The Name of the Rose

Northern Italy, 1327. The Franciscan William of Baskerville and his novice Adso of Melk arrive at a Benedictine monastery where representatives of the pope and emperor are expected to debate apostolic poverty. A monk’s unexplained death leads the abbot to ask William to investigate before the diplomatic meeting begins.

Further deaths draw William through the monastery’s library, rival religious factions and the history of heresy and persecution. The arrival of the inquisitor Bernard Gui turns the search for evidence into a struggle over authority, interpretation and whether laughter, books and knowledge can be treated as threats to religious order.