de Meun Jean

Jean de Meun, also known as Jean Clopinel, was a French poet and scholar from the 13th century. He is remembered above all for writing the long continuation of The Romance of the Rose after Guillaume de Lorris began it, turning the poem into one of the most famous and debated works of medieval French literature.

His section of the poem is much broader and more argumentative than the earlier part, bringing in satire, philosophy, classical learning, and reflections on religion, society, and desire. That mixture of storytelling and intellectual debate helped give the work its lasting importance.

He is generally associated with the town of Meung-sur-Loire, which gave him his name, and he is usually dated to the late 13th and early 14th centuries, with his death commonly placed around 1304. Although little is known for certain about his personal life, his literary voice remained influential for centuries.