The Repentant Abelard: Family, Gender, and Ethics in Peter Abelard’s ‘Carmen ad Astralabium’ and ‘Planctus’ by Juanita Feros Ruys (review)

Abstract

<p>Enduringly popular, intellectually significant, and quintessentially controversial, Peter Abelard remains a popular subject of research and academic inquiry. The historiography is voluminous. Now comes another tome. Happily, this one is worth sustained consideration. Juanita Feros Ruys's study is massively learned and erudite. Peter Abelard is reintroduced to medievalists as a figure beyond the heady days of his public life and Ruys sheds new and important light on other dimensions of this complex and fascinating personality. The text produced by Ruys is noteworthy and stands without antecedent or peer both for originality and interpretation.</p>