Game of Thrones doesn’t offer its characters a lot of paths to power. The obvious options are attaining a noble birthright or killing someone and taking their spot. Skilled warriors could fight their way to knighthood. Pious souls can join the Faith of the Seven. The scholarly sort has only one perfect path. They can study at the Citadel and wear a maester’s chain. The highest office among the maesters is the Grand Maester, and their position is critical.
Most Game of Thrones stories follow the perspective of a single character. Point-of-view icons like Jon Snow and Tyrion Lannister enjoy plenty of time to explore their experiences. Some older narratives require the voice of a scholar to study and explain the details. The franchise has a unique take on history, shrouding most of its details in the mystery of faulty record-keeping. Stories become a bit more reliable, though still fictional, once people like the maesters start writing everything down.
Who created the Grand Maester position?
Aegon the Conqueror changed so much about Westeros. His campaign of brutal violence united the Seven Kingdoms into a governmental system for the first time. He became the first man to sit on the Iron Throne and claim its noble title. As the trendsetter, Aegon had to establish many of the traditions that became central to his role. He created the small council, a group of counselors who provided wisdom and guidance to the new king. Despite his cruelty on the battlefield, Aegon became a student of the culture and traditions of his new property. He became a rigorous student of the maesters. This led him to establish the office of the Grand Maester. He frequently traveled the Seven Kingdoms with six maesters, learning everything he could about Westeros and its people. To ensure his policies and information would remain accurate and up-to-date, he asked the maesters to elect one representative and spirited him away to the Red Keep. That position would remain for the following centuries.
What does the Grand Maester do?
The average maester studies at a college called the Citadel. The Citadel emerged after a King of the High Tower gathered hundreds of educated men to sate his son’s curiosities. Maesters often serve noble families in their castles. They teach children, advise lords, and maintain the raven messaging system to allow for distant communication. The Grand Maester provides the same services to the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms. Every Grand Maester serves the office, rather than the king in it. The Grand Maester is a democratically elected position. The archmaesters, who spend most of their time teaching new maesters, vote to appoint the Grand Maester. They often decide based on family name rather than scholarly ability. This regularly leads to very old men falling into the position and dying shortly after their appointment.
Grand Maesters are meant to be the most impartial advisors on a king’s council. Maesters give up their family name when they don the chain. They can no longer inherit their parents’ property. They’re supposed to abandon any political ties to their family, but many maintain old alliances. This often leads to clashes between Grand Maesters and kings. The assembled Conclave of archmaesters appoints the Grand Maester, and only they can remove that appointment. Other noble figures can remove the scholar from his position, but they can’t choose a new Grand Maester. Kings do sometimes execute their advisors. Maegor the Cruel killed three Grand Maesters. Aegon II Targaryen fed one of his to a dragon. It’s far from a safe position, but most serve out their short careers in the luxury of the Red Keep. Barbrey Dustin sums up a maester’s role like this:
Every great lord has his maester, every lesser lord aspires to one. If you do not have a maester, it is taken to mean that you are of little consequence.
Who is the Grand Maester in Game of Thrones?
Pycelle is the Grand Maester under six kings. He gained the role during the reign of Aegon V Targaryen. After his third Grand Maester dies on the journey to the Red Keep, Aegon the Unlikely wisely suggests hiring a younger Grand Maester. The Conclave picks 44-year-old Pycelle. He went on to serve for 40 years until his death at 84. His position changed dramatically under different lords. His eventual death came as a consequence of politics, which he dutifully avoided in most cases. The show sees him replaced by Samwell Tarly, but the books haven’t caught up to that point.
The Grand Maester is in a critical position in the Red Keep. Aegon the Conqueror finished his conquest and set to work, learning everything he could about his new domain. The Seven Kingdoms are frequently ruled by cruel, sadistic monsters. The Grand Maester provides at least one sensible voice in the small council to keep things running smoothly. They are very rarely rewarded for the service they provide.
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