A scholaster, from the Latin ''scholasticus'' (

schoolmaster The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled aft ...

), or magister scholarum, was the head of an ecclesiastical school, typically a

cathedral school Cathedral schools began in the Early Middle Ages as centers of advanced education, some of them ultimately evolving into medieval universities. Throughout the Middle Ages and beyond, they were complemented by the monastic schools. Some of these ...

, monastic school, or the school of a

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a Church (building), church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college (canon law), college of canon (priest), canons: a non-monastic or secular clergy, "secular" community of clergy, organis ...

, in medieval and early-modern Europe.Peter Nissen and William den Boer, "The Middle Ages after 1200", in ''Handbook of Dutch Church History'', edited by Herman Selderhuis (Göttingen, 2014), pp. 141–142. Depending on the size of the school and the status of the institution to which it was attached, the scholaster might be the only teacher, the head of a considerable educational establishment, or have oversight over all the schools in their city or territory. The scholaster might be a dignitary in a cathedral or collegiate chapter, alongside the provost, dean,

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. In formal Jewish worship, a cantor is a person who sings solo verses or passages to which the choir or congregation responds. In Judaism, a cantor sings and lead ...

succentor The succentor ("under-singer") is the assistant to the precentor, typically in an ancient cathedral foundation, helping with the preparation and conduct of the liturgy including psalms, preces and responses. In English cathedrals today, the prie ...

precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of m ...

treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

cellarer A cellarium (from the Latin ''cella'', "pantry"), also known as an '' undercroft'', was a storehouse or storeroom, usually in a medieval monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplac ...

sacristan A sacristan is an officer charged with care of the sacristy, the church, and their contents. In ancient times, many duties of the sacrist were performed by the doorkeepers ( ostiarii), and later by the treasurers and mansionarii. The Decret ...

almoner An almoner (} ' (alms), via the popular Latin '. History Christians have historically been encouraged to donate one-tenth of their income as a tithe to their church and additional offerings as needed for the poor. The first deacons, mentioned ...

.Anne Walters Robertson, ''Guillaume de Machaut and Reims: Context and Meaning in His Musical Works'' (Cambridge University Press, 2002), pp. 35, 140. It was not unknown for a scholaster to take the revenues of the post and deputise somebody else to carry out any teaching work involved.

References

Catholic ecclesiastical titles Christian religious occupations Christian terminology Educational personnel Medieval European education {{edu-stub