Anathem

Overview

Anathem is the formal expulsion rite of the maths (cloistered scholarly communities), the moment when an avout (cloistered scholar) is Thrown Back (expelled to the outside) from the Discipline (rule of life) into the Sæculum (the world outside). It is bell‑announced and treated with great gravity—distinct from vow‑taking Eliger (admission rite) and the calling‑out Voco (summons to appear).

Preceding Context

Within maths, different bell patterns herald different rites (scheduled gatherings). At Saunt Edhar’s Mynster (great hall), an unfamiliar change once raised fears that the call was Anathem but the gathering proved instead to be Voco (summons). Later, the rite of Anathem was rung in the Concent of Saunt Edhar (avout community), expelling Fraa Orolo (avout).

What Happens

Witnessed and reported elements include: the named avout stands before the community; casts aside sphere, chord, and bolt (standard avout gear); the community sings an anathematizing song; and the individual departs into the Sæculum. A freely talking crowd is taken as evidence that the call is not Anathem.

Aftermath/Consequences

The person becomes Thrown Back (expelled) and lives extramuros (outside the walls). Those who remain reaffirm vows and the Discipline (rule of life). Gatekeepers emphasize that “one on whom the Anathem has been rung down may never more go into a math,” underscoring the rite’s finality. Accounts also indicate that an anathematized avout loses access to mathic instruments, data, and official collaboration. One report notes that, after the rite, an avout could no longer gather new measurements on a matter of wide concern or even see an image he had previously recorded within the maths, leaving him to rely on personal observation. Another observed detail: immediately after the rite, the anathematized individual has been issued a simple emergency blanket.

At Tredegarh and current usage

• During the Convox (large convocation of avout) at the Concent of Saunt Tredegarh (avout community), an avout notes that “the aut (ceremonial rite) of Anathem has not been celebrated at Tredegarh for close to a thousand years,” suggesting it is exceptionally rare there.
• Speakers also use the verb “anathematize” for performing the rite, and one character refers to a prior Anathem as “the first time he had died,” indicating a metaphor of “death” and separation associated with the rite.
• In personal remarks, an avout describes Anathem as a potential consequence of going Feral during an unauthorized peregrination, showing how the rite is understood as the ultimate penalty within the mathic world.

Notes

• Some speakers say the rite is “rung down” on a person, highlighting the bell‑change as the formal marker.
• Not to be confused with the Hylaean Anathem (hymn).