Heloise and Abelard had a love story to rival Romeo and Juliet's. Abelard, a brilliant logistician, and Heloise, his intelligent and talented student, fell in love, had a child, and secretly married. However, they were separated after Heloise's uncle punished Abelard by sending his servants to castrate him. After this event, Abelard became a monk and began a new career as an often controversial theologian while Heloise managed the Paraclete, a monastery Abelard founded, as an abbess. Though Abelard would aid the Paraclete and they continued their correspondence through letters, Abelard and Heloise were never able to remain truly together as they once were.
After Abelard died, his body was sent to be buried at the Paraclete by Peter the Venerable. Over twenty year later, Heloise also passed away, and was buried next to Abelard in the abbey church, later known as the chapel of St. Denis. Their bodies stayed at the Paraclete until the convent was sold during the Revolution and most of the building demolished. After several more transfers, they were finally laid to rest at Père Lachaise, a cemetery in Paris. Their tomb displays their effigies and is decorated in the Gothic style. Flowers are still placed on their tomb by those who admire Abelard and Heloise's love.
Sources:
Abelard, Peter, and Heloise. The Letters of Abelard and Heloise. Trans. Betty Radice. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1974. Print. Penguin Classics.
