Was there ever a dedicated group of Muslim scholars who focused on preserving knowledge?

Assalamu alaikum, I've been curious about this. We know things like extreme seclusion are discouraged in Islam, but were there ever specific communities or circles where religious scholars focused intensely on learning and preserving knowledge, more so than the general population? I'm especially thinking about the time period roughly between the 700s and 1200s. Would these have just been regular 'ulama' (scholars), or was there a distinct group with a special role?