The Epistles on the Romance of the Rose, and other documents in the debate — Résumé 🇺🇸 English
The text is the introduction and scholarly apparatus of Charles Frederick Ward’s study of the famous literary controversy surrounding the medieval French poem the Roman de la Rose. Ward explains that the poem, especially the second part written by Jean de Meung, achieved enormous popularity throughout Europe. It was copied into many manuscripts, translated into several languages, and admired as a vast repository of knowledge, philosophy, morality, and social commentary. Drawing heavily on classical and medieval authorities such as Plato, Aristotle, Cicero, Boethius, Theophrastus, Alain de Lille, and Ovid, Jean de Meung transformed the work into a wide-ranging encyclopaedia of ideas that appealed strongly to the growing lay readership of the late Middle Ages.
Despite its influence, the poem attracted criticism because of its attacks on women, marriage, and conventional morality. Other works reinforced these themes, notably the Lamentations of Matheolus, a bitter critique of marriage that became widely known through a French translation by Jean le Fèvre. Although Jean le Fèvre later attempted to counterbalance its pessimism with his Livre de Leesce, the anti-marriage and anti-feminine attitudes continued to spread. The influence of the Roman de la Rose also appeared in several later literary works, including the Roman de Fauvel, the writings of Gilles li Muisis, and the poetry of Eustache Deschamps.
The central focus of Ward’s study is the major debate that erupted at the beginning of the fifteenth century. Christine de Pizan emerged as the first prominent female writer to publicly challenge the poem’s portrayal of women. In 1399 she wrote the Epistre au dieu d’Amours, protesting the growing tendency of writers and intellectuals to insult and disparage women. She found support from influential figures such as Jean Gerson, Chancellor of the University of Paris, Guillaume de Tignonville, and the celebrated marshal Boucicault, who even founded an order of knighthood dedicated to the defence of women.
The controversy intensified through a series of letters exchanged between Christine and defenders of Jean de Meung. Jean de Montreuil, a leading humanist and admirer of the poem, argued for its value, while Christine responded with detailed criticisms. Gontier Col entered the dispute by defending Jean de Meung and urging Christine to retract her views. Rather than yielding, Christine gathered the correspondence and presented it to powerful patrons, including Queen Isabeau of Bavaria and Guillaume de Tignonville, thereby broadening public awareness of the debate.
Jean Gerson contributed a major attack on the Roman de la Rose in his Tractatus contra Romantium de Rosa, condemning the work as morally dangerous and harmful to society. The dispute reached its most significant phase when Pierre Col, brother of Gontier Col, vigorously defended Jean de Meung. While acknowledging the poem’s provocative passages, Pierre argued passionately for freedom of thought and expression, portraying the work as a valuable cultural achievement. Gerson and Christine replied, but Pierre remained unconvinced and issued a final response, bringing the controversy to its close.
Ward concludes the introduction by outlining the surviving manuscripts that preserve the letters and documents of the debate, explaining their transmission and scholarly significance.