Eco’s vast readership in many countries testifies to his ability to convey complex ideas within a gripping narrative style— one of the defining qualities of The Name of the Rose.
The rise of the monasteries. Although we often think of the medieval period in European history—roughly, from the seventh to the fifteenth centuries—as a monolithic age marked by all-pervasive religious authority, by the absolutist rule of monarchs, and by lack of progress in science and the arts, the reality is different. From the twelfth century onward, Europe saw the growth of new centers of knowledge and education (universities and municipal schools of various kinds), and a struggle for more intellectual and political breathing-space on the part of many individuals and groups (scholars interpreting rediscovered works from classical antiquity, independent religious orders challenging the bishops, civic assemblies in the growing commercial towns). Notwithstanding such cracks in the structure of medieval Europe, however, it largely remained an age in which people saw their lives governed by religious belief and in which piety and devotion were the universal standards in accordance with which the Christian was expected to live.
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