Extramuros

First Appearance and Context

Avout use “extramuros” to denote people and activity outside a math’s walls. Early on, an avout describes “an artisan from extramuros” who is admitted under supervision to the New Library to perform necessary repairs as Apert approaches. In ceremonial settings, visitors from outside are sometimes allowed through a day gate to view rites from the north nave of the Mynster, when conditions are deemed safe and orderly.

Description and Role

In Orth, “extramuros” literally means “outside the walls,” especially beyond a walled Math. According to The Dictionary (4th edition), nuance has varied across eras, but in current speech among avout it often serves as a practical label for the non‑mathic world and nearby settlements just beyond a math’s enclosure. The term commonly functions as an adjective (e.g., “economy extramuros”) contrasting outside markets and practices with those within the Discipline.

The word also highlights cultural and linguistic contrasts. For example, “screen” to an extramuros visitor is a viewing device, while within a math a “screen” is a perforated wall separating a nave from the chancel. Encounters at the concent sometimes involve extramuros tools such as a Speelycaptor, underscoring differences in permitted technology and everyday habits across the boundary.

Relationships and Functions

• Boundary term used by avout to distinguish the life, speech, and tools of the non‑mathic world from those maintained inside the Discipline.
• Practical interface: extramuros artisans may be admitted for supervised work (e.g., repairs in the New Library); visitors are sometimes seated to observe rites from a designated nave of the Mynster.
• Economic sense: in stable times beyond the walls, “extramuros” can imply markets outside the gate (e.g., selling produce or honey to local burgers), while in lean or dangerous times it connotes a harsher, less connected outside.

Current Status

“Extramuros” remains active in everyday speech within maths. It denotes both the literal outside-of-the-walls and, more broadly, the people, goods, and practices associated with the world beyond, with contact varying according to prevailing conditions outside.