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Prologue: Adso's Introduction from "The Name of the Rose". Adso of Melk, now an old monk, begins his account of the wondrous and terrible events he witnessed in his youth.

Late 14th century, when Adso writes his memoirs

Prologue: Adso's Introduction

Adso of Melk, now an old monk, begins his account of the wondrous and terrible events he witnessed in his youth. He sets the historical context: the conflict between Pope John XXII and Emperor Louis the Bavarian, the Franciscan controversy over poverty, and the political turmoil of Italy in 1327. He explains how he became the scribe and disciple of the Franciscan friar William of Baskerville, who was sent on a mission that led them to a wealthy abbey in the Apennines.