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Magister Ludi

Magister Ludi is the title given to the chief practitioner of the Glass Bead Game in Hermann Hesse’s Das Glasperlenspiel [G, “the glass bead game”].

Etymology

Via Intertran the word magister is Latin and alternatively means “instructor,” “teacher,” or “professor.” Ludi, plural of ludus, is also Latin and means “game” or “sport.” Therefore, a magister ludi is denotatively a “professor of games.”

As it often occurs when modern writers ornament their work with Latin phrases, a strict denotation diminishes the intended meaning. Hesse’s Magister Ludi is a quasi-religious figure, a man defined by his office in the same manner as the Pope or the Dalai Lama. The Glass Bead Game has greater significance to Castalians than the Super Bowl to Americans; it also has a ritualistic solemnity similar to Roman Catholic Mass. Thus, the Magister Ludi is actually professor of the game—and to the extent that the Game is more a spiritual exercise than a pastime of simple pleasure, the term “master” is more appropriate than “professor.” Therefore, the meaning intended by Hesse is “master of the game” (1).

Significance in Hermann Hesse’s Glass Bead Game

According to Hesse, novices of the Game might “establish parallels…between [for instance] a piece of classical music and the formula for some law of nature (2). After devoting one’s life to its cultivation, however, it becomes possible “[to weave] the initial theme into unlimited combinations…[to practice] a sublime alchemy, an approach to Mind which beyond all images and multiplicities is one within itself—in other words, to God” (2).

In so doing, a novice becomes a game master (or magister ludi) just as a disciple of martial arts can ultimately become sensei. The steps required for this ascension are not explicitly stated, but the general idea can be grasped by reading The Glass Bead Game. Essentially, the Magister Ludi—note the capital letters—is pontifex maximus of game masters, a pope over the many bishops, M.C. for the national-scale Glass Bead Game, and chancellor of Waldzell University (3).

Examples of Magisteri Ludi

Hermann Hesse principally uses the Game as a metaphor for the way in which the mind (any human mind) attempts to find underlying order and interconnection in all things. Since the author did not write a cannon of rules on the subject, the ability to “play the Game” was not feasible at the time of publication.

Since the Glass Bead Game is still a concept en abstracto, theoretically anyone who practices the synthesis of diverse human knowledge is a player. To be a magister ludi would demand the most exceptional abilities in this faculty. A scholastic organization known as the Sacred Science Institute has named Leonardo da Vinci, Giordano Bruno, R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz as “historical” magisteri ludi because of their skill in unifying distant fields of human knowledge. In recent times, Johannes Taylor of the University of Colorado at Boulder was granted the title Magister Ludi for similar success in his application of Eastern thought to the Western mythos. In the 1980’s, Dr. John Ritcher began a project to formulate a Glass Bead Game that could actually be played. This entailed the analysis, and eventual synthesis, of the myriad disciplines of science and philosophy (4). Although he died before this dream was realized, the Sacred Science Institute honored him with the title Magister Ludi.

References

Websites:  

Parenthetical References:

1.	Hesse, Hermann (1943). The Glass Bead Game. Translated by Richard and Clara Winston from German to English (1969). Picador 1990 Edition. Back Cover. 2.	Hesse, Hermann (1943). The Glass Bead Game. Translated by Richard and Clara Winston from German to English (1969). Picador 1990 Edition. Page 40. 3.	Hesse, Hermann (1943). The Glass Bead Game. Translated by Richard and Clara Winston from German to English (1969). Picador 1990 Edition. Pages 232-262. 4.	http://www.glassbeadgame.com. Subtitle: THE GLASS BEAD GAME MANUSCRIPTS OF MAGISTER LUDI JOHN RICHTER.