Maesters

The Maesters are the learned order of the Seven Kingdoms, scholars, healers, and counselors trained at the Citadel in Oldtown. They serve lords great and small across the realm, forging chains of many metals to signify their mastery of different arts. Their presence in every major castle gives them access to the secrets and councils of the great houses, a fact that breeds both reliance and mistrust.

Training and the Chain

A maester's education begins at the Citadel, where acolytes study for years before earning the right to forge a link of a particular metal for each discipline they master. The chain they wear around their neck is the symbol of their order, and they are expected to put aside old loyalties when they don it. As Samwell Tarly learns, the path to becoming a maester is arduous and includes tasks that many find distasteful, such as dissecting corpses. The Citadel is a vast repository of knowledge, containing books and scrolls that hold the history and secrets of the world, though some of the oldest texts have crumbled to dust.

Role and Influence in the Realm

Maesters serve as healers, tutors, and advisors to the lords they serve, often becoming privy to their most intimate secrets. This proximity to power gives them considerable, if subtle, influence. Lady Barbrey Dustin of Barrowton voices a deep suspicion of the order, arguing that they are not as chaste or disinterested as they appear. She claims that Maester Walys, who served Lord Rickard Stark, was the son of an archmaester and a Hightower girl, and that he was sent to Winterfell to fill Lord Rickard's ears with poisoned words, including the notion of a Tully marriage. She asserts that the maesters, by taking only one name, conceal their true origins and that they ultimately come to rule the lords they ostensibly serve. This view is not universal, but it reflects a northern distrust of the Citadel's southern origins and its potential for manipulation.

The Maesters and the Night's Watch

The Night's Watch relies heavily on maesters for communication, healing, and counsel. Maester Aemon Targaryen served at Castle Black for decades, providing wisdom and guidance to several lord commanders. His knowledge of history, prophecy, and the nature of the Others was invaluable. After his departure, the Watch is left with less capable men, such as Clydas, who is a steward with failing eyesight, and Maester Harmune of Eastwatch, who is more often drunk than sober. The lack of a skilled maester is a significant weakness for the Watch, as Jon Snow recognizes when he sends Samwell Tarly to the Citadel to forge a chain and become the new maester for Castle Black. The maesters' ravens are also the primary means of long-distance communication for the Watch, making the rookery a vital part of any castle's defenses.

The Iron Bank and the Maesters

The maesters' role extends to financial and political matters as well. When the Iron Bank of Braavos sends an envoy to treat with Stannis Baratheon, it is the maesters who handle the correspondence and the ravens that carry it. The maesters are the keepers of records and the writers of letters, making them essential to the administration of the realm. Their knowledge of history and law is often called upon in councils, as when Grand Maester Pycelle advises the small council on matters of succession and precedent. However, their influence is not absolute, and they can be overruled by the lords they serve, as when Cersei Lannister ignores Pycelle's counsel.

The Maesters and the Faith

The relationship between the maesters and the Faith of the Seven is complex. While both are powerful institutions in the south, they have different sources of authority. The maesters represent knowledge and reason, while the Faith represents spiritual authority. In times of conflict, such as the rise of the High Sparrow, the maesters can find themselves caught between the crown and the Faith. Grand Maester Pycelle, for example, is a member of the small council but is also subject to the authority of the High Septon. The maesters' primary allegiance is supposed to be to the realm, but in practice, they often serve the interests of the lords who employ them, a fact that can lead to accusations of bias and manipulation.