and exploring some basic questions: How large were mujālasāt? What type of people attended—were there elders, women, children, or servants present? Who spoke what, and to what degree did attendees take turns or dominate? How long did sessions last, and were they held at night or during the day? Were they held indoors or outside, and which buildings were used? For a social institution that has occupied more of a place in the daily lives of medieval men and women than television or classroom education in our own time, this gap in knowledge is grave.