The abbey burns

The destruction of the abbey by fire is the catastrophic climax of the novel, in which the blind librarian Jorge of Burgos, having been confronted by William of Baskerville, devours the forbidden second book of Aristotle's Poetics and then deliberately starts a conflagration that consumes the entire library and most of the abbey's buildings, fulfilling his own apocalyptic prophecies and ensuring that the dangerous knowledge he sought to suppress is lost forever.

Causes and Background

The fire is the direct result of the confrontation in the finis Africae, the secret room of the library where Jorge had hidden the only known copy of Aristotle's second book of the Poetics. For decades, Jorge had guarded this work, which he believed would legitimize laughter as a philosophical tool and thereby undermine the fear of God that he considered essential to Christian order. When William of Baskerville and his novice Adso of Melk finally penetrated the finis Africae on the night of the seventh day, Jorge, realizing his secret was exposed, began tearing the pages from the manuscript and eating them, determined to consume the book rather than let it fall into the hands of those who might use it. As William and Adso pursued him through the darkened labyrinth, Jorge knocked over their lamp, spilling oil onto a pile of books and igniting a fire that spread with terrifying speed through the dry, ancient parchments.

The Course of the Fire

The fire, fed by the wind that howled through the library's ventilation slits, raced from room to room, consuming the thousands of volumes that had been accumulated over centuries. William and Adso, realizing they could not contain the blaze, rushed down to the kitchen to fetch water and to raise the alarm. Adso ran to the church and rang the bells, waking the monks and servants, who emerged to see the windows of the south wing of the Aedificium glowing with an abnormal light. Nicholas of Morimondo organized a desperate bucket brigade, but the effort was chaotic and ineffective; the monks, accustomed to the library's inviolability, were paralyzed by confusion and lacked a clear leader, as the abbot had been trapped and killed by Jorge in a secret passage. The fire soon spread from the library to the scriptorium below, and then to the kitchen and refectory. Sparks carried by the wind ignited the roof of the abbey church, which burned rapidly due to its wooden core and furnishings. The stables and forges also caught fire, and panicked animals—horses, cows, sheep, and pigs—broke free and stampeded across the grounds, some with their manes ablaze, trampling anyone in their path. The entire compound became an inferno of flame, smoke, and terrified creatures.

Consequences and Aftermath

The abbey burned for three days and three nights. By the morning of the seventh day, the survivors realized that no building could be saved. The church, the chapter house, the abbot's apartments, and the dormitory were all reduced to ruins. The Aedificium, though its outer walls partially stood, was gutted; its interior was a blackened shell open to the sky. The library, the greatest in Christendom, was utterly destroyed, its contents reduced to ash and scattered fragments. The dead—including Jorge, the abbot, Benno of Uppsala, and old Alinardo of Grottaferrata—were left among the ruins or buried hastily. The surviving monks and servants collected their belongings and abandoned the accursed place, scattering to unknown destinations. William and Adso left on two stray horses, heading east. Years later, Adso returned to the site and found only desolation: ivy-covered walls, weeds, and a few scraps of parchment that had survived the fire. He collected these fragments, spending the rest of his life trying to decipher them, but he could never be certain whether they contained any hidden meaning. The destruction of the library, which William had called "the greatest library in Christendom," marked the end of an era, and William himself saw in it the triumph of the Antichrist, for without learning, he said, nothing would hinder him.