Archmaester

Archmaester is a title in Game of Thrones, held by the highest ranking members of the Order of Maesters.

The assembled council of Archmaesters is known as the Conclave, and resides in the headquarters of the order at the Citadel in Oldtown.

Known Archmaesters

 * Ch'vyalthan - Known for writing the book, "An History of the Great Sieges of Westeros". It is not known when he lived or if he is still alive.

In the books
Much like the professors in a university faculty, each of the archmaesters is the foremost expert in a specific field, such as the archmaester of medicine or the archmaester of economics, etc. This is in contrast with the ruling council of the Faith of the Seven, the Most Devout, whose members have no official distinction between themselves. While each archmaester is thus not interchangeable, in theory each archmaester is equal, each casting one vote when when the assembled Conclave of archmaesters elects a new Grand Maester.

In practice, of course, archmaesters of certain areas of study are considered more prestigious than others. For example, the archmaesters of medicine or economics are held in high esteem, while archmaesters of obscure topics such as magic tend to be ostracized.