Abo

Abo of Fossanova is the abbot of the unnamed Benedictine abbey. It should be noted that he is obsessed with protecting the honor of the abbey. That’s why Abo asks William to solve the mystery of the monks’ deaths at the abbey but releases him and Adso near the end of the novel when he is afraid of  William has discovered too much. In other words, at first Abo seems encouraged of the research, later he becomes more secretive, and at the end of the novel became clear that preserving the appearance of order in the abbey may be more valuable to Abo than saving the lives of his monks. He considers himself a strong man; rumor has it that as a youth, he carried the body of Thomas Aquinas down the stairs of a tower. Evidently, Abo is proud of his power and wealth and wishes to protect the reputation of the abbey at all costs. He dies the night of the fire after being locked by Jorge in the hidden staircase that leads to the secret room in the library the monks call the finis Africae (“end of Africa”).