The chapters in First Day serve to introduce many of the principal characters as well as to set up the central mystery of the novel: the unexplained death of a young monk, Adelmo of Otranto. Adding to the sense of mystery is that the abbey appears to be full of secrets, with conflicts seething...
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“Matins, in which a few hours of mystic happiness are interrupted but a most bloody occurrence” During pre-dawn prayers, as Adso basks in “the warmth of renewed faith,” he wonders what secrets the abbey holds (114). His ruminations are interrupted by terrified yells and the arrival of three...
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“Prime, in which Benno of Uppsala confides certain things, others are confided by Berengar of Arundel, and Adso learns the meaning of true penitence” William and Adso return to prayers, where they observe that Berengar is frightened, Benno is nervous, and Malachi is “frowning…[and] impassive” (124)...
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“Terce, in which the visitors witness a brawl among vulgar persons, Aymaro of Alessandria makes some allusions, and Adso meditates on saintliness and on the dung of the Devil. Subsequently, William and Adso go back to the scriptorium, William sees something interesting, has a third conversation on...
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“Sext, in which Benno tells a strange tale from which unedifying things about the life of the abbey are learned” William and Adso suspect that Benno lured them to a meeting in order to draw them away from the scriptorium, and his “confused” tale seems to suggest as much (155). During the now...
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“Nones, in which the abbot declares his pride in the wealth of his abbey and his fear of heretics, and eventually Adso wonders whether he has made a mistake in going forth into the world” William asks Adso to attend a private meeting with Abo and act as “secretary. ” Adso admires the gold and...
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“After Vespers, in which, though the chapter is short, old Alinardo says very interesting things about the labyrinth and about the way to enter it” Adso awakes to find that William has again visited the scriptorium to examine Venantius’s desk, only to be thwarted by Malachi, Benno, and Berengar in...
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“Compline, in which the Aedificium is entered, a mysterious visitor is discovered, a secret message with necromantic signs is found, and also a book is found, but then promptly vanishes, to be sought through many subsequent chapters; nor is the theft of William’s precious lenses the last of the...
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“Night, in which the labyrinth is finally broached, and the intruders have strange visions and, as happens in labyrinths, lose their way” Adso and William climb the east staircase to the forbidden door and enter the labyrinth. They arrive in a small, windowless room with seven walls, only four of...
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When this section opens,Adso is in church, basking in the light of faith, when suddenly all peace is destroyed by the revelation of a second murder. Venantius, the scholar of Greek, is found dead. During Second Day, the novel sets up several murder suspects: Benno, Malachi, and, especially...
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“From Lauds to Prime, in which a bloodstained cloth is found in the cell of Berengar, who has disappeared; and that is all” The abbot sends all the monks to search for Berengar, to no avail. A bloodstained cloth is found under his bed, and the servants are sent to search the foot of the cliff...
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“Sext, in which Adso receives the confidences of Salvatore, which cannot be summarized in a few words, but which cause him long and concerned meditation” Eating in the kitchen, Adso sees Salvatore eating a pie. The latter tells him about his difficult childhood, leaving his village and roaming...
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“Nones, in which William speaks to Adso of the great river of heresy, of the function of the simple within the church, of his doubts concerning the possibility of knowing universal laws; and almost parenthetically he tells how he deciphered the necromantic signs left by Venantius” Adso finds...
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“Vespers, in which the abbot speaks again with the visitors, and William has some astounding ideas for deciphering the riddle of the labyrinth and succeeds in the most rational way. Then William and Adso eat cheese in batter” Abo informs them that the person entrusted with the command of the...
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“After Compline, in which Ubertino tells Adso the story of Fra Dolcino, after which Adso recalls other stories or reads them on his own in the library, and then he has an encounter with a maiden, beautiful and terrible as an army arrayed for battle” Adso tells Ubertino that he wants to learn of...
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“Night, in which Adso, distraught, confesses to William and meditates on the function of woman in the plan of creation, but then discovers the corpse of a man” As Adso comes to, he finds himself on the floor with William bathing his face. Adso tells him about the heart, but William reassures him...
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The third day opens with the discovery of the bloodstained cloth which is found in the missing Berengar’s room, and which symbolizes the bloody history of heresy that we will learn about in this section. In the scriptorium, however, Adso observes the monks serenely at work, so intent on their...
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“Lauds, in which William and Severinus examine Berengar’s corpse and discover that the tongue is black, unusual in a drowned man. Then they discuss most painful poisons and a past theft” The body is brought into the infirmary so that William and Severinus can perform an autopsy. The herbalist...
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“Prime, in which William induces first Salvatore and then the cellarer to confess their past, Severinus finds the stolen lenses, Nicholas brings the new ones, and William, now with six eyes, goes to decipher the manuscript of Venantius” William resolves to take a hard line with both Salvatore and...
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“Terce, in which Adso writhes in the torments of love, then William arrives with Venantius’s text, which remains undecipherable even after it has been deciphered” Adso vividly recalls his encounter with the girl, and struggles to resolve his faith with his desire. As he walks about the grounds, he...
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“Sext, in which Adso goes hunting for truffles and sees the Minorites arriving, they confer at length with William and Ubertino, and very sad things are learned about John XXII” Adso joins Severinus and the swineherds in a truffle hunt, but runs back to the abbey to inform William of the...
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“Nones, in which Cardinal del Poggetto arrives, with Bernard Gui and the other men of Avignon, and then each one does something different” As the men exchange cordial greetings, Adso’s attention goes to Bernard Gui, also known as Bernardo Guidoni or Bernardo Guido. Adso watches with interest as...
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“Vespers, in which Alinardo seems to give valuable information, and William reveals his method of arriving at a probable truth through a series of unquestionable errors” William and Adso visit with Alinardo, and the elderly monkasserts that the murders are being conducted in a manner that mirrors...
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“Compline, in which Salvatore tells of a prodigious spell” After an extremely opulent meal in honor of the papal delegation, Adso catches Salvatore sneaking a bundle out of the kitchen, claiming it is a snake. When pressed he reveals it is a black cat, and that he knows a love spell that will...
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“After Compline, in which they visit the labyrinth again, reach the threshold of the finis Africae, but cannot enter because they do not know what the first and seventh of the four are, and, finally, Adso has a recurrence, though a very erudite one, of his love malady” William and Adso work...
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“Night, in which Salvatore allows himself to be discovered wretchedly by Bernard Gui, the girl loved by Adso is arrested as a witch, and all go to bed more unhappy and worried than before” As the two men exit the library, they hear loud noises coming from the kitchen, and blow out their lamps to...
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The quest for truth—both secular and spiritual—continues in the novel’s next section. During the second autopsy, the motif of poison is introduced, when Severinus and William discover Berengar’s blackened tongue and fingers. Determined to uncover the murderer, William interrogates Remigio, who...
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“Prime, in which there occurs a fraternal debate regarding the poverty of Jesus” Adso awakens to a heavy fog, and seeing Bernard furtively taking his leave of Malachi, he follows the inquisitor into the chapter house (i. e. , the room where large meetings are held), which had been recently rebuilt...
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“Terce, in which Severinus speaks to William of a strange book, and William speaks to the envoys of a strange concept of temporal government” William is called out of the meeting by an anxious Severinus, who whispers even as other monks hover around him. He has found a strange book in the...
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“Sext, in which Severinus is found murdered but the book that he had found is to be found no longer” Severinus is found dead, his head bashed in, lying in a pool of blood. A very fine armillary surmounted by a gold cross that previously sat on the infirmary shelf is beside the body. It is clearly...
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