Post by Balerion's Whiskers on Jul 12, 2016 15:33:46 GMT -5
The Citadel is the oldest institution in Westeros. It was founded by the First Men. In fact, the grandsons of Garth the Greenhand are credited in history with its beginning. It seems that Prince Peremore of the Hightower was a disabled second son of Uthor and Maris (Garth's daughter, or granddaughter, depending on the source) He couldn't do anything physical, so he surrounded himself with learned men who studied medicine, astronomy and sorcery just to name a few things. When he died, his brother, Urrigon (who was calling himself King) gifted a tract of land at the mouth of the Honeywine to his brother's 'pets'. The oldest area of the Citadel is the island where the ravens are kept, said to have been the lair of a pirate king in the First Men Era. Since the First Men had no written language, the only history we have is what the Andals recorded when they landed thousands of years later.
What we do know is that in the beginning the Citadel had strong ties to Garth the Greenhand and the greenmen, which opens up a huge discrepancy in what they supposedly believe and teach today. It is said that he walked among the Children of the Forest and the giants, and may have well been the first man to enter Westeros. He was credited with various magical powers and bears a striking resemblance to the description of the greenmen on the Isle of Faces. If this is the origin of the Citadel, they have definitely done a 180 and gone in a totally different direction. The Citadel should have much more information on the First Men and the CotF. (they may have it, but choose not to share it with the regular brothers) I think it was the landing of the Andals that started this decline. The Andals had writing, so they recorded history to suit themselves.
In the early days, the maesters claim that the ravens spoke their messages and had no need for them to be written out and tied to their feet. We know, via Leaf, in Bran's cave that the CotF live inside the animals they skinchange even after their bodies have died, so it is plausible that the ravens were first used by skinchangers.
The Citadel has a number of legends of maesters walking with the CotF and learning their ways and healing techniques. The Andals gave them the gift of writing so that what they learned wouldn't be left vulnerable to an oral tradition, but these days, the maesters tend to teach that most of this was legend and lore and cannot be counted as a faithful account.
This is a monastic brotherhood with the order vowing to take no wives and live only to serve. Each Maester wears a chain of metal links wound tight around his neck and they never remove this, even to sleep. Each chain is different since the links are forged by each acolyte as he masters the skill it represents. Iron is for ravenry and warcraft, copper is history, bronze is astronomy, silver is medicine and gold is economics. There are many other metals that can be included in a chain and so each potential maester studies until he has enough to go around his neck...some study longer and some even study the mysteries and sorcery. Those who pass this course, forge a link in Valyrian steel, but few even try to as they no longer believe in magic...it is more of a vanity course in the times of aGoT.
Any male can enter the Citadel, so there is a mix of highborn and commoners. The highborn have it easier as their families pay the taxes in to the Citadel and that gives these younger sons or those with a literary leaning a seat. Commoners must work their way through as servants. When a man 'graduates' to maester, he gives up his last name (provided he has one) and is forever known by only his first name. He's then sent to serve at a castle or holding where the lord has paid taxes in for the Citadel's services. The maester is sworn to the location, not the family, so if the lord is replaced, the maester advises the new one instead.
The maester, sends their messages, teaches their children, doctor's their hurts and advises the lord on various management issues. This is where it gets political. GRRM has shown us that the Citadel is far from a neutral brotherhood and a number of the maesters have been shown to manipulate their hosts.
Rickard Stark (Ned's father) would have probably never looked south to Riverrun for Brandon's wife and Storms end for Lyanna's husband without a little encouragement. Ned was fostered at the Eyrie, a very un-Northern practice. Fandom calls this Southern Ambitions and most everyone believes that the maesters were behind this. To what end, we don't know. But the Citadel is becoming more powerful as the noble class depends on them more and more. Varys once said “Power resides where men believe it to be” and the Citidel has maneuvered itself into a very powerful position. The noble class is dependent on the Citadel and it is a status symbol to have a maester in your service.
We know from Maester Lewin's conversations with Bran that he absolutely does not believe in magic and the old stories, even though he has forged his Valyrian link. He scoffs at green dreams, even when Bran and Rickon both dream of Ned returning to the crypts...one thing I found odd though, when they found him dying after the sack of Winterfell, he had crawled to the heart tree in the godswood. He was stabbed in the castle yard, so that was a very arduous crawl to get to the godswood and all the way to the center. He must have felt something in the end that drew him to be close to Ned's gods.
I'm thinking that the day-to-day regular maesters aren't privy to the inner workings of the Citadel. They're taught what the archmaesters want them to know and are manipulated just like their charges. I like Maester Lewin, even though it appears that he guides Ned into decisions that he might not make otherwise. (sending Jon to the Wall) Other maesters have taken it upon themselves to try and change events too, like Maester Cressen attempting to poison the Red Woman. He had no information that would have made him think she was anything but a wannabe sorceress. Pycelle is a Lannister creature and was the one who convinced Aerys to open the gates to Lord Tywin...which resulted in the Sack and the deaths of Rhaegar's family and Jaime getting his Kingslayer title. He dabbles in poison and politics equally.
Rumor has it that the Citadel had something to do with the Targaryen dragons dying out. Actually, most of them died during the Dance of the Dragons, the Targ civil war between the green faction and black faction, however, there were a few left at the end and something caused them to grow smaller and weaker in the years after. It was said that the last dragon was no bigger than a dog. The Citadel wanted to wipe out all things prophecy or magic and doing away with the dragons was a big step. It was thought that dragons were tied to magic, so ridding the world of dragons, would wipe out magic as well. They wanted to build a different world where those things did not exist. Why? Because that would put the power in their hands alone. If there was no magic and people didn't believe in glass candles burning and if there were no more dragons, then each and every person in Westeros would turn to the Citadel and its maesters to guide them. The maesters claimed that confining the dragons caused them to remain small, but Dany's dragons continued to grow, even after she chained them.
It is thought that 'Pate' is a Faceless Man who has infiltrated the Citadel, possibly to learn as much as he can about dragons, how to hatch them and/or how to kill them. (this is odd in itself since the Faceless Men only live to serve the Gift of death to those who ask, but that is another essay) The Citadel has a vast library and if there were information about dragons, it would be there. He's also fallen in with Archmaester Marwyn's group... (duhm, duhm, duhm....)
Yes, now we have Archmaester Marwyn. He's also known as Marwyn the Mage and he's studied sorcery, magic and anything and everything about unconventional practices. He's everything that the Citadel is trying to squash. He claims that there is a secret brotherhood within the brotherhood with a control agenda. He asserts that is why Maester Aemon Targaryen was left at the Wall...because he was a Targaryen. If he'd come back to the Citadel to be raised to archmaester, he would have died shortly thereafter. The ones in control wouldn't let him live. Which brings me to the question...if Marwyn is so out of bounds, how does he still live? Magic? He can use the glass candles that everyone claims can't be lit to see what others are doing. He has studied in the east and has even been to Asshai. Mirri Maz Duur swore he showed her the workings of the human body and describes him so well, that Jorah Mormont believes her.
And just who is Marwyn, how did this man decide to follow the path that he's on? What family might have raised a boy who questioned convention and wanted to see what made magic tick? I don't think he was a commoner, I think he was from a noble family. An old family...a First Men family. In a Search of Ice and Fire, a search for the name 'Marwyn' gives us a hint. There's another...Ser Marwyn Belmore from the Vale. Regions have locally popular names. What other family from the Vale might be receptive to magic and supernatural things...possibly one that owned a suit of armor warded by runes? I think Marwyn is a Royce. He's described as massive and powerful, just like Nestor Royce...a massive, barrel chested man. He also said that his blood could be trusted no more than Maester Aemons...so that lets me think his family has a deep belief in magic. He'll prove important as the story goes on. Everything seems to be converging on Oldtown and the Wall. In Oldtown, we have Sam as a POV and companions Sarella and 'Pate' and I think things are going heat up as the Ironborn try to take the city.
In conclusion, we have one of the oldest groups from the dawn of Westerosi history that has turned from its original purpose and beliefs. They do not believe in the CotF, or Others...and that has been proved laughable. They don't believe in greenseeing...another fallacy. They are looking to rid the world of magic and have possibly had a hand in the demise of the last Targaryen dragons (before Dany's) They'll want hers dead too, just wait and see. The have a political agenda that appears to be power-based and a shadow brotherhood within the brotherhood pulling the strings. I think this next book will bring a lot of information to light and I can't wait to see what is in store for us.
What we do know is that in the beginning the Citadel had strong ties to Garth the Greenhand and the greenmen, which opens up a huge discrepancy in what they supposedly believe and teach today. It is said that he walked among the Children of the Forest and the giants, and may have well been the first man to enter Westeros. He was credited with various magical powers and bears a striking resemblance to the description of the greenmen on the Isle of Faces. If this is the origin of the Citadel, they have definitely done a 180 and gone in a totally different direction. The Citadel should have much more information on the First Men and the CotF. (they may have it, but choose not to share it with the regular brothers) I think it was the landing of the Andals that started this decline. The Andals had writing, so they recorded history to suit themselves.
In the early days, the maesters claim that the ravens spoke their messages and had no need for them to be written out and tied to their feet. We know, via Leaf, in Bran's cave that the CotF live inside the animals they skinchange even after their bodies have died, so it is plausible that the ravens were first used by skinchangers.
The Citadel has a number of legends of maesters walking with the CotF and learning their ways and healing techniques. The Andals gave them the gift of writing so that what they learned wouldn't be left vulnerable to an oral tradition, but these days, the maesters tend to teach that most of this was legend and lore and cannot be counted as a faithful account.
This is a monastic brotherhood with the order vowing to take no wives and live only to serve. Each Maester wears a chain of metal links wound tight around his neck and they never remove this, even to sleep. Each chain is different since the links are forged by each acolyte as he masters the skill it represents. Iron is for ravenry and warcraft, copper is history, bronze is astronomy, silver is medicine and gold is economics. There are many other metals that can be included in a chain and so each potential maester studies until he has enough to go around his neck...some study longer and some even study the mysteries and sorcery. Those who pass this course, forge a link in Valyrian steel, but few even try to as they no longer believe in magic...it is more of a vanity course in the times of aGoT.
Any male can enter the Citadel, so there is a mix of highborn and commoners. The highborn have it easier as their families pay the taxes in to the Citadel and that gives these younger sons or those with a literary leaning a seat. Commoners must work their way through as servants. When a man 'graduates' to maester, he gives up his last name (provided he has one) and is forever known by only his first name. He's then sent to serve at a castle or holding where the lord has paid taxes in for the Citadel's services. The maester is sworn to the location, not the family, so if the lord is replaced, the maester advises the new one instead.
The maester, sends their messages, teaches their children, doctor's their hurts and advises the lord on various management issues. This is where it gets political. GRRM has shown us that the Citadel is far from a neutral brotherhood and a number of the maesters have been shown to manipulate their hosts.
Rickard Stark (Ned's father) would have probably never looked south to Riverrun for Brandon's wife and Storms end for Lyanna's husband without a little encouragement. Ned was fostered at the Eyrie, a very un-Northern practice. Fandom calls this Southern Ambitions and most everyone believes that the maesters were behind this. To what end, we don't know. But the Citadel is becoming more powerful as the noble class depends on them more and more. Varys once said “Power resides where men believe it to be” and the Citidel has maneuvered itself into a very powerful position. The noble class is dependent on the Citadel and it is a status symbol to have a maester in your service.
We know from Maester Lewin's conversations with Bran that he absolutely does not believe in magic and the old stories, even though he has forged his Valyrian link. He scoffs at green dreams, even when Bran and Rickon both dream of Ned returning to the crypts...one thing I found odd though, when they found him dying after the sack of Winterfell, he had crawled to the heart tree in the godswood. He was stabbed in the castle yard, so that was a very arduous crawl to get to the godswood and all the way to the center. He must have felt something in the end that drew him to be close to Ned's gods.
I'm thinking that the day-to-day regular maesters aren't privy to the inner workings of the Citadel. They're taught what the archmaesters want them to know and are manipulated just like their charges. I like Maester Lewin, even though it appears that he guides Ned into decisions that he might not make otherwise. (sending Jon to the Wall) Other maesters have taken it upon themselves to try and change events too, like Maester Cressen attempting to poison the Red Woman. He had no information that would have made him think she was anything but a wannabe sorceress. Pycelle is a Lannister creature and was the one who convinced Aerys to open the gates to Lord Tywin...which resulted in the Sack and the deaths of Rhaegar's family and Jaime getting his Kingslayer title. He dabbles in poison and politics equally.
Rumor has it that the Citadel had something to do with the Targaryen dragons dying out. Actually, most of them died during the Dance of the Dragons, the Targ civil war between the green faction and black faction, however, there were a few left at the end and something caused them to grow smaller and weaker in the years after. It was said that the last dragon was no bigger than a dog. The Citadel wanted to wipe out all things prophecy or magic and doing away with the dragons was a big step. It was thought that dragons were tied to magic, so ridding the world of dragons, would wipe out magic as well. They wanted to build a different world where those things did not exist. Why? Because that would put the power in their hands alone. If there was no magic and people didn't believe in glass candles burning and if there were no more dragons, then each and every person in Westeros would turn to the Citadel and its maesters to guide them. The maesters claimed that confining the dragons caused them to remain small, but Dany's dragons continued to grow, even after she chained them.
It is thought that 'Pate' is a Faceless Man who has infiltrated the Citadel, possibly to learn as much as he can about dragons, how to hatch them and/or how to kill them. (this is odd in itself since the Faceless Men only live to serve the Gift of death to those who ask, but that is another essay) The Citadel has a vast library and if there were information about dragons, it would be there. He's also fallen in with Archmaester Marwyn's group... (duhm, duhm, duhm....)
Yes, now we have Archmaester Marwyn. He's also known as Marwyn the Mage and he's studied sorcery, magic and anything and everything about unconventional practices. He's everything that the Citadel is trying to squash. He claims that there is a secret brotherhood within the brotherhood with a control agenda. He asserts that is why Maester Aemon Targaryen was left at the Wall...because he was a Targaryen. If he'd come back to the Citadel to be raised to archmaester, he would have died shortly thereafter. The ones in control wouldn't let him live. Which brings me to the question...if Marwyn is so out of bounds, how does he still live? Magic? He can use the glass candles that everyone claims can't be lit to see what others are doing. He has studied in the east and has even been to Asshai. Mirri Maz Duur swore he showed her the workings of the human body and describes him so well, that Jorah Mormont believes her.
And just who is Marwyn, how did this man decide to follow the path that he's on? What family might have raised a boy who questioned convention and wanted to see what made magic tick? I don't think he was a commoner, I think he was from a noble family. An old family...a First Men family. In a Search of Ice and Fire, a search for the name 'Marwyn' gives us a hint. There's another...Ser Marwyn Belmore from the Vale. Regions have locally popular names. What other family from the Vale might be receptive to magic and supernatural things...possibly one that owned a suit of armor warded by runes? I think Marwyn is a Royce. He's described as massive and powerful, just like Nestor Royce...a massive, barrel chested man. He also said that his blood could be trusted no more than Maester Aemons...so that lets me think his family has a deep belief in magic. He'll prove important as the story goes on. Everything seems to be converging on Oldtown and the Wall. In Oldtown, we have Sam as a POV and companions Sarella and 'Pate' and I think things are going heat up as the Ironborn try to take the city.
In conclusion, we have one of the oldest groups from the dawn of Westerosi history that has turned from its original purpose and beliefs. They do not believe in the CotF, or Others...and that has been proved laughable. They don't believe in greenseeing...another fallacy. They are looking to rid the world of magic and have possibly had a hand in the demise of the last Targaryen dragons (before Dany's) They'll want hers dead too, just wait and see. The have a political agenda that appears to be power-based and a shadow brotherhood within the brotherhood pulling the strings. I think this next book will bring a lot of information to light and I can't wait to see what is in store for us.