Documenting the self: Abelard and the individual in history*

Abstract

Abstract Were medieval people aware of themselves as individuals? The history of self-consciousness begins with the Italian Renaissance, Burckhardt argued. Against this, medievalists have often cited Abelard's Historia calamitatum (his ‘story of calamities’). This article argues that Historia calamitatum is a history of Abelard's feelings, especially of his need for fame, and in this way it documents the self. But Historia calamitatum presents two Abelards: he is the ‘Palatine’– courtly, jesting and formidable – and he is equally a humble monk and Christian apologist. How did a medieval individual propagate such persistent and contradictory public images of himself?