Review of The Name of the Rose

1. This was my master's way. He not only knew how to read the great book of nature, but also knew the way monks read the books of Scripture, and how they thought through them. pg 24-25

2. "Monasterium sine libris," the abbot recited, pensively, "est sicut civitas sine opibus, castrum sine numeris, coquina sine suppellectili, mensa sine cibis, hortus sine herbis, pratum sine floribus, arbor sine foliis […]" pg 36

3. Then the abbot gave his benediction, the hebdomadary said the prayers, all bowed toward the altar in a moment of meditation whose sweetness no one can comprehend who has not experienced those hours of mystic ardor and intense inner peace. pg 102

Word list:

• balneary: n/adj. bathing place; of or relating to bathing.
• pudenda: genitals (usually used in the plural, as “genitals” is)
• jocose: jocular; waggish; given to joking.
• anagoge: mystical interpretation of a word, passage, or text, especially exegesis which claims to detect allusions to heaven or the afterlife
• hebdomadary: member of a chapter or convent whose duty it is, during a certain week, to officiate in the choir, rehearse the anthems and prayers, and perform other services which on extraordinary occasions are performed by the superior. Also “hebdomader”. Can also be an adjective meaning “weekly”, in which case there is the synonym “hebdomadal”.
• vicissitude: mutability; state of being changeable; a change.
• versicle: the first half of a call-and-response verse, chanted by an officiant (priest, cantor, etc.)
• prebender: also “prebendary”. a stipend allotted to a canon or chapter member, or the one receiving such a stipend.
• ascesis: also “askesis”. Strict discipline or self-control, especially for meditative or religious purposes.
• vituperate: rebuke, vilify.
• adumbrate: produce an vague image of; sketch; outline. Foreshadow; prefigure. Overshadow; partially darken or conceal.
• quodlibet: subtle or elaborate argument/reasoning, usually on a theological or scholarly subject. From Latin quod libet, “as one pleases”.
• simony: making a profit from that which is sacred, e.g. the sin of dealing in beneficies or ecclesiastical preferments. From the Biblical figure Simon Magus.
• tatterdemalion: adj. ragged, tattered. n. a person wearing ragged or tattered clothing.
• brume: mist; fog.
• gonfalon: banner suspended from a crossbar; a standard, such as those used in medieval Italy. The bearer of a gonfalon is a “gonfalonier”.
• cortege/cortège: line or train of attendants. Procession, especially a funeral procession.