At the Emperor's behest, the Peregrini have opened an ecumencial (some would say downright syncretic) academy at Benatky Manor-- the Academia Peregrinata. The first class of eight students arrived in August 1600, and is an even mix of Catholics and Protestants. And while all of these students are of noble birth, the Peregrini hope to soon be able to offer scholarships to poorer commoners who show aptitude, as well as to Jews and other religious minorities.
The Academia hews to the humanist belief that education can not only profoundly change the individual students, but it also has a ripple effect by preparing them to improve the lives of the citizens within the communities they shall one day rule. To that end, the Academia teaches liberal arts and sciences, often in a dialectical way so as to bridge the religious and social divides between the students. The students also undergo rigorous physical training — and even perform many of the household chores — in the hopes of fostering teamwork, camaraderie, and pride of accomplishment.
The curriculum of the Academia includes the following courses:
- Freiherr von Zdar Lhota teaches a course on military history, strategy, and tactics.
- Matthieu Demont teaches medicine and anatomy. He shall also be teaching chemistry as a scientific counterpoint to Kelemen's alchemical studies.
- Salih Çavus trains the students with calisthenics, preparing them physically for the rigors of Lóránt Kelemen's fencing school. He will also be teaching metaphysics and philosophy.
- In addition to fencing, Lóránt Kelemen teaches astronomy and astrology. He also holds a clandestine 'night school,' wherein select students study alchemy and are initiated into the more esoteric occult pursuits of Hermetic cabalism (the practices of Hebrew kabbalah, adapted and reframed for a Christian acolyte).
- When he actually deigns to set foot upon dry land, Santiago Ruiz Fernandez teaches anthropology, geography, and cartography.
With the enlargement of the student body, each of the professors emeritus has founded a College or House to embody his own educational objectives.
The student body in the autumn of 1600 consists of eight young noblemen of Bohemia and the surrounding regions, 4 Catholics and 4 Protestants:
The student body in the spring of 1601 consists has grown from 8 to about 60. About 50% Catholic, 50% Protestant. Yakov has joined the student body, along with a couple of other Prague Jews.
Original Students:
Catholics:
- Raphael Sobiehrd-Mnishovsky, 20 years of age, formerly Jesuit-educated, philologist, also interested in law, genealogy
- Jaroslav Borsita von Martinic, 18 years of age, formerly Jesuit-educated, interested in politics and law
- Petr Lobkowicz, 17 years of age, scion of the esteemed House of Lobkowicz, a younger son of the line
- Jan Slavata, 16 years of age, younger brother of Vilem Slavata who followed his older brother into Catholicism
Protestants:
- Heinrich von Schlick, 20 years of age, Bohemian-German noble, interested in mathematics, recently returned from military service, scion of the silver-mining von Schlick family
- Louis von Anhalt, 21 years of age, German noble on his Grand Tour, staying for at least one semester, interested in botany and agriculture
- Martin Budovec, 17 years of age, scion of the esteemed House of Budovec, a younger son of the line
- Albrecht von Waldstein, 17 years of age, orphaned son of nobility, spending a year in Prague before going to the University of Bologna