Scholae () is a
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
word, literally meaning "schools" (from the singular ''schola'', ''
school
A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
'' or ''group'') that was used in the
Late Roman Empire to signify a unit of Imperial Guards. The unit survived in the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
until the 12th century. Michel Rouche succinctly traced the word's development, especially in the West: "The term ''schola'', which once referred to the imperial guard, came to be applied in turn to a train of warrior-servants who waited on the king, to the group of clergymen who waited on the bishop, to the monks of a monastery, and ultimately to a choral society; it did not mean 'school' before the ninth century."
The imperial ''Scholae''
While the singular ''schola'' still was used to refer to learning of singing and a mode of writing, the plural had an independent meaning. Next to the old kind of school, the
Scholae Palatinae, established by
Constantine the Great as a replacement to the
Praetorian Guard, was the training center of the imperial palace guard. It remained based at Constantinople, eventually declining to a purely ceremonial role. However, in the 8th century, the ''Scholae'' were reformed into one of the
elite cataphract ''
Tagmata'' regiments, and continued to serve until the reign of
Alexios I Komnenos
Alexios I Komnenos (, – 15 August 1118), Latinization of names, Latinized as Alexius I Comnenus, was Byzantine Emperor, Byzantine emperor from 1081 to 1118. After usurper, usurping the throne, he was faced with a collapsing empire and ...
.
Ecclesiastical ''scholae''
In Christianity, a
choralschola is a
church choir that sings
plainsong. Also, the
guild
A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular territory. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradespeople belonging to a professional association. They so ...
s of ''
notarii'' (
notaries) called themselves one schola, or different scholae. In the 4th century, Pope Sylvester I (died 335) was said to have founded the
schola cantorum, reformed by Pope Gregory (died 604), but there was an oral tradition until the written proof for the foundation of this ''schola'' from the 8th century.
Ancient Greek "Σχολαί"
Plural of the Ancient
Greek word "σχολή" (from which its Latin counterpart "Scholae" derives), meaning: 'rest, leisure' (Pi., lA), '(learned) conversation, lecture' (PI., Arist.), 'place of lecture, auditorium, school' (Arist.).
[ "Etymological Dictionary of Greek", Robert Beekes (Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden-Boston, 2010), p.745 ]
See also
*
Praetorian Guard
*
Imperial guard
*
Schola cantorum (papal choir)
*
Schola Medica Salernitana
Not related to scholae:
*
Non scholae, sed vitae discimus
Notes
{{reflist
Sources
*
V. H. Galbraith, ''An Introduction to the Use of the Public Records'' (1934)
*V. H. Galbraith, ''Studies in the Public Records'' (1948)
Roman Empire in late antiquity