Product Description

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, undertook to translate and explain the Latin phrases that pepper the story. They have produced an approachable, informative guide to the book and its setting--the middle ages. The Key includes an introduction to the book, the middle ages, Umberto Eco, and philosophical and literary theories; a useful chronology; and reference notes to historical people and events.
The clear explanations of the historical setting and players will be useful to anyone interested in a general introduction to medieval history.
Adele J. Haft is Associate Professor of Classics, Hunter College, City University of New York. Jane G. White is chair of the Department of Languages, Dwight Englewood School. Robert J. White is Professor of Classics and Oriental Studies, Hunter College, City University of New York.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #118534 in Books
• Published on: 1999-10-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 216 pages

Language Notes
Text: English, Latin

Customer Reviews

A very helpful companion volume
This is a very good guide to The Name of the Rose. Not perfect, but good. The non-English translations are very helpful, and beat sitting next to a Latin dictionary. The biographical information for historical characters is very good too. My only beef about this is that it doesn't address the historical backdrop of the novel well enough: the Renaissance of the previous century, the conflicts in the Church at the time, and the looming disasters of the 14th century between the time the novel takes place and the time the narrator lays the tale down. Get this volume if you're going to read the book. But don't rely strictly on this.

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.

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.