book Subtitle: The Life and Times of the Son of Heloise and Abelard

  • Authors: Brenda M. Cook

  • Series Title: The New Middle Ages

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-32088-0

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-32087-3Published: 02 October 2023

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-32090-3Due: 01 November 2023

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-32088-0Published: 30 September 2023

  • Series ISSN: 2945-5936

  • Series E-ISSN: 2945-5944

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXVI, 429

  • Number of Illustrations: 5 b/w illustrations, 21 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: Medieval Literature, History of Medieval Europe, Literary History, Medieval Philosophy

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