Meung

Meung, JEAN DE, or Jean Clopiuel, a French satirist, the Voltaire of the middle ages as Gaston Paris calls him, was born at Meun-sur-Loire about 1250. He flourished under Philip the Fair, translated many books into French, became rich and prosperous, and died before November 1305. His Testament, in single-rimmed quatrains, with all its raillery, reveals a genuine piety. But his great work is his continuation to the length of 22,817 lines of the Roman de la Rose, left unfinished in 4670 lines by William of Lorris before 1260. He preserved the original metre, but completely altered the treatment, substituting for its tenderness, refinement, and elaborate allegorising, sharp satirical pictures of actual life, forming an invaluable mirror of the middle ages. See Hist. Litt. de la France, vol. xxviii.