The long mental inactivity of feudal Europe broke up like ice before a summer's sun.

Wandering teachers such as Lanfranc or Anselm crossed sea and land to spread the new power of knowledge.

The same spirit of restlessness, of enquiry, of impatience with the older traditions of mankind either local or intellectual that drove half Christendom to the tomb of its Lord, crowded the roads with thousands of young scholars hurrying to the chosen seats where teachers were gathered together.

A new power sprang up in the midst of a world which had till now recognized no power but that of sheer brute force.
Poor as they were, sometimes even of servile race, the wandering scholars who lectured in every cloister were hailed as "masters" by the crowds at their feet.

Abelard was a foe worthy of the threats of councils, of the thunders of the Church.