History Literature / TheNameOfTheRose

* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Religious wars declared over whether the clergy should be poor, homosexuality being a crime punishable by death, treating other religions (and different subsets of the same religion) with unmasked contempt, women and effeminate men being treated as intrinsically evil ... Welcome to medieval Europe.

* FoeYay: [[invoked]] {{Lampshaded}} by Adso in the book as he follows the last dialogue between [[spoiler: William and Jorge]]. They both crave the other's appreciation of what they did and how clever they were, to a prideful extent. Adso even compares the cat-and-mouse game as an exotic seduction.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b249e51c_09c9_467a_8ab3_f039bd80d173.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: ''Cavete Fratres Franciscanos.'' [[labelnote:Lat.]]\\
"Beware of the Franciscan friars."[[/labelnote]]]]

* ReducedToRatburgers: Salvatore, though he quite enjoys them. He catches them in the graveyard, which means they've been [[{{squick}} feeding on corpses]].

It received a [[TheFilmOfTheBook movie adaptation]] in 1986, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud, and starring Creator/ChristianSlater, Creator/FMurrayAbraham, Creator/RonPerlman, Creator/MichaelLonsdale, and Creator/SeanConnery. It was also adapted a year later into an unlicensed [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Abadía_del_Crimen video game]]. In 2019 it was adapted by Italian UsefulNotes/StateBroadcaster Rai 1 into a TV miniseries, and broadcast on Sundance TV in the United States. It starred Creator/JohnTurturro, Creator/RupertEverett, Creator/MichaelEmerson, Creator/JamesCosmo, Creator/SebastianKoch and Creator/TchekyKaryo.

!! The film has examples of:
* AdaptationDistillation: The book is a detective mystery interwoven with 500 pages of incredible detail of the religious and political schism in the church that is nearly inscrutable to anyone without a post-graduate degree in Theology and 14th Century Political History. (Or, reasonably arguably, anyone but Creator/UmbertoEco.) The movie drops most of the Theology, History and Politics in favor of the detective story.
* AdaptationDyeJob: William is blond in the book, but Sean Connery (and later John Turturro) are not.
* AdaptationExpansion: The miniseries adds a subplot involving the daughter of Fra Dolcino, who survives the Dulcinite revolt and tries to take revenge on Bernardo Gui.
* AdaptedOut: The Swedish monk Benno of Uppsala was cut from the film, as are the blacksmith and Judge Alinardo.
* AdaptationNameChange: Malachi the librarian is renamed Malachia in the film, for some reason.
* AnachronisticAnimal: Narrowly averted in the movie adaptation. There's a scene including a short shot featuring pigs; the director intended to use modern, pink pigs but the historical consultant pointed that pink pigs were anachronic and medieval pigs were black or brown. Since they couldn't find black pigs in time, the pigs have been dyed for the shooting.
* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Pretty much the only thing the film version gets right about the historical Bernardo Gui is that he was an Inquisitor during the fourteenth century. While Gui did convict large numbers of heretics during his tenure, only about five percent of them were executed; he far preferred to prove heresies wrong and to reconcile heretics with the church rather than kill them, and he was always more scholar and administrator than zealot and crusader. He's less of a cackling arch-villain in the novel, but not by much. Neither he nor the Inquisition accused people of witchcraft either, for at the time the Church officially disbelieved it existed. Even later, the Inquisitions dealt mainly with heresy.
* BurnTheWitch: Brother Salvatore and Brother Remigio are burned at the stake as scapegoats by Father Bernardo Gui, leader of the Inquisition. Gui also tries to burn a local peasant girl, but [[SparedByAdaptation in the film she is rescued]] by [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized rebellious peasants]] who manage to kill Gui in the resulting chaos.
* CharacterExaggeration: The transmogrification of the saintly Ubertino da Casale (a minor character) from a well-educated, decent, pious (if slightly fanatical) old man with some hints of being a DirtyOldMan (teenaged Adso remarks how he hugs him very close and keeps touching him) to a [[MadOracle creepy]], [[CrypticConversation obtuse]] ButtMonkey who hits on Adso and is ridiculed by William. Note that the poor guy actually existed.
* CoverInnocentEyesAndEars: When Bernado Gui tears off the peasant's cloak, one monk covers an eye and closes the other, [[CovertPervert which he quickly opens again for a peek]].
* EekAMouse: The monks laugh when Berengar does the 'jump up on the chair' version.
* FriendOrIdolDecision: Adso, at the end of the film, chooses to follow his master rather than stay with the girl.
* {{Gonk}}: The abbot, the Greek translator, and Adelmo are pretty much the only three of the Benedictine monks who are not frightfully ugly. The worst is undoubtedly Creator/RonPerlman's Salvatore, who doesn't even look human.
* TheGrotesque: Adso is peering fearfully at some hideous gargoyles when the equally hideous Salvatore lurches at him out of the darkness, babbling nonsense.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: [[spoiler:Bernardo Gui in the film]]. This didn't happen in the book or in RealLife, in which he died quietly of natural causes (he was also older at the time, about 69 or 70) a couple of years after the time in which the movie takes place.
* MotiveRant: {{Downplayed}} in the movie, where the BigBad is more reactive and less prone to discussion; most of it is held while the [[VillainTeleportation villain is eluding the heroes]] throughout the library.
* ObfuscatingDisability: Creator/RonPerlman's version of the deformed, mentally disabled hunchback Salvatore is smarter than he seems. Unfortunately it doesn't work on Bernado, who simply tortures him until he gets the answers he wants.
* OminousLatinChanting: As expected in an abbey, it happens four times in-universe:
** After the first night, ''Urbs Jerusalem beata'':
-->Urbs Jerusalem beata
-->Dicta pacis visio
-->Quæ construitur in caelis
-->Vivis ex lapidibus
-->(x2)
-->Et angelis coronata
-->Ut sponsata comite
** When Berengar is missing, ''Laudate Dominum'':
-->Laudate Dominum, omnes gentes
-->Laudate eum, omnes populi
-->Et veritas Domini, manet in aeternum
-->Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto
-->Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper
** When Malachia comes back from the library in the middle of the chanting, ''In Manus Tuas Domine'':
-->Redemisti nos, Domine Deus veritatis
-->Commendo spiritum meum
-->Gloria Patri et Filio et Spiritui Sancto
-->In Manus Tuas, Domine
-->Commendo spiritum meum
** On the way to the burning of Salvatore and the alleged witch, Ominous Greek Chanting with ''Kyrie/Christe, eleison''.
* RaceLift: Venantius
* SadisticChoice: In the movie William says he defended a man who translated a book that conflicted with church doctrine. Gui accused him of heresy for doing so, and he was tortured until he recanted his decision, leading to the man's death by burning.
* SatelliteLoveInterest: Taken to an almost comical extreme with the girl. She has no name, no dialogue except for moans during sex, and virtually no characterisation beyond throwing herself at Adso, which she immediately does upon the very first time they meet, without having interacted with him in any way beyond the act of intercourse - probably because she is regularly smuggled into the abbey to have sex with certain very old and very ugly monks in exchange of scraps, and was likely relieved that this time she would just have to do it with a marginably presentable boy.
* SecurityCling: In the movie Adso clasps William's robe as they're creeping through the crypt. William is decent enough not to snark at him.
* ShoutOut: William has a line that could be rearranged as "Elementary, my dear Adso" (like the famous BeamMeUpScotty relating to Literature/SherlockHolmes).
* SparedByTheAdaptation: The girl, of course. Also the Abbot.
* TunelessSongOfMadness: [[spoiler: The already-eccentric Salvatore has been left so broken by torture that he can only sing a lullaby as he waits to be executed.]]

** As a Franciscan friar, William is sworn to celibacy (ironic, considering [[Creator/SeanConnery who played him]]).

* CoolOldGuy: William

* ReligionIsWrong: There are shades of this, [[spoiler: especially in Jorge de Burgos’ justification for murdering the other monks and hiding the last copy of Aristotle's Book on Comedy because he believes laughter and knowledge would undermine the churches power over people. The death of the corrupt and sadistic Gui at the hand of the peasants is also as a victory.]]

** Williams careless decision to [[spoiler: reveal he outsmarted Jorge and wasn’t poisoned the books pages because he is wearing gloves while it was still within reach of the older monk ends up causing the book to be snatched and destroyed, along with every other manuscript in the abbey.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler: If William hadn't deduced that Jorge was the killer (or revealed he wasn’t poisoned by the books pages while it was still within reach of the older monk), then sure, Aristotle's book on comedy might have stayed hidden, but on the plus side ''the entire library and every manuscript in it'' wouldn't have burned down.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler: If William hadn't deduced that Jorge was the killer, then sure, Aristotle's book on comedy might have stayed hidden, but on the plus side ''the entire library and every manuscript in it'' wouldn't have burned down.]]

* BitterSweetEnding: [[spoiler: While William does manage to figure out that Jorge was the killer, the latter succeeds in destroying the last copy of Aristotle’s second book on comedy and dies before he can face any trial and while some corrupt members of the church do end up dying, most of knowledge within the abbey except a handful of books William was able to save is lost when the entire building is consumed in a fire. Although it does serve to distract the monks that were going to burn an innocent woman alive for being accused of witchcraft and she is freed by the other peasants.]]

** As a Franciscan friar, William is sworn to celibacy.

* BitterSweetEnding: [[spoiler: While William does manage to figure that Jorge was the killer, the latter succeeds in destroying the last copy of Aristotle’s second book on comedy and dies before he can face any trial, and while some corrupt members of the church do end up dying, most of knowledge within the abbey except a handful of books William was able to save is lost when the entire building is consumed in a fire, although it does serve to distract the monks that were going to burn an innocent woman alive for being accused of witchcraft and she is freed by the other peasants.]]

* BitterSweetEnding: [[spoiler: While William does manage to figure that Jorge was the killer, the latter succeeds in destroying the last copy of Aristotle’s second book on comedy and dies before he can face any trial, and while some corrupt members of the church do end up dying, most of knowledge within the abbey except a handful of books William was able to save is lost when the entire building is consumed in a fire, although the it does serve to distract the monks that were going to burn an innocent woman alive for being accused of witchcraft and she is freed by the other peasants.]]

* BitterSweetEnding: [[spoiler: While William does manage to figure that Jorge was the killer, the latter succeeds in destroying the last copy of Aristotle’s second book on comedy and dies before he can face any trial, and while some corrupt members of the church do end up dying, most of knowledge within the abbey except a handful of books William was able to save after escaping the inferno is lost when the entire building is consumed in a fire, although the fire does serve to distract the monks that were going to burn an innocent woman alive for being accused of witchcraft and she is freed by the other peasants.]]

* BitterSweetEnding: [[spoiler: While William does manage to figure that Jorge was the killer, the latter succeeds in destroying the last copy of Aristotle’s second book on comedy and dies before he can face any trial, and while some corrupt members of the church do end up dying, most of knowledge within the abbey is lost when the entire building is consumed in a fire, although the fire does serve to distract the monks that were going to burn an innocent woman alive for being accused of witchcraft and she is freed by the other peasants.]]

* BitterSweetEnding: [[spoiler: While William does manage to figure that Jorge was the killer, the latter succeeds in destroying the last copy of Aristotle’s second book on comedy and dies before he can face any trial, and while some corrupt members of the church do end up dying, most of knowledge within the abbey is lost when the entire building is consumed in a fire, although this end up distracting the monks that were going to execute the woman and she freed by the other peasants.]]

* BitterSweetEnding: [[spoiler: While William does manage to figure that Jorge was the killer, the latter succeeds in destroying the last copy of Aristotle’s second book on comedy and dies before he can face any trial, and while some corrupt members of the church do end up dying, most of knowledge within the abbey is lost when the entire building is consumed in a fire.]]

* BitterSweetEnding: [[spoiler: While William does discover that Jorge was the killer, the latter succeeds in destroying the last copy of Aristotle’s second book on comedy and dies before he can face any trial, and while some corrupt members of the church do end up dying, most of knowledge within the abbey is lost when the entire building is consumed in a fire.]]

* BitterSweetEnding: [[spoiler While William does discover that Jorge was the killer, the latter succeeds in destroying the last copy of Aristotle’s second book on comedy and dies before he can face any trial, and while some corrupt members of the church do end up dying, most of knowledge within the abbey is lost when the entire building is consumed in a fire.]]

** [[spoiler: Jorge de Burgos murders several monks (murder being expressly against one of the Ten Commandments — ''Though shalt not kill'') for reading a book on comedy, because he believes comedy and humor undermines peoples faith in god.]]

* BitterSweetEnding: [[spoiler: While William does discover who the killer was, they succeed in destroying the last copy of a lost book and dies before he can face justice, and while some corrupt members of the church do end up dying, most of knowledge within the abbey is lost when the entire building is consumed in a fire.]]

* BitterSweetEnding: [[spoiler: While William does discover that Jorge was the killer, the latter succeeds in destroying the last copy of Aristotle’s second book on comedy and dies before he can face any trial, and while some corrupt members of the church do end up dying, most of knowledge within the abbey is lost when the entire building is consumed in a fire.]]

* BitterSweetEnding: [[spoiler: While William does discover that Jorge was the killer, the latter succeeds in destroying the last copy of Aristotle’s second book on comedy and dies before he can face any trial, and while some of of corrupt members of the church do end up dying, most of knowledge within the abbey is lost forever when the entire building is consumed in a giant fire.]]

* BitterSweetEnding: [[spoiler: While William does discover that Jorge was the killer, latter succeeds in destroying the last copy of Aristotle’s second book on comedy and dies before he can face any trial, and while some of of corrupt members of the church do end up dying, most of knowledge within the abbey is lost forever when the entire building is consumed in a giant fire.]]

* BitterSweetEnding: [[spoiler: While William does discover that Jorge was the killer, Jorge succeeds in destroying the last copy of Aristotle’s second book on comedy and dies before he can faces any trial, and while a other corrupt members of the church do end up dying, most of knowledge within the abbey is lost forever when the entire building is consumed in a giant fire.]]

* LastOfItsKind: William comments that the [[spoiler: copy of Aristotle’s second book on comedy that he and Adso discover in the Abbey’s archives is likely the last surviving copy left, however it contents are lost when Jorge burns it.]]

* ReligionIsWrong: There are shades of this, [[spoiler: Jorge de Burgos’ justification for murdering the other monks and hiding the last copy of Aristotle's Book on Comedy is because he believes laughter and knowledge would undermine the churches power over people. The death of the corrupt and sadistic Gui at the hand of the peasants is also seen as a victory.]]