MEUNG, Jean de. — In the spelling of the time, J. de Meun. French poet, born in the town of Meung-sur-Loire (Orléans) ca. 1260, died in Paris between 1299 and 1305. In the *Roman de la Rose*, LORIUM (v.) and continued by him (vv. 4059-21780), he calls himself Jean Chopin and Clopinel.
It is not known whether this is an epithet (alluding to a physical defect of J.) or simply a patronymic. Jean Bouchet, in the *Annales d'Aquitaine*, speaks of his theological studies and his burial in the cloister of the Dominicans in Paris. It has also been suggested that J. may be identified with a « Magister Johannes de Magduno, archidiaconus Belsie in ecclesia Aurelianensi » mentioned in documents dated between 1270 and 1303; but this is mere conjecture.
It is possible, however, to place the continuation of the *Roman de la Rose* with reasonable accuracy in the years between ca. 1275 and 1280, based on references to Charles of Anjou, King of Sicily, and events of his reign. J. also translated the letters of Abelard and Heloise, Vegetius’s *De re militari*, and Boethius’s *De consolatione philosophiae* (dedicated to Philip the Fair); two of his short poems, the *Testament maistre de Meun* and the *Codicil maistre J. de Meun*, generally appear in editions of the *Roman de la Rose*.
The continuation by J. narrates the siege of the well-fortified fortress of the Rose, which finally falls; it is executed with learning and taste no less than those of Guillaume, whose metaphorical veil is unfolded with a boldness worthy of the *fabliaux*. For this reason, J. was generally regarded, even in his own time, as a forerunner of satirical literature; in his verses, the satirical intent indeed appears to prevail over the sentimental inspiration characteristic of his predecessor.