Mustrum Ridcully
The indestructible Archchancellor who ended the tradition of 'dead man's pointy shoes' by being impossible to kill.
Mustrum Ridcully became Archchancellor of Unseen University in the tenth Discworld novel, Moving Pictures, and holds it for the rest of the series. Unlike recent holders whose average term is about eleven months, he enjoys an injury-free term by being indestructible; he stops assassins by springing up behind them, shouting loudly, and banging their heads repeatedly in a door. Known as Ridcully the Brown due to his country background and affinity for small animals (specifically how he can hunt them), he loves crossbow hunting and uses the university corridors as a shooting range. In his youth, he was a Rowing Brown who reached Seventh Level Wizard at age twenty-seven before leaving to look after his family's land. He gets on best with Ponder Stibbons because neither expects the other to understand what is being said. His brother is Hughnon Ridcully, High Priest of Blind Io and Ankh-Morpork's religious spokesman. Lords and Ladies reveals he was in a relationship with Esme Weatherwax fifty years before becoming Archchancellor, and he was deeply affected by her death in The Shepherd's Crown. He has shown occasional flashes of magical skill, such as using a magic mirror adeptly in Moving Pictures and improvising a version of the rite of AshkEnte to summon Death in Soul Music.
- Role
- Archchancellor of Unseen University
- Affiliation
- The Guild of Wizards, Ankh-Morpork
- First Appears
- Moving Pictures
Lore & Background
Mustrum Ridcully assumed the role of Archchancellor after an absence of forty years. He is a country wizard known for his habit of springing up behind would-be assassins and banging their heads in doors, which has halted the tradition of promotion through assassination. He prefers not to listen if someone gives up explaining something before two minutes are up, but will listen if they persist longer. He was deeply affected by the death of Esme Weatherwax.
In Their Own Story
In Moving Pictures, Ridcully led Unseen University's investigation of the Holy Wood influence alongside the Bursar while other faculty members were distracted by the new spectacle. In Soul Music, he improvised a slimmed-down version of the rite of AshkEnte for summoning Death with minimal assistance. In Thud!, he appears alone. He also appeared in Going Postal and Night Watch alongside Ponder Stibbons.
Reader's Guide
Mustrum Ridcully serves as Archchancellor, holding a seat on the Ankh-Morpork council (which acts as a magical adviser to the Patrician). He is considered the first among equals by those at the UU. His governorship style involves listening only if an explanation lasts more than two minutes. He relies on his indestructibility rather than traditional political maneuvering to maintain power, effectively ending the era of 'dead man's pointy shoes'.
Did You Know?
- Ridcully reached Seventh Level Wizard at the exceptionally young age of twenty-seven.
- He is known as 'Ridcully the Brown' because, unlike Radagast the Brown, his affinity for small animals involves hunting them.
- The tradition of 'dead man's pointy shoes' refers to ascending through the ranks by assassinating superiors, a practice Ridcully halted by being indestructible.
- Ridcully uses the corridors of Unseen University as a shooting range for his crossbow.
- In The Last Continent, it was noted that the wizards do not know each other's names, though Ridcully later recalled the Dean's name is Henry.
More in Characters & Archetypes
Related in Discworld
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Elsewhere in the Discworld universe
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