Chapter summary

A.R. is a calendar-era notation used to count years since the Reconstitution, appearing in citations and institutional records (for example, on the Fourth Edition of The Dictionary as “A.R. 3000”). In-text phrasing such as “anno … of the Reconstitution” indicates its reference point, though the exact spelled-out expansion of the initials has not been given.

A named historical turning point in the mathic world, after which key rites were revived in a clock-centered form within the Mynster. It also functions as the epoch for the A.R. calendar used by avout and acknowledged extramuros.

A communal dining hall and kitchen within a math, reached from the Cloister's covered walkway. Avout prepare meals here, and the kitchen faces a small herb garden shaded by a deep overhanging eave.

A named hour within the Mynster’s routine, signaled by the great clock’s chimes. Commonly treated as a daily observance during which the clock is wound; visitors may be permitted to observe from the North Nave under supervision.

An office within a math responsible for the outward watch from the Mynster’s rooftop aerie. It also coordinates external security posture, especially around Apert, and stands in contrast to the inward-facing authority of the Warden Regulant.

An extramuros artisan who visits the New Library on the eve of Apert and speaks at length with Fraa Orolo about technology, literacy, and justice outside the math. He is a talkative, practical worker and a colleague of Artisan Flec, and he also accompanies Fraa Orolo in conferring with the Warden Fendant ahead of Apert.

A collective term for three historical sackings of the concent, also referred to as Sacks-General when distinguishing them from local sacks.

A practical organization within the mathic community, often referred to collectively as "the Ita". At the concent, they occupy quarters adjoining the Mynster, maintain the great clock’s mechanisms, coordinate visitor placement, and communicate restrictions on recording devices.

An official written record kept within a math for entries required by the Discipline; in plural (“the Chronicles”) the term also denotes the concent’s collected historical records consulted by avout during liturgy and study.

An Orth term denoting the world outside a math’s walls. Its nuance shifts across eras, ranging from the literal “outside the walls” to broader senses of the non‑mathic world and nearby settlements beyond a math.

A handheld device used extramuros to capture moving‑picture recordings (often called speelies), also known to some avout as a Farspark chambre. Such devices also appear as public installations outside the walls; their use within the math is restricted and supervised.

An extramuros craftsman allowed into the New Library to repair a damaged rafter before Apert. A follower of the Warden of Heaven, he later watched Provener from the Mynster’s north nave but, according to Artisan Quin, did not record a speely due to restrictions on his high‑spec speelycaptor.

A decennial cohort within the mathic world whose members—called Tenners—live in a Decenarian math. Their gates open during Apert for a brief period, allowing limited exchange with visitors and short ventures outside.

An honorific of veneration in New Orth and the mathic world, applied to great thinkers, almost always posthumously. Historically intertwined with the term "Savant," it appears in stone as SAVANT (or abbreviated St.) and has spawned several orthographic variants.

A late Praxic Age metatheorician associated with the Circle and later venerated as patron Saunt of the Syntactic Faculty. He is assumed to have been liquidated in the Terrible Events, and his name is used in the mathic world as shorthand for a particular "Procian" interpretive stance.

A mathic community associated with the Unarians. Many new avout spend at least a year under its Discipline before graduating to the Tenners, with exceptional One-offs able to pass early through the labyrinth connecting it to the Decenarian math.

A named historical dispersal referenced in mathic liturgy. It is cited as a turning after the Old Mathic Age and before the Praxic Age, during which older rites fell out of practice, later contrasted with their revival after the Terrible Events and the Reconstitution.

A colloquial subset of Vale-lore concerning the behavior and control of fire, including practices like setting counterfires—invoked by avout as “fighting fire with fire.”

A walled mathic community within the Concent of Saunt Edhar, home to the Tenner cohort (the Decenarians). It houses the New Library and a towering clock central to daily timekeeping, and maintains tightly controlled contact with the outside world.

A simple knot used by avout to secure the bolt of their garment for modesty. It is observed in use when Lio wraps the selvage end of his bolt around his waist and between his thighs.

An order within the mathic world that occupies the west nave of the Mynster; members wear green robes and at times lead the singing during Provener. Individuals in the Unarian math are sometimes called One-offs, with rare early graduation to a Decenarian math noted for exceptional cases.

A walled scholarly enclave whose members live under a strict Discipline, distinct from the surrounding extramuros world. Maths are central to the "mathic" world and are protected and regulated, with limited use of technology inside their walls.

A concept describing a person who has been cast out of the mathic world ("Thrown Back"), and a label used by avout to classify such a figure—considered dangerous when adopting the stance of a mystagogue.

Ecba is a named geographic formation of black volcanic rock, cited as the source of stone for the great clock’s counterweights on the Praesidium within the Mynster. The Dictionary also records an ancient eruption of Ecba; historical accounts place the Halls of Orithena on its black rock.

An ancient ceremonial complex remembered for its marble-columned dome where theors gathered at midday beneath an oculus. Its rite is cited as a precursor to elements of mathic liturgy now practiced within the Mynster.

A term in the mathic lexicon whose meaning has shifted across eras of Orth: originally a theoric mentor focused on unsolved problems, later a member of a restrictive suvin that discouraged open theoric work, and in current usage a pejorative for those seen to resemble the latter.

A historical period in the mathic world when a liturgy, drawn from older rites, was practiced throughout the maths. Later descriptions associate it with an "ur-Procian" interpretive trend shortly before the rise of the Mystagogues.

A long strip of cloth worn by avout as part of their everyday habit. It serves multiple purposes—hood, wrap, and modesty covering—and is commonly secured and adjusted with a chord.

The south-facing nave of the Mynster, reserved for the Centenarians and directly reachable from their side of the meadow. It serves as their principal gathering space for rites viewed through the chancel screen.

An extramuros term for moving‑picture recordings and broadcasts. Avout refer to it when contrasting their meaning of "screen" with the outside world’s usage.

A math within the concent reserved for the Centenarians (also called Hundreders). It lies across a meadow from the Decenarian community and has direct access to the south nave of the Mynster.

A minor entrance on the meadow side of the Mynster, used as an alternative approach to the Ten-year community’s corner of the building.

A personal, size-adjustable ball used by avout within a math for sitting and balance, often cited alongside the bolt and the chord as part of their minimal kit. It can be shrunk to palm size by tracing counterclockwise circles on its surface.

A simple cord worn by avout around the waist to secure and adjust the bolt; it is also used to tie and carry a rolled bolt when slung over the shoulder. Commonly cited as one of the three personal items along with the bolt and the sphere.

A named high ledge within the Mynster associated by name with the Warden Fendant. It is mentioned as reachable by a spiral stair rising in the Tenners’ southwest corner of the Mynster.

The central tower of the Mynster that carries the four great clock dials and anchors the upper works, including the starhenge. It houses the main weights and winding mechanisms that drive the community’s great clock.

A cohort within the mathic world, also referred to as the Thousanders. Their math stands on a crag overlooking the Mynster, and they are associated with deep-voiced parts in the rite at Provener; outside the walls they are better known through rumors than confirmed accounts.

A short, proscribed list of plants within the mathic world, handled with burn-on-sight procedures; occurrences are recorded in the Chronicle. The exact members have not been enumerated in the narrative so far.

A complex assembly of megaliths, domes, pent houses, and turrets mounted atop the Præsidium’s roof within the Mynster, mechanically coupled to the great clock. It supports telescopes whose polar axes are powered as add‑on loads of the same clock‑works.

A historical group led by Saunt Proc during the late Praxic Age that advanced an extreme syntactic position about meaning. Its name is echoed in the present-day New Circle; no direct organizational continuity has been described.

A mathic complex named for Saunt Muncoster, noted in a historical reference for housing a Syntactic Faculty. Following the Reconstitution, Saunt Proc is identified as patron of that faculty.

A historically named crisis or turning point referenced in mathic sources, the second in a numbered sequence of Harbingers. It serves as a temporal marker for a brief window of stability in the late Praxic Age; its precise nature has not yet been described.

Eliger is a ceremonial selection and vow-taking rite, signaled by bells after Apert, in which Tenners publicly choose and are bound to an order within the mathic community.

A faculty within the Concent of Saunt Muncoster, later venerated under Saunt Proc as its patron following the Reconstitution. The Dictionary presents it as the progenitor of orders tracing their descent to it, contrasted with those originating from the Semantic Faculty under Saunt Halikaarn.

An academic division within the Concent of Saunt Muncoster identified as the counterpart to the Syntactic Faculty. Orders originating from it are associated with the patron Saunt Halikaarn.

A mathic practice for bringing people directly from the extramuros world into a math to become avout, typically conducted during Apert. It complements graduation from the Unarian math to maintain community numbers.

A named period of upheaval referenced by the mathic community. It is cited as preceding the Reconstitution and as the turning point after which the Hylaean Anathem was revived in a new, clock-centered form; it is also associated with the presumed liquidation of figures such as Proc.

A term for avout in the Unarian math. In rare cases, an exceptional One-Off may pass early through the labyrinth to join the Decenarians rather than waiting until Apert.

A named historical crisis or turning point referenced in mathic sources, the third in a numbered sequence of Harbingers. It serves as a temporal marker bounding a brief window of stability late in the Praxic Age.

A colloquial label used by an avout for delivering a withering analytic critique in conversation; the name alludes to Thelenes. The term marks an intent to dismantle someone’s remarks rather than engage in polite chitchat.

A venerated figure in the mathic world and the namesake of a Concent. In the current account, Saunt Muncoster is mentioned only indirectly via a Dictionary note about faculty patronage at the Concent of Saunt Muncoster, with no personal biography given.

An honorific used before the name of a female avout; observed in use as “Grandsuur Tamura.” The “Grand-” prefix suggests a senior level relative to Suur, though specific criteria have not been stated.

A leadership title rendered as "First Among Equals" and abbreviated FAE. In the present context it denotes the position held by Fraa Corlandin within the New Circle.

A revered Saunt regarded as patron of the Semantic Faculty; mentioned in contrast to Saunt Proc and the Syntactic Faculty in an in‑world reference.

A library building within a Decenarian math, used by avout and occasionally accessed by supervised visitors for necessary repairs. It hosts study and interviews and comes into focus when an extramuros artisan is admitted to address a rotted rafter shortly before Apert.

A concept describing the practice of stripping statements of loaded or emotive connotations to reach a neutral formulation; avout also use “Diaxan” as an adjective for such phrasing.

A term used to describe an insufferably smug or pedantic interlocutor. The usage derives from the historical figure Kefedokhles as defined in The Dictionary (4th edition, A.R. 3000).

A historical figure associated with the Halls of Orithena whose long-winded debating style is remembered in the great dialogs; his name has become a byword for a smug or pedantic interlocutor.

A term used by avout for the worldly realm outside the concents, contrasted with the mathic world and associated with the Sæcular Power. It is treated as a counterpart the maths are meant to balance rather than accommodate.

A label used to characterize a view of the Concent as a defensive bastion set in opposition to the Saecular world. It appears in discussion as shorthand for an oppositional, fortress-like stance; some avout, notably Fraa Orolo, reject the designation even while affirming the idea of the mathic world as a counterbalance rather than an accommodation.

A treatise by Saunt Cartas regarded as foundational to the mathic world, framing the community as a counterbalance to worldly authority. It is cited as arguing against the notion that the Sæcular Power can or should "reform" the maths.

A concept describing a figure in a low‑technology society who brandishes a found artifact (such as a glass bottle) to awe others and claim reflected power. In discussion, Fraa Orolo characterizes Bottle Shakers as not inherently dangerous because they are easily impressed.

A revered figure in the mathic tradition, cited as author of the Saeculum—a foundational text for the mathic world. In current discussion, she is invoked for framing the maths as a counterbalance to the Saecular world, not an accommodation to it.

A suur in a Decenarian math who is seen working with Suur Ala to make sandals from tires near the kitchen. She is observed by Fraa Erasmas, who admits a crush on her.

A historical catastrophe associated with Ecba. It is chiefly known in surviving accounts by references to those who lived through it, such as Kefedokhles of the Halls of Orithena.

A named location referenced in The Dictionary; later accounts place Kefedokhles “on the Periklyne,” with multiple dialogs attributed to that period. Some scholars debate whether the figure was the Orithenan survivor or a namesake.

An intellectual current or school referenced within the mathic community, cited alongside the New Circle as an influence on students. Only the name and its co-listing are given so far; no doctrine is explained in the text.

A philosophical position referenced in The Dictionary. In the dialog Uraloabus, Thelenes is credited with its systematic annihilation, culminating in the title character's public suicide.

A historically named cohort of "Peregrins" referenced in an in‑world dictionary. Kefedokhles, a fid from the Halls of Orithena who survived the eruption of Ecba, is identified as a member.

A named night associated with Apert when rowdiness from outside the walls is anticipated. It is mentioned in connection with preparations by mathic authorities to safeguard valuables and maintain order.

A philosophical dialog referenced in The Dictionary that features Thelenes and is noted for its devastating critique of Sphenic thought, ending with the title character’s public suicide.

A mathic cohort also called the Hundreders, whose gates open only once each century. Neighbors describe them as maintaining their own math across the meadow and preparing for Apert by questioning others through a grated room in the upper labyrinth.

Also called the Century Gate, a clock-driven portal within the Mynster’s gate system that opens on a hundred-year cycle. It parallels the Year and Decade gates and is associated with the Centenarians’ rare Apert.

A legendary or apocryphal mathic order said to operate on a ten-thousand-year cycle. Mentioned in discussion at Saunt Edhar as a claim by avout who supposedly emerged at an Apert, its existence is disputed and often treated as illustrative rather than historical.

A concept describing possible time slippage between loosely connected causal domains. Introduced as a thought experiment by Fraa Orolo and used as a practical check for unexpected divergences between the math and the world extramuros.

A pictographic symbol system used outside the maths, consisting of moving icons that supplanted Logotype in common use. It is used for public labeling and official readouts, and is often contrasted with reading Orth text.

An extramuros body of officials noted for visiting communities at the new moon in sealed purple boxes; cited as one of the ways crimes are handled outside the mathic world.

A colloquial extramuros label for the governing authorities that maintain order, surveillance, and punishments; roughly corresponding to what avout call the Saecular Power.

A term for static pictographic symbols used outside the maths to convey simple instructions or information; contrasted with moving-picture Kinagrams and with reading Orth text.

A high‑resolution imaging feature cited as part of an extramuros speelycaptor. Mentioned alongside “SteadiHand” and “DynaZoom,” it was referenced as a reason a recording device was considered too capable to be permitted inside the Mynster.

A section of the labyrinth within the concent that separates the Decenarian Math from the Centenarian Math. It is used for controlled exchanges with the Centenarians, including questioning across a grate in preparation for the Centenarian Gate and their rare Apert.

A named feature associated with extramuros speelycaptors, cited alongside Eagle-Rez and DynaZoom as part of a high-end setup. It is mentioned in connection with concerns about recording inside the Mynster.

A restrictive movement within the maths in Late Middle Orth. According to a dictionary account, such a suvin held that no further theoric problems could be solved, discouraged theoric research, and locked libraries; its influence ended with the Rebirth.

A named capability or component of an extramuros speelycaptor, cited alongside Eagle-Rez and SteadiHand as part of a high-performance imaging setup. Its presence was given as a reason to block recording of Provener inside the Mynster.

A named historical turning point in the mathic world’s timeline. It is cited as the point after which the Mystagogue suvin no longer dominated the maths.

A vehicle term used in the world outside the maths. Avout describe hearing mobes driving by beyond a concent’s walls, indicating their commonplace presence extramuros.

A mathic complex centered on the Mynster and home to multiple maths, including the Decenarian community. Visitors from extramuros may enter at controlled times to observe rites from the north nave.

The octagonal central space at the heart of the Mynster, enclosed by eight perforated screens and opening toward four great naves. It serves as the primary ceremonial and mechanical locus where avout assemble and wind the clock.

A clock‑driven portal at the Concent of Saunt Edhar that opens daily to admit and route visitors from extramuros into the Mynster’s north nave. Its operation is coupled to the great clock’s works and timed to sunrise and sunset.

A clock-driven portal within the Mynster that opens on a ten-year cycle. It is actuated by the great clock’s octahedron weight and is associated with the Decenarian community’s periodic opening to the outside world.

The inhabited world on which the mathic communities and the extramuros society exist. It is referenced in descriptions of the great clock as having a metallic core like the meteorite weight used to wind the Mynster’s works.

A liturgical hymn sung by avout during the daily winding rite at Provener inside the Mynster. It addresses Hylaea and exists in many authorized versions; a unison passage is used to help break static friction and set the great clock’s winding in motion.

A rarely used, clock-driven portal associated with the Mynster’s great clock. It is actuated by an icosahedron-shaped auxiliary weight on the Præsidium and opens on a millennial cycle alongside other time-governed gates.

The vast airy space behind the Præsidium’s dials in the Mynster where the great clock’s chains, gears, and escapements converge. It is tended by the Ita and houses upper works critical to keeping the clock running during winding and rare interruptions.

One of the four cardinal naves of the Mynster, aligned with the north façade. It serves as the entry and viewing space for extramuros visitors allowed to observe auts such as Provener.

The east-facing nave of the Mynster, officially the building’s formal entrance. It is currently little used and generally stands empty.

The western nave of the Mynster, used primarily by the Unarians. It is noted for the finest stained-glass windows and stone-carving among the four cardinal naves.

A term within the mathic tradition for learned thinkers whose theoretical perspective and practices shaped liturgy and scholarship. Historically described as gathering under the Halls of Orithena and later withdrawing into the maths, the term remains in current use within avout discourse.

One of the three historical sackings affecting the Concent of Saunt Edhar. It is cited as the time when the pipe‑organ that once stood in the Mynster’s east nave was torn out; later, stricter Discipline banned other musical instruments.

A mechanically actuated gate associated with the Mynster’s great clock, opened once per year by the descent of a cube-shaped auxiliary weight on the Præsidium’s pillars.

A named gene sequence described as present in crops grown outside the math’s walls. It is associated with reduced melancholy and greater ease in dismissing such thoughts among those who eat such food.

A term in mathic liturgy symbolizing the pre‑systematic state of thought before Cnoüs. During the aut at Provener, the complex, overlapping music of the Anathem depicts Kaos before resolving into a unison that helps set the great clock in motion.

A plant-like substance treated within maths as strictly proscribed and handled under burn-on-sight procedures associated with the Eleven. It is also noted in liturgical accounts as something consumed by slines.

A large clock-driven orrery located just inside the Day Gate of the Mynster. It is one of the add-ons powered by the Pre6sidium
9s great clock, alongside lesser orreries and the starhenge telescopes.

A named cliff formation associated with Ecba, cited as the source of black volcanic stone used for major components of the Mynster’s clockwork. The stone is described as being hauled over the North Pole to reach the math.

A math set on a crag east of the Mynster, home to the Millenarians (the Thousanders). It connects to the Mynster by a covered, hand‑carved stone stair that reaches the southeast corner.

A polar location on Arbre mentioned as part of a long overland route used by sledge trains hauling black volcanic stone from the Cliffs of Ecba for the great clock’s components.

An extramuros religious community noted for worship spaces called “arks.” Used by avout as a familiar reference point when describing the layout of a nave and the behavior of congregants during ceremonies such as weddings and funerals.

An ancient center of learning remembered for the Halls of Orithena and a great dome ceremony at midday. It was destroyed long ago; its rites later informed mathic liturgy now practiced within the Mynster.

A formal convocation associated with the language Orth. The A.R. 3000 session is cited as the moment when the term “saunt” was accepted into standard usage.

A named spot along the cloister gallery within a math, used as a passage and gathering space. It has a back exit into a covered alley between chalk halls and workshops, providing a practical route toward the Mynster.

A revered figure within the mathic tradition associated with developments in finite group theorics. According to liturgical accounts, he was Thrown Back by his Warden Regulant and later killed by slines who had first worshipped him after he persuaded them to stop consuming blithe.

A mythic figure invoked in mathic liturgy. Along with Hylaea, Deät is named as one of the two daughters of Cnoüs and is represented musically during the hymn sung at Provener.

A historical migration undertaken by surviving theors after the destruction of Orithena. It is cited as a turning point when older rites fell out of practice before the later retreat into the maths.

A roofed gallery of seven linked staircases that connects the Tenner math to the stone patio before the portal of the Mynster. Commonly used by avout heading into the building, especially around Provener.

An elderly avout at the Concent of Saunt Edhar who routinely opens the Tenners’ screen door in the Mynster before the daily rite of Provener.

A vast timekeeping mechanism at the heart of the Mynster. Its four great dials on the Præsidium are driven by a single set of works, coupled to the starhenge, and display the hour, calendar, lunar phase, and other cosmographical data.

A set of inward-facing gargoyle statues mounted along the sentinels’ walkway atop the Mynster’s roof. Paired with outward-facing Fendant gargoyles, they are associated with the Warden Regulant’s inward watch over the concent.

Outward-facing gargoyles set on the braces beneath the sentinels’ walkway around the Mynster’s roof, associated with the Warden Fendant’s aerie in a Decenarian math.

A term in Orth with two historical senses: originally an act taken by an individual, and later a formal rite performed by an assembly of avout on behalf of a math or concent.

An authoritative rulebook cited within the math to govern permitted practices. It is specifically used to determine which plants may be cultivated, including a list known as the "One Hundred and Sixty-four."

An old body of books and lore referred to by avout, often shortened to "vlor." It serves as a source of classical terms and examples that avout use to frame discussions and observations.

A named “general type” referenced in mathic iconography. It is listed among archetypal figures depicted around a Cloister; its specific meaning is not yet explained in the text.

An original library building within a math that opens directly onto the Cloister. It is noted for an ancient, glass‑smooth stone floor described as far older than the floor of the New Library.

A revered figure cited within the mathic tradition, known for "Saunt Taunga’s Question" about whether a sufficiently large field of cellular automata can think.

A general-type figure referenced in mathic iconography, mentioned among the carved motifs surrounding a Cloister garden within a math. Its precise definition has not been given in-text so far.

A sanctioned list of plant species permitted for cultivation under the Second New Revised Book of Discipline, used to govern what may be grown in a Decenarian math’s gardens.

A cane-forming plant observed in a math’s Cloister garden. It is not among the One Hundred and Sixty-four plants permitted for cultivation under the Second New Revised Book of Discipline, but also not among the Eleven that must be destroyed on sight.

A dedicated workroom within the math used for copying books and manuscripts. Entered through a stone arch, it is notable for a pervasive ink smell and connects by a smaller doorway to the Old Library on the Cloister.

A named philosophical problem attributed to Saunt Taunga, asking whether a sufficiently large field of cellular automata can think. It is invoked by Fraa Erasmas during a discussion about ant coordination.

An archetypal “general type” referenced in mathic iconography. It is noted among carved figures seen along a cloister walkway inside a math; its specific meaning has not yet been explained in the text.

An extramuros moving-picture device referred to by avout as a "speely-device." Used to view or capture "speely" content; such devices are not kept within the math under the Cartasian Discipline.

An extramuros media system and content format referenced by the avout. It is distinguished from “speely” recordings by extramuros artisans and is associated with older hardware such as a Farspark resonator.

A set of rules governing life and practice within a mathic community, emphasizing austerity in media and technology. Under this discipline, avout rely on chalk, ink, and stone and avoid the use of mechanical recording devices, with visitor access and devices tightly controlled.

A colloquial term used extramuros for viewing moving pictures on a speely device; within the math this practice is not used due to the Cartasian Discipline.

A handheld device used extramuros with communications and display functions; when its communications are disabled, it can still serve as a pocket‑watch.

An extramuros device associated with the Farspark media system. It is referenced as older equipment that could be used with a down‑converter; the avout interviewed do not possess one.

A device mentioned by an extramuros artisan as an accessory for older Farspark equipment. It is suggested as something that could be paired with a Farspark resonator but is not shown in use.

A historical event referenced in an in‑world dictionary; its aftermath is described as a turbulent and violent period outside the walls. Specific details of the event have not yet been revealed.