The Story of My Misfortunes

The Story of My Misfortunes, also known as Historia Calamitatum (A history of my calamities), is an autobiographical work in Latin by Peter Abelard, one of medieval France's most important intellectuals and a pioneer of scholastic philosophy. The Story of My Misfortunes is one of the first autobiographical works in medieval Western Europe, written in the form of a letter. It is exceptionally readable, and presents a remarkably honest self-portrait of a man who could be arrogant and often felt persecuted. The Story of My Misfortunes provides a clear and fascinating picture of intellectual life in Paris before the formalization of the University, of the intellectual excitement of the period, of monastic life, and of his affair with Heloise, one of history's most famous love stories.