The Conflict Between Knowledge and Secrecy

The Name of the Rose

The tension between the desire for knowledge and the need to control it, embodied by the library's prohibitions.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The Library's Rules The Library's Rules from "The Name of the Rose". A Fortress of Secrets The Prohibition The library is off-limits to most monks. Only the librarian and his assistant may enter.

The Library's Rules from "The Name of the Rose". A Fortress of Secrets The Prohibition The library is off-limits to most monks. Only the librarian and his assistant may enter.

A Fortress of Secrets The Prohibition The library is off-limits to most monks. Only the librarian and his assistant may enter. This secrecy breeds curiosity and resentment. The Catalogue The catalogue lists books but not their locations. The librarian controls access. Knowledge is hoarded, not shared. The Labyrinth The library is designed to confuse intruders. Mirrors, herbs, and hidden passages protect the books. The architecture itself is a tool of secrecy.

The Thirst for Knowledge The Thirst for Knowledge from "The Name of the Rose". The Scholars' Curiosity Venantius's Quest Venantius of Salvemec risks his life to read the forbidden book. His curiosity is his downfall.

The Thirst for Knowledge from "The Name of the Rose". The Scholars' Curiosity Venantius's Quest Venantius of Salvemec risks his life to read the forbidden book. His curiosity is his downfall.

The Scholars' Curiosity Venantius's Quest Venantius of Salvemec risks his life to read the forbidden book. His curiosity is his downfall. Benno's Ambition Benno of Uppsala wants to know the library's secrets. He becomes assistant librarian but then collaborates with the system of secrecy. The Price of Knowledge The pursuit of forbidden knowledge leads to death. The library's secrets are protected by poison and murder. The conflict between openness and control is central to the plot.

Throughout the story