Another coveted book acquired only to be disenchanted. I am not sure what fueled my expectations. It is a glossary of cited figures and translation of Latin passages. That’s about it. That is all the authors aspired to provide.

I read this sitting at the Louisville Science Center while my wife’s nephew played and explored. It was a gorgeous day and reading the book reminded me of my love for Eco and his tragic optimism. ( )

Very valuable. I would have struggled to get through The Name of the Rose without it.

Highly recommended for anyone reading or intending to read Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose, but especially for anyone feeling frustrated with and by the book (I was ready to give up, but this book has made me reconsider). The essays and information included are very informative, and the large section of translations of all of the non-English passages are amazing and a godsend to those of us who are not fluent in Latin, Greek, Italian etc., but want to know, or need to know what all, or at least most of the non-English passages mean. ( )

The Key to the Name of the Rose includes annotated translations of all the Latin that Eco included in his text . The Key also provides a brief chapter on the interaction among semiotics, detective mysteries, and medieval thought and a brief chronology of the Middle Ages. The pearl, however, is the chapter of historical annotations including brief descriptions of the saints, heretics, mythological allusions, and a multitude of medieval figures, both the important and the insignificant. The authors provide just the right amount of information for most readers; a paragraph or two on most. The book's central historical figures, Michael of Cesena, Ubetino of Casale, and Bernard Gui are all there, but so are many others. Peter Abelard, Bernard of Clairvaux, and Prester John each merit an entry.

I still don't understand why Eco wouldn't provide translations at the bottom of the page. In the recent translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky of War and Peace (Vintage Classics), the hundreds of French passages were included as in the original text, but translated at the bottom of the page without harm to the reader's appreciation that French was the language of the noble class. However, if he had, then perhaps this exceptional little guide would never have been published.

I wish I'd had this guide before I read The Name of the Rose, but it is worthwhile in its own right and an encouragement to re-read Eco's mystery. ( )

The Key to the Name of the Rose isn't necessary to understand the plot of The Name of the Rose, and the essays bookending the Key definitely don't do any of the interpretive heavy lifting for you, but it was a concise, handy reference work to have available while reading Eco's novel. In addition to the essays, the Key gave a bit more context to the intertwined theological, philosophical and political disputes running through the book by means of a concise glossary and occasional commentary on specific allusions in the text. The unadorned translations of non-English passages -- chiefly Latin, with a sprinkling of German and pidgin Salvatorese -- often weren't terribly enlightening, though the effort put into explaining a throw-away syllogism joke was entertaining. ( )