A Mages Guild scholar; ©Bethesda Softworks
The symbol of the Mages Guild
A Mages Guild banner in the late Third Era; ©Bethesda Softworks
The Mages Guild was an organisation of sorcerers and scholars dedicated to the exploration of arcane knowledge, and was the predecessor of the Synod. The Guild was once prominent across all of Tamriel, holding great degrees of political influence. However, after they (along with many other magic practicioners) were blamed for the Oblivion Crisis, they saw their influence dwindle until Titus I Mede eventually dissolved the guild to curry favour from both commoners and nobles alike.
A full member of the Mages Guild was called a 'mage'. There were also apprentices, Guildmagisters, and a council of six Archmagisters, one of which lead the Guild as the Archmage.
Organisation[]
Structure[]
The Guild was composed of dozens of guildhalls in various cities across Tamriel. Each guildhall was led by a Guildmagister, who led their guildhall as a semi-autonomous entity within their respective cities. Guildmagisters would answer to a Council of Mages, composed of six distinguished Guildmagisters, known as Archmagisters, chosen through an unknown and archaic voting process. One of the six Archmagisters were elected as the Guild's Archmage.
Both the Council and the Archmage largely kept themselves out of the affairs of individual guildhalls, though regulations dictated by either of the former needed to be adopted by the latter.
Leadership[]
The Council of Mages was considered to be the Guild's leading body, represented by a lifetime elected Archmage, and composed of Archmagisters chosen from among the many available Guildmagisters. It is unknown exactly how a Guildmagister is chosen to become an Archmagister on the Council, but several reports tell of how complex the process is. This is in stark contrast with the process for electing an Archmage from among the Council, which required a majority vote by the six Archmagisters. Additionally, to remove an Archmage a unanimous vote by all five Archmagisters (excluding the Archmage) was required to remove the sitting leader from their position.
The Council rarely ever made specific decisions regarding how individual guildhalls should perform, but rather set the general goals and policies for the Guild to follow. If a new composition of the Schools of Magic was proposed, it was reviewed and approved by the Council, though responsibility fell to Guildmagisters to enforce the new change in whatever manner they viewed to be most effective.
Recruitment[]
The Guild, especially in its early days under Vanus Galerion, was very liberal in its recruitment. The Guild wanted to set itself apart from other magical organisations such as the Psijic Order, who were comparatively elitest in their thinking. As such, as long as a prospective member was willing to pay the membership fee and participate in magical learning, they were welcome within their local guildhall.
Near the end of the Third Era the recruitment policy was known to be more stringent, requiring a prospective member receive a letter of reccomendation from three current guildmembers. These typically were done in the form of performing favours, which helped to establish bonds between members of the Guild. However, bribery, blackmail, and less honourable methods were also known to be used to acquire reccomendations.
Practices[]
The Mages Guild taught and encouraged scholarly and magical pursuits, though the latter was greatly restricted as the Guild forbade the practice of necromancy (allowing only white necromancy), and required any daedric magic, such as summoning daedric creatures, be heavily regulated.
The Guild attempted to codify magic itself into several schools, many of which are still used today and maintained by the Synod. The schools included Alteration, Conjuration, Destruction, Illusion, Mysticism, Restoration, and Thaumaturgy, though Thaumaturgy was eventually done away with as it was too broad and too vague a school. It is said that the creation of magical schools aided mages' understanding of magic, and allowed them to learn at a much faster rate.
History[]
The Guild was founded in 2E 230 by the sorcerer Vanus Galerion, who acquired the approval for the creation of the guild from Lord Sirion Rilis of Firsthold and Ritemaster Iachesis of the Psijic Order. Shortly after the Guild's founding the knightly Order of the Lamp was formed as the Guild's principle form of defence, who were used to escort Mages Guild scholars on expeditions, and to protect guildhalls. While the Order was a knightly one, it is said that they accepted all kinds of knights, and worked to expand their numbers as much as possible to accomodate the many guildhalls.
The aim of the Guild was to bring magic and magical pratices to the commonfolk of the Summerset Isles, and for reduced prices or entirely free. This mission was eventually spread to the entire Second Empire when Potentate Versidue-Shaie signed the Guild Act in 2E 321, formally legalising a variety of guilds in the Empire, including the Mages Guild, allowing them to establish themselves freely in imperial cities. Additionally, the Guild took a strong stance against the practice of necromancy, and heavily regulated the use of daedric magic such as the summoning of daedra. These dramatic retrictions pushed many sorcerers to join other magical orders, such as the Order of the Black Worm, which encouraged the study of any and every magical or scholarly pursuit. However, while the Mages Guild strictly banned necromancy, it did engage in white necromancy, which involves the basic manipulation of souls for a variety of non-malevolent uses.
The hierarchy of the Guild expanded significantly over the centuries, and with it the power of the Archmage over the Guild. During the time of Vanus Galerion, the Guild's founder, the title of Archmagister did not exist, and there was no Council of Mages presiding over the Guild's fuctions. The Archmage was instead elected directly by the Guildmagisters of each guildhall in Tamriel. Additionally, to remove an Archmage only a two-thirds majority vote of participating Guildmagisters was required. This changed over the Guild's development, as eventually there was established the six positions of Archmagister, as well as the Council of Mages. Until the day of the Guild's dissolution during the reign of Titus I Mede, a unanimous vote of no-confidence was required from all five Archmagisters, a number that was virtually impossible and had only been achieved a handful of times in the Guild's history.
Planemeld Crisis[]
Oblivion Crisis[]
Notable Members[]
Archmages[]
- Vanus Galerion
- Hannibal Traven
Other Members[]
Quotes[]
Notes[]
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