“The finis Africae is a hidden room in the abbey’s labyrinthine library. It is called the “finis Africae”—the “end of Africa,” in Latin—because it is adjacent to the “Leones” rooms containing books by African authors. When William of Baskerville and Adso of Melk Visit the labyrinth, they are perplexed to find that the room is seemingly inaccessible, walled up and Concealed behind a mirror that reflects ghostly images. Venantius of Salvemec tried to break into the room, but his cryptic note (“The hand over the idol works on the first and the seventh of the four”) serves to further Obscure the truth rather than clarify the mystery. The result, then, is yet more Misdirection, like the distortions in the mirror; William and Adso only later Realize that Venantius was instructing them to press the fourth and seventh letter of the word “quator” (the Latin for “four”) in the phrase written above the “idol,” or the mirror. As William observes, “this place of forbidden knowledge [i.e. the library] is guarded by many and most cunning devices.” Although the ostensible purpose of a library is to Preserve knowledge and make it accessible to future generations, this library is designed to keep out intruders and frustrate those who would try to penetrate its mysteries. The finis Africae—the most secret room in the labyrinth—is symbolic of the strict control in place at the abbey over the dissemination of knowledge. When William and Adso do eventually reach the finis Africae by a secret staircase, they find that it Contains a forbidden book that Jorge of Burgos had tried to conceal by burying it in this hidden room and murdering those who tried to enter. In this sense, the finis Africae is the most extreme example of the way in which, as William puts it, “knowledge is used to conceal rather than enlighten.” The purpose of the room and all the “cunning devices” that guard it is to Keep knowledge secret and hidden, rather than to bring the truth to Light.”
UNIQUE ARTWORK
> format: XL > size: 99.5 x 67.5cm (100 x 70cm)
> medium: ink, acrylic painting, copper metalwork
> support: handmade paper 640gsm
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