ABSTRACT
Jean de Meun is best known as the second author of the popular Roman de la rose begun by its first author Guillaume de Lorris in 1236. Between 1269 and 1278, Jean added about 17,000 lines of rhymed poetry to the initial 4,000 lines composed by its first author. Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun’s conjoined Roman de la Rose is without a doubt one of the foundational pieces of French medieval literature with over 360 extant manuscripts. Jean de Meun has entered the literary canon not only as a writer, but also as a translator, theologian, and alchemist; in other words as a ‘learned doctor’. His literary afterlife is as varied as the topics he discusses in his writings, ranging from courtly love to theology, philosophy, and the sciences.
