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Post by Katty on Apr 16, 2009 20:52:33 GMT 10
Quick question - did Jon establish the University in Corus or was it already there?
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opalgirl
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Post by opalgirl on Apr 16, 2009 22:19:39 GMT 10
I recall seeing a bit from Tammy about the upcoming Numair books that said Numair helps establish it.
And I don't think anyone makes mention of the university during SoTL - they only make mention of the City of The Gods - so, I would think no.
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Post by Lisa on Apr 17, 2009 7:40:08 GMT 10
Yeah - I think the University and the menagerie were added under Jon.
It makes sense - along with his and Thayet's promotion of education commoners.
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Mirage
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Post by Mirage on Apr 18, 2009 12:01:44 GMT 10
Eh, the problem I have with that idea is that Corus has been in existence for hundreds of years. It's the capital city of Tortall (and really, we don't hear about that many other big cities). With hundreds of temples, and lotslots of people, and all the other stuff, wouldn't it make sense to have a centre of learning? After all, surely all the schools in Tortall could have been in the City of the Gods?
So my thought is that the university probably existed, and it just expanded under Jon/Thayet/Numair.
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opalgirl
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Post by opalgirl on Apr 18, 2009 13:50:36 GMT 10
Port Caynn? Port Legann? Persopolis? There is a place on one of the maps called 'Pearlmouth', which I *think* gets a mention in one of the Kel books. In A:tFA, I recall Gary telling Alanna that Corus' marketplace "is nothing" and that she should wait until they go to Port Caynn.
The ports, just by being ports, should be good-sized cities. People tend to settle near water, naturally. In earlier eras, water meant trade. Water meant ships. Ships + water + trade = work. Shipbuilding and repair, sailing, fishing, hauling, selling, waiting on the wealthy who come to see the pretty, being in the navy, etc. (I'm a bit of a sea geek - I live in an area that was perhaps at it's most prosperous during the age of the sailing ship.)
The City of the Gods is described as a center of learning. Pre-Thayet, I would gather that only the wealthy had access to education. (Which actually fits pretty well with 'real-world' realism.) There are pieces in the books that suggest some aren't thrilled with Thayet's idea that everyone can learn.
To the wealthy? Shipping their kids to the City of the Gods wouldn't be difficult. After Thayet, there probably would've been a need for a centralized university - and perhaps there was a bit of Jon wanting to give Corus a landmark to compete with Carthak.
Daine says in EM that the King is still building Corus' university (paraphrased, loosely). Had it been around since Alanna's time and well-established, why would it still be being built?
And why didn't someone - Roger, Thom, Jonathan, anyone - make a mention of it during the Alanna books? If Thom had an option to train anywhere other than under the Mithrans, I think he would have, personally.
(My very long-winded two cents, of course.)
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