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Knowledge was one of the most powerful tools of the middle ages. It was highly valued by many kings and members of nobility, but the greatest procurer of knowledge through the middle ages was undoubtedly the church. Their motive for the capturing of wisdom was not for their own enrichment, but predominantly self-preservation. If the general public were to get hold of such a wealth of philosophical and scientific works that were withheld in the monastic libraries then they would almost certainly begin to formulate their own religious ideas, therefore releasing the societal stranglehold the church held so tightly at that time. To survive the church had to keep the knowledge from the masses, and this is something that Umberto Eco has incorporated with finesse into his novel The Name of the Rose.
Intertextuality, postmodernism, allusions and an array of interesting characters help to explain the state of education and the availability of knowledge in the middle ages. The labyrinth is one of the most important aspects to the portrayal of knowledge in The Name of the Rose. Its design and purpose are a brilliant metaphor to the churches desire to keep knowledge from the poor and powerless. The story of the labyrinth goes right back to a Greek myth, which tells of a beast with the head of a bovine and the body of a man, who was conceived of a woman and a snow white bull. It was confined to a labyrinth from which there was no escape without assistance. The concept that Eco uses in The Name of the Rose is very similar, except instead of guarding the Minotaur, Ecos labyrinth guards books, the knowledge that could be the destruction of the church's vice-like grip upon society.
The minotaur wanted seven young maidens and seven youths per year to quench its appetite, and one year the Greek hero Theseus became sick of the killing and offered himself as a sacrifice to the bull, with the intention of killing it. He went in with a ball of string and a sword, the ball of string he used to trace his path back to the start when he had killed the Minotaur. There are distinct parallels between William, and the hero Theseus. William entered the library with the intention of getting at the contents that it was protecting from society, which of course were the books, just as Theseus entered the Minotaur's labyrinth to rescue the young men and women. They both succeed in their quest, William emerging from the burning library with some important literary works, and Theseus with the youths and maidens that were soon to be sacrificed.
It is also no coincidence that William uses string, much the same as the Greek hero, to escape from the monastic labyrinth. The true purpose of the library is hinted upon throughout the novel, mostly through Also and Williams perilous adventures into the labyrinth, which highlight the obvious difficulty of getting inside the library, procuring books, then getting back out. There are however direct references to the labyrinths intention, which generally occur in conversations between Also and William. On page 286 Also is shocked to find that the library in this Italian monastery has a different purpose to most, And is a library, then, as instrument not for distributing the truth but for delaying its appearance? The library's political purposes override its theoretical one, which is to spread knowledge, and this is one of the novels greatest ironies.
One could hence assume that the library and the monks existence is futile in a non-postmodernist sense as they are reproducing and preserving works that they will never intentionally release into society. Eco most deftly portrays the great power of knowledge through perhaps the novels most interesting character, William of Baskerville. He is very different from the other monks in the monastery, as his great wealth of knowledge and ways of thinking recognise him as a renaissance man well before his time. One of the techniques Eco uses to portray Williams importance to the theme of knowledge in The Name of the Rose is intertextuality. It is represented mainly in the form of Sir Arthur Conan Doyles short stories, Sherlock Holmes, and especially The Hounds of the Baskervilles. Such elements as the characters, the time of year, and the ways of thinking portrayed through these characters help to lead the reader to a greater understanding of the text.
The obvious similarities between the main characters in these stories is one of the more direct means that Eco uses to incorporate intertextuality into the story. William of Baskerville is a 14 th century Sherlock Holmes, with a physique and detective skill that match his 19 th century counterpart. Eco says of him, Brother Williams physical appearance was at that time such as to attract the attention of the most inattentive observer, if this is compared to Watsons first impression of Holmes, His very person and appearance were such as to strike the attention of the most casual observer, it can be seen that Eco did little more than copy the character from one book to the other. The similarities continue when the two authors write in more detail of the characters looks, Also says, His height surpassed that of a normal man and he was so thin that he seemed still taller. His eyes were sharp and penetrating; his thin and slightly baby nose gave his countenance the expression of a man on the lookout, save in certain moments of sluggishness of which I shall speak. His chin also denoted a firm will, though the long face covered with freckles could occasionally express hesitation and puzzlement.
Doyle writes of Sherlock Holmes particulars, In height he was rather over six feet, and so excessively lean that he seemed taller. His eyes were sharp and piercing, save during the intervals of torpor which I have alluded; his thin, hawk-like nose gave his whole expression an air of alertness and decision. His chin, too, had the prominence and squareness which mark the man of determination. They are so similar that one could be forgiven for thinking that the differences are a result of William Weavers translation.
Another character that is derived from Sherlock Holmes is Also, who is of course the equivalent of Holmes sidekick Watson. Also follows William everywhere around the abbey, as does Watson when Sherlock is trying to solve a mystery. Also converses with William in rela...
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Research essay sample on Ways Of Thinking Sherlock Holmes
