Self-Fulfilling Prophecies: Readership and Authority in the First Roman de la Rose

The thirteenth-century poem Roman de la Rose is one of the most significant literary contributions of the Middle Ages. The poem is a composite work by two separate authors; the first part, By Guillaume de Lorris, has always been viewed as an unfinished fragment made complete thanks to the work of his continuator. In Self-Fulfilling Prophecies David F. Hult offers a reading of the ‘first’ poem by Guillaume, viewed within its literary and cultural context. The book ultimately places into question such modern literary concerns as ‘authorial intentionality’, ‘unity’, ‘originality’ and ‘textual closure’, and will therefore be of interest to students of literary theory as well as to those specialising in medieval French literature. English translations of quotations from the poems are provided to ensure that a broader audience will benefit from this clearly argued study.