Magister

Quintinius rose, half drunk already, and pointed to his ornate copper glass.
“So, hic, Baldweninus, how's it to... to... burp... to be a magister?”
The young man cautiously lifted his head, pondering whether his elder was still fully conscious or not.
“I'm not sure”, he finally said, “I'm still paying for food I will never eat.”
“Don't mind this idiot,” interfered Laus, who had actually downed more liquid than Quitinius. “But tell me: what will you do now that you have your licentia? Will you accept the title of magister regens?”

All scholares dream of one day being a magister, though few ever reach the degree. Even if the exam and the diploma are to be free, sustaining oneself in a University city is hard for many, and even if the pope pushes for magistri to teach gratuitously, every University keeps to its traditions and inflict fees upon fees upon scholares. If one ever becomes a magister, however... now those fees pay for his food and shelter, and he is a member of one of the most prestigious organization in the whole world.

Qualifications

Before becoming a magister, one must pass the exam of the licentia and receive this diploma of qualification. Having a licentia docendi, litteraly, the right to teach, makes one a magister. The exam may vary from one university or another, but always it is used to demonstrate the student is able to make a disputatio. The other main exercise, the lectio, is evaluated by the magistri who taught the student, when it was performing afternoon lessons to the less advanced students. After the magistri from the University judged the student was competent enough to receive a licentia, the local epicopus gives the diploma. The recently acquired title of the new magister is then pretext to a joyous feats - paid for by the new magister, of course.

Type

Academic, Qualification

Alternative Naming

Magister regens (teaching master)

Source of Authority

Universities

Length of Term

Lifetime

Current Holders

• Vincentius Bellovacensis

Feast upon Feast
Among the many rituals that surround University life, feasts and banquets are an iconic rite of passage from a grade to another, as well as an efficient mean to prevent the poorest to access higher grades: the student in honor pays for it.