ABSTRACT
Among the disciples of Peter Abelard there were three who suffered misfortune as a direct result of their association with him. One of these, a canon of the Lateran named Adam, encountered Gerhoh of Reichersberg in Rome in the late 1120s and subsequently apostatized and withdrew to Apulia. The other two, Arnold of Brescia and Berengar, were among Abelard's supporters at the time of the council of Sens in 1140. The Apologeticus opens with a rude and mocking tribute to Bernard's fame and sanctity and to his skill in composing farcical songs and polished verses. He had probably been one of Abelard's 'fautores' who had attended the trial at Sens and he was surely accurate in distinguishing two meetings at the first of which the bishops determined their attitude towards Abelard. Berengar admits that Abelard has occasionally erred, but in order still to maintain that the condemnation of these errors was unjust.
