The Key to the Name of the Rose: Including Translations of All Non-English Passages

by Jane G. White, Adele J. Haft, Robert J. White

Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose is a brilliant mystery set in a fictitious medieval monastery. The text is rich with literary, historical, and theoretical references that make it eminently re-readable. The Key makes each reading fuller and more meaningful by helping the interested reader not merely to read but also to understand Eco's masterful work. Inspired by pleas from friends and strangers, the authors, each trained in Classics,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0472086219
• ISBN13: 9780472086214
• Release Date: August 1999
• Publisher: University of Michigan Press
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.5" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

This book was necessary

I just finished "The Name of the Rose" and I found this book necessary to decipher all the Latin texts, and the texts by other languages. The other background information in this book was valuable as well. This book is really necessary if one wants to read "The Name of the Rose" thoroughly.

Mysteries in the Monasteris

More insight on monastic life. Not very healthy, for mind or spirit in so called European DARK AGES. FREUD would have had a field day analysing these believers of witches and devils. Most likey he would have been put to the fire.

The Key to "The Name of the Rose"

The Key to "The Name of the Rose" by Adele J. Haft, Jane G. White, and Robert J. White is a wonderful little book. When was the last time you used your Latin that you had in High School? You say, you never had Latin... well how do you expect to solve the clues that Brother William of Baskerville in "The Name of the Rose" gets. Well, the answer is in this little tome as it includes translations of all of the Non-English passages making you as "smart" as Brother William. This book furthers your experience when reading "The Name of the Rose" as you now can decode the juicy clues. Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose" is about crimes in a medieval abbey and the obsession of it monks with heresies, apocalyptic visions, and forbidden knowledge.This "Key" is a delightful guide to the phrases and bizarre characters and has mirthful anecdotes that you're sure to enjoy and you'll solve the mystery of the seven deaths as fast as Brother William and enjoy the intrigue in doing so.

excellent resource for artists

i am hoping to do an intricate performance art piece based on the novel "the name of the rose;" however, many of the lush details and layers were lost on me, because i am not a historian or a scholar well-versed in semiotics... the task is still daunting, but i feel more confident having this "hint book" to fill me in on the background information. it renders the novel much more accessible to a lay person, and makes the story even MORE fascinating than it already is. i suggest that anyone reading "the name of the rose" should have a copy of this to help them along... also, there is a text that does this same task for dante's "divine comedy" (dante has a large influence on the novel, so reading dante will help the reader to understand the apocolyptic attitudes of the characters). joseph gallagher wrote "a modern reader's guide to dante's 'the divine comedy'" which you may also find helpful.

It solves all of the book's mysteries.

"Key" is the ultimate zoom lens. It provides the "big picture", a living, breathing sketch of the role of the Church, monnachs, and popular knowledge of the day. William of Baskerville appears, thus, on the stage of 15th century life. It offers an equally compelling close-up look at the minuetia of daily life in a monestary (such as the meaning of the times of day used in chapter headings). It contains a glossary of prominent individuals and movements of the day - alluded to in the novel - laying the foundation for characters' actions and motives. Also included is a god-send translation of all foreign terms in the novel plus their contextual meaning. However, even if you are already aware of all this, "The Key" serves as a wonderful companion while reading novel. It's like being able to talk about the book with an equally enthusiastic friend.