The Romance of the Rose

The Romance of the Rose (La roman de la rose) is an allegorical poem, begun around the year 1230 by French poet Guillaume de Lorris and completed some fifty years later by another poet, Jean de Meun. On one level, the poem is a description of a dream, in which a “Lover” enters a walled garden and attempts to pluck a rose, with the help of symbolic figures such as “Reason” and “Fair Welcome.” Allegorically, this story represents the efforts of a young man to woo his chaste beloved. The Romance of the Rose is one of the most important achievements of medieval courtly literature, and consequently one of the most influential works in European literature. It was first translated into English by Geoffrey Chaucer, author of The Canterbury Tales, which itself is strongly influenced by The Romance.

The first part of the poem, by de Lorris, opens as the Lover describes a dream in which he was five years younger than he is now.

In this dream, the Lover arrives at the entrance to a walled garden. The walls are adorned with paintings of vices, such as Avarice and Envy. He knocks on the gate and a beautiful young woman lets him into the garden. She introduces herself as Idleness. The garden is an “earthly paradise,” and once inside, the Lover meets a number of beautiful aristocratic figures, including Diversion, Wealth, Dignity, and Cupid. The Lover watches these figures parade and dance, and then he begins to explore the garden, not noticing that he is being followed by Cupid, who has strung his bow.



In a secluded spot, the Lover finds the fountain of Narcissus (a figure in Greek myth who fell in love with his own reflection). After a moment’s hesitation, he looks into the fountain, and sees a vision of rosebuds, tightly surrounded by a thorny thicket. The Lover is seized with a mad desire for these rosebuds, and he seizes one of them.

As he does so, Cupid shoots the Lover with three golden arrows, until the Lover stops trying to reach the rosebud. Cupid forces the Lover to enter his service as a retainer. The Lover swears fealty to Cupid, who locks the Lover’s heart with a key of gold. Cupid lectures the Lover on his new duties as his liegeman: how he should behave and what he should feel. Then Cupid disappears.

The Lover despairs of reaching the rosebud, hidden behind its thick hedge. A young man, Fair Welcome, appears and shows him the way through the hedge. On the other side, he encounters his enemies: Danger, Slander, Fear, Shame, and others. In each of these encounters, his allies, including Reason, Honesty, and Pity, assist him.



Finally, he reaches the rose, which has opened a little, and he asks his host Fair Welcome to let him kiss it. Fair Welcome says he cannot, for fear of Chastity. Venus persuades Fair Welcome to change his mind and the Lover enjoys a blissful kiss. Immediately afterward, Shame, Resistance, and other enemies raise high walls between the Lover and the rose. To recapture his bliss, the Lover must begin an assault on this castle.

In the second part of the poem, written by de Meun, the Lover encounters another sequence of enemies as he battles through the castle to the rose, who has been imprisoned in its dungeon with his friend Fair Welcome. The Lover’s main companion in this part of the poem is Reason.

Reason is a beautiful woman, neither young nor old, neither tall nor short. She wears a crown and descends from a tower to argue with the Lover. Her main goal is to persuade the Lover to abandon love, and to pursue a more Christian way of life. However, she admits that sex and sexual pleasure are natural and enjoyable, and even shocks the Lover by speaking frankly about these topics. She suggests that the Lover would be better off with her than with his beloved.



The Lover, with Reason and his other allies, defeats Slander and breaks into the castle. He confronts an old woman who is guarding Fair Welcome. The old woman advises that young women should mistrust men, but she lets the Lover in to see Fair Welcome, only for Fair Welcome to be abducted by Danger, Shame, and Fear.

The Lover calls on the help of his liege lord, Cupid, whose army assaults the castle. Venus sets fire to the castle, causing the Lover’s enemies to flee, and he is able at last—in an erotically charged passage— to complete his pilgrimage and pluck the rosebud. In the poem’s final lines, the Lover wakes from his dream.

One of the most important surviving works of medieval poetry, The Romance of the Rose is an essential source for our understanding of medieval attitudes to love, sex, rationalism, and Christian belief.