University of Meador
The University of Meador it the oldest and most renowned university in all of Leanor. Since its founding in 909 CE, nearly all of the brightest minds of Leanor have studied there at least for a little while. Over the course of the past threehundred years, it has become a hotspot of education, research and progress. The organization needs to exist in a certain space, but students and faculty alike prefer to consider the university a community rather than a place.
The University was originally founded by a group of scholars in Meador who aimed to pass their knowledge on to a new generation of young men. In the beginning, they only took a handful of students and used an old acadean temple that was no longer in use as their main teaching space. Now, the University is much larger and even has a few buildings that were built specifically for it.
The old temple has since been converted into a library in which nearly every book written in Leanor's history can be found. This library is one of the most important cultural treasures in all of Leanor, holding knowledge and art dating back at least as far as the founding of the Acadean Empire, possibly even further. The destruction of the library could potentially mean the loss of a part of Leanor's cultural identity.
The students can nowadays study law, medicine, religion, science and language. Science includes, among other things, number theory, geometry and astronomy, but also music theory. Within the field of language, grammar, logic and rhetoric are taught. Students can chose any single subject, any combination of subjects or all of them. Three years of study are the minimum amount of time required to earn the lowest academic degree, though higher degrees can be achieved with more time.
Lessons are held almost exclusively in old Acadean, which is universally acknowledged as the prevolent academic language. It is otherwise only used in religious services for the seven gods of old Acadea. The modern languages found in Leanor are heavily influenced by old Acadean, but most regular people can't really understand it anymore. As a result, a person who speaks old Acadean is considered highly educated, highly religious, or both, since centres of faith are often centres of education as well.
The professors teaching at the University are considered some of the brightest minds in all of Leanor. It is not uncommon for the teachers to be alumni of the University of Meador. Only professors teaching religion are required to have some sort of religious training and are often priests of the Seven. These priests are usually also trained in the art of healing and therefore also teach in the field of medicine.
The University of Meador welcomes men of any age as students, as long as they are able to afford a moderate tuition fee as well as the cost of living in or near Meador. In rare cases, especially gifted young men of modest financial means will be sponsored by a wealthy person or even a professor. However, women are not (yet) permitted to study at the University.
It is quite common for noble families in Leanor to send their sons to Meador to allow them to receive the best possible education. On the other hand, many students are liberal young men who strongly stand against the concept of monarchy. This creates a breeding ground for conflict between these groups. The location of the University itself also plays into these conflicts, since the city of Meador is also the capital city of the Kingdom of Aguilear.
There have been occasions in which these conflicts have escalated into armed altercations in the streets of Meador, more than once resulting in the deaths of some of those involved. As a result, the city of Meador has implemented a strict ban on weapons inside the city walls. This hasn't necessarily decreased the amount of violent conflicts, but it has lowered the fatality rates of such events significantly.
The University was originally founded by a group of scholars in Meador who aimed to pass their knowledge on to a new generation of young men. In the beginning, they only took a handful of students and used an old acadean temple that was no longer in use as their main teaching space. Now, the University is much larger and even has a few buildings that were built specifically for it.
The old temple has since been converted into a library in which nearly every book written in Leanor's history can be found. This library is one of the most important cultural treasures in all of Leanor, holding knowledge and art dating back at least as far as the founding of the Acadean Empire, possibly even further. The destruction of the library could potentially mean the loss of a part of Leanor's cultural identity.
The students can nowadays study law, medicine, religion, science and language. Science includes, among other things, number theory, geometry and astronomy, but also music theory. Within the field of language, grammar, logic and rhetoric are taught. Students can chose any single subject, any combination of subjects or all of them. Three years of study are the minimum amount of time required to earn the lowest academic degree, though higher degrees can be achieved with more time.
Lessons are held almost exclusively in old Acadean, which is universally acknowledged as the prevolent academic language. It is otherwise only used in religious services for the seven gods of old Acadea. The modern languages found in Leanor are heavily influenced by old Acadean, but most regular people can't really understand it anymore. As a result, a person who speaks old Acadean is considered highly educated, highly religious, or both, since centres of faith are often centres of education as well.
The professors teaching at the University are considered some of the brightest minds in all of Leanor. It is not uncommon for the teachers to be alumni of the University of Meador. Only professors teaching religion are required to have some sort of religious training and are often priests of the Seven. These priests are usually also trained in the art of healing and therefore also teach in the field of medicine.
The University of Meador welcomes men of any age as students, as long as they are able to afford a moderate tuition fee as well as the cost of living in or near Meador. In rare cases, especially gifted young men of modest financial means will be sponsored by a wealthy person or even a professor. However, women are not (yet) permitted to study at the University.
It is quite common for noble families in Leanor to send their sons to Meador to allow them to receive the best possible education. On the other hand, many students are liberal young men who strongly stand against the concept of monarchy. This creates a breeding ground for conflict between these groups. The location of the University itself also plays into these conflicts, since the city of Meador is also the capital city of the Kingdom of Aguilear.
There have been occasions in which these conflicts have escalated into armed altercations in the streets of Meador, more than once resulting in the deaths of some of those involved. As a result, the city of Meador has implemented a strict ban on weapons inside the city walls. This hasn't necessarily decreased the amount of violent conflicts, but it has lowered the fatality rates of such events significantly.
For as long as the University of Meador has existed, royal families, noble houses and wealthy folk from all over Leanor have sent their sons there to study and to gather some life experience.
Most students and faculty members are from the four kingdoms of Eleonis, Lupear, Aguilear and Urtheon, but there are some from the free countries of Baitha and Valeor as well. The indigenous Valeori and Serbaith people of the Dragon's Ridge are excluded from studying at the University.
The University also does not take women, stating that women are not fit to receive higher education. There are, however, some stories of women posing as men, making it into the University and secretly studying there.
The few women who managed to study in Meador, usually have to keep their knowledge hidden. Even if they make groundbreaking discoveries, which has happened more often than the writers of history would want one to believe, men tend to take credit for these discoveries.
The male alumni, unless they are heirs to a throne, lordship or other political position, often go on to become scientists, doctors, scholars or teachers, both at the university and in other educational contexts, for example at schools or as private teachers to the sons of nobles and wealthy men.
The men who graduated from Meador tend to think of themselves as an exclusive circle of the most highly educated men in Leanor. As a result of their arrogance and superiority complex, obtrusive know-it-alls are sometimes referred to as having read the whole library of Meador.
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