The Key to The Name of the Rose: Including Translations of All Non-English Passages

by Jane G. White, Robert J. White, Adele J. Haft

Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose is a brilliant mystery set in a fictitious medieval monastery. The text is rich with literary, historical, and theoretical references that make it eminently re-readable. The Key makes each reading fuller and more meaningful by helping the interested reader not merely to read but also to understand Eco's masterful work. Inspired by pleas from friends and strangers, the authors, each trained in Classics, undertook to translate and explain the Latin phrases that pepper the story. They have produced an approachable, informative guide to the book and its setting--the middle ages. The Key includes an introduction to the book, the middle ages, Umberto Eco, and philosophical and literary theories; a useful chronology; and reference notes to historical people and events. The clear explanations of the historical setting and players will be useful to anyone interested in a general introduction to medieval history.
Adele J. Haft is Associate Professor of Classics, Hunter College, City University of New York. Jane G. White is chair of the Department of Languages, Dwight Englewood School. Robert J. White is Professor of Classics and Oriental Studies, Hunter College, City University of New York.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Literary Criticism, History, Literature, School, Mystery

194 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1987

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really do wish that when we were reading Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose for a graduate course in 1989/1990 that the professor had also suggested The Key to The Name Rose to us.

For in my opinion and indeed very much certainly, Adele J. Haft's (et al) 1987 The Key to The Name of the Rose is most definitely to be most highly recommended for anyone reading or even at some point in time intending to read Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. And yes, The Key to The Name of the Rose is especially suggested to and for those readers who are having issues or have been feeling frustrated with The Name of the Rose (case in point, I was ready to give up in frustration and despair, but this book has indeed made me strongly reconsider).

Now the included essays found in The Key to The Name of the Rose as well as the supplemental historical and philosophical details are in my humble opinion absolutely brilliant, both informative and for the most part also more than approachable (in other words, they are easy enough to understand and actually often much less academically dense and simpler to fathom, to comprehend than The Name of the Rose, than Umberto Eco's narrative, his often overly convoluted and thus at times frustrating and full of annoying academic arrogance text). And yes indeed, the large section of translations of indeed ALL of the non-English passages are of course an amazing resource, an absolute godsend to and for those of us who are not fluent in Latin, Greek, Italian etc., but do want to know, or might even need to know what the non-English passages found en masse in The Name of the Rose mean (and of course much less painful than having to resort to multiple divergent forign language dictionaries, as that can get frustrating, even with regard to a possible lack of reading space).

Finally, and I guess this might possibly be rather an affront to the many fans of the late Umberto Eco, but after now having finally completed his The Name of the Rose (a bit of a reread, to be sure, but I actually did not manage to finish the novel the first time I attempted to peruse it), I have to admit that while I do now more appreciate, I still do not much if at all enjoy The Name of the Rose as a reading pleasure and especially so with regard to Umberto Eco's grating and painful writing style (as well as his tendency to academic snobbery). And in fact I actually have found this here companion tome considerably more enjoyable and enlightening (for indeed, The Key to The Name of the Rose is truly a great tome simply in and of itself and also considerably more pleasant and less frustrating, and unlike with The Name of the Rose, I have equally never even remotely felt like using The Key to The Name of the Rose as a soccer ball).

[Jonfaith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another coveted book acquired only to be disenchanted. I am not sure what fueled my expectations. It is a glossary of cited figures and translation of Latin passages. That’s about it. That is all the authors aspired to provide.

I read this sitting at the Louisville Science Center while my wife’s nephew played and explored. It was a gorgeous day and reading the book reminded me of my love for Eco and his tragic optimism.

[Nova · Rating 2 out of 5]

کاربردی ترین بخش این کتاب، ترجمه ی جملات لاتین لابه لای خطوط ترجمه انگلیسی کتاب بود. اکو میگه تنها دلیل باقی گذاشتن این جملات به این صورت صرفا بخاطر حفظ حال و هوای قرون وسطایی بوده و اصلا قصد نداشته خواننده رو ملزوم به فهم دقیق معنیشون کنه و به همین منظور هم سعی کرده معناشون رو خودش با ساختار جملات انتقال بده. اما آقای اکو حواسش نبوده که خواننده های معمولیش تا حدی شیفته ی کتاب (که براش از ابتدا قشر فرهیخته رو به عنوان مخاطب قرار داده بوده) میشن که تا مو رو از توی ماست بیرون نکشن آروم و قرار ندارن.
و البته اگر مخاطب اروپایی کتاب رو در نظر بگیریم، بخاطر ساختار زبان های مادریشون و سیستم آموزشی مدرسه هاشون، آشنایی بیشتری به لاتین دارن و عمرا احتیاجی به یک کتاب کمکی پیدا نمی کنند. اما آمریکایی ها از همچین امکانات بنیادین زبانی برخوردار نبودن و اشتیاقشون احتیاج آفرید و سبب نوشته شدن این همراه کمکی برای نام گل سرخ شد.

بخش تاریخی این کتاب اما ناامیدم کرد و انتظاراتم رو از یک پیش زمینه ی مفصل اما هدفمند تاریخی براورده نکرد.
جمع آورنده های کتاب به یک فرمت دایره المعارفی از اسامی سرشناس اشاره شده در نام گل سرخ بسنده کردند. مثل پیوست تاریخ ادبیات صفحات آخر ادبیات فارسی دبیرستان.

خدا پدر گوگل و ویکیپدیا رو بیامرزه. هرچی توی این کتاب مطرح شده (وترجمه ها) در اینترنت پیدا می کنید. بیشتر از حد نیاز مطالعاتی اکو هم پیدا میکنید.

[Isa · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are missing translations, and I found at least one wrong translation from the Latin.
It's also a very disjointed guide, three authors and still they only came out with a book at a university student's first year term paper level.

[Elentarri · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful companion for Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. The book provides translations of all the latin text, as well as a glossary of all the people mentioned.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

No spoilers!

Caution is needed when reaching for a key to a novel which is in essence a murder mystery. For this reason, I rate The Key to The Name of the Rose: Including Translations of All Non-English Passages book 5*. Highly recommended for the first time reader, the student or even the scholar looking for insights to this novel they might have missed. My number one praise is that this book does NOT contain spoilers, except at the end where it cautions one not to read The Key's final chapter until The Name of the Rose has been completed.

I found this booklet to be an essential resource when reading The Name of the Rose - unless you are proficient in Latin. It has chapters on the author Umberto Eco, an explanation of the author's academic field of semiotics, and an informative summary of the Middle Ages both historically and philosophically. I found myself referencing The Key multiple times as I made my way through the novel. A chapter on Eco's separate publication, Postscript to the Name of the Rose is included.

The critical page by page translations and notes regarding the multitude of non-English passages in the book include interesting historical notes. Umberto Eco did not feel it necessary to add footnotes to his text or to translate the hundreds of Latin passages, giving a more authentic historical feel to The Name of the Rose . There is a substantial annotated guide to the historical and literary references in the Key which is quite useful, given the extensive background of the Middle Ages which support the text and the fact that many of Eco's characters are drawn from true historical figures from the 5th century AD through the 14th century.

I found that chapter summaries would have improved the usefulness of this resource. Nevertheless, I kept The Key to The Name of the Rose: Including Translations of All Non-English Passages close at hand while reading the novel.

Chapters included are as follows:
I. Umberto Eco, Semiotics, and Medieval Thought
II. A Brief Chronology of the Middle Ages
III. Annotated Guide to Historical and Literary References
IV. Notes and Translations of all non-English Passages
V. Postscript (contains spoilers of the novel as well as a discussion of Eco's POSTSCRIPT.

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eco's "The Name of the Rose", arguably one of the best murder mysteries ever written, is also a gorgeous meditation on philosophies and words and books and a celebration of libraries the world over. While this 'key' is interesting, providing translations for some passages, explanations for others, I say approach "The Name of the Rose" on its own and use context (your own, perhaps?) to understand those untranslated passages. Because a rose by any other name is whatever you might want it to mean.

[Phrodrick slowed his growing backlog · Rating 4 out of 5]

he Name of the Rose was the book that introduced the most people to Umberto Eco then better known as a semiotician. This book was my introduction to Eco, and made of me a devoted reader. Even so it read like the work of a professor frustrated by the disinterest of his students and attempting to use well-written fiction to teach recalcitrant students. For non students of the various sects and heresies of the Catholic Church in the dark ages much of the mystery to be solved in this book is tied to Latin quotes obscure scholars and matters generally more esoteric than "whodunit".

The Key to the Name of the Rose is the book that will guide the curious reader through the more curious contents of Eco book. Ideally Name of the Rose will be reissued with the Key included to make an annotated single purchase. This new publication is only likely if: first there remains enough sales for this 1980 book to financially justify a more expensive new edition and second if the original author decides to make it easy for his now international readership. Professor Eco is probably mellowed over these many years but I suspect his original preference was for you to do your own research.

Bottom line is if you want to know the translations and the academic obscuria, and you want to know it now you're not going to get a better set of annotation than that provided by The Key to the Name of the Rose. If you're the kind who likes to reread a good mystery novel, you'll definitely want The Key ready to hand. If you have not yet read the novel and you are a detailed reader you will definitely want The Key

[Andres · Rating 5 out of 5]

Indispensable guide to Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose. It provides translations for the untranslated bits and pieces (and there are lots and lots of untranslated bits and pieces), as well as giving brief paragraphs on the people, places, events, and/or allusions that are referred to throughout the novel.

It does get tiring after a while having to flip to the book so that you can understand yet another Latin or what-have-you phrase or sentence or paragraph, and reading the different paragraphs about different subjects can slow the momentum of the book, but for someone like me (who likes to delve into subjects in this thumbnail sized manner) it can be quite a lot of fun. Tiring and annoying after a while, but still fun.

I wish there were others of these guides for Eco's books, but this seems to be the only one of its kind.

[Edward · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very useful book, providing translations and the occasional explanatory note. It also contains a few interesting essays on The Name of the Rose and Eco.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is mostly a companion to be used while reading The Name of the Rose, and the greatest value is in the reliable and validated translations of all the non-English passages. Eco composed most of those passages himself, and even some of the non-English quotations are Eco's own translations. There's a lot of value in knowing what Eco was actually intending by some of these passages, not least of which is the final sentence of the book, and the source of its title. There's also a timeline of pertinent European/Catholic events that took place during the setting of the book, and a background of every character and historical figured referred to, no matter how obscure. There's a short analysis of the story afterward that highlights some of the devices a reader might have missed, but it doesn't get into the overall theme of truth that saturates the book. I was a little disappointed, since this is sometimes called "the first postmodern novel," but I know there's PLENTY of other sources out there if I want to bother. I wish I'd had this book the first time I read The Name of the Rose.

[Samwise · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this isn't necessary to understand the novel, it is helpful in fully grasping each anecdote and the historical context, not to mention enriching one's own understanding and learning.

[Nina · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best things about “The Name of the Rose” is its author’s refusal to hold the reader’s hand through his carefully constructed labyrinth of medieval arcana. This is also one of the worst aspects of the book. The frequent insertion of untranslated Latin and Greek, along with the multitudinous references to obscure 14th Century historical figures and events makes it a challenging work, to say the least. As a product of the American public school system, I do not feel ashamed to admit that I felt the need for some help in interpreting what I was reading. This book fit the bill quite nicely. Other reviewers have complained that it didn’t do enough, as they wanted more than translations and brief biographical sketches of key figures. However, I don’t think the authors intended it to be anything more than a cheat sheet, a rough sketch of the labyrinth, not a detailed architectural drawing. I would hazard a guess that there are more detailed literary analyses available for those who want that kind of thing. The author himself provides some of that in his afterward.

[J. Alfred · Rating 3 out of 5]

Say, stranger! Do you need some help navigating the polyglot complexity of The Name of the Rose? Or at least get a better gloss of that last Latin sentence? If so, this book can help!
Eco, like any good novelist, gives you either immediate translations or enough context clues to render the liberal sprinklings of various languages throughout the text into an aid to enjoyment, not a hindrance, as the authors of this 'Key' say in their introduction. The Key pretty quickly provides reason for its own existence, however, with a good introduction to Eco himself and his other works, scholarly and fictional, a compendium explaining certain characters and aspects of the middle ages, and a worthwhile little essay at the end on the book as a whole, in addition to English translations of all non-English phrases and (sometimes) paragraphs.
The Name of the Rose endures. You know?

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm rating this book purely on utility. There are two main sections to the book - a chapter with short introduction to some historical characters and events referenced in the book that the average reader will know little to nothing about. I read these before starting the novel and then referenced them as needed while reading. They are interesting enough in themselves and provide much needed context. I could have actually used more of a reference (quick, what were the differences between a Franciscan and Benedictine in the 1300's?), but wikipedia filled in the gaps nicely. I read the translations as they came up in the book and it was fairly unobtrusive. I don't think having the translations are all that important to a casual reading of the book, but there are some gems in there.

[Kajah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I would have had this the first time I read the novel that this is a guide for. Umberto Eco’s 500+ page historical mystery novel is full of fascinating details about 14th Century medieval political, intellectual, and social life and has many untranslated passages in Latin that, while not required to understand the story contain some extra meaning and can be quite funny, and this guide has the translations as well as some helpful essays on the author and his work and well as the world of the Middle Ages. If you’re going to take the plunge into cavernous depths of The Name of the Rose, you may as well bring Virgil with you.

[Gavin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Placed under detective tag due to its being a companion piece to The Name of the Rose. As the title says it translates all the non-English parts of the mentioned book. I got it for my third reading just to see if my translations had been accurate. On the whole they had been, except for one or two bits.

The book under review would be of great use to anyone with little or no knowledge of French, Italian, Latin and other languages used by Eco while reading The Name of the Rose itself.

[Carolyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I actually found it distracting to try to read this in parallel with the novel. The back and forth made the reading of the novel itself disjointed. I probably should have just read a few chapters of the novel, made notes where I wanted clarification, then consulted this reference book afterward.

[Jjewell · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first time through "The Name of the Rose" I did my best to puzzle through the Latin myself, but having this book to hand definitely increased my understanding and enjoyment the second (and third...) times.

[Parsa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was helpful when I started The name of the rose. Not just because of the translations but because of the historical contexts as well.

[Henrietta (H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Added another dimension to reading of The Name of the Rose. Translated all foreign language passages and provided theological and historical background information.

[Mary Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely helpful to understanding The Name of the Rose!

[Mario Cianfarani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Added another layer to the book.

[Jon · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s kind of funny; in the afterword to The Name of the Rose, Eco says that he never wanted people to get caught up in translating the Latin and he tried to make it as innocuous as possible

[Nitin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very useful book for the Latin to English translations and some context for the references in The Name Of The Rose.

It covers pretty much all the Latin passages (misses a couple) and, in my limited knowledge, is mostly accurate.

The one issue is about its utility as a key. The way it dumps all the key figures and events in one section is a bit annoying. Also a few important figures like the holy Roman emperor of that era are missing from that section. And the worst omission is that the glossary for the shepherd's crusade only explains the first event by that name while the plot relevant item is the second event.

Sometimes the Latin translations come with commentary and that's great. But some of the plain English passages (Italian in the original) could also use a bit of commentary and that is rare. But wherever it is given, it's great. Especially when there are pages explaining the syllogism process of middle ages before symbolic logic.

Overall a very useful companion book.

[Z · Rating 2 out of 5]

I recently acquired a library card and the very first thing I did with my newfound power was read The Name of the Rose and The Key in tandem ... something I have wanted to do for some time. And honestly, I was pretty disappointed.

Some of the encyclopedia entries were outdated or just plain wrong. A number of the Latin translations were more like paraphrases when I would have preferred literal word-for-word translations, and it seems like a couple translations were missing entirely. Also, the translations of Salvatore's babel were far too clean. Finally, the last section reads like a student's book report.

While it's not completely without value, you might be better off just using the internet to translate and look up relevant names and concepts.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful aid to navigating the complexities of Eco’s magnum opus, the “”Key” is most helpful with its annotated guide to historical and literary references in “The Name of the Rose” and, most of all, its translations of the Latin, Greek, and Other passages that Eco left untranslated. The authors also provide a (skimpy) chronology of the Middle Ages up to the events of the novel, a general introduction to Eco, semiotics, and Medieval thought, and a concluding essay about possible meanings to be taken from the novel. The authors, American academics all, are sincere in what they say, but what they say seems rather flat and canned, rather like an undergraduate’s term paper.

[Mark Redman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent companion volume to Name of The Rose. An in-depth list of all the historical figures mentioned. The last half of the book contains all the translated sections of NoTR that are in Latin. Reading this alongside NoTR enhanced my reading experience although it’s not really necessary. I have read NoTR both with and without this companion. If you’re not too bothered by the untranslated sections then avoid this book. I would highly to anyone who puts NoTR as a favourite book, if you can find a copy of this cheap enough.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had 'coincidentally' ran across The Key to the Name of the Rose," and found it quite helpful to have access to, even though I did not reference it's entirety. I used it mostly for translations, and some of the background, historical, and literature references. The final portion for "those who have already finished reading" was also interesting.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book added much to my enjoyment of The Name of the Rose. Besides translations of the Latin, French, German passages in the book, it has an alphabetical guide to references. This was most helpful (it's hard to keep the heresies straight). If you are going to read The Name of the Rose, this book is a must.