Venantius of Salvemec and the forbidden book (Aristotle's Poetics)

Venantius of Salvemec, a translator of Greek and Arabic, was the first monk to steal the forbidden copy of Aristotle's Poetics II from the finis Africae, and his fatal curiosity about the book set off the chain of murders that devastated the abbey. A scholar devoted to Aristotle, he had long suspected the existence of the lost second book of the Poetics, which dealt with comedy and laughter. When he learned from Berengar of Arundel that the secret of the finis Africae concealed a unique Greek manuscript, he resolved to obtain it, and his success in doing so led directly to his own death and to the deaths of everyone else who subsequently touched the volume.

Identity and Background

Venantius was a monk of the abbey, a translator from Greek and Arabic, and a devoted student of Aristotle. He was present at the scriptorium debate on laughter, where he argued that Aristotle had devoted a whole book to laughter and that it must be important, and he cited the Poetics and the Rhetoric in support of witty riddles and plays on words as instruments of truth. He knew Greek very well, and he was the one who, during that debate, mentioned that the second book of the Poetics had never been found and was perhaps lost forever. His desk in the scriptorium was one of the most desired, and he worked with a lectern, consulting manuscripts on loan to the abbey, of which he made copies. Among the pages on his desk were a few books in Greek, and another Greek book was open on the lectern, the work on which he had been exercising his skill as translator in the past days: a story by Lucian about a man turned into an ass.

The Theft of the Forbidden Book

Venantius learned from Berengar of Arundel, who had revealed the secret to Adelmo of Otranto in exchange for sexual favors, that the finis Africae contained a unique Greek manuscript. He then entered the library at night, stole the volume, and carried it to the scriptorium to read it. He began to read it, noting down what seemed to him noteworthy, and he wrote a secret message in a zodiacal alphabet on a parchment, which he then hid under his desk. The message read: "Secretum finis Africae manus supra idolum age primum et septimum de quatuor." He also wrote notes in Greek on the same parchment, which included phrases such as "The terrible poison that gives purification," "The best weapon for destroying the enemy," and "Use humble persons, base and ugly, take pleasure from their defect."

Death and Discovery

While reading the book, Venantius touched the poisoned pages with his fingers and then put them to his mouth, ingesting the poison that Jorge of Burgos had smeared on the pages. He felt ill and ran to the kitchen to seek help, where he died near the sink. A broken cup was found beside the body, and traces of water on the ground, suggesting he had tried to drink to soothe a sudden burning or spasm. The cellarer, Remigio of Varagine, discovered the body in the kitchen and, terrified, left it there. Later, Berengar of Arundel, who had followed Venantius and found him dead, moved the body to the jar of pigs' blood to conceal the fact that Venantius had been in the Aedificium at night. The next morning, the body was discovered by the swineherds, and the abbot asked William of Baskerville to investigate.

Consequences and Aftermath

Venantius's theft of the book set off a chain of events that led to the deaths of Berengar of Arundel, Severinus of Sankt Wendel, and Malachi of Hildesheim, all of whom touched or sought the book. The book itself was eventually consumed by Jorge, who ate the pages and then started the fire that destroyed the library. William of Baskerville, after deciphering Venantius's zodiacal code and reconstructing the library's labyrinth, finally confronted Jorge in the finis Africae and learned the full story of the forbidden book and the murders it had caused.