The Name Of The Rose - character series
I present this project only to celebrate one of my all time favorite books, and of course my favorite writer, Umberto Eco. His historical written work, and specially his romances helped me in a very difficult moment of my life, in which I spent a couple of months not being able to draw anything due to a lesion in my arm. Eco provided me hours and hours of fun and learning, through his accurate knowledge of the Medieval period that he scattered in many interesting mysteries and adventure stories.
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“In 1327, William of Baskerville, a Franciscan friar, and his novice, Adso of Melk, a young and shy aspiring Benedictine, arrive in a Benedictine abbey in north Italy to attend to an anticipation of the Franciscan General Chapter, by which they hoped to start some negotiations with the papal delegation coming from Avignon, under the instructions of Pope John XXII, to have the Order be properly recognized and not persecuted anymore.
Unfortunately, when they got there, all the folks were terrified by the strange death of a young monk. This appeared to be related to the the disappearance of a mysterious book and to a huge library that guarded a soturn secret and to which most were forbidden entry. The abbott thinks that the monk was killed by someone else and asks William to investigate what was happening, with the only restriction being not entering the library under any circunstance.
He believes this will stop more killings before the papal delegation arrives, which will affect negotiations, since there will be some members of the Holy Inquisition present. If they come in before everything is resolved, they will automatically take over the situation, putting the abbey under their jurisdiction, something that the abott could never allow. In the next following days, William and Adso will use all their intelligence to bring the mystery to the light.”
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PS: There is no commercial purpose for these artworks (and never will be). The only purpose is representing the desire to pay tribute to a work of art that I am always deeply in love with.
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“Stat rosa pristina nomine, nomina nuda tenemus”.
William of Baskerville - A nomad Franciscan friar, followed by a strong reputation of being very clever, friendly to new ideas badly seen by most of his confreres.
Adso of Melk - A young Benedictine novice who accompanies William everywhere, being the only one William trusts. All the story is told through his eyes.
The Girl - A poor peasant girl that breaks in the abbey during the night looking for leftovers given to her by monks interested in sexual favors. One night she accidentally meets Adso, and they fall deeply in love with each other.
Abo of Fossanova - The abbott. Extremely worried about everything that is happening, he asks William to solve the crimes before the Inquisition arrives. He is always very reticent about the library.
Venerable Jorge of Burgos - An elder blind monk, who condemns the act of laughing just as any kind of mundane joy. He is aware of everything that happens inside the walls, being very knowledgeable of the library and all its contents.
Ubertino of Casale - A fugitive Franciscan friar hidden in the abbey, as he is seen as an heretic by the Pope and His delegation. Founder of ‘the Spirituals’, a more strict Franciscan branch, he is also an old friend of William.
Severinus of Sankt Wendel - The herbalist and a kind of doctor in the abbey. He has a deep knowledge of exotic plants and different kinds of poisons, and helps William with key parts of the investigation.
Bernard Gui - A Dominican friar, also the Papal Inquisitor leading the delegation during the General Chapter that is to be held in the abbey. He is William´s antagonist, being his former colleague when both were Inquisitors.
Remigio of Varagine - The abbey´s cellarer. He hides a heretic past, a terrible secret that no one could ever suspect, being especially worried when the Inquisition is near.
Salvatore of Montferrat - A monk associated with Remigio, he has disgusting habits and is avoided by the other monks. Also, he speaks a strange tongue, a mix of many Mediterranean dialects that no one can understand.
Malachi of Hildeshein - The sullen librarian. He is the only one in the abbey that has full access to the Library, being totally responsible for it. He is also the one who does or does not allow someone to read a desired book.
Berengar of Arundel - The assistant librarian. Seen strangely by most of his folks, he is frequently and covertly accused of controversial practices involving other monks.
Venerable Alinardo of Grottaferrata - The eldest monk in the abbey, believed to be more than 90 years old. Took as totally senile by everyone, he is always desperately reciting parts of the Apocalipse and giving precious tips to William.
Benno of Upsalla - A cheeky and selfish young monk, student of rhetoric. He has a strong desire to get into the library and know all its secrets, even if he has to cheat someone to achieve his purpose.