Roman de la Rose

ro-mon' de la roz, or Romance of the Rose, an early French allegorical poem. It was begun by Guillaume de Lorris about the middle of the thirteenth century. He wrote about 4,000 lines. Early in the fourteenth century Jean de Meung continued the work. The complete poem contains about 20,000 lines. The poem was extremely popular, and is one of the most important literary works of the Middle Ages. Its subject is the art of love, but it satirizes the manners of the times. Historical facts, views on science, economics, and politics are interspersed. To the modern reader it is wearisome, but it suited the taste of the age in which it was produced. An English translation, entitled Romaunt of the Rose, is attributed to Chaucer.