Poggio Bracciolini and The Name of The Rose: The Legacy of Book Hunting Lovers

I am currently reading Stephen Greenblatt’s The Swerve right after I finished Lucretius on De Rerum Natura. I have been wondering if there are connections between Poggio Bracciolini and the book lovers and hunters in Umberto Eco’s The Name of the Rose.

Poggio Bracciolini was an Italian humanist and book hunter who lived during the Renaissance period, and he is known for his discovery and preservation of classical texts. Similarly, in Umberto Eco’s novel The Name of the Rose, the protagonist William of Baskerville is a Franciscan friar who is also a book hunter.

Throughout the novel, William and his young apprentice Adso of Melk investigate a series of mysterious deaths that occur within a remote Benedictine abbey. As they delve deeper into their investigation, they discover a secret library containing forbidden texts, and their hunt for the truth becomes intertwined with their search for these rare and valuable books.

This connection between Poggio Bracciolini and the book hunting lovers in The Name of the Rose highlights the importance of preserving knowledge and literature, even in the face of censorship and oppression. It also underscores the enduring human desire to seek out and learn from the wisdom of the past. Just as Poggio Bracciolini sought out lost texts and saved them from obscurity, so too do William and Adso embark on a quest for knowledge and enlightenment through their pursuit of rare and forbidden books.

By Charles Lincoln — written with the help of ChatGPT