...reasoning about causes and effects is a very difficult thing, and I believe the only judge of that can be God. We are already hard put to establish a relationship between such an obvious effect as a charred tree and the lightning bolt that set fire to it, so to trace sometimes endless chains of causes and effects seems to me as foolish as trying to build a tower that will touch the sky.
William of Baskerville is one of two protagonists of Umberto Eco's novel The Name of the Rose.
In the 1986 movie, William is portrayed by Sean Connery - who also portrayed James Bond in several adaptations, Mark Rutland in Hitchcock's adaptation of Winston Graham's novel Marnie, Colonel John Arbuthnott in the 1974 adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, Daniel Dravot in the adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's novella The Man Who Would Be King, Robin Hood in the 1976 movie Robin and Marian, Roy Urquhart in the adaptation of Cornelius Ryan's book A Bridge Too Far, Marko Ramius in the adaptation of Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October, Allan Quartermain in the Leage of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie, and Jim Malone in the adaptation of Eliot Ness' memoir The Untouchables.
In the 2019 miniseries, William is portrayed by executive producer/writer John Turturro. Turturro also portrayed Larry Mazilli in the adaptation of Richard Price's novel Clockers, Dr. Bill Perlman in the adaptation of Rafael Yglesias' novel Fearless, Herb Stempel in the movie Quiz Show (based somewhat on Richard N. Goodwin's memoir "Remembering America"), Carmine Falcone in The Batman, and Rabbi Lionel Benglesdorf in the miniseries adaptation of Philip Roth's novel The Plot Against America.
Character[]
Aged around fifty during the events of Adso's tale, William is described as being tall and thin with “sharp and penetrating eyes”. While reading, William wears a primitive pair of glasses (an unusual invention for the times).
Throughout Adso's recounting of the events, William is described as being extremely learned and quick-thinking. On arriving at a Benedictine abbey, he deduces the identity of an escaped horse[1] and attempts to solve a series of murders at the abbey. Roger is a fervent seeker of the meaning of various signs and this aids him throughout his examinations.
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History[]
Some time before meeting Adso, William worked for the Inquisition[2] and presumably met Ubertino of Casale[3] and possibly Roger Bacon around the same time. William became well-known for being an extremely fair Inquisitor (even finding a few people accused of heresy innocent). After several years of this work, William grew weary of it (as he believed that the torture used by the Inquisition to find heretics frequently produced false confessions[3]) and left the Inquisition.
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Notes[]
- Most of William's character is based on the famous sleuth Sherlock Holmes (with his place of origin being a reference to the titular location of The Hound of the Baskervilles). His first name is a reference to the Medieval scholar William of Ockham.