Unseen University

Encyclopedia : U : UN : UNS : Unseen University

Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in the fictional Discworld city of Ankh-Morpork, staffed by a faculty composed of mostly insane and inane old wizards. The official motto of UU is "Nunc Id Vides, Nunc Ne Vides", loosely translated as "Now you see it, now you don't". The unofficial motto is "η β π," or "Eta Beta Pi." (Eat a Better Pie). The university's name is a pun on the real-world Invisible College.

The coat of arms is: A livre des sortilèges, attaché en cuivre, sur un chapeau pointu, on a field, azure. (That is: a book of magic spells, with copper clasps, over a pointed hat, on a blue background.) As usually rendered, the coat bears a strong resemblance to the coat of arms of the University of Oxford.

The University is centred around the 800-foot Tower of Art, out of which it grew; any further attempt at grasping its geography is close to pointless. Due to the high levels of background magic in the vicinity, a typical map of UU vaguely resembles an exploding chrysanthemum and is usually only valid for a day or so. This is also the cause of the various physical and biological anomalies that plague it. In some rooms the direction of gravity moves around as a day passes, and some rooms contain other rooms which contain the room you started with (especially problematic for a conga line). The University's gargoyles have taken on a life of their own, and both a colony of ants in the main university buildings and a flock of ravens roosting in the Tower of Art show unnatural intelligence and, for the ravens, an ability to speak. The fabric of the University is said to absorb knowledge, since all students enter university knowing absolutely everything, and leave admitting they know very little.

One of the most notable rooms in UU is Room 3b. This room is not believed to exist, but a surprising number of classes are scheduled there. In fact, at times of great celebration in the city of Ankh-Morpork it is not uncommon for the entire faculty to be teaching there.

After learning the basics of spellcasting, UU students are challenged to continue their research in the Library which, like the Bodleian Library at Oxford, features chained books - although at Oxford this is done to protect the books from the students, whereas at UU it is done to protect the students from the books. The high concentration of magical lore has warped the Library interior into a locus of L-Space where the concepts of distance and direction are only vaguely defined. There the students will encounter the Librarian (transformed into an orangutan by a magical mishap) and seek out the grimoires binding the more formidable spells. Since the contents of all magic libraries are in L-Space, it is possible to enter a Library in one city and exit in another. Access to libraries of other times or other realities, however, is at UU restricted to the Librarian himself.

Contents

1 The University grounds and buildings

1.1 Tower of Art

2 Staff
3 Notable past students
4 Previous Archchancellors
5 See also

The University grounds and buildings

The University is a large walled-off complex on the turnwise side of the Ankh, somewhat hubwards of the Isle of Gods. It features several buildings, a large tower and several gardens. The walled complex begins on the rimward side in the street known as the Backs, where one of the gates is located. This entrance is said to be "annoyingly close" to the Guild of Conjurers' Guildhall.

Forming much of the border is the main building, with the garden known as the Main Octangle in its midst, the Clock Tower housing Old Tom (the University's tongueless bell which strikes absolute silences) and a connecting outbuilding linking it to another complex further rimwards that may or may not be University property. The rest of the rimwards border is supplied by the Observatory. Turnwise and somewhat hubwards of the main building lies the Library, housing the largest collection of magical texts known on the Disc. Further hubwards of this, joined by a small connecting building, is the outer hubwards wall, with the High Energy Magic building recently added. Beyond this is New Hall, also connected over the wall via connecting buildings. Further Hubwards lies the Unreal Estate, which used to be the University's landfill but nowadays has been sold on and developed, especially by the budding thaumaturgical industry. The park-like surroundings created here are marred by the extreme amounts of background magic emitted by centuries of accumulated magical waste.

Inside the walled complex are the main University Gardens, with the Tower of Art in their midst and two boathouses with jetties, occasionally used by the University's watersports enthusiasts. The University holds rowing contests, but because of the normal state of the Ankh, these usually amount to a jogging/sprinting race on the crusted surface. Entering the gardens over the Ankh is the Bridge of Size, which connects to the Wizard's Pleasaunce, another small garden on the Ank's turnwise side walled off from Hen & Chickens Field and possibly also gated.

Entrance and exit into the complex is by one of the gates, which probably number at least two (one in the main building facing Sator Square is likely, but not certain). These gates close in the evening, and students who like to get out after this have created an alternate opening known as Scholar's Entry. This is a place in the wall where bricks can be slid out to form a usable ladder, and has always been known only to students. Many students seem to forget that all the staff were also once students, however.

Tower of Art

The Tower of Art is the 800-foot tower that forms the Unseen University's core. It has a total of 8,888 steps up to the top (On the Disc the number 8 is very mystically significant). This would make each step fractionally over one inch high. Originally the Tower was the only building on campus, but teaching has long since moved on to other buildings. The Tower itself is usually only used for astronomical and other observations requiring altitude, the traditional May Morning chorus song from its top (Inaudible to anyone but the chorus, but traditionally applauded by all staff and students from below) and student pranks such as "tobogganing", the use of tea trays to slide down the tower's immense staircase. It is unknown who built it, as it is certainly older than both the city and the University around it, and some have speculated that it is older than the Disc itself, although evidence for this is scarce.

Around the top of it a magical species of raven has developed that is much more intelligent than usual. Quoth, the raven from Soul Music and all the books featuring Susan Sto Helit, is one of these.

The Tower of Art is also the motif of the Ankh-Morpork Post Office one-dollar stamp.

Staff

See also: Wizards (Discworld)

Any alumnus from Unseen University is generally free to find an unoccupied study (which are in seemingly infinite supply), take or apparently invent a title and receive board and lodgings but little or no pay. If he is unlucky, he may then attract students, though this has been stated on at least on occasion to be an unfortunate and largely unwelcome development.

Regular Characters

Archchancellor Mustrum Ridcully
The Bursar (Dr. Dinwiddie starting in ~~Faust~~ Eric and thereafter; Spelter beforehand)
The Lecturer in Recent Runes
The Dean of Pentacles. An incredibly obese man who is generally found in his study reading a grimoire or in the great hall eating. His job at UU as he describes it is sit around, sleep and eat incredibly big dinners. He also attends some of the functions that are held by guilds or clubs around the city on behalf of the University and partakes in other people's big dinners. The Dean first appeared in Sourcery as a student or postgraduate. He was promoted after the kerfuffle had died down. His major appearance was in The Last Continent while journeying with Ridcully and several of the other wizards. One of the Dean's more interesting characteristics is his susceptibility to whatever occult or semi-magical occurrence is happening, as well as any fads or trends--most notably in Soul Music. The Dean enjoys himself immensely when he gets to use high-powered destructive spells. During times like that, he tends to say "Hut" and "Yo!" frequently.
The Senior Wrangler. Apparently a senior wrangler can be a wise philosopher or a man who looks after horses. The Senior Wrangler of the University encompasses both - he is a philosopher who looks like a horse. While wizards on the Disc are normally celibate, he briefly tries to romance the Cheerful Fairy in Hogfather, and during the events of The Last Continent seems hopelessly infatuated with Mrs. Whitlow, the matronly head of housekeeping at Unseen University.
The Chair of Indefinite Studies, who seems to do very little at the university (mainly because no-one knows what his duties are), but does go on an adventure to Fourecks
The Librarian (also the Archivist), an orangutan
Ponder Stibbons, Head of Inadvisably Applied Magic, Praelector and Reader in Invisible Writings, as well as the keeper of Hex, the University's computer (possibly meaning he is the head of the Technomancy department specifically as well as other inadvisably applied magic, as Hex is the only example of the discipline). At UU, he fulfills the role of the one person in the organisation who knows what's going on and why its happening and who's doing it, although he often wishes he didn't.
Rincewind, Egregious Professor of Cruel and Unusual Geography (Also the Chair of Experimental Serendipity, the Reader in Slood Dynamics, the Fretwork Teacher, the Chair for the Public Misunderstanding of Magic, the Professor of Virtual Anthropology, the Lecturer in Approximate Accuracy and the Health and Safety Officer as stated in ' and ')

Not regular staff (mentioned only once and/or not important to the story)

The Chair of Oblique Frogs
The Professor of Revolvings
Pennysmart, Professor of Extreme Horticulture
The Professor of Applied Anthropics, whose function appears to be confined to proving that the Discworld's crowning achievement and entire purpose was the eventual evolution of the Professor of Applied Anthropics
The Reader in Esoteric Studies, or the Reader in the Lavatory as the Bursar and most others call him
Lecturer in Creative Uncertainty
Lecturer in Vindictive Astronomy
Professor of Recondite Architecture and Origami Map-Folding
Modo, gardener and odd-job dwarf at the Unseen University who doesn't bother the wizards as much as they bother him.
Ladislav Pelc, Prehumous Professor of Morbid Bibliomancy, appearing in Going Postal
Professor Goitre, Posthumous Professor of Morbid Bibliomancy, appearing in Going Postal

Notable past students

Rincewind (in The Colour of Magic and others)
Eskarina Smith (in Equal Rites)
Victor Tugelbend (in Moving Pictures)
Windle Poons (in Moving Pictures and Reaper Man)
Igneous Cutwell (in Mort)
Simon [surname unknown] (in Equal Rites)
Adrian Turnipseed, aka Big Mad Drongo, aka Big Mad Adrian (to Archchancellor Ridcully only) (in Soul Music, The Last Continent, Hogfather and others)

Previous Archchancellors

Alberto Malich: The first Archchancellor and university founder; sent himself to the land of Death when he performed the Rite of AshkEnte backwards. Returned (briefly) in Mort and Soul Music, and for rather longer during the events described in Hogfather when he appeared as Pixie Albert to Death's Hogfather.
Chancellor Galder Weatherwax: A distant cousin of Granny Weatherwax, he is Chancellor for the first half of The Light Fantastic. Note that in The Light Fantastic, he is referred to as Chancellor, but Ridcully subsequently upgrades him to Archchancellor in Lords and Ladies, when talking to aforementioned Granny Weatherwax. He is the 304th Chancellor of the University.
Archchancellor Ymper Trymon: Archchancellor for the second half of The Light Fantastic.
Archchancellor Cutangle: Archchancellor in Equal Rites.
Archchancellor Virrid Wayzygoose: Archchancellor for one night in Sourcery.
Coin the Sourcerer: Archchancellor during Sourcery.
Archchancellor Ezrolith Churn: Archchancellor during ~~Faust~~ Eric.

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