Tyrosh Lannister Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 Before Aegons conquest, Westeros was not United and each region was its own kingdom often as not in a war with its neighbours. So you would see The Reach at war with Dorne, The Westerlands, The stormlands and so on. Did the Citadel (financed and supported by House Hightower of The Reach sworn to the Gardener Kings) send Maesters to other kingdoms who were potential enemies ? I can see other kingdoms seeing this as a security risk - with maesters sending sensitive intel back to The Reach. Plus I think the Citadel would not want to share it's knowledge and human resources with kingdoms it has disputes with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aebram Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 The text mentions that maesters are sworn to a castle, not to a House. If the castle falls and a new lord or king takes over, the master serves him. Like the Night's Watch, the maesters "take no sides." This makes a certain amount of sense, especially in the pre-Targaryen years when castles probably changed hands fairly often. Maesters are valuable, and too scarce to waste. Their being politically neutral is a good thing for them, as well as for the lords they serve, the people they heal, etc. Of course, there have been hints that the maesters are involved in some sort of conspiracy. So it's possible that they have, in fact, taken sides in some conflicts. But if that were the case, someone would probably have discovered it at some point during their long history. And one such incident would be enough to ruin their reputation, and make all kings and lords suspicious of them from then on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canon Claude Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 Manderly doesn’t trust his Lannister maester. I don’t think it’s at all a stretch that maesters have taken sides enough times for people to be suspicious of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ring3r Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 The main issue with the maester conspiracy theory is that if ANY of them ever got caught, it'd destroy the whole thing. Personally I find it hard to believe that, if it was going on, nobody ever caught one of them red handed. I think it's just paranoia on the Lord's part. There are plenty of conspiracies to go around in ASoIaF....not everything has to be one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aebram Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 2 hours ago, Canon Claude said: Manderly doesn’t trust his Lannister maester. I don’t think it’s at all a stretch that maesters have taken sides enough times for people to be suspicious of them. Well, yes, come to think of it, we know that Pycelle took Cersei's side when the Hand of the King (Tyrion) told him to send a message and keep it confidential. So there's one example, although it doesn't seem to be part of a greater conspiracy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The hairy bear Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 7 hours ago, Tyrosh Lannister said: Did the Citadel (financed and supported by House Hightower of The Reach sworn to the Gardener Kings) send Maesters to other kingdoms who were potential enemies ? We know they did. The tale of the Conquest describes that Harren the Black had a maester, and the Hoares were enemies of the Hightowers to the point that their banner included a raven as a sign of domination over Oldtown. But that must have been a very rare ocurrence. Historically, the Hightowers have always remained neutral and have rarely been involved in wars. Which fits with the role of the maesters. While at certain times a maester raised at Oldotwn may have counseled one of their enemies, I'm sure house Hightower have reaped much more benefits from housing the Citadel and being the center of knowledge of the continent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenin Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 5 hours ago, Ring3r said: The main issue with the maester conspiracy theory is that if ANY of them ever got caught, it'd destroy the whole thing. Personally I find it hard to believe that, if it was going on, nobody ever caught one of them red handed. I think it's just paranoia on the Lord's part. There are plenty of conspiracies to go around in ASoIaF....not everything has to be one. The maester conspiracy is one of the most absurd theories out there. People take at face value the words pf a salty scorned woman and a drunk man salty cause the maesters don't let him beat people out... Even when their words do not make sense or are verifiably false. It's one of the downsides of the book not beinng released in so long. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canon Claude Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 2 hours ago, frenin said: The maester conspiracy is one of the most absurd theories out there. People take at face value the words pf a salty scorned woman and a drunk man salty cause the maesters don't let him beat people out... Even when their words do not make sense or are verifiably false. It's one of the downsides of the book not beinng released in so long. Admittedly, it’s pretty good world building to have some characters believe in wild conspiracy theories about their own society within the books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowen Marsh Posted October 30, 2022 Share Posted October 30, 2022 17 hours ago, Tyrosh Lannister said: Before Aegons conquest, Westeros was not United and each region was its own kingdom often as not in a war with its neighbours. So you would see The Reach at war with Dorne, The Westerlands, The stormlands and so on. Did the Citadel (financed and supported by House Hightower of The Reach sworn to the Gardener Kings) send Maesters to other kingdoms who were potential enemies ? I can see other kingdoms seeing this as a security risk - with maesters sending sensitive intel back to The Reach. Plus I think the Citadel would not want to share it's knowledge and human resources with kingdoms it has disputes with. I could argue that it was the maesters who were the instigators of many of these wars between the kingdoms. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenin Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 On 10/30/2022 at 12:41 PM, Canon Claude said: Admittedly, it’s pretty good world building to have some characters believe in wild conspiracy theories about their own society within the books. Just remember to live in constant fear of the one person within a 200 kilometer radius who knows medicine and you'll live a sensible and worry free life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canon Claude Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 2 hours ago, frenin said: Just remember to live in constant fear of the one person within a 200 kilometer radius who knows medicine and you'll live a sensible and worry free life. I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not, but that honestly does sound scary. Imagine if the one person who knows medicine doesn’t like you? Imagine if they decide to kill you. Nobody would know, and maesters usually avoid justice. A serial killer could get a lot of people wiped out if he trains as a maester first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenin Posted October 31, 2022 Share Posted October 31, 2022 9 minutes ago, Canon Claude said: I can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not, but that honestly does sound scary. Imagine if the one person who knows medicine doesn’t like you? Imagine if they decide to kill you. Nobody would know, and maesters usually avoid justice. A serial killer could get a lot of people wiped out if he trains as a maester first. Better not to be a single person who knows medicine then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrosh Lannister Posted October 31, 2022 Author Share Posted October 31, 2022 On 10/30/2022 at 6:49 PM, The hairy bear said: We know they did. The tale of the Conquest describes that Harren the Black had a maester, and the Hoares were enemies of the Hightowers to the point that their banner included a raven as a sign of domination over Oldtown. But that must have been a very rare ocurrence. Historically, the Hightowers have always remained neutral and have rarely been involved in wars. Which fits with the role of the maesters. While at certain times a maester raised at Oldotwn may have counseled one of their enemies, I'm sure house Hightower have reaped much more benefits from housing the Citadel and being the center of knowledge of the continent. Since they must've conquered oldtown, they must have had some control of the citadel - which must've been enough for them to take in a maester they could trust. A maester who doesn't serve hightowers or the reach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Golos2022 Posted November 20, 2022 Share Posted November 20, 2022 On 10/31/2022 at 5:31 PM, frenin said: Better not to be a single person who knows medicine then. Is there a convenient alternative to the Maesters in Westeros? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terrorthatflapsinthenight9 Posted November 20, 2022 Share Posted November 20, 2022 15 minutes ago, Golos2022 said: Is there a convenient alternative to the Maesters in Westeros? No, aside maybe from members of the Faith specialized into healing there's no alternative doctors in Westeros, and there's no other organisation dedicated to knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frenin Posted November 20, 2022 Share Posted November 20, 2022 1 hour ago, Golos2022 said: Is there a convenient alternative to the Maesters in Westeros? No, which is why the fandom hysteria against them is the more funnier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tyrosh Lannister Posted November 20, 2022 Author Share Posted November 20, 2022 4 hours ago, Golos2022 said: Is there a convenient alternative to the Maesters in Westeros? Not really, one would have to get a septon or someone from the free cities Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hnv Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 Westeros was surprisingly willing to take part in a pan-continental institution like the Night Watch. So it's quite possible the Citadel also enjoyed this trans-political status Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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