This article belongs to the lore of Astyria.

University of Aldesey: Difference between revisions

Jump to navigation Jump to search
 
(115 intermediate revisions by the same user not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Infobox university
{{Infobox university
| name              = The University of Aldesey
| name              = The University of Aldesey
| native_name      =
| image            = SealAldesey.png
| native_name_lang  =
| image_size       = 100px
| image            = CoAAldesey.png
| caption          = Seal of the University of Aldesey
| image_size = 150px
| latin_name        = Universitas Lendartiensis apud Aldesiam
| image_upright    =
| type              = Public
| image_alt        =
| established      = 1256
| caption          = Coat of Arms of the University of Aldesey
| latin_name        = Universitas Aldesiensis
| other_name        = The Chancellour, Masters and Scholars of the University at Aldesey
| former_name      =
| motto            = Omnia pro Domino
| motto_lang        =
| mottoeng          = All be unto the Lord
| top_free_label    =
| top_free          =
| type              = Corporation by prescription
| established      = c. 8th century as a monastic school<br>c. 1256 as a university
| founder          =
| parent            =
| affiliation      =
| religious_affiliation = [[Church of Nortend]]
| religious_affiliation = [[Church of Nortend]]
| academic_affiliation  =
| endowment        = [[Pound marten|£]]100 million
| endowment        = ~ [[Pound marten|£]]101,200,000
| chancellor        = Lord Bishop of Chepingstow
| budget            =
| vice_chancellor  = Martin de Hazels
| officer_in_charge =
| students          = 9,000
| chairman          =
| city              = [[Lendert-with-Cadell]]
| chairperson      =
| chancellor        = The Rt Rev'd Dr William Laseby, Bishop of Chepingstow
| president        =
| vice-president    =
| superintendent    =
| vice_chancellor  =  
| provost          =
| rector            = The Rt W'shipful Dr Thomas Matthew
| principal        =
| dean              =
| director          =
| head_label        =
| head              =
| academic_staff    =
| administrative_staff =
| students          = ~ 3,400
| undergrad        =  
| postgrad          =
| doctoral          =
| other            =
| address          = <!-- Please discuss before using -->
| city              = Aldesey
| state            = Narland
| province          =
| country          = [[Great Nortend]]
| country          = [[Great Nortend]]
| postcode          =
| free_label2      = Colours
| coordinates      =
| free2            = {{color box|#6ec8da}} {{color box|#ffffff}}
| campus            =
| free_label        = Languages
| language          = English, Latin
| free              = English, Latin, Greek
| free_label        =
| free              =
| free_label2      =  
| free2            =  
| colors            = Light blue {{color box|#6ec8da}} and white {{color box|#ffffff}}
| athletics        =  
| sports            = Boating, hunting
| athletics_nickname = <!--or, sports_nickname= -->
| sporting_affiliations =
| mascot            = <!--or, mascots= -->
| sports_free_label =
| sports_free      =
| sports_free_label2 =
| sports_free2      =
| website          = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} -->
| logo              =
| logo_size        =
| logo_alt          =
| footnotes        =
}}
}}
The '''University of Aldesey''', formally '''The Chancellour, Masters and Scholars of the University at Aldesey''', is one of the three universities in [[Great Nortend]] located in the town of Aldesey, in Narland. It is the oldest university and the second largest after the University of Limmes in Great Nortend. It grew as a monastic school attached to Aldesey Abbey from the 8th century, and developed into a collegiate university during the 12th and 13th centuries.


It is built upon two large natural islands in the River Lither, Upper and Lower Eyote, which have over the centuries has been nearly fully covered by the buildings of the university, with the town of Aldesey developing on the banks of the river.  
The '''University of Aldesey''', formally the '''Chancellour, Masters and Scholars of the University of Lendert at Aldesey''' (Latin: ''Universitas Aldesiensis'' or ''Chancellarius, Magistri et Scholares Universitatis Lendartiensis apud Aldesiam'') is an ancient collegiate university in [[Great Nortend]] located in [[Lendert-with-Cadell]]. To-day, the University consists of four faculties, eight schools and twenty four houses with a broad academic focus on the liberal arts. In 2018, there were around 9,000 students studying at the University. Graduates of the University occupy an exclusive and prestigious place in Erbonian society, forming the majority of lawyers, physicians, clergymen, academics, politicians, nobility, research scientists, military officers, senior civil servants and schoolteachers.


==Governance==
==History==
[[File:Cmglee_Cambridge_St_Johns_Kitchen_Bridge.jpg|thumb|200px|left|The River Lither at Dumcourt Bridge.]]The University as a body is distinct from its sixteen constituent colleges. Each of the sixteen colleges are independent and responsible for the lodging, education and nourishment of its students. Students are admitted to a college through the process of Matriculation, when they formally become members of the University. Henceforth, they are bound by the University's statutes and regulations. For example, students, when in public, are required to at all times wear the gowns of their status. The University's statutes, regulations and ordinances are enforced by the University's Proctors, police, and student beadles, who have the power to fine and confine, and in extreme cases, to rusticate or ban (expel).
The University developed out of the monastic school of [[St_Peter's_Cathedral,_Lendert|Lendert Abbey]] in the 10th and 11th centuries. In 1256, Edmund IV granted a charter to establish a university in Lendert to the Lord Bishop of Chepingstow, who held ordinary jurisdiction over the city until the creation of the see of Lendert. Instead of its original location in the close of the Abbey, the new University of Lendert settled on Aldesey, which was then a small village upon two islands in the Wessert to the west of the main city. Non-monastic scholars were prevented from living with the scholars of St. Peter (which formed the modern Coggeshall), and instead attached themselves to the parish church of St. Mary the Virgin, whose rector obtained a charter in 1264 to found Ladyhall.  


The formal council body of the University is known as the Great Congregation, comprised of all masters of the University, who are those students with a Master of Arts or were otherwise a Doctor of Letters, Science, Music, Laws, Physic or Divinity. It is considered the sovereign body of the University. It has a role in determining University's statutes and regulations, subject to the assent of the Chancellour, as well as academic matters such as examinations, rustication, matriculation, the curriculum and lectures, as well as granting graces, dispensations and degrees.
===Sampser Reforms===
In the 19th century, it was increasingly recognised that the University was failing to advance learning and science, especially in the arts. In particular, the lack of further formal courses of study in the arts resulted in the University's declining importance in the burgeoning fields of natural philosophy and history. Lord Sampser was appointed in 1878 by Parliament to undertake a wholesale reform of the University, leading to the publication of the Sampser Report which recommended the establishment of the degrees of Bachelor and Doctor of Science and of Letters within the Faculty of Arts which occured in 1883 with the passage of the ''University Act''. Furthermore, the practice of termly written examinations was formalised, among other sundry reforms.


The Congregation, with its large size, meets normally every three years, and delegates its powers to the smaller Minor Congregation, or Convocation of Regent Masters, who have power over academic matters, however cannot pass statutes. Statutes are deliberated upon by the Convocation, and if agreed to, referred back to the entire Congregation, which can accept it or reject it at the triennial meetings or by postal ballots.
===Lady students===
Women had been permitted to attend lectures on an informal basis since the late 19th century, with earlier precedents including the mediaeval education of nuns and abbesses. However, being unable to take examinations or degrees, this arrangement was widely seen as insufficient for a formal education system. In 1923, in a plan to improve the standard of female education and schoolmistresses, the Crown enacted the ''Ladies’ University Halls Act'' which allowed for the establishment of houses of residence for lady students at the University. The next year, St. Elisabeth’s Hall was founded with a Governess and twenty ladies. Despite the admission of women, it was still thought that degrees and membership of the University ought to remain exclusively for men, and therefore the first woman to complete the Arts course received the title of Lady of Arts in 1927. The first Mistress of Arts was created in 1932.


==Faculties==
==Organisation==
As with the other two Erbonian universities, the University of Aldesey retains the four faculties of the mediaeval university tradition, being the Faculties of Arts, Physic, Laws and Divinity. Since the reforms of the 18th century, each faculty is more relevant to their respective professions—the sciences and humanities, the practice of medicine and law, and of holy orders respectively—than the more wholly academic approach favoured thitherto.
[[File:JesusCollegeChapelCourt.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The new Physic School and Teaching Hospital at the University.]]
The governing body of the University is the Great Congregation, comprising all Masters of Arts and Doctors of Science, Letters, Music, Physic, Laws or Divinity. The Congregation votes on the University's statutes and exercises control over academic matters such as examinations, rustication, matriculation, curricula and teaching, as well as graces, dispensations and degrees. Congregation normally meets only every three years and delegates its powers to the smaller Lesser Congregation, or Convocation of Regent Masters, which has power over academic matters. Statutes are deliberated upon by Convocation, and if agreed to, referred back to Congregation.


All students enter the university in the Faculty of Arts, excepting monks and friars who are admitted straight into the Faculty of Divinity. The form and curriculum for the Bachelor and Master of Arts is explained hereinafter.
The University also consists of the four faculties, being those of Arts, Laws, Physic and Divinity. Within the Faculty of Arts are the sub-faculties of Letters and Science, the former consisting of the schools of Languages, Music, Philosophy and History, and the latter the schools of Mathematics, Astronomy, Natural Philosophy (Physics and Chemistry) and Natural History (Biology and Geology). Unusually, the Faculty of Laws includes the schools of Economics and Politics, as well as the schools of Civil Law and Canon Law. The faculties are responsible for the lecturing, research and examination of students.


==Bachelor and Master of Arts==
Parallel to the faculties are the twenty four houses of scholars — each either a college or a hall — which are independent of the University and responsible for the lodging, tutelage and nourishment of their students. The houses are separated into three nations, although these are of little importance. Students are admitted to a house through the process of matriculation and thereby become members of the University ''in statu pupillari''. Henceforth, they are bound by the University's statutes which are enforced by the University's proctors, constables and beadles, who have the power to fine and confine, and in extreme cases, to rusticate or ban (expel).
===Form===
The Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree is the only undergraduate degree awarded by the University of Aldesey. The Bachelor of Arts is awarded after the necessary ''Responsiones'' and nowdays, a subsequent ''Determinationes'', which is taken in the student's sixth term during Lent at the end of the second year. ''Responsiones'' are a short oral ''viva voce'' examination ''de quaestione respondens'' before a panel of masters, who vote whether to permit the student to determine. Responsions are taken at the end of the first year. Provided that the necessary course-work is completed, this given ''pro forma''. The determinations themselves involve written examinations, which were introduced in the 19th century, and an oral ''viva voce'' disputation. Upon completion, the student may 'sue' for his 'Bachelor of Arts'<ref>In former times the student was admitted as a Bachelor of Arts after Responsions and before determining, but in the 19th century completion of Determinationes was made a requirement of admission.</ref>


The Master of Arts (M.A.) is the degree taken by some students upon attaining the Bachelor of Arts. The bachelor will typically complete his studies for the M.A. within one year. He will be presented to his masters, who cast a vote ''de scientia et moribus''. The Licentiate examinations are then taken under the authority of the Chancellour of the University, the Bishop of Chepingstow (who also happens to be the Lord High Chancellour) along with three ''Quodlibetica'' disputations. After these, worthy candidates are conferred the ''licentia docendi'' and take an oath ''inter alia'' to incept within five years, thereby becoming a 'Licentiate of Arts'.
===Location===
The University is located to the west of [[Lendert-with-Cadell]], one mile from St. Michael’sgate. The main University sites form a generally cohesive district centred on the two Upper and Lower Eyotes on the Wessert. The Church of St. Peter is the main church on Upper Eyote and serves as the site of most smaller University ceremonies. Coggeshall, Ladyhall, Canonshall, Gosthall and Middlehall have their main house on the Eyotes, as well as the Old Arts School, the Old Laws School and the Divinity School. The rest of the Eyotes are made up of sundry housing and shops and the church The rest of the halls, colleges and University buildings are located on the outer banks of the Wessert. Along the Lither, where rowing is practised, is a large swathe of open pasture, meadow and parkland owned by the various academic and religious houses. The precincts of the University, within which University statutes, proctors and constables have jurisdiction, are the parishes of St. Mary the Virgin, St. Peter ''ad Vincula'', All Hallows and All Souls, Holy Ghost and St. Andrew.


Historically the Master of Arts took a seven years to attain in residence (“twenty-one terms after Matriculation”). By the 19th century, the Bachelor of Arts only took two years to attain and the Master of Arts another year of study for all students. Despite this, inception still only occurs a minimum of three years after ''Quodlibetica'', at the end of what would be student's sixth year (and indeed, is in the case of students in higher faculties). On the day before ''Inceptio'', the licentiate takes part in a disputation known as 'Vesperies'. At ''Inceptio'' the licentiate formally becomes a 'Master of Arts', on which day he gives a brief lecture known as his ''Principium''.
==Academic profile==
===Admission===
Prospective students apply to matriculate by application to the houses of scholars, generally on the basis of good results in the [[Education in Great Nortend#Exhibition Examinations|Exhibition Examinations]]. These are public examinations taken at the end of the [[Education in Great Nortend#Senior|Sixth Form]] to prove scholastic competence and potential entitlement to a Crown Exhibition. However, as passing the ''Exhibitiones'' is not a prerequisite to admission, houses may admit students at their discretion. Several houses restrict admission either partially or fully to students from particular schools. Furthermore, many matriculate international students, although not all, on the basis of a separate Matriculation Examination. This examination may also be taken by state school pupils, and older candidates, in theory, but it is quite rare.


===Curriculum===
===Arts degrees===
The curriculum for the Bachelor and Master of Arts at the University of Aldesey involves attendance at lectures and participation in disputations and declamations. Most lectures run over a course of two or three terms, but some are only for one term.  
[[File:Christ's College Chapel, Cambridge, UK - Diliff.jpg|thumb|200px|right|View inside St. Michael’s Chapel, at Middlehall.]]
An degree in the Arts is the only initial, or undergraduate, degree offered by the University of Aldesey. The curriculum for the Arts involves attendance at lectures, supplemented with repetitions (tutorials) and disputations. A disputation was originally a kind of formal debate. It is nowadays always delivered in written form, either short or long. A short disputation is akin to an ordinary academic essay, while a long disputation is similar to an academic thesis. For such, students are also required to write an abstract or summary in Latin. Lectures for undergraduates are given by regent masters and involve exposition and instruction of the subject matter, as well as questions and discussion. Examination at the University is typically by a written paper and ''viva voce'' examination, often in Latin. Collections are college examinations taken at the beginning of a term to assess previous term learning. They do not contribute to one’s final degree.


'''Mandated:''' Grammar, Logic, Poetry, Rhetoric, Theology, History, Ethics, Metaphysics
After Matriculation, a student is known as a Freshman in his first year and a Sophister in his second. Over two years, the student hears eight compulsory lectures on „Science” and „Letters”, the former covering Logic and Mathematics and the latter Classical Literature and History. At the end of his first and second years, he „responds” by undertaking his First and Second Responsions (also known as the „Littles”). In his third and fourth years, the student (then known as a Junior or Senior Questionist) hears eight lectures offered in any of the various schools of the University leading to one of the several fixed „Moderations”. At the end of his third and fourth years, the student takes his First and Second Moderations (also known as the „Greats”). He may then seek to „determine” and be admitted to his Bachelor of Arts degree. Although students must pass Responsions, degrees are classed solely based on results in the Moderations — ''bene'', ''melius'' or ''optime'' — having moderated well, better or best. The best student in the year of each Moderation is titled the Junior or Senior Optimas.


'''Electives:''' Philosophy (including Literature, Economics, Politics, Jurisprudence &c.), Natural Sciences (including Chemistry, Physics, Anatomy, Botany &c.), Mathematics (including Music, Geometry, Statistics, Algebra, Calculus &c.)
Bachelors wishing to incept later as Master of Arts must keep a further four years. This simply involves paying the requisite fees, except that the Bachelor is required to reside for his final Easter term. At the end of Easter term, the Bachelor gives a formal disputation known as his ''Quodlibetica'', after which he is licensed to incept as Master of Arts at Commencement (''Comitia'') during Whitsun term. Alternatively, the Bachelor may wish to read for a higher degree.


The curriculum for the Master of Arts is not entirely fixed, and students are permitted to choose which lectures they wish to take out of the provided subjects in each of the three fields of Philosophy, Natural Sciences and Mathematics. This is similar to the concept of a 'major' or 'minor' at other universities.
===Higher degrees===
The higher faculties are those of Laws, Physic and Divinity, in which the University admits students to bachelor's degrees and doctorates. Furthermore, higher study in the Faculty of Arts is possible in either Science or Letters. By ancient statute all students in higher faculties must have incepted as Master of Arts first before graduating with their higher degree. Study for a taught higher bachelor's degree involves attending lectures and taking the ''Generales'' and ''Particulares'' examinations at the end of the second and fourth years respectively, while a degree by research involves a ''Quodlibetica'' thesis and dissertation.


For the Bachelor and Master of Arts, teaching is in the form of lectures taken by regent masters, supplemented with weekly disputations (debates) declamations (essays). Ordinary lectures for undergraduates and bachelors are given by regent masters and involve exposition and instruction of the subject matter, as well as questions and discussion. Cursory lectures are given by bachelors to undergraduates and resemble lectures insofar as no questions are taken and the material is presented as is.
After attaining bachelorhood, the bachelor may seek to obtain a doctorate after up to another period of study or research. Like for a Master of Arts' ''Quodlibetica'', the Bachelor produces a formal thesis and dissertation known as the ''Sollempnes''. Thereafter he may incept as a Doctor.


==Students==
===University Press===
Students at the University of Aldesey are either undergraduates, bachelors or masters. Undergraduates are graded into five ranks: noblemen; gentlemen; commoners; battelers; and servitors. Most colleges have abolished servitors, however some still retain the rank. Different ranks of undergraduates are entitled to different academic gowns and hats which mark their status. Students are required to wear the gown of their status whenever they are in public, unless otherwise dispensed with or engaging in exempted activities (such as physical exercise).
The University is one of the oldest publishers in Great Nortend, having held the right to produce and print books and publications since the 16th century. As the official printer of the [[Church of Nortend]], it has the sole right to print (as opposed to engross) copies of the Holy Bible in the country in Cardinal Frympell’s translation and other liturgical and books such as the [[Nortish_Rite#Hours|Book of Hours]] and the [[Nortish_Rite#Mass|Book of Masses]] according to the use of the Church of Nortend, and official catechisms, sermons, homilies, commentaries, patristic works and the like. In addition to its ecclesiastical publications, the University publishes academic and scholarly works including dictionaries of English, Latin and Greek, and histories, companions, compendia, textbooks and academic books for the University and broader use. A highly comprehensive set of classical and mediaeval texts are published by the University, both in original language and in facing translation.


===International students===
==Student life==
The University accepts international students from all around the world. Not all colleges accept international students, notably the colleges restricted to the alumni of certain schools. There are approximately 230 international undergraduate students at the University, as of 2018.
===Houses===
[[File:Cmglee_Cambridge_St_Johns_Kitchen_Bridge.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Punts on the Lither at Jesus Bridge. ]]
Outside of lectures, students generally spend the majority of their time in their houses, of which the University has twenty four. House traditions form the distinct university culture at the University as each student is a member of a college or hall and is required to live „in college” or „in hall” during the academical terms of residence. Furthermore, students attend weekly repetitions and disputations in their houses, in addition to eating communally in hall. Attending daily prayers in each house’s chapel is a requirement under Statute, and a requirement in order to „keep term” in residence for the purpose of qualifying for degrees.


==Academics==
Each house has its own college or hall colours, songs, celebrations and sporting teams. The main sports are {{wp|academic fencing}} and boating (rowing), although school games such as [[stinning]], fives and cricket continue to be popular recreations. Punting is also a popular pastime on the Lither. Each college and hall also has its own Officer Cadet company, for students completing [[Muster Service (Great Nortend)|muster service]].  
[[File:Homa_katouzian.jpg|thumb|200px|The academic dress of a Master of Arts sans cap. Note the hood has slipped.]]Teaching in all four universities is undertaken by the regent masters, doctors and professours of the University.


After incepting as a Master of Arts, a person is by statute required to lecture at the University as a ''magister regens'' for a minimum of two years, as well as determine weekly for one term. Nearly all regent masters have a post-graduate degree either in the Faculty of Arts or in a higher faculty, given the required six years before inception. The duties of a regent master include delivering lectures to undergraduate students, determining, attending Convocation, looking after students, and otherwise assisting with the peace and good order of the University. Though regency is theoretically required of all bachelors incepting as masters, it is generally dispensed with unless the master wishes to teach.
{| class="wikitable collapsible"
! House name !! Date of founding !! Affiliation !! Founded by
|-
| Coggeshall || 1256 || Benedictines || Edward de Groive
|-
| Ladyhall || 1264 ||  || Bernard de Aldesey
|-
| Canonshall || 1273 || Dominicans || Henry de Ledden
|-
| Gosthall || 1280 || Dominicans || Hartmold III
|-
| Middlehall || 1371 ||  ||
|-
| Old College || 1390 ||  || Prior of Chepingstow Minor
|-
| Jesus Hall || 1422 || Cistercians || Abbot of Sulthey
|-
| Maudlyn Hall || 1422 || Franciscans ||
|-
| Rhighton College || 1432 || Benedictines || Walther, Lord Abbot of Rhighton
|-
| Allhallowhall || 1405 || Allord College || Charles I
|-
| West College || 1493 || Benedictines ||
|-
| Godchrist College || 1500 || Cistercians ||
|-
| Andershall || 1511 ||  ||
|-
| Trinity College || 1533 ||  || Elisabeth, Duchess of Caune
|-
| Mancourt College || 1533 ||  || Elisabeth, Duchess of Caune
|-
| Clairiddel College || 1573 ||  || Sir William de Clare
|-
| Lucy Hall || 1487 || Siel School || John, Count of Siel
|-
| Wistfin College || 1610 || Limmes School || Henry de Wistfin, Lord Bishop of Scode
|-
| Polchard College || 1623 || Chepingstow School||  John de Polchard, Lord Mayor of Chepingstow
|-
| Cardey College || 1629 || Echester School || Richard de Cardey, Lord Bishop of Echester
|-
| New College || 1685 || Dominicans ||
|-
| Flemey College || 1793 || Rhise School || Nicholas, Duke of Flemey
|-
| Prince's College || 1827 ||  || Prince Henry of Anthord
|-
| King's College || 1945 ||  || Edmund IX
|}


A doctor is a master who possesses a doctorate in a faculty. They have the responsibility of teaching those reading for a doctorate, or a bachelor's degree in the higher faculties.
===Academical dress===
[[File:GNMaster.jpg|thumb|200px|The academic dress of a Master of Arts.]]
Students in residence and within the precincts of the University are required to wear academical dress whenever in public, as well as at lectures, in hall and at chapel. For most students, this means wearing the academical square cap and the academical gown. Academical dress is not required when on college or hall premises. At formal university ceremonies such as examinations, ceremonies and graduation, academical dress is worn with ''subfuscus'' dress, meaning a black tailcoat, white waistcoat and academical bands. Hoods are worn on certain occasions, being in chapel and at some ceremonies. The hood of a Bachelor of Arts is in winter black stuff lined in white budge (lambswool) or rabbit and in summer black stuff lined in white stuff. The hood of a Master of Arts is in winter black corded silk lined in white miniver or lettice or ermine and in summer black corded silk lined in white corded silk. Higher bachelors and doctors have festal and ordinary hoods (and gowns) winter lined as for the Master of Arts except that Bachelors and Doctors of Divinity have hoods lined in black budge, grys or sable respectively. In summer, the silks are deep violet, deep grey, crimson, pale pinkish grey and black respectively for Science, Letters, Physic, Laws and Divinity.


All regent masters and doctors of the University are also attached to a college and are known as fellows. They form the governing body of a college, under their warden, master &c.  
===Ceremonies===
The major university ceremonies are that of Matriculation, Determination and Commencement. Matriculation occurs within each house, and involves a symbolic tonsure and signing one’s name „on the books”. The ceremony confers membership of the house and a minor clerical state. ''Inter alia'', each matriculand is required to swear an oath and subscribe to the confession of the [[Church of Nortend]] before proceeding to matriculate. Students who refuse to take the oath cannot matriculate, although in special cases, such as foreign students, they can still be „admitted to read”, similar to lady students. Such admitted students cannot graduate ordinarily, but by letters patent from the Crown, as with lady students.


A professour is a fellow who has been given a chair in a specific field by a college or the University or, in the case of Professours Regius, by the Crown. They are required to deliver a certain number of lectures annually.
Determination refers to the historical practice of completing the formal disputation required for the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Nowadays, in the Lent term after passing his final Second Moderations, Congregations are held whereat after supplicating, a graduand is presented to the Vice-Chancellour. After taking an Oath, the graduand kneels and gives his clasped hands to the Vice-Chancellour, who says :—
<blockquote>Ego admitto te ad gradum Baccalaurei in Artibus; in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.</blockquote>
At Congregations, names of those to become Master of Arts or doctors are read out in order to receive licence to incept ''in absentia''. Commencement then is an annual ceremony at which all Masters of Arts and higher doctors actually incept and obtain their degrees. It is a festive occasion held in Whitsun term at [[St Peter's Cathedral, Lendert|Lendert Priory]] in the presence of the Lord Chancellour as Lord Bishop of Chepingstow, the ''ex officio'' Chancellour of the University. It begins with Vespers on the Saturday evening beforehand, whereat a Sermon is preached. On Monday, after Mattins and several ceremonies, the Chancellour says to the kneeling inceptor :—
<blockquote>Ego admitto te ad gradum Magistris in Artibus; in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.</blockquote>
The inceptor is then given a Bible and is briefly capped. Subsequently, he is required to give his ''Principium'' during the next Michaelmas term. However, for non-regent masters, this is dispensed with by grace.


==Higher Faculties==
==Alumni==
[[File:Ph.D._gown,_Cambridge_University.jpg|thumb|180px|right|The academic gown of a Doctor of Letters.]]
The alumni of the University include a significant number of major Nortish politicians, judges, senior officials, bankers, gentlemen, noblemen and other men of note. Particular alumni include :— (year of matriculation given in brackets)
The higher faculties include that of Laws, Physic and Divinity, in which the University admits students into the degrees of Bachelor of Laws, Doctor of Laws, Bachelor of Physic, Doctor of Physic, Bachelor of Divinity and Doctor of Divinity. By ancient statute all students in higher faculties must have taken the degree of Master of Arts first before graduating with their higher degree.


A student after gaining his ''licentia'', is able to declare his intention to study in the higher faculties. He then will begin a course of study in the higher faculty for three years, making a total of six years of study. Given that the Master of Arts is granted after licensing six years after Matriculation, the student may thus gain his higher bachelor's degree shortly after he incepts as Master of Arts.
* [[Alexander II of Great Nortend|King Alexander II]] (Allhallowhall, 2001)<ref>Did not take a degree.</ref>
* Miles Spenser-White, noted [[stinning]] player (Prince’s, 1999)
* [[George Drachington]], Foreign Clerk (Wistfin, 1980)
* [[Sebastian Williams]], Lord Bishop of Sulthey (Allhallowhall, 1964)
* [[Henry de Foide]], Lord High Treasurer (Polchard, 1917)
* [[Frederic de Clercy]], Lord High Treasurer (Wistfin, 1879)


There is a widely prevailing idea that education at University should be for academic and scholastic purposes only, and not necessarily to provide a means of gaining professional skills. Despite this, a bachelor degree in laws, physic and divinity are normally needed for admission into the specific professions of a barrister, physician and clergyman respectively. Furthermore, doctors of the civil courts of course must read for the Doctorate of Laws and bishops generally require a Doctorate of Divinity.
==See also==
* [[Education in Great Nortend]]


==Faculty of Arts==
{{GNC}} [[Category:Universities_and_colleges_in_Astyria]]
Further study in the Faculty of Arts is also possible, with there being a split between the 'letters' school, the music school, and the science school. Each school is split into a number of different fields.
 
'''Letters'''
* Ancient Languages (Latin, Ancient Greek, Ancient Hebrew &c.)
* Archaeology
* Classics
* Economics
* History
* Linguistics
* Modern Languages (French, German, Dutch, Erebian, Arabic &c.)
* Metaphysics
* Rhetoric
* Social Philosophy
 
'''Music'''
* Music
 
'''Science'''
*Astronomy
*Botany
*Chemistry
*Geology
*Mathematics
*Physics
*Physiology
*Zoology
 
==Examinations==
Before admission to any degree, a student is required to partake in several examinations, not all of which are academically relevant. For the progression of an artist to the grade of Master of Arts, the following examinations are required:
 
The first examination is the Matriculation examinations, which is an exam taken before matriculation to prove scholastic competence. It serves as the culmination of the sixth forms of senior school and is generally an examination of competence in Latin in written form as well as general capability in the English and Greek tongues. It is not compulsory, and colleges may admit students at their discretion. All students must be ordained as [[Church of Nortend#Orders|clerks]] as soon as possible after matriculation, though this may be waived, usually for international students.
 
The second examination is taken at the end of the first year, and is known as the ''Responsiones''. An undergraduate must satisfy three regent masters of his choice, ''de questione respondens'' in a public ''viva voce'' question-and-answer format in Latin, on the topics covered. This has generally become a formality, and the questions asked often come from books of Responsion questions and their prescribed answers. Upon completion, the regent masters vote ''de scientia et moribus'' whether to permit the student to determine.
 
The final examination for the Bachelor of Arts degree is the ''Determinationes''. It has two parts, one being a public debate or disputation on a matter in Latin, and the latter being a written examination in English. The public debate is between two undergraduate students and is generally a formality.
 
The first examination for the Master of Arts is taken at the end of the year, and is known as the Licentiate examinations. It is a written examination of knowledge and serves as the main examination in English for the Master of Arts. A bachelor receives his ''licentia docendi'' this way. The second examination for the Master of Arts is another public debate or disputation in Latin, known as the ''Quodlibetica'', whereof the topic is chosen by the candidate. This is a formality as well, as the actual examinations are conducted in the Licentiate examinations. Humorous questions are often asked by the masters, which often require set answers.
 
After the set number of years, the bachelor's final 'examination' is a disputation ''in Vesperiis'', known as the 'Vesperies'. These are held in the afternoon and consist of disputations on various questions.
{{GNC}}

Latest revision as of 14:47, 25 March 2024

The University of Aldesey
SealAldesey.png
Seal of the University of Aldesey
Latin: Universitas Lendartiensis apud Aldesiam
TypePublic
Established1256
Religious affiliation
Church of Nortend
Endowment£100 million
ChancellorLord Bishop of Chepingstow
Vice-ChancellorMartin de Hazels
Students9,000
Location
Lendert-with-Cadell
,
Great Nortend
LanguagesEnglish, Latin, Greek
Colours   

The University of Aldesey, formally the Chancellour, Masters and Scholars of the University of Lendert at Aldesey (Latin: Universitas Aldesiensis or Chancellarius, Magistri et Scholares Universitatis Lendartiensis apud Aldesiam) is an ancient collegiate university in Great Nortend located in Lendert-with-Cadell. To-day, the University consists of four faculties, eight schools and twenty four houses with a broad academic focus on the liberal arts. In 2018, there were around 9,000 students studying at the University. Graduates of the University occupy an exclusive and prestigious place in Erbonian society, forming the majority of lawyers, physicians, clergymen, academics, politicians, nobility, research scientists, military officers, senior civil servants and schoolteachers.

History

The University developed out of the monastic school of Lendert Abbey in the 10th and 11th centuries. In 1256, Edmund IV granted a charter to establish a university in Lendert to the Lord Bishop of Chepingstow, who held ordinary jurisdiction over the city until the creation of the see of Lendert. Instead of its original location in the close of the Abbey, the new University of Lendert settled on Aldesey, which was then a small village upon two islands in the Wessert to the west of the main city. Non-monastic scholars were prevented from living with the scholars of St. Peter (which formed the modern Coggeshall), and instead attached themselves to the parish church of St. Mary the Virgin, whose rector obtained a charter in 1264 to found Ladyhall.

Sampser Reforms

In the 19th century, it was increasingly recognised that the University was failing to advance learning and science, especially in the arts. In particular, the lack of further formal courses of study in the arts resulted in the University's declining importance in the burgeoning fields of natural philosophy and history. Lord Sampser was appointed in 1878 by Parliament to undertake a wholesale reform of the University, leading to the publication of the Sampser Report which recommended the establishment of the degrees of Bachelor and Doctor of Science and of Letters within the Faculty of Arts which occured in 1883 with the passage of the University Act. Furthermore, the practice of termly written examinations was formalised, among other sundry reforms.

Lady students

Women had been permitted to attend lectures on an informal basis since the late 19th century, with earlier precedents including the mediaeval education of nuns and abbesses. However, being unable to take examinations or degrees, this arrangement was widely seen as insufficient for a formal education system. In 1923, in a plan to improve the standard of female education and schoolmistresses, the Crown enacted the Ladies’ University Halls Act which allowed for the establishment of houses of residence for lady students at the University. The next year, St. Elisabeth’s Hall was founded with a Governess and twenty ladies. Despite the admission of women, it was still thought that degrees and membership of the University ought to remain exclusively for men, and therefore the first woman to complete the Arts course received the title of Lady of Arts in 1927. The first Mistress of Arts was created in 1932.

Organisation

The new Physic School and Teaching Hospital at the University.

The governing body of the University is the Great Congregation, comprising all Masters of Arts and Doctors of Science, Letters, Music, Physic, Laws or Divinity. The Congregation votes on the University's statutes and exercises control over academic matters such as examinations, rustication, matriculation, curricula and teaching, as well as graces, dispensations and degrees. Congregation normally meets only every three years and delegates its powers to the smaller Lesser Congregation, or Convocation of Regent Masters, which has power over academic matters. Statutes are deliberated upon by Convocation, and if agreed to, referred back to Congregation.

The University also consists of the four faculties, being those of Arts, Laws, Physic and Divinity. Within the Faculty of Arts are the sub-faculties of Letters and Science, the former consisting of the schools of Languages, Music, Philosophy and History, and the latter the schools of Mathematics, Astronomy, Natural Philosophy (Physics and Chemistry) and Natural History (Biology and Geology). Unusually, the Faculty of Laws includes the schools of Economics and Politics, as well as the schools of Civil Law and Canon Law. The faculties are responsible for the lecturing, research and examination of students.

Parallel to the faculties are the twenty four houses of scholars — each either a college or a hall — which are independent of the University and responsible for the lodging, tutelage and nourishment of their students. The houses are separated into three nations, although these are of little importance. Students are admitted to a house through the process of matriculation and thereby become members of the University in statu pupillari. Henceforth, they are bound by the University's statutes which are enforced by the University's proctors, constables and beadles, who have the power to fine and confine, and in extreme cases, to rusticate or ban (expel).

Location

The University is located to the west of Lendert-with-Cadell, one mile from St. Michael’sgate. The main University sites form a generally cohesive district centred on the two Upper and Lower Eyotes on the Wessert. The Church of St. Peter is the main church on Upper Eyote and serves as the site of most smaller University ceremonies. Coggeshall, Ladyhall, Canonshall, Gosthall and Middlehall have their main house on the Eyotes, as well as the Old Arts School, the Old Laws School and the Divinity School. The rest of the Eyotes are made up of sundry housing and shops and the church The rest of the halls, colleges and University buildings are located on the outer banks of the Wessert. Along the Lither, where rowing is practised, is a large swathe of open pasture, meadow and parkland owned by the various academic and religious houses. The precincts of the University, within which University statutes, proctors and constables have jurisdiction, are the parishes of St. Mary the Virgin, St. Peter ad Vincula, All Hallows and All Souls, Holy Ghost and St. Andrew.

Academic profile

Admission

Prospective students apply to matriculate by application to the houses of scholars, generally on the basis of good results in the Exhibition Examinations. These are public examinations taken at the end of the Sixth Form to prove scholastic competence and potential entitlement to a Crown Exhibition. However, as passing the Exhibitiones is not a prerequisite to admission, houses may admit students at their discretion. Several houses restrict admission either partially or fully to students from particular schools. Furthermore, many matriculate international students, although not all, on the basis of a separate Matriculation Examination. This examination may also be taken by state school pupils, and older candidates, in theory, but it is quite rare.

Arts degrees

View inside St. Michael’s Chapel, at Middlehall.

An degree in the Arts is the only initial, or undergraduate, degree offered by the University of Aldesey. The curriculum for the Arts involves attendance at lectures, supplemented with repetitions (tutorials) and disputations. A disputation was originally a kind of formal debate. It is nowadays always delivered in written form, either short or long. A short disputation is akin to an ordinary academic essay, while a long disputation is similar to an academic thesis. For such, students are also required to write an abstract or summary in Latin. Lectures for undergraduates are given by regent masters and involve exposition and instruction of the subject matter, as well as questions and discussion. Examination at the University is typically by a written paper and viva voce examination, often in Latin. Collections are college examinations taken at the beginning of a term to assess previous term learning. They do not contribute to one’s final degree.

After Matriculation, a student is known as a Freshman in his first year and a Sophister in his second. Over two years, the student hears eight compulsory lectures on „Science” and „Letters”, the former covering Logic and Mathematics and the latter Classical Literature and History. At the end of his first and second years, he „responds” by undertaking his First and Second Responsions (also known as the „Littles”). In his third and fourth years, the student (then known as a Junior or Senior Questionist) hears eight lectures offered in any of the various schools of the University leading to one of the several fixed „Moderations”. At the end of his third and fourth years, the student takes his First and Second Moderations (also known as the „Greats”). He may then seek to „determine” and be admitted to his Bachelor of Arts degree. Although students must pass Responsions, degrees are classed solely based on results in the Moderations — bene, melius or optime — having moderated well, better or best. The best student in the year of each Moderation is titled the Junior or Senior Optimas.

Bachelors wishing to incept later as Master of Arts must keep a further four years. This simply involves paying the requisite fees, except that the Bachelor is required to reside for his final Easter term. At the end of Easter term, the Bachelor gives a formal disputation known as his Quodlibetica, after which he is licensed to incept as Master of Arts at Commencement (Comitia) during Whitsun term. Alternatively, the Bachelor may wish to read for a higher degree.

Higher degrees

The higher faculties are those of Laws, Physic and Divinity, in which the University admits students to bachelor's degrees and doctorates. Furthermore, higher study in the Faculty of Arts is possible in either Science or Letters. By ancient statute all students in higher faculties must have incepted as Master of Arts first before graduating with their higher degree. Study for a taught higher bachelor's degree involves attending lectures and taking the Generales and Particulares examinations at the end of the second and fourth years respectively, while a degree by research involves a Quodlibetica thesis and dissertation.

After attaining bachelorhood, the bachelor may seek to obtain a doctorate after up to another period of study or research. Like for a Master of Arts' Quodlibetica, the Bachelor produces a formal thesis and dissertation known as the Sollempnes. Thereafter he may incept as a Doctor.

University Press

The University is one of the oldest publishers in Great Nortend, having held the right to produce and print books and publications since the 16th century. As the official printer of the Church of Nortend, it has the sole right to print (as opposed to engross) copies of the Holy Bible in the country in Cardinal Frympell’s translation and other liturgical and books such as the Book of Hours and the Book of Masses according to the use of the Church of Nortend, and official catechisms, sermons, homilies, commentaries, patristic works and the like. In addition to its ecclesiastical publications, the University publishes academic and scholarly works including dictionaries of English, Latin and Greek, and histories, companions, compendia, textbooks and academic books for the University and broader use. A highly comprehensive set of classical and mediaeval texts are published by the University, both in original language and in facing translation.

Student life

Houses

Punts on the Lither at Jesus Bridge.

Outside of lectures, students generally spend the majority of their time in their houses, of which the University has twenty four. House traditions form the distinct university culture at the University as each student is a member of a college or hall and is required to live „in college” or „in hall” during the academical terms of residence. Furthermore, students attend weekly repetitions and disputations in their houses, in addition to eating communally in hall. Attending daily prayers in each house’s chapel is a requirement under Statute, and a requirement in order to „keep term” in residence for the purpose of qualifying for degrees.

Each house has its own college or hall colours, songs, celebrations and sporting teams. The main sports are academic fencing and boating (rowing), although school games such as stinning, fives and cricket continue to be popular recreations. Punting is also a popular pastime on the Lither. Each college and hall also has its own Officer Cadet company, for students completing muster service.

House name Date of founding Affiliation Founded by
Coggeshall 1256 Benedictines Edward de Groive
Ladyhall 1264 Bernard de Aldesey
Canonshall 1273 Dominicans Henry de Ledden
Gosthall 1280 Dominicans Hartmold III
Middlehall 1371
Old College 1390 Prior of Chepingstow Minor
Jesus Hall 1422 Cistercians Abbot of Sulthey
Maudlyn Hall 1422 Franciscans
Rhighton College 1432 Benedictines Walther, Lord Abbot of Rhighton
Allhallowhall 1405 Allord College Charles I
West College 1493 Benedictines
Godchrist College 1500 Cistercians
Andershall 1511
Trinity College 1533 Elisabeth, Duchess of Caune
Mancourt College 1533 Elisabeth, Duchess of Caune
Clairiddel College 1573 Sir William de Clare
Lucy Hall 1487 Siel School John, Count of Siel
Wistfin College 1610 Limmes School Henry de Wistfin, Lord Bishop of Scode
Polchard College 1623 Chepingstow School John de Polchard, Lord Mayor of Chepingstow
Cardey College 1629 Echester School Richard de Cardey, Lord Bishop of Echester
New College 1685 Dominicans
Flemey College 1793 Rhise School Nicholas, Duke of Flemey
Prince's College 1827 Prince Henry of Anthord
King's College 1945 Edmund IX

Academical dress

The academic dress of a Master of Arts.

Students in residence and within the precincts of the University are required to wear academical dress whenever in public, as well as at lectures, in hall and at chapel. For most students, this means wearing the academical square cap and the academical gown. Academical dress is not required when on college or hall premises. At formal university ceremonies such as examinations, ceremonies and graduation, academical dress is worn with subfuscus dress, meaning a black tailcoat, white waistcoat and academical bands. Hoods are worn on certain occasions, being in chapel and at some ceremonies. The hood of a Bachelor of Arts is in winter black stuff lined in white budge (lambswool) or rabbit and in summer black stuff lined in white stuff. The hood of a Master of Arts is in winter black corded silk lined in white miniver or lettice or ermine and in summer black corded silk lined in white corded silk. Higher bachelors and doctors have festal and ordinary hoods (and gowns) winter lined as for the Master of Arts except that Bachelors and Doctors of Divinity have hoods lined in black budge, grys or sable respectively. In summer, the silks are deep violet, deep grey, crimson, pale pinkish grey and black respectively for Science, Letters, Physic, Laws and Divinity.

Ceremonies

The major university ceremonies are that of Matriculation, Determination and Commencement. Matriculation occurs within each house, and involves a symbolic tonsure and signing one’s name „on the books”. The ceremony confers membership of the house and a minor clerical state. Inter alia, each matriculand is required to swear an oath and subscribe to the confession of the Church of Nortend before proceeding to matriculate. Students who refuse to take the oath cannot matriculate, although in special cases, such as foreign students, they can still be „admitted to read”, similar to lady students. Such admitted students cannot graduate ordinarily, but by letters patent from the Crown, as with lady students.

Determination refers to the historical practice of completing the formal disputation required for the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Nowadays, in the Lent term after passing his final Second Moderations, Congregations are held whereat after supplicating, a graduand is presented to the Vice-Chancellour. After taking an Oath, the graduand kneels and gives his clasped hands to the Vice-Chancellour, who says :—

Ego admitto te ad gradum Baccalaurei in Artibus; in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

At Congregations, names of those to become Master of Arts or doctors are read out in order to receive licence to incept in absentia. Commencement then is an annual ceremony at which all Masters of Arts and higher doctors actually incept and obtain their degrees. It is a festive occasion held in Whitsun term at Lendert Priory in the presence of the Lord Chancellour as Lord Bishop of Chepingstow, the ex officio Chancellour of the University. It begins with Vespers on the Saturday evening beforehand, whereat a Sermon is preached. On Monday, after Mattins and several ceremonies, the Chancellour says to the kneeling inceptor :—

Ego admitto te ad gradum Magistris in Artibus; in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen.

The inceptor is then given a Bible and is briefly capped. Subsequently, he is required to give his Principium during the next Michaelmas term. However, for non-regent masters, this is dispensed with by grace.

Alumni

The alumni of the University include a significant number of major Nortish politicians, judges, senior officials, bankers, gentlemen, noblemen and other men of note. Particular alumni include :— (year of matriculation given in brackets)

See also

  1. ↑ Did not take a degree.
Retrieved from "https://iiwiki.us/mediawiki/index.php?title=University_of_Aldesey&oldid=784769"