Abelard (Pierre) or Abailard, Latin Petrus Abaelardus, a celebrated French philosopher and logician, born near Nates in 1079.  He left many writings, nearly all dialectical or theological, except his "Letters to Heloise," ("Epistolæ Petri Abælardi et Heloisæ,") and the "History of [his] Misfortunes," ("Historia Calamitatum.")   "Abelard," says Hallam, "was almost the first who awakened mankind, in the age of darkness, to a sympathy with intellectual excellence.  His bold theories, not the less attractive, perhaps, for treading upon the bounds of heresy, his imprudent vanity that scorned the regularly acquired reputation of older men, allured a multitude of disciples who would never have listened to an ordinary teacher..." (Universal Pronouncing Dictionary of Biography and Mythology, Thomas, 1870)