DUPIN, JEAN
(1302–1374). Prior of Saint-Martin-des-Champs and then abbot of Cluny (1369–74),
Dupin wrote the Livre de Mandevie between 1324 and 1340. This allegorical text is
composed of eight books, the first seven written partly in prose and partly in verse, and
the last entirely in verse (5,062 octosyllables). The author is guided by the knight
Mandevie (mander ‘to improve’ +vie ‘life’) along a route where he meets allegorical
figures representing the vices and virtues and the various estates of society. The final
book, entitled Mélancolies sur les conditions de ce monde, is a moral satire that
summarizes the contents of the first seven books; here, he abandons the allegorical form
and directly attacks the abuses of this world. The work was popular in its day, resulting in
a number of manuscripts and two early printed editions, but it is generally condemned
today for its banality.
Claude J.Fouillade
[See also: DIGULLEVILLE, GUILLAUME DE]
Dupin, Jean. Les mélancolies de Jean Dupin, ed. Lauri Lindgren. Turku: Turun Yliopisto, 1965.
[Book 8 only.]
Karl, Ludwig. Un moralisée bourbonnais du XIVe siècle et son œuvre: Le roman de Mandevie et
les Mélancolies de Jean Dupin. Paris: Champion, 1912.
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 590