de Meun Jean

Born around 1240 in Meung-sur-Loire, Jean de Meun — also known as Jean Clopinel or Chopinel — was a French poet, scholar, and translator. He is remembered above all for writing the long second part of The Romance of the Rose, continuing the poem begun earlier by Guillaume de Lorris.

His continuation greatly expanded the original work, shifting it from a refined love allegory into something much broader: a lively mix of debate, satire, moral reflection, and intellectual display. Medieval and later readers were struck by its attacks on social and religious hypocrisy, as well as its sharp treatment of love, marriage, and power.

Sources also credit him with translating important Latin works into French, including texts by Boethius and Abelard and Heloise. He likely spent much of his life in Paris, and he died before 1305.