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Schools: The development and acceptance of centralized schools can be attributed to the lack of alternative repositories of knowledge in earlier times. Individuals with knowledge and experience were both rare and coveted; in the feudal era, they would be found in the service of various courts or lords, their studies and developments funded by their patrons. Over the long arch of history, the rise of the merchant class created a market for education which in turn led to the development of schools. In subjects where knowledge is democratized, competing schools (such as Oxford and Cambridge) developed to serve those with the cultural and economic capital to gain entry. In subjects where knowledge is maintained in secret, those with the cultural capital can prevent the founding of competing institutions.