# Wizard of Earthsea: Who were the Seven Masters at the Wizards School? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 14, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-earthsea-who-were-the-seven-masters-at-the-wizards-school/804456 "2017-12-14T00:57:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-earthsea-who-were-the-seven-masters-at-the-wizards-school/804456/1 "2017-12-14T00:57:29Z")
If I remember, there were The Master Doorkeeper, the Master Summoner, the Master Patterner - what were the other titles? And was it the Master Doorkeeper that Ged meets again towards the end of his schooling and realises that he was more than just a Doorkeeper, but the Wizard responsible for the security of the school? ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-earthsea-who-were-the-seven-masters-at-the-wizards-school/804456/2 "2017-12-14T02:35:56Z")
I can’t find my copy of _Wizard of Earthsea_, but I found _The Farthest Shore_, which says there are 9 apart from the Archmage. It’s possible that Le Guin added 2 for the later book; her work does tend to evolve. (I’m thinking especially of _Tehanu, the Last Book of Earthsea_, which struck me as so different in tone from the first 3 that even though the main characters are named Ged and Tenar, they’re really different people) These are the 9 Masters named in _The Farthest Shore_ Master Doorkeeper Master Namer Master Patterner Master Chanter Master Herbal Master Changer Master Windkey Master Summoner Master Hand And yes, when Ged comes back from a year or so of studying with the Master Namer, Kurremkarmerruk, in the Isolate Tower, the Master Doorkeeper challenges him in a way that shows that he’s in charge of keeping out danger. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-earthsea-who-were-the-seven-masters-at-the-wizards-school/804456/3 "2017-12-14T02:38:51Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > If I remember, there were The Master Doorkeeper, the Master Summoner, the Master Patterner - what were the other titles? Nine - the Nine Masters of Roke. In addition the those listed above, the other ones mentioned are Master Windkey, Master Chanter, Master Changer, Master Hand, Master Herbal, and Master Namer. Then there is the Archmage. ETA: Ah, ninja’ed. ---
**Author:** ![gkster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gkster/32/14107_2.png) [@gkster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gkster)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-earthsea-who-were-the-seven-masters-at-the-wizards-school/804456/4 "2017-12-14T02:44:27Z")
Good to see there are other Earthsea fans around! I’ve known and loved the books since the mid 1970s. Tamerlane, are there 9 masters in the first book? And what do people think of _Tehanu, the Last Book of Earthsea_? ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-earthsea-who-were-the-seven-masters-at-the-wizards-school/804456/5 "2017-12-14T02:48:53Z")
> [@gkster](#): > > Good to see there are other Earthsea fans around! I’ve known and loved the books since the mid 1970s. > Tamerlane, are there 9 masters in the first book? Certainly not named - I don’t even think they named a full seven. I vaguely remember being annoyed by that :D. ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-earthsea-who-were-the-seven-masters-at-the-wizards-school/804456/6 "2017-12-14T03:04:26Z")
I thoight Tehanu was a mixed bag. I liked the story generally, but I sort of didn’t like what LeGuin did with Tenar and Ged. Not that it was inappropriate, just that I first read the original trilogy as a child and Sparrowhawk has always been a hero of mine, Earthsea a place I wanted to explore. It also makes me hungry for more backstory about Earthsea and its legends myths and magics (who built the stone wall for example) ---
**Author:** ![Grestarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grestarian/32/3227_2.png) [@Grestarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grestarian)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2017, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-earthsea-who-were-the-seven-masters-at-the-wizards-school/804456/7 "2017-12-14T06:10:16Z")
In my copy of the trilogy (there are five, by the way), I see in the first book a passage in which the protagonist contemplates that there are Nine masters of Roke: Changer, Chanter, Hand, Herbal, Namer, Patterner, Summoner, and Windkey. Plus there was the Archmage and, lastly, the Doorkeeper whom you mentioned. Tehanu was a let-down at the end. I was hoping The Other Wind would undo that but it didn’t, for me. I have a galley copy because the company I was working for published it. So it’s on my shelf with the others, but after all those years gone by it seemed like a decent read and it was rather topical at the time, but it didn’t feel quite as good. –G! ---
**Author:** ![DorkVader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/73ab20/32.png) [@DorkVader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DorkVader)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2017, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-earthsea-who-were-the-seven-masters-at-the-wizards-school/804456/8 "2017-12-16T16:35:24Z")
Ahh, that’s right! I’d forgotten about the fifth book, in which the story of the founding of the School at Roke was told. IIRC there was originally a Master Finder (one of the founders of the School) a Title/Position that was eventually eliminated wasn’t there? I would look it up but, alas, I loaned all my Earthsea books out to my nieces, and have never gotten them back. That, I think, was where I read maddeningly tantalizing hints about the building of the stone wall. ETA No, it was in Tehanu, that the hints were given, I’m certain. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [December 16, 2017, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/wizard-of-earthsea-who-were-the-seven-masters-at-the-wizards-school/804456/9 "2017-12-16T17:28:52Z")
> [@guestchaz](#): > > Ahh, that’s right! I’d forgotten about the fifth book, in which the story of the founding of the School at Roke was told. I just re-read the entire original trilogy and also read the more recent books for the first time, and I think you’re thinking of _Tales from Earthsea_ (2001). It’s a collection of short stories set in Earthsea, including one about the founding of the wizard school (“The Finder”). The book also contains some lengthy notes on the history and culture of the Earthsea world. _The Other Wind_, which was also published in 2001, is a novel and a direct sequel to _Tehanu_ (1990), although one of the stories in _Tales from Earthsea_ (“Dragonfly”) takes place in between _Tehanu_ and _The Other Wind_. > [@](#): > > That, I think, was where I read maddeningly tantalizing hints about the building of the stone wall. > > ETA No, it was in Tehanu, that the hints were given, I’m certain. I’m not sure what you’re referring to here, but _The Other Wind_ explains why there’s a wall between the living world and realm of the dead.