What is "rustication"

Rustication \Rus`ti*ca"tion\, n. [L. rusticatio.]

1. The act of rusticating, or the state of being rusticated; specifically, the punishment of a student for some offense, by compelling him to leave the institution for a time.

2. (Arch.) Rustic work.

1620s, "to reside in the country," back-formation from rustication, or else from Latin rusticationem (nominative rusticatio) "act or fact of living in the country," noun of action from past participle stem of rusticari "live or stay in the country," from rusticus (see rustic). Meaning "send into the country" is from 1714.

n. 1 the act of rusticating (intransitive verb sense) 2 the act of being rusticated (transitive verb sense) 3 (context UK military English) the process of posting a person or relocating a unit from London (or a command HQ) to elsewhere in the country.

1. n. the condition naturally attaching to life in the country

2. the construction of masonry or brickwork in a rustic manner

3. the action of retiring to and living in the country

4. temporary dismissal of a student from a university

5. banishment into the country

thumb|Two different styles of rustication in the Palazzo Medici-Riccardi in Florence; smooth-faced above and rough-faced below.

In classical architecture rustication is a range of masonry techniques giving visible surfaces a finish that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared-block masonry surfaces called ashlar. The visible face of each individual block is cut back around the edges to make its size and placing very clear. In addition the central part of the face of each block may be given a deliberately rough or patterned surface.

Rusticated masonry is usually "dressed", or squared off neatly, on all sides of the stones except the face that will be visible when the stone is put in place. This is given wide joints that emphasize the edges of each block, by angling the edges ("channel-jointed"), or dropping them back a little. The main part of the exposed face may worked flat and smooth or left or worked with a more or less rough or patterned surface. Rustication is often used to give visual weight to the ground floor in contrast to smooth ashlar above. Though intended to convey a "rustic" simplicity, the finish is highly artificial, and the faces of the stones often carefully worked to achieve an appearance of a coarse finish.

Rustication was used in ancient times, but became especially popular in the revived classical styles of Italian Renaissance architecture and that of subsequent periods, above all in the lower floors of secular buildings. It remains in use in some modern architecture.

Similar finishes are very common in medieval architecture, especially in castles, walls and similar buildings, but here it merely arises from an unwillingness to spend the extra money required for ashlar masonry in a particular building, and lacks the deliberate emphasis on the joints between blocks. Though it often achieves a decorative effect, this is something of a by-product, and the exploitation for architectural effect within a single building of contrasts between rusticated and ashlar surfaces is rarely seen. In some buildings, such as the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence (begun 1298) something other than cost-saving is at play, and this may be the association of the technique with the display of power and strength, from its use in military architecture. Rough finishes on stone are also very common in architecture outside the European tradition, but these too would generally not be called rustication. For example, the bases of Japanese castles (城, shiro) and other fortifications usually use rough stone, often very attractively.

Rustication is a term used at Oxford, Cambridge and Durham Universities to mean being 'sent down' or expelled temporarily, or, in more recent times, to leave temporarily for welfare and/or health reasons. The term derives from the Latin word rus, countryside, to indicate that a student has been sent back to his or her family in the country, or from medieval Latin rustici, meaning "heathens or barbarians" (missus in rusticos, "sent among ..."). Depending on the conditions given, a student who has been rusticated may not be allowed to enter any of the university buildings, or even travel to within a certain distance of them.

The term is used in British public schools (private schools), and was used in the United States during the 19th century, though it has been superseded by the term "suspension".

Rustication is a term used in the British military to describe the process of posting a person or relocating a unit from London (or a command HQ) to elsewhere in the country.

Category:Military of the United Kingdom

Rustication (literally "to or of the countryside") may refer to:

• Rustication (architecture), a style of masonry giving stones a deliberately rough finish
• Rustication (academia), temporary expulsion from a university (literally, to be sent to the countryside)
• Rustication (UK military), the process of posting a person or relocating a unit from London (or a command HQ) to elsewhere in the country
• Rustication, also known as the Down to the Countryside Movement, a government policy enacted during the Chinese Cultural Revolution
• Rustication, a process in smoking pipe creation/refinishing, where the pipe's surface is given a texture or design by removing some of the material; often used to give the appearance of wood grain or to cover up surface flaws