The French Iliad
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
The Romance of the Rose (see ROSE) has been so called. Similarly, the Nibelungenlied (q.v.) and the Lusiad (<?.v.) have been called respectively the German and Portuguese Iliad.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “The French Iliad” mean?
The Romance of the Rose (see ROSE) has been so called. Similarly, the Nibelungenlied (q.v.) and the Lusiad (<?.v.) have been called respectively the German and Portuguese Iliad.
Is “The French Iliad” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.