Making Love in the Twelfth Century

Barbara Newman is John Evans Professor of Latin Language and Literature at Northwestern University. She is author and editor of many books, including God and the Goddesses: Vision, Poetry, and Belief in the Middle Ages, winner of the Haskins Medal of the Medieval Academy of America, and From Virile Woman to WomanChrist: Studies in Medieval Religion and Literature. Both are available from the University of Pennsylvania Press.

"Newman is not only a prominent expert on Abelard and Heloise but also a brilliant translator. Her English is sparkling and elegant. . . . With its extensive commentaries and wealth of accompanying scholarly material, the book is an academic's or student's dream: an affordable bibliophile's volume, gorgeously printed on high-quality paper, with all the explanatory extras one could wish for, and not a single comma out of place." (Times Literary Supplement) "Only a scholar like Barbara Newman, with vast experience in medieval amatory literature, could accomplish what she has in this new translation and commentary on the twelfth-century 'Letters of Two Lovers.'" (Comitatus) "This rich contribution to ongoing debate about the 'Letters of Two Lovers' is essential reading for scholars interested not only in Abelard and Heloise but also the Loire poets, Ovid in the Middle Ages, female authorship, literary letter-writing and history of the emotions. At the same time, it generously opens up these topics-central to the study of the literature of the twelfth century-to a broader readership." (Elizabeth Tyler, University of York) "Making Love in the Twelfth Century showcases Barbara Newman's fine poetic sensibility and acute detective skills as she explores the secrets of a literary treasure of the twelfth century. In the course of rediscovering the Epistolae duorum amantium (Letters of Two Lovers) she makes the Latin literary culture of the High Middle Ages newly visible to us in all of its emotional intensity and formal beauty. This is far more than a translation and commentary: it is at once a distinctive contribution to literary history and a triumphant celebration of the literature of love." (Rita Copeland, University of Pennsylvania) "With grace and learning, Barbara Newman illuminates the emotional and textual communities that created the Letters of Two Lovers and similar works of art and love. The translations are glowing, and Newman's introduction and commentaries essential-not only for medievalists but also for anyone interested in amorous attachments. And who is not?" (Barbara H. Rosenwein, Loyola University Chicago) "Barbara Newman's Making Love in the Twelfth Century makes a love affair in progress visible to the reader and shows the 'making'-that is, composing-of love within a discursive tradition." (C. Stephen Jaeger, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

• PrefaceProlegomena-Making Love in the Twelfth Century: An Essay in the History of Emotions-Abelard and Heloise? Some Frequently Asked QuestionsTranslations and Commentary-Letters of Two Lovers-Love Letters from Tegernsee-From the Regensburg Songs-"To a Fugitive Lover"AppendicesA. KeywordsB. Citations, Allusions, and ParallelsC. Salutation TypesD. Word FrequenciesE. Cursus and Rhymed ProseF. Distinctive Features and MotifsG. Abelard, Heloise, and the ParacleteNotesBibliographyIndexAcknowledgments