Super thronos viginti quatuor

Super thronos viginti quatuor is the Latin inscription carved above the mirror in the library labyrinth of the abbey, a verse from the Book of Revelation that serves as both a decorative scroll and a functional component of the secret mechanism controlling access to the finis Africae. Its presence marks the room where the mirror distorts images, and its final word, quatuor, contains the letters that, when pressed, open the hidden door to the forbidden chamber where Jorge of Burgos guards Aristotle's lost second book of the Poetics.

Inscription and Location

The phrase Super thronos viginti quatuor ("over the twenty-four thrones") is carved into the stone wall above a large, distorting mirror in one of the windowless rooms of the library labyrinth. The room is part of the south tower, within the area designated LEONES, which houses books considered falsehoods or works by infidel authors. The scroll is one of many verses from the Apocalypse painted on the walls throughout the library, but this particular inscription is distinguished by its placement above the mirror, a device that enlarges and distorts the images of those who approach it. When Adso of Melk first encounters the mirror, he mistakes his own reflection for a devil, and William of Baskerville later identifies the room by the scroll, noting that the same inscription appears in another room without a mirror, confirming that the verses are not unique to a single location.

Functional Role in the Library's Security

The inscription is not merely decorative; it is an integral part of the library's defense system. The mirror room is one of the four blind rooms in the south tower, and its layout—with four openings, one blank wall, and the mirror—is crucial to the labyrinth's design. The verse Super thronos viginti quatuor is the key to the secret mechanism that controls access to the finis Africae, the hidden chamber where the most dangerous books are kept. The word quatuor, the last word of the inscription, contains seven letters, and the mechanism requires pressing the first and seventh letters—q and r—to open the mirror, which is actually a hinged door. William deduces this by interpreting Venantius of Salvemec's cryptic note, "primum et septimum de quatuor," realizing that "de quatuor" refers to the word itself, not to a numerical sequence. When William presses the q and r, the mirror swings open, revealing the entrance to the finis Africae.

Connection to the Finis Africae and the Forbidden Book

The room marked by Super thronos viginti quatuor is the threshold to the finis Africae, the most secret part of the library, where Jorge of Burgos has hidden the only surviving copy of Aristotle's second book of the Poetics. The inscription thus becomes a symbol of the library's dual nature: it is both a repository of knowledge and a fortress designed to conceal that knowledge. The mirror, combined with the verse, creates a trap for the unwary, as the distorted reflection and the labyrinthine layout disorient intruders. Jorge, who has controlled the library for decades, uses this mechanism to protect the forbidden book, which he believes threatens the foundations of Christian faith by elevating laughter and comedy to philosophical status. The inscription, therefore, is not just a biblical quotation but a functional element in Jorge's scheme to suppress what he considers a dangerous truth.

Thematic Significance

The inscription Super thronos viginti quatuor encapsulates the tension between revelation and concealment that pervades the novel. The verse itself is from the Apocalypse, a book of revelation, yet it is used to hide rather than reveal. The mirror, which should reflect truth, distorts it, and the biblical words, which should guide the faithful, become a barrier to knowledge. This inversion mirrors the broader conflict in the abbey between the pursuit of truth and the fear of its consequences. The inscription also highlights the role of language and interpretation: the key to the finis Africae lies not in the meaning of the verse but in the materiality of its letters, a shift from spiritual to mechanical understanding that reflects William's empirical method. Ultimately, Super thronos viginti quatuor stands as a monument to the library's paradoxical mission—to preserve books while keeping their contents inaccessible—and to the tragic consequences of that mission, which culminate in the destruction of the library by fire.