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One of my favourite fiction books The Name of the Rose by the Italian writer Umberto Eco uses this written inscription/sign, in a labyrinthine monastic library to indicate the end of a passage to a core section.
One of my favourite fiction books The Name of the Rose by the Italian writer Umberto Eco uses this written inscription/sign, in a labyrinthine monastic library to indicate the end of a passage to a core section.
I humorously used the device to signal my dis-involvement with an activity that has spanned a third of a Century.
I humorously used the device to signal my dis-involvement with an activity that has spanned a third of a Century.
Happy to have contributed to something I believe in, even if sometimes I have been dragged into situations I did not envisage, but that now, realistically, I think I should reallocate my time and energies to something else.
I am not completely divorced from the matter but my residual involvement will be strictly passive and decreasing.
Happy to have contributed to something I believe in, even if sometimes I have been dragged into situations I did not envisage, but that now, realistically, I think I should reallocate my time and energies to something else.
I am not completely divorced from the matter but my residual involvement will be strictly passive and decreasing.
To all, a big thanks and you too, try your best.
To all, a big thanks and you too, try your best.
The Finis Africæ
Symbol Analysis
The Finis Africæ
Symbol Analysis
The finis Africae is a hidden room in the abbey’s labyrinthine library. It is called the “finis Africae”—the “end of Africa,” in Latin—because it is adjacent to the “Leones” rooms containing books by African authors.
The finis Africae is a hidden room in the abbey’s labyrinthine library. It is called the “finis Africae”—the “end of Africa,” in Latin—because it is adjacent to the “Leones” rooms containing books by African authors.
When William of Baskerville and Adso of Melk visit the labyrinth, they are perplexed to find that the room is seemingly inaccessible, walled up and concealed behind a mirror that reflects ghostly images.
When William of Baskerville and Adso of Melk visit the labyrinth, they are perplexed to find that the room is seemingly inaccessible, walled up and concealed behind a mirror that reflects ghostly images.
Venantius of Salvemec tried to break into the room, but his cryptic note (“The hand over the idol works on the first and the seventh of the four”) serves to further obscure the truth rather than clarify the mystery. The result, then, is yet more misdirection, like the distortions in the mirror; William and Adso only later realize that Venantius was instructing them to press the fourth and seventh letter of the word “quator” (the Latin for “four”) in the phrase written above the “idol,” or the mirror.
Venantius of Salvemec tried to break into the room, but his cryptic note (“The hand over the idol works on the first and the seventh of the four”) serves to further obscure the truth rather than clarify the mystery. The result, then, is yet more misdirection, like the distortions in the mirror; William and Adso only later realize that Venantius was instructing them to press the fourth and seventh letter of the word “quator” (the Latin for “four”) in the phrase written above the “idol,” or the mirror.
As William observes, “this place of forbidden knowledge [i.e. the library] is guarded by many and most cunning devices.” Although the ostensible purpose of a library is to preserve knowledge and make it accessible to future generations, this library is designed to keep out intruders and frustrate those who would try to penetrate its mysteries. The finis Africae—the most secret room in the labyrinth—is symbolic of the strict control in place at the abbey over the dissemination of knowledge.
As William observes, “this place of forbidden knowledge [i.e. the library] is guarded by many and most cunning devices.” Although the ostensible purpose of a library is to preserve knowledge and make it accessible to future generations, this library is designed to keep out intruders and frustrate those who would try to penetrate its mysteries. The finis Africae—the most secret room in the labyrinth—is symbolic of the strict control in place at the abbey over the dissemination of knowledge.
When William and Adso do eventually reach the finis Africae by a secret staircase, they find that it contains a forbidden book that Jorge of Burgos had tried to conceal by burying it in this hidden room and murdering those who tried to enter. In this sense, the finis Africae is the most extreme example of the way in which, as William puts it, “knowledge is used to conceal rather than enlighten.”
When William and Adso do eventually reach the finis Africae by a secret staircase, they find that it contains a forbidden book that Jorge of Burgos had tried to conceal by burying it in this hidden room and murdering those who tried to enter. In this sense, the finis Africae is the most extreme example of the way in which, as William puts it, “knowledge is used to conceal rather than enlighten.”
The purpose of the room and all the “cunning devices” that guard it is to keep knowledge secret and hidden, rather than to bring the truth to light.
The purpose of the room and all the “cunning devices” that guard it is to keep knowledge secret and hidden, rather than to bring the truth to light.
The Finis Africae Quotes in The Name of the Rose
The Finis Africae Quotes in The Name of the Rose
The The Name of the Rose quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Finis Africae.
The The Name of the Rose quotes below all refer to the symbol of The Finis Africae.
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Mariner Books edition of The Name of the Rose published in 2014.
Note: all page numbers and citation info for the quotes below refer to the Mariner Books edition of The Name of the Rose published in 2014.
The main tower physical map
The main tower physical map
The library organisational diagram
The library organisational diagram
The Book Itself
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