In Extremis: The Story of Abelard and Heloise

Howard Brenton’s In Extremis: The Story of Abelard and Heloise uses the love affair of Abelard and Heloise to explore the relationships between logic and religion, humanism and fundamentalism, faith and power. Set in 12th century France, the play focuses on the exploration of two types of Christianity — the mysticism and
austerity of Bernard of Clairvaux, and the challenge set by a new rational philosophy extolled by the erudite, sensual, and dangerously independent, Peter Abelard.