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The Librarian (Discworld)
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 to date, as well as the four supplementary '' Science of Discworld'' novels and the short story, '' A Collegiate Casting-Out of Devilish Devices''. Staff 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 a ...
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Discworld Calendar
The Discworld is the fictional world where English writer Sir Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels take place. It consists of an Outer space#Interstellar space, interstellar planet-sized Flat Earth, disc, which sits on the backs of four huge World Elephant, elephants, themselves standing on the back of a World Turtle, world turtle, named Great A'Tuin, as it slowly swims through space. The ''Disc'' is the setting for all forty-one Discworld novels; it was influenced by world religions which feature human worlds resting on turtles, as a setting to reflect situations on Earth, in a Satire, humorous way. The Discworld is peopled mostly by the three main races of men, dwarfs and trolls. As the novels progress, other lesser known races are included, such as dragons, elves, goblins and pixies. Pratchett first explored the idea of a disc-shaped world in the novel ''Strata (novel), Strata'' (1981). Great A'Tuin Great A'Tuin is the Giant Star Turtle (of the fictional species ''C ...
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Rincewind
Rincewind ( ) is a fictional character who appears in several of the '' Discworld'' novels by Terry Pratchett. He was a failed student at Unseen University for wizards in Ankh-Morpork, often described as "the magical equivalent to the number zero". He spent most of his time running away from people who wanted to kill him for various reasons. The reason that he was still alive and running was explained by noting that while he was born with a wizard's spirit, he had the body of a long-distance sprinter. Rincewind was portrayed by David Jason in the film adaptation of '' The Colour of Magic''. Pratchett said in an interview that he unwittingly took Rincewind's name from " Churm Rincewind", a fictitious person referred to in early "' Beachcomber" columns in the ''Daily Express''. Appearances ImageSize = width:300 height:500 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:10 top:10 right:0 DateFormat = yyyy Period = from:1983 till:2015 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical order:reverse ScaleMajor = unit: ...
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University
A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Universities typically offer both undergraduate education, undergraduate and postgraduate education, postgraduate programs. The first universities in Europe were established by Catholic Church, Catholic monks. The University of Bologna (), Italy, which was founded in 1088, is the first university in the sense of: *being a high degree-awarding institute. *using the word (which was coined at its foundation). *having independence from the ecclesiastic schools and issuing secular as well as non-secular degrees (with teaching conducted by both clergy and non-clergy): grammar, rhetoric, logic, theology, canon law and notarial law.Hunt Janin: "The university in medieval life, 1179–1499", McFarland, 2 ...
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Moving Pictures (novel)
''Moving Pictures'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, published in 1990, the tenth book in his ''Discworld'' series.Fantastic FictioMoving Pictures (Discworld, book 10) Terry PratchettRetrieved 2009-05-9 The book takes place on Discworld in Ankh-Morpork and a hill called "Holy Wood". Plot The novel begins with the death of Deccan Ribobe, the last member of an ancient order tasked with 'remembering' Holy Wood through ceremonial chanting, and the escape of an influence from Holy Wood Hill. Several months later, the alchemists of the Discworld have invented moving pictures. Many hopefuls are drawn by the siren call of Holy Wood, home of the fledgling " clicks" industry – among them Victor Tugelbend, a dropout from Ankh-Morpork's Unseen University and Theda "Ginger" Withel, a girl "from a little town you never ever heard of", and the Discworld's most infamous salesman, Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, who introduces commerce to the equation and becomes a successful p ...
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List Of Discworld Characters
This article contains brief biographies for prominent characters from Terry Pratchett's '' Discworld'' series. More central characters' biographies are also listed in articles relating to the organisations they belong to, main characters have their own articles. Characters are listed alphabetically by name. ''71-Hour'' Ahmed A Klatchian warrior and bodyguard who accompanies his Prince, Khufurah, an envoy on a diplomatic mission from Klatch to Ankh-Morpork in the 21st ''Discworld'' novel, '' Jingo''. Ahmed belongs to a formidable but honourable warrior clan called the D'regs. Speaking purposefully with a heavy accent and chewing cloves he is suspected of killing the Watch's prime suspect in a botched assassination attempt on the prince; provoking Vimes and the Watch to pursue Ahmed back to Klatch. Ahmed got his nickname by killing a man guilty of poisoning a well, one hour before the cultural D'reg three days of unwavering hospitality allowed; a time during which even great ...
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Primus Inter Pares
is a Latin phrase meaning first among equals. It is typically used as an honorary title for someone who is formally equal to other members of their group but is accorded unofficial respect, traditionally owing to their seniority in office. Historically, the '' princeps senatus'' of the Roman Senate was such a figure and initially bore only the distinction that he was allowed to speak first during debate. After the fall of the Republic, Roman emperors initially referred to themselves only as ''princeps'' despite having enormous power. Various modern figures such as the prime minister in parliamentary systems, the president of the Swiss Confederation, the chief justice of the United States, the chief justice of the Philippines, the archbishop of Canterbury of the Anglican Communion, the chair of the Federal Reserve in the United States and the ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople of the Eastern Orthodox Church fall under both senses: Bearing higher status and various addi ...
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Havelock Vetinari
Lord Havelock Vetinari (, ), Lord Patrician (Primus inter pares) of the city-state of Ankh-Morpork, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. Vetinari has written an unpublished manuscript known as ''The Servant'', the Discworld version of ''The Prince'' by the Italian statesman and diplomat Niccolò Machiavelli. Fictional biography Early years Lord Vetinari was born into the extremely powerful Vetinari family (a pun on the real-life family of the Medici and on the word "veterinary") and raised by his aunt, Lady Roberta Meserole. As a youth, he enrolled in the Assassins' Guild which, apart from teaching its students how to kill other people for money, also gives them an excellent academic education. Lord Vetinari was particularly interested in the classical arts and, in flagrant defiance of the Guild's conventions of style, camouflage, though he failed his stealth examination (due to the examiner's belief that he had never attended any of his ...
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Archchancellor
An archchancellor (, ) or chief chancellor was a title given to the highest dignitary of the Holy Roman Empire, and also used occasionally during the Middle Ages to denote an official who supervised the work of chancellors or notaries. The Carolingian successors of Pepin the Short appointed chancellors over the whole Frankish realm in the ninth century. Hincmar refers to this official as a ''summus cancellarius'' in ''De ordine palatii et regni'' and an 864 charter of King Lothair I refers to Agilmar, Archbishop of Vienne, as archchancellor, a word which also begins appearing in chronicles about that time. The last Carolingian archchancellor in West Francia was Archbishop Adalberon of Reims (969-988), with the accession of Hugh Capet the office was replaced by a ''Chancelier de France''. At the court of Otto I, then King of Germany, the title seems to have been an appanage of the Archbishop of Mainz. After Otto had finally deposed King Berengar II of Italy and was crow ...
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The Last Continent
''The Last Continent'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the twenty-second book in his ''Discworld'' series. First published in 1998, it mocks the aspects of time travel such as the grandfather paradox and the Ray Bradbury short story "A Sound of Thunder". It also parodies Australian people and aspects of Australian culture, such as '' Crocodile Dundee'', ''The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' and ''Mad Max'' films, the Australian beer XXXX, Vegemite, thongs, cork hats, the Peach Melba, ''Skippy the Bush Kangaroo'', the bushranger Ned Kelly, the Henley-on-Todd Regatta, and the Australian songs "Waltzing Matilda", " Down Under", and " The Man From Snowy River". Plot summary The story opens weeks after the events of '' Interesting Times'', in which Rincewind Rincewind ( ) is a fictional character who appears in several of the '' Discworld'' novels by Terry Pratchett. He was a failed student at Unseen University for wizards in Ankh-Morpo ...
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Thud!
''Thud!'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 34th book in the ''Discworld'' series, first released in the United States on 13 September 2005, then the United Kingdom on 1 October 2005. It was released in the U.S. three weeks before Pratchett's native UK in order to coincide with a signing tour. It was nominated for the Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel in 2006. Plot As the book opens, a dwarf demagogue, Grag Hamcrusher, is apparently murdered. Ethnic tensions between Ankh-Morpork's troll and dwarf communities mount in the build-up to the anniversary of the Battle Of Koom Valley, an ancient battle where trolls and dwarfs seemingly ambushed each other. Lord Vetinari persuades Commander Vimes to interview a vampire applicant to the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. The new recruit, Lance-Constable Salacia "Sally" von Humpeding, along with Sergeant Angua and Captain Carrot, is attached to the investigation surrounding Hamcrusher's death. Meanwhile, Corporal Nob ...
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Night Watch (Discworld)
''Night Watch'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 29th book in his ''Discworld'' series, and the sixth starring the City Watch, published in 2002. The protagonist of the novel is Sir Samuel Vimes, commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. A five-part radio adaptation of the novel was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. ''Night Watch'' placed second in the annual Locus Poll for best fantasy novel. In late 2024 Penguin announced that ''Night Watch'' would be added to the Penguin Modern Classics range, with a new introduction by Pratchett's personal assistant and friend Rob Wilkins, and annotations by Prof David Lloyd and Dr Darryl Jones. Plot summary On the morning of the 30th anniversary of the Glorious Revolution of the Twenty-Fifth of May (and as such the anniversary of the death of John Keel, Vimes' hero and former mentor), Sam Vimes—whose wife is in labour with their first child—is caught in a lightning storm while pursuing Carcer, a notorious crimina ...
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Going Postal
''Going Postal'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 33rd book in his '' Discworld'' series, released in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2004. Unlike most of Pratchett's Discworld novels, ''Going Postal'' is divided into chapters, a feature previously seen only in Pratchett's children's books and the Science of Discworld series. These chapters begin with a synopsis of philosophical themes, in a similar manner to some Victorian novels and, notably, to Jules Verne stories. The title refers to both the contents of the novel and the idiom ' going postal'. The book was on the shortlist for both the Nebula and Locus Awards for Best (Fantasy) Novel. It would also have been shortlisted for the Hugo Award for Best Novel, except that Pratchett withdrew it, as he felt stress over the award would mar his enjoyment of the Worldcon. This was the first time Pratchett had been shortlisted for either award. Plot The story takes place in Ankh-Morpork, a powerful c ...
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