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Unseen University
The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by mostly indolent and inept old wizards. The university's name is a pun on the Invisible College, and many aspects of the university are references to Oxford and Cambridge University. The exploits of the head wizards of the Unseen University are one of the main plot threads in the long-running fantasy series, and have played a central role in 13 novels[which?] to date, as well as the four supplementary The Science of Discworld novels and the short story, A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices.
The staff usually come in a group in the books in which they appear, though Rincewind initially followed his own storyline, only being a part of the group in the Science of Discworld books and Unseen Academicals, and the Librarian makes solo appearances in several books. Ridcully and Ponder also appeared in Going Postal and Night Watch. Ridcully alone appears in Thud!. The wizards are referred to by their offices (e.g. "Lecturer in Recent Runes"), rather than names. There is a slight reference to this in The Last Continent, when the wizards notice that they not only don't know the Librarian's name, but they also don't know the names of one another. In Unseen Academicals, Ridcully has difficulty remembering the Dean's name, despite having started at UU around the same time.
The head of Unseen University is the Archchancellor, an important figure who holds a seat on the Ankh-Morpork council, although this council itself has no power either, acts as a magical adviser to the Patrician.
The Archchancellor of UU is considered the leader of all wizards on the Disc (by those at the UU), the first among equals (i.e. the other eighth-level wizards). Unseen University has existed for thousands of years, and the average Archchancellor remains in office for about eleven months. There are eight eighth-level wizards and the number becomes progressively higher as the level decreases. It is common to ascend through the ranks by assassinating superiors. This has been known as the tradition of "dead man's pointy shoes."
Mustrum Ridcully becomes the Archchancellor of Unseen University in the tenth Discworld novel Moving Pictures, and holds it for the rest of the series. Unlike recent holders, Ridcully enjoys an injury-free term as Archchancellor, by bringing a halt to the traditional method of promotion simply by being indestructible. This is related to his habit of springing up behind would-be assassins, shouting loudly at them and banging their head repeatedly in the door. He is also known as Ridcully the Brown, being a country wizard and his affinity to small animals, similar to that of 'Radagast the Brown', but in Ridcully's place it's how he can hunt them.
Ridcully assumed the role of Archchancellor after an absence of forty years, having become a Seventh Level Wizard at the exceptionally young age of twenty-seven, he left to look after his family's land. He loves crossbow hunting and uses the corridors of Unseen University as a shooting range. He was a Rowing Brown for the university in his youth and has a different relationship to sport unlike his fellows who prefer competitive eating and Extreme Napping. Ridcully's form of governorship is that, if someone is still trying to explain something to him after about two minutes, it must be worth listening to and if they give up earlier, it was not worth bothering him with in the first place. He gets on best with Ponder Stibbons, as he never understands what Ponder is saying and in return Ponder never expects him to. His brother is Hughnon Ridcully, High Priest of Blind Io and Ankh-Morpork's religious spokesman.
Lords and Ladies reveals that he and a young Esme Weatherwax were in a relationship some fifty years before Ridcully became Archchancellor. He is deeply affected by her death (The Shepherd's Crown).
Ridcully has shown the occasional flash of magical skill. For example, in Moving Pictures, the Bursar is surprised to discover Ridcully's adeptness at using a magic mirror, which, like most Discworld scrying devices, is hard to steer. In Soul Music Ridcully improvises, at short notice and with minimal assistance, a slimmed-down version of the rite of AshkEnte for summoning Death. It is also implied that he has some degree of practical magic knowledge (The Last Continent).
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Unseen University
The Unseen University (UU) is a school of wizardry in Terry Pratchett's Discworld series of fantasy novels. Located in the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork, the UU is staffed by mostly indolent and inept old wizards. The university's name is a pun on the Invisible College, and many aspects of the university are references to Oxford and Cambridge University. The exploits of the head wizards of the Unseen University are one of the main plot threads in the long-running fantasy series, and have played a central role in 13 novels[which?] to date, as well as the four supplementary The Science of Discworld novels and the short story, A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices.
The staff usually come in a group in the books in which they appear, though Rincewind initially followed his own storyline, only being a part of the group in the Science of Discworld books and Unseen Academicals, and the Librarian makes solo appearances in several books. Ridcully and Ponder also appeared in Going Postal and Night Watch. Ridcully alone appears in Thud!. The wizards are referred to by their offices (e.g. "Lecturer in Recent Runes"), rather than names. There is a slight reference to this in The Last Continent, when the wizards notice that they not only don't know the Librarian's name, but they also don't know the names of one another. In Unseen Academicals, Ridcully has difficulty remembering the Dean's name, despite having started at UU around the same time.
The head of Unseen University is the Archchancellor, an important figure who holds a seat on the Ankh-Morpork council, although this council itself has no power either, acts as a magical adviser to the Patrician.
The Archchancellor of UU is considered the leader of all wizards on the Disc (by those at the UU), the first among equals (i.e. the other eighth-level wizards). Unseen University has existed for thousands of years, and the average Archchancellor remains in office for about eleven months. There are eight eighth-level wizards and the number becomes progressively higher as the level decreases. It is common to ascend through the ranks by assassinating superiors. This has been known as the tradition of "dead man's pointy shoes."
Mustrum Ridcully becomes the Archchancellor of Unseen University in the tenth Discworld novel Moving Pictures, and holds it for the rest of the series. Unlike recent holders, Ridcully enjoys an injury-free term as Archchancellor, by bringing a halt to the traditional method of promotion simply by being indestructible. This is related to his habit of springing up behind would-be assassins, shouting loudly at them and banging their head repeatedly in the door. He is also known as Ridcully the Brown, being a country wizard and his affinity to small animals, similar to that of 'Radagast the Brown', but in Ridcully's place it's how he can hunt them.
Ridcully assumed the role of Archchancellor after an absence of forty years, having become a Seventh Level Wizard at the exceptionally young age of twenty-seven, he left to look after his family's land. He loves crossbow hunting and uses the corridors of Unseen University as a shooting range. He was a Rowing Brown for the university in his youth and has a different relationship to sport unlike his fellows who prefer competitive eating and Extreme Napping. Ridcully's form of governorship is that, if someone is still trying to explain something to him after about two minutes, it must be worth listening to and if they give up earlier, it was not worth bothering him with in the first place. He gets on best with Ponder Stibbons, as he never understands what Ponder is saying and in return Ponder never expects him to. His brother is Hughnon Ridcully, High Priest of Blind Io and Ankh-Morpork's religious spokesman.
Lords and Ladies reveals that he and a young Esme Weatherwax were in a relationship some fifty years before Ridcully became Archchancellor. He is deeply affected by her death (The Shepherd's Crown).
Ridcully has shown the occasional flash of magical skill. For example, in Moving Pictures, the Bursar is surprised to discover Ridcully's adeptness at using a magic mirror, which, like most Discworld scrying devices, is hard to steer. In Soul Music Ridcully improvises, at short notice and with minimal assistance, a slimmed-down version of the rite of AshkEnte for summoning Death. It is also implied that he has some degree of practical magic knowledge (The Last Continent).