The Citadel is a complex of buildings housing the order of the maesters in Oldtown. The name refers to the high council of the maesters and sometimes the entire organization. The Citadel houses archmaesters who teach and train the acolytes and novices before they earn their complete maester’s chain. The building also has a gigantic library which contains some of the most elusive information about Westeros and the Known World. To finance the operation of the complex, many lords pay tributes to the order of the maesters.
The Citadel began when Prince Peremore’s brother gave the lands around the Honeywine to the scholars, healers, wise men, and sorcerers his brother had entertained while he was alive. The Citadel was built in the lands received, and a new order arose.
Schematics
The Citadel’s domes and towers are connected by arching stone bridges along the Honeywine. There are houses and stalls atop the bridges, and the complex’s gate has a pair of tall green sphinxes with the bodies of lions, the tail of a serpent, and the wings of eagles. Each sphinx has a human face, one being a man and the other a woman.
The Scribe’s Hearth
Just inside the Citadel lies the Scribe’s Hearth. It is a place where the folks of Oldtown visit to have their letters read and written. The acolytes in open stalls handle most letter jobs. Besides the Hearth, there are other stalls where people can buy books and maps.
Seneschal’s Court
The Seneschal’s Court is the primary institution for judging future maesters. Just outside the court are the stocks, where novices and acolytes who have committed common offenses like thievery are put in and stoned with rotten fruit. The Seneschal court has high arched windows and stone floors, and at its far end is a raised dias where people meet a gatekeeper who greets those wishing to make an appointment with the Seneschal.
The Isle of Ravens
The Isle of Ravens is connected to the eastern bank of the Honeywine and houses the Ravenry, the oldest building in the Citadel. Vines and moss cover its walls. Within its yard is a weirwood tree where ravens perch. The white raven rookery, where the ravens used to send messages for the end of seasons, is on the west tower.
Library and Vaults
The Citadel’s library is among the largest repositories of knowledge in the known world. It contains books reaching as far back as the Age of Heroes. There are copies of rare books like ‘Lives of Four Kings’ and ‘The Fires of the Freehold.’ Beneath the Citadel is a vault said to contain the only remaining copy of ‘Fire and Blood.’ Other materials in the vaults and library include fragments of ‘Dragons, Wyrms, and Wyverns: Their Unnatural History,’ by Septon Barth, and ballads regaling the Kings of Winter.
Glass Candles
There are four obsidian candles in the Citadel. One is green, and the others are black. The candles are crucial to the graduation ceremony for acolytes turning into maesters. On the night before saying their vows, acolytes stay in a room and try lighting a dragonglass candle. If unsuccessful, they remain in the dark for the entire night. The tradition teaches the new maesters the value of knowledge.
History
Origin
There are many uncertainties and arguments about the creation of the Citadel, but House Hightower receives the primary credit for the order of maester’s creation. Most accounts claim Prince Peremore the Twisted started what would become the order of the maesters. He was said to have invited men from all intellectual works of life to Oldtown, and when he died, his brother, King Urrigon, gave the intellectuals land across the Honeywine, which they used to construct the Citadel.
Targaryens and the Iron Throne
Many reports claim that Aegon Targaryen and his sister, Visenya Targaryen, visited the Citadel in their youth. When Aegon led the conquest of the Seven Kingdoms, Manfred Hightower bent the knee, preventing the destruction of Oldtown.
In 54 AC, Queen Alyssane Targaryen visited the Citadel and attended lectures. She then tried pushing for the maesters to accept noble women. However, they rejected her request. While sailing to the Sunset Sea, Lord Alyn Velaron visited the Citadel to study ancient charts and Valyrian treaties.
When giants’ bones were found in the North, the Citadel received them for further studies. Most maesters lost belief in magic as they claimed all traces of the supernatural disappeared with the death of the last dragons.
Relevance in A Song of Ice and Fire
A Storm of Swords
When the Conclave learns of Grand Maester Pycelle’s removal, they meet to choose the next leader. Varys discovers the Citadel plans on choosing Archmaester Gormon, a former member of House Tyrell. He tells Lord Tywin Lannister in King’s Landing, who reinstates Pycelle to reduce the Tyrells’ influence. Meanwhile, maester Aemon sends ravens from the Night’s Watch, asking for help against the wildlings.
A Feast for Crows
Pate, a novice at the Citadel, meets and talks with his friends. He learns that the glass candles are beginning to burn. He meets an alchemist who promises him a gold dragon in exchange for an archmaester key. On biting the coin, Pate is poisoned and dies.
Jon Snow, the Lord Commander of the Night’s Watch, sends Samwell Tarly from Castle Black to the Citadel so he can become the maester of the Watch. Sam leaves with Gilly and Aemon and later learns Jon has swapped Gilly’s baby. On reaching the Citadel, Sam meets Archmaester Marwyn and tells him about Aemon’s interpretation of the prophecy of the prince promised before his death. He also sees Pate, who is a disguised assassin of the Faceless Men.
Relevance in Adaptation
The Citadel was the pinnacle of knowledge in HBO’s Game of Thrones. When Sam arrives, he starts learning about the history of Westeros. When he meets Ser Jorah Mormont, he agrees to help him cure his greyscale. Sam later confesses to Daenerys Targaryen that he took some books from the Citadel.
The Citadel: The Home of Knowledge
The Citadel is a prestigious institution that values knowledge over everything. It had people dedicated to finding elusive information. However, it had flaws. There were corrupt individuals within, and no matter how much the maesters wanted to be the best, they could never remove the corruption of their humanity.
