Michel Rouche succinctly traced the word's development, especially in the West: "The term schola, which once referred to the imperial guard, came to be applied in turn to a train of warrior-servants who waited on the king, to the group of clergymen who waited on the bishop, to the monks of a monastery, and ultimately to a choral society; it did not mean 'school' before the ninth century.
"[1] While the singular schola still was used to refer to learning of singing and a mode of writing, the plural had an independent meaning.
It remained based at Constantinople, eventually declining to a purely ceremonial role.
However, in the 8th century, the Scholae were reformed into one of the elite cataphract Tagmata regiments, and continued to serve until the reign of Alexios I Komnenos.
Plural of the Ancient Greek word "σχολή" (from which its Latin counterpart "Scholae" derives), meaning: 'rest, leisure' (Pi., lA), '(learned) conversation, lecture' (PI., Arist.