Jean de Meun was a French author best known for his continuation of the Roman de la Rose.
Jean de Meun presents his French translation of Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy to Margaret of Anjou in a fanciful miniature from the 15th-century manuscript Jena, Bibliothek der Friedrich-Schiller-Universität, Ms. fol. 85
Le Roman de la Rose is a medieval poem written in Old French and presented as an allegorical dream vision. As poetry, The Romance of the Rose is a notable instance of courtly literature, purporting to provide a "mirror of love" in which the whole art of romantic love is disclosed. Its two authors conceived it as a psychological allegory; throughout the Lover's quest, the word Rose is used both as the name of the titular lady and as an abstract symbol of female sexuality. The names of the other characters function both as personal names and as metonyms illustrating the different factors that lead to and constitute a love affair. Its long-lasting influence is evident in the number of surviving manuscripts of the work, in the many translations and imitations it inspired, and in the praise and controversy it inspired.
Illuminated leaf from a manuscript of the poem, 1390
Genius of love, by the Master of the Vienna Roman de la rose, 1420–30
Scribe of a 14th-century copy at his writing desk. NLW MS 5016D
Miniature from a manuscript of the Roman de la Rose (Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS. Douce 195), folio 1r, portrait of Guillaume de Lorris.
