Constant Mews: Difference between revisions

Constant Mews (born 1953), D. Phil (Oxon) is Professor of Medieval Thought, Director, Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology, Monash University, Melbourne. He is an authority on medieval religious thought, especially on the medieval philosopher and theologian, Peter Abelard and on interfaith dialogue. He has discovered and published what are possibly the original letters exchanged between Peter Abelard and his lover, Heloise.

Early life

Mews was born in England and educated at St Peter's College, Auckland, New Zealand. He won the Trenwith Cup for History at St Peter's College in 1971.

Academic career

Although born in Britain, I received my later secondary education and did my initial university studies in history (BA and MA) in Auckland, New Zealand. Subsequently, I did doctoral study at the University of Oxford, UK , followed by five years (1980-1985) teaching British civilisation at the Universite de Paris III, while pursuing my own studies in medieval thought (focusing on Peter Abelard) in connection with Jean Jolivet, at the Ecole pratique des hautes etudes en sciences religieuses. This was followed as two years as a Leverhulme research fellow at the University of Sheffield, UK , working with Prof. David Luscombe, on editing the writings of Peter Abelard.

I came to Australia in July 1987, when I took up a position at Monash University as Lecturer in the Dept of History. Since then I have become involved in developing the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology and in promoting studies in religion more generally, with a strong interest in interfaith work. I have had spells of study at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, in 1990 and 2000, and have also taught in Paris, at the Ecole pratique des hautes etudes (Ve section) and in the Ecole des hautes etudes en sciences sociales

Letters of Abelard and Heloise

At the heart of the drama is an obscure Latin text that some scholars say contains the long lost love letters written by the ill-fated pair. Others say the correspondence is fake.

The illicit liaison between Abelard, an up and coming 12th century philosopher, and the gifted young woman he tutored, shocked medieval Europe not least for its gruesome end.

Abelard was castrated on the orders of Heloise's uncle after she became pregnant with his child.

Translated for the first time into French, their publication this month has revived the scandal and divided historians in France and abroad.

Feelings ran high at a seminar in Paris where believers tried to convince skeptics the attribution is right.

"I don't think everyone in the room was convinced," said historian Sylvain Piron, who translated the correspondence, after a long day's debate on the subject.

"Some still believe it's a faked or forged collection."

Constant Mews, director of theological studies at Australia's Monash University, first came across the letters in a volume edited by the German Ewald Koensgen in 1974. The letters, ascribed simply to a man and woman, survived because a 15th century monk copied them for an anthology.

Mews spent two decades studying Abelard's philosophy before finally making his claim: that the 113 letters -- the longest known correspondence from medieval times -- were written by Abelard and Heloise.

SCANDAL AND PASSION

News of what scholars call the most famous scandal of 12th century France spread through contemporary Europe by word of mouth, in poetry and in the songs of troubadours.

Until Mews' work, their story was known to today's historians mainly through the letters they exchanged from their monasteries of exile, some 15 years after the events.

Abelard, 37 when he met Heloise, had a growing reputation as a scholar that prompted her uncle Fulbert, a canon at Notre Dame cathedral, to hire him to tutor his niece.

Heloise, about 20 and with a literary reputation of her own, was being educated with a view to becoming an abbess. Among the rare female authors of medieval times, she argued with passion that erotic love is compatible with friendship and God.

As their liaison grew and was consummated, Heloise conceived Abelard's child. She called her son Pierre Astrolabe, after the astronomer's instrument, to give them bearings for their love.

A furious Fulbert forced Abelard to marry her. Abelard agreed to marry in secret to minimize the damage to his career and to live apart.

After the wedding Fulbert, thinking Abelard was about to renege on the agreement, sent his henchmen to wreak revenge.

Abelard and Heloise lived separate religious lives until his death in 1142. Heloise, remembered as a symbol of tragic love, lived another 22 years and was just over 70 when she died.

In one of the letters ascribed to Heloise, she writes: "I prefer to be confined by the threat of death rather than live and be deprived of the sweet-flowing joy of the sight of you."

The pair are buried together in Paris's Pere Lachaise cemetery.

FACT OR FICTION?

Scholars who support the authenticity case say all the evidence in and around the text points to Abelard and Heloise. Opponents say that is too simple and want definitive proof.

They reject accusations of tunnel vision and deny they are motivated by professional envy at not having got there first.

"It's not jealousy, it's a question of method," said Monique Goullet, director of research in medieval Latin at Paris's Sorbonne University.

"If we had proof that it was Abelard and Heloise then everyone would calm down. But the current position among literature scholars is that we are shocked by too rapid an attribution process."

After years of research, Mews is all the more convinced.

"The first time I encountered the words and ideas they sent a shiver down my spine. Unfortunately, that has been attacked as evidence of an emotional response," he said. "There has been some very quick stereotyping of other people's arguments."

Most Latin experts agree the document is authentic and of great literary worth, but its uniqueness makes some scholars suspicious.

"The most probable explanation is that it is a literary work written by one person who decided to reconstitute the writings of Abelard and Heloise," Goullet said.

Others say it was a stylistic exercise between two students who imagined themselves as the lovers, or that it was written by another couple.

Synchronicity

We are pleased to present an article on apparition written by Constant J. Mews, Ph.D. - an eminent scholar from Australia in the field of comparative religion and theology, who is currently here as a visiting professor at the University of Virginia.

Climbing up to the Pavilion at the Synchronicity Sanctuary on a clear September day to revere the Blessed Mother, evoked many impressions. Above all, there was a sense of reverence for a sacred place, where in one way or another - a revelation has taken place.

We easily get caught up in issues of language, as we struggle to find the most appropriate ways of describing that which is always an experience beyond words. As someone who has devoted many years to reflecting on the experience of revelation, manifestation, and apparition within history - particularly in Christian history, but also in other religious traditions - I find myself constantly creating connections with other people and places. But, when I sat in reflection at the Pavilion, I was aware of what I would call the Divine Mother, an experience of unifying love for creation manifest first of all in a sacred place, surrounded by trees that give us the oxygen without which we cannot live.

Some might say they have experienced an apparition with their eyes. Others might experience through other senses. What matters is not the physical experience, but the process of awakening and understanding that unfolds. What I found there at the Pavilion is that collective reverence for what is beyond us is something precious, because we are taken outside beyond our limited level of awareness. Yes, what we experience is a reflection of a divinity within ourselves. But, we ourselves are a shadow of what I call a divinity or a presence that exists all around us.

There is a long tradition throughout history of experiencing what may be called in different ways, a nurturing presence that embodies that which is beyond form, and brings a degree of unity and cohesion to our lives. There is an ancient practice of using gender categories, male and female, to help understand this experience. Of course, this can degenerate into meaninglessness if these categories are taken out of context. Thus, talk about God as Father makes no sense if there is not also awareness of God as Mother.

In Jewish tradition, inherited by Christianity and Islam, there is a long established understanding (certainly known to Jesus), that wisdom or hokmah is a feminine divinity holding this universe together and needing to be realized in this world. Christians believe that this wisdom is embodied in Jesus. Interestingly however, there was always a risk that embodiment or incarnation can also limit our understanding (or rather, we do not understand what manifestation is really about).

In Christian tradition, Mother Mary became another vehicle for manifestation, in terms of her receptivity to divine wisdom. We find just as many (if not more, I have not counted), experiences of an apparition of Mary, as Mother of God, nurturing wisdom - perhaps to counter an increasing use of the image of Jesus on the Cross, which tended to replace that of Jesus as good shepherd during the fourth century, with the conversion of Constantine. In Pagan cultures, a fundamentally similar experience might be described as a manifestation of Isis. Personally, I resist reductionism in understanding any religious experience, ie., to say that any apparition is "really" of a pagan Isis, or "really" of the Virgin Mary. In India, different imagery will be used. We all need a specific Master, in terms of a guide and a model, to help structure our experience. But, what is needed first of all is respect.. for anyone's experience of an apparition or a revelation.

Yet, I also know how cottage industries can build up around any holy site. One can go to pilgrimage sites in India or Spain and be appalled by commercialization, as well as by the fanatical enthusiasm of those who insist that only their apparition is the real one. We also have to be aware of processes of wishful thinking, and mass paranoia. People often see what they want to see. Although the word "apparition" can sometimes be used to mean a ghost, the deeper meaning is about the experience of spirit (the true meaning of ghost or geist in German). We must always use intelligent discretion when evaluating anyone's experience, not to be swept away by enthusiasm (literally meaning 'being God filled'), without using our mind. We must use all of our faculties, our senses, our reason, and our heart to be open to authentic spiritual experience.

But, it is a wonderful thing that the experience of nurturing, healing wisdom, which we may call our Blessed Mother, is there to enrich us. Humanity has developed a rich tapestry of ways in which spiritual experience has been preserved.

Sometimes, certain words mean more to us than others. My hope is that this experience, revered at the Sanctuary, but manifest throughout time and in all parts of the world, may open our hearts to what is beyond the limitations of specific discourse and culture.

Associate Professor Constant J. Mews, has been a Synchronicity participant for many years. He is Director of the Centre for Studies in Religion and Theology at Monash University, in Melbourne, Australia, where he teaches medieval history and comparative religion. He has published widely on medieval thought and religion. During the autumn of 2006, he is teaching a graduate course on Christians, Jews, and Muslims in the Age of Crusades in the History Department of the University of Virginia, while also pursuing his own research. He is closely involved in promoting interfaith dialogue in a contemporary situation, as well as studying the process of dialogue in the medieval period.

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