Thus, like the Night's Watch, younger sons or bastard sons are often made to join the maesters, so as not to interfere with the inheritance of firstborn and/or legitimate sons.Īemon, a maester serving in the Night's Watch.Īnother similarity is that both the Night's Watch and the maesters are considered to be servants of the realm. Similar to the Night's Watch, the Order of Maesters is an egalitarian institution whose members must ignore their past family and political ties, give up their right to inheritance, and take an oath of celibacy. Wolkan, who served House Bolton, served House Stark after it retook Winterfell from the Boltons. Luwin, for example, was sworn to serve the Lord of Winterfell, so advised both Bran Stark and Theon Greyjoy. It is not considered a breach of their vows if a maester advises the current lord of their castle in military matters to defeat their enemies, but if their lord is defeated by his enemies and possession of the castle officially changes hands, the maester is expected to serve his new lord. They are assigned to serve at castles and holdfasts throughout the Seven Kingdoms and are bound by their vows to serve whoever holds the castle in which they reside, regardless of changes in lordship. They drop their family name when they join the order. Maesters are expected to eschew their familial background and political allegiances. Ī new initiate to the Order of Maesters in the Citadel. In addition, maesters also observe changes in the weather to watch for shifting of the seasons. Maesters also serve as the resident medical expert at a castle, responsible for everything from setting broken bones, assisting childbirth, and knowledge of medicinal herbs and potions to aid fevers and internal illnesses. The lords of the Seven Kingdoms are also reliant on their ability to send long distance communiques using trained messenger ravens, which they are responsible for tending in a castle's rookery. Maesters serve as advisors to lords in the realm.Īlmost every castle and noble family in Westeros, no matter how small, has a maester on hand to teach the lord's children, give him counsel, and attend to medical and educational needs. The sigil of the Order is a circular golden chain, made up of twelve square links. Unlike certain other organizations such as the Faith of the Seven, which has male and female priests, women are not allowed to join the maesters. The maesters are a secular organization, not a religious order, though they do swear sacred oaths to follow the duties and restrictions of their office. The Order of Maesters, also known as the Maesters of the Citadel, the Knights of the Mind, and most often simply as the Maesters, are an order of intellectuals (scholars, healers, and other learned men) in the Seven Kingdoms.įocusing on scientific knowledge and disdaining belief in magic, in the present day the Order of Maesters has largely eclipsed the older Alchemists' Guild, which claims to possess arcane magical knowledge, but whose number, power, and abilities have waned over the centuries. Maester Luwin teaching Bran Stark a geography lesson. It is little wonder there are some who refer to the Order as the Knights of the Mind." ―Maester Luwin " Service as a Maester is a noble calling, one of vital importance to a prosperous realm.
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