The Name of the Rose

“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 where Adelmo’s corpse was found. William sets off to see Nicholas, the master glazier, in order to have new eye glasses made. 

“Terce, in which Adso, in the scriptorium, reflects on the history of his order and on the destiny of books”

After a deep sleep, Adso is rested but confused. In the scriptorium, with Malachi’s permission, Adso leafs through a catalogue, but his mind drifts as he observes the monks instead. They work serenely, causing him to reflect on the love monks have for books, and for knowledge. Glancing at “the mysterious titles” in the catalogue, Adso is “not surprised that the mystery of the crimes should involve the library” (214). He worries that his Order has become too hungry to exchange knowledge for wealth, power, and influence, with Abo as the prime example: “Just as knights displayed armor and standards, our abbots displayed illuminated manuscripts” (215).