The Key to the "Name of the Rose": Including Translations of All Non-English Passages (Ann Arbor Paperbacks)

There is no point reading this book by itself. You need to read the original novel and refer to this book as you go along. This book is definitely only for diehard lovers of the novel, though.

It contains translations of all the non-English material in the novel, as well as vignettes of saints, sinners, heretics, inquisitors and other celebs of the time. Maps of labyrinths and discussions of plot and character are included. Any question you might reasonably ask is addressed.

In fairness to Eco, his book stands alone very well, and a lot of the background material is genuinely incidental to the plot. However, I've read the novel maybe five or six times, and this latest time (with the Key) was the time I felt I got the most out of it. Eco is so erudite, you feel you can go as deep as you like, and you never reach the bottom.

I thought the title, for example, refers to the un-named girl Adso has the liaison with. The Key suggests perhaps five or six other possible interpretations!

Eco has never spoken openly about about the novel (how delightfully maddening!) and therefore there is no canonical interpretation. The closest you will get is this book.

Stat rosa pristina nomine, nomine nuda tenemus.

GasDoc.


A vital book for reading The Name of The Rose   March 31, 2003
 27 out of 27 found this review helpful

The vast amount of Medieval referances and quotations from dozens of languages in "The Name of the Rose" meant that my slim knowledge of these subjects was wholly inadequate for understanding the novel as much as I would have liked. A book explaining these things to me was a necessity. Although I wasn't sure what to expect when I bought The Key to The Name of the Rose, I knew that anything would be of help. I was very pleased though when I saw the obvious passion with which the authors write about their studied text and the wide range of information given. An encyclopaedic overview of everything that is relevant to The Name of the Rose from the middle ages, with characters, institutions, events and creeds, and a detailed translation of all the quotes with notes on where the text was from and what it was about, are the two main sections but essays on Umberto Eco and Biblical symbolism are also included. Great help with my Advanced Higher English Dissertation!