While reading through the calamities of Peter Abelard’s life
I was struck with a modern day practice found in the public letters of Abelard.
Subtweeting. I noticed the comparison between the concept of public letter writing
and the idea of Twitter. Both are public and both involve calling someone out. In
The Letters of Abelard and Heloise,
Abelard talks of his enemies, one being Bernard of Clairvaux, but he never
calls him by name.
“My former rivals could do nothing by themselves, and therefore stirred up against me some new apostles in whom the world had great faith…They went up and down the country, slandering me shamelessly in their preaching as much as they could, and for a while brought me into considerable disrepute in the eyes of the ecclesiastical as well as of the secular authorities; and they spread such evil reports of my faith and of my way of life that they also turned some of my chief friends against me…” (p. 32-33).
To the modern historian as well as many of those times it is
apparent that one of his rivals was Bernard of Clairvaux and the lack of
mentioning him reminds me of the ever present trend among the social media
world we live in today.
According to the Oxford online dictionary, subtweet can be
defined as “a post that refers to a particular user without directly mentioning
them, typically as a form of furtive mockery or criticism”
Subtweeting is not only popular with the youth of today, but
also with the elite of society. Musical artist Chris Brown is famous for his subtweeting
ways.
Just like Abelard’s lack of the mentioning oh his specific
rivals, Brown fails to mention the direct enemy in these tweets. Yet at the time it was most likely clear to all his followers just whom he was attacking.
For centuries people have been finding ways to subtly throw a punch at their enemy, a practice I feel will not disappear in the near future.
Sources:
Abelard, Peter, Peter Abelard, Héloïse, Peter Abelard, Peter Abelard, and Betty Radice. The Letters of
Abelard and Heloise. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1974. Print.
Kaitlyn,
ReplyDeleteYour selection for comparison was interesting, to say the least. It’s always nice to see a modern connection to our class discussions and reading, and I think you did an extremely good job of connecting the two. Although I’m unsure if I would ever consider the dramatics that current celebrities and others engage in subtweeting, I suppose that an argument could be made for the two as they are similar. The individual you chose is interesting, I wasn’t aware that he was still popular amongst social media.
I’d have to agree with your claim that the practice will not disappear or decrease in the future. I see it occurring just as much as it currently is, if not more.
Thanks for a great post!
Graham
Really fun comparison. You are on to something!
ReplyDeleteWow, very interesting approach. I didn't know that the term was called "subtweeting", or even that it existed. Your modern connection kind of solidifies the passive aggression between these two rivals. Great blog!
ReplyDeleteI like the connection. I would say that a rap diss would be another, except in rap you specifically call out someone by name, so that's a wash. Great post!
ReplyDelete