The Epistles on the Romance of the Rose, and other documents in the debate

This study opens with a vivid portrait of the medieval masterpiece that captured the imagination of Europe for centuries. By tracing its immediate reception—manuscripts, translations, paintings—the author shows how the Roman de la Rose became a cultural touchstone, admired by poets and moralists alike. The discussion then turns to the controversial second part, penned by Jean de Meun, whose philosophical allusions to Plato, Aristotle, and Boethius sparked both praise and alarm. Readers hear how early critics such as Gerson and Christine de Pisan challenged its daring ideas about love, gender, and societal norms.

Combining meticulous textual analysis with the history of scholarship, the dissertation maps the heated debate that surrounded the work’s moral implications. Drawing on the insights of nineteenth‑century scholars and the author's own archival research, it reveals how the poem functioned as an early popular encyclopedia of philosophy and ethics. Listeners will come away with a richer appreciation of medieval intellectual life and the way a single allegorical romance could ignite centuries of scholarly argument.