Citadel

Layout

  The Citadel lies on the Honeywine, where its towers and domes are connected with arching stone bridges. Houses and stalls sit on the bridges. It lies upriver compared to the Starry Sept and Battle Island. The gates are flanked by a pair of tall green sphinxes with the bodies of lions, the wings of eagles and the tails of serpents. One has the face of a man, the other a woman.  

Scribe's Hearth

  Just inside the gates of the Citadel lies the Scribe's Hearth. Here, the citizens of Oldtown come to hire scribes, usually acolytes, to write and read letters for them. The scribes wait in open stalls for their custom. Other stalls situated at the Scribe's Hearth include those where books are bought and sold. Others offer maps.  

Weeping Dock

From this dock, one can get a boat for a short voyage to the Bloody Isle.  

Seneschal's Court

Outside the Seneschal's Court lies the stocks where acolytes and novices are punished for minor crimes, such as petty thievery. Inside the doors is a hall with a stone floor and high, arched windows. At the far end of the hall there is a raised dais where a gatekeeper greets all those who wish to make an appointment to see the Seneschal. Behind the dais is a turnpike stair.  

Isle of Ravens

The Isle of Ravens is linked to the eastern bank of the Honeywine by a weathered wooden drawbridge. On the island is located the Ravenry, the oldest building of the Citadel. The walls of the Ravenry are covered in moss and vines, and within its yard sits a weirwood tree on which the ravens like to perch. The rookery for white ravens is located in the west tower, and that of black ravens is found in the north tower.  

Library and Vaults

The vast Library of the Citadel is known to be a great repository of knowledge.   The Citadel has four glass candles, one green in color and three black. Before an acolyte says his vows, he spends the night prior in the darkness of the Citadel's vault. The acolyte can attempt to light an obsidian candle, though acolytes rarely succeed and the few who have are encouraged to study the higher mysteries over any other subject. The Citadel also has a stuffed Little Valyrian https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Little_Valyrian on display, but its fur fell out as students patted it for luck over the years.  

History

Origin

  In the Age of Heroes, the Ravenry was supposedly the stronghold of a pirate lord who picked off ships as they came down the Honeywine.   The origin of the Citadel is disputed, but House Hightower is generally considered to have played an integral role in its foundation. Most accounts on the Citadel's origins credit its foundation to Prince Peremore the Twisted, the second son of King Uthor of the High Tower. The curious Peremore invited numerous scholars, including wise men, teachers, priests, healers, singers, wizards, alchemists, and sorcerers, to Oldtown. After Peremore's death, his brother, King Urrigon, granted land alongside the Honeywine to "Peremore's pets", who developed the tract into the maesters' Citadel.   House Hightower continues to be a strong patron of learning.   Iron Throne There are reports of Aegon and Visenya Targaryen visiting the Citadel in their youth. During Aegon's Conquest, Lord Manfred Hightower submitted to the Conqueror to prevent the destruction of Oldtown by dragonflame.   Bones of giants found in the north have been sent to the Citadel for study. Archmaester Gyldayn's history of Aegon's Conquest has recently been published and is by all accounts a fairly accurate accounting of events, unlike some other books which are mostly written from folk songs and tall tales.