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Brief Lives

Peter Abelard (1079-1142)

Martin Jenkins looks at the life, love and logic of a medieval free thinker.

Medieval philosopher Peter Abelard was born in Le Pallet, Brittany, but we should not imagine him a Celt. Le Pallet was in a French-speaking area near the border with Poitou in western France. In fact, Abelard’s father was an immigrant from Poitou who probably married the heiress of the local castle of Le Pallet. Peter had a sister and three brothers. He was the eldest son and was expected to inherit the fief.

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