film / 1986
The Name of the Rose
A monk investigates murders in a medieval abbey where books, fear, and religious authority are deadly.
Verified facts
- Runtime
- 2h 11m
- Director
- Jean-Jacques Annaud
- Released
- 1986
- Based on
- The Name of the Rose
PlotGeeks explainer signals
Why read this explainer
The library's secrecy places limits on what William can investigate. Forbidden reading and fear of laughter connect the deaths to authority within the abbey.
PlotGeeks note
Solving the crime cannot save the library's contents. The fire leaves Adso and William with only part of the knowledge they have pursued.
Connected knowledge
Connected in PlotGeeks
Related explainers and browse pages for The Name of the Rose.
- Compare with The Name of the Rose (1980 book)
Compare what changes between the 1980 book and the 1986 film.
- Explore Power
Power becomes clearer when we compare who appears to hold it with who can actually change another person's choices.
Timeline
Major events
- William investigates the abbey deaths
Physical clues lead him and Adso toward forbidden books rather than a supernatural explanation.
- Gui prosecutes convenient suspects
The inquisitor's coerced confessions threaten people whom William's evidence does not identify as the killers.
- Jorge reveals the poisoned book
His fear of laughter has turned access to Aristotle's work into a lethal trap.
- The library burns
William salvages a few books, and Adso leaves with him while remembering the girl he declines to follow.
Story in 60 Seconds
The short version
William of Baskerville and his novice Adso arrive at an abbey before a theological conference and begin investigating a monk's death. Further deaths point toward a hidden book and a library that restricts access to knowledge. The inquisitor Bernardo Gui substitutes coerced confession for William's deductions, putting vulnerable inhabitants at risk. William and Adso trace the poisoned pages to Jorge, who fears what Aristotle's treatment of comedy might allow people to question. Solving the murders cannot protect the books when Jorge's resistance sets the library ablaze.
Spoiler sectionEnding ExplainedShow ending detailsHide ending details
Jorge and the poisoned book perish in the library fire, while William saves only an armful of volumes. The chaos allows the accused peasant girl to escape, and Gui dies while fleeing. Adso chooses to continue with William rather than stay with her. His older narration remembers both the learning he gained and the unnamed woman he loved.
Original context
Why it matters
What the conflict reveals
William's investigation links the deaths to forbidden reading. The library makes control over knowledge a physical obstacle as well as a religious dispute.
Key turning points
Jorge reveals the poisoned book
Finding the poisoned pages explains the recurring deaths through ordinary actions and Jorge's fear of laughter. The explanation arrives too late to preserve the library from his resistance.
Character links
Who connects to whom
Character motivations
What drives the characters
William wants to test explanations against evidence despite religious pressure. Jorge wants dangerous ideas inaccessible, while Adso must choose between his teacher's learning and an earthly attachment.
Adaptation
Book and film connection
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