Quick Facts
- Flourished:
- 13th century
- Flourished:
- c.1201 - c.1300
Adding us as a Preferred Source tells Google you trust our content, so our articles show up more often in your Google Search, Discover feed, and AI Overviews.
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies.
Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Guillaume de Lorris
medieval French author
Guillaume de Lorris (flourished 13th century) was a French author of the first and more poetic part of the medieval verse allegory the Roman de la rose, started by him c. 1225–30 but continued only some 40–50 years later by Jean de Meun.
Little is known of Guillaume de Lorris except that he was clearly an aristocrat and that he was born in the village of Lorris, just east of Orléans. Guillaume’s section of the work—the first 4,058 lines—reveals him as a courtly poet of great perceptiveness who has mastered the revelation of character through allegorical symbols. It draws on the conventions of courtly love descended from the troubadours, although that code of behaviour appears to have been waning in popularity already in the 13th century.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.
By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica
Privacy Policy
and
Terms of Use.