Abstract

Basing his arguments on Abelard's ‘Historia Calamitatum’ the author questions whether the category “negative emotions” is indeed the central and adequate category for describing medieval texts broadly attributable to amonastic context. Instead he stresses categories that are inherent to the text and its world. The first part contains a survey of those episodes of the ‘Historia Calamitatum’ in which negative emotions are mentioned. In a second part, attention turns to the patterns behind these descriptions and their purpose. By considering various aspects of the ‘Historia Calamitatum’ – its theological-monastic background, literary genre, and implicit public dimension, as well as contemporary testimonies – a calculated and varied ascription of negative emotions can be revealed within the work.