Jean de Meun, best known as the author of the
final 18,000 lines of the ROMANCE OF THE ROSE, was
born in the French town of Meun-sur-Loire. Very
little is known about his life. Since he was known
to contemporaries as Master Jean de Meun, scholars
believe that he received a Master of Arts degree
at the University of Paris and that he likely taught
there. He was living near the university at the time
of his death.His work contains satires of the Franciscan
and Dominican orders of friars, who were
under attack at the university at the time. He had
also studied Alan of Lille and other philosophical
poets of Chartres who exalted Nature.
Jean’s works show that he was an expert in Latin
with an encyclopedic knowledge of many subjects.
He describes himself in the Romance of the Rose as
“joyous of heart, agile and sound of limb.”He also
describes himself as a lifelong servant of love. His
style is lively and filled with satirical wit, and he
popularizes abstract philosophical ideas through
the pungent dialogue of his characters.
The variety of works attributed to Jean reflect
the interests that led him to complete the Romance
of the Rose. Among these works is his translation of
the Latin work de re Militaria by Vegetius, which he
called The Art of Chivalry (1284). He also translated
The Consolation of Philosophy by BOETHIUS
and the letters of the famous lovers ABÉLARD AND
HÉLOÏSE. Two other works, the Testament of Jean de
Meun and the Codicil of Jean de Meun, have also
been attributed to him. The dedications of his
works show that he had many friends in high
places, including Jean de Brienne, count of Eu, and
King Philip the Fair of France (1285–1315).
De Meun said that he read GUILLAUME DE LORRIS’s
Romance of the Rose and liked it so much that
he decided to finish it. But he had things in mind
that went beyond Guillaume’s work.While Guillaume
wrote somewhat uncritically from within
the courtly tradition (see CHIVALRY AND COURTLY
LOVE), De Meun,writing as a next-generation poet,
had a more critical, satirical view of courtly love
and its conventions. He brings in satire of women
and relations between the sexes, and sets forth arguments
that passionate love has no importance in
comparison with procreation. His digressions are
encyclopedic in length and cover a wide range of
topics to interest his medieval listeners.
De Meun’s contribution to the Romance of the
Rose was a popular one; all of the medieval manuscripts
except one include his continuation of the
text. The work has both survived and become controversial
because of him.
An English Version of a Work by
Jean de Meun
The Romance of the Rose by Guillaume de Lorris and
Jean de Meun. Translated by Charles Dahlberg.
Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1995.
Works about Jean de Meun
Hill, Jillian M. L.Medieval Debate on Jean de Meung’s
Roman de la Rose: Morality Versus Art. Lewiston,
N.Y.: Edwin Mellen Press, 1992.
Kay, Sarah. The Romance of the Rose. London: Grant
& Cutler, 1995.