Mages Guild The Mages Guild is a guild dedicated to the collection , preservation , and distribution of magic al knowledge with an emphasis on ensuring that all citizen s of Tamriel benefit from this knowledge . Members of the Guild receive many benefits , including training , services , and education in the established laws regarding the proper use of magic . There are small guild halls in all of the cities in Cyrodiil . But the Guild ' s main building , the Arcane University , is located in Imperial City . In Skyrim , the equivalent of the Mages Guild is the College of Winterhold . The guild is lead by an Arch - Mage and guided by the Council of Mages . History . Origin . The Mages Guild started in the early years of the Second Era . Previously , the only organization with a similar aim and structure to the Mages Guild was the Psijic Order of the Isle of Artaeum . Vanus Galerion , a Psijic of Artaeum and student of the famed Iachesis , began organizing users of magic from around Summerset Isle at the urban city of Firsthold . At the time , this gathering and conduction of magical experiments in populated areas was considered unacceptable . Even more shocking , Galerion proposed to make magical items , potions , and even spells available to any member of the general public who could afford to pay . Galerion was brought before Iachesis and the King of Firsthold , Rilis XII , and made to state the intentions of the fraternity he was forming . Although it ' s not recorded what he said to convince them , the charter was approved , and the Mages Guild was born . Expansion . Like a tree from an acorn , the Mages Guild grew branches all over Summerset Isle and gradually the mainland of Tamriel . Although initially the Guild was rejected in some areas of Tamriel , eventually it was accepted and became a powerful force in Tamriel . There have been only a few rare incidents of the Mages Guild actually becoming involved in local political struggles . On these occasions , the Guild ' s participation has been the ultimate decider in the conflict . Infrastructure . As begun by Vanus Galerion , the Mages Guild as an institution is presided over by a supreme council of six Arch - Mage s , with subsequent masters over certain Areas , creating a pseudo - bureaucracy . One need not be a member of the Mages Guild to know that this carefully contrived hierarchy is often nothing more than a chimera . As Vanus Galerion himself said bitterly , leaving Tamriel to travel to other lands , " The Guild has become nothing more than an intricate morass of political infighting . " Provincial Chapters . High Rock . Multiple Mages Guild headquarters existed in the Second and Third eras in the Glenumbra and Stormhaven regions surrounding Illiac Bay , along with guildhalls in Rivenspire and Bangkorai during the Second . A Mages Guild was also established in the Second Orsinium under the orders of King Kurog , who sought to have magical studies integrated as part of Orcish education . Hammerfell . During Forbear High King Fahara ' jad ' s rule in 2E 582 , the Mages Guild had headquarters in Sentinel , Hallin ' s Stand , Belkarth , Bergama , and Kozanset . The Guild came fairly late in the Crown - supporting areas compared to other provinces , the one in Stros M ' kai being set up in only 2E 660 . According to Cyrus , the traditional Redguards had a dislike against magic due to the historic conflict with the Left - handed Elves . Morrowind . There is a Mages Guild in Morrowind , lead by Arch - Mage Trebonius Artorius . Mages Guild chapters are " established in Guild - owned , free - standing guildhalls in the towns of Ald ' ruhn , Balmora , and Caldera " , with additional guildhalls existing in Vivec City and Wolverine Hall in Sadrith Mora " . The most notable event from this province was the discovery of the reason for the Dwemer ' s disappearance . A mages guild existed at one point in Gnisis , but was later abandoned for reasons unknown . They also are often in conflict with the other Magic - users of Vvardenfell , House Telvanni . It also appears that the Guild was responsible for the education of the population of Vvardenfell , as seen in Ilmeni Dren ' s Literacy Campaign . Cyrodiil . In Cyrodiil , the heart of the Empire , the Mages Guild is headed by the Arcane University . With exclusive and selective membership , the University is a place of learning for mages both experienced and not . The Council of Mages , centered by the Arch - Mage , leads the Arcane University . Each city in Cyrodiil , excluding Kvatch , hosts a guildhall of Mages . Each city specializes in a specific School of Magicka . Entrance into the Arcane University requires associate s of the guild to receive recommendations from the leader of each guild hall . In 3E 431 , Arch - Mage Hannibal Traven instated a highly controversial ban on Necromancy , which inevitably lead to the returned presence of Mannimarco , King of Worms . The guild was dismantled sometime after the Oblivion Crisis . Members of the guild split into the College of Whispers and The Synod . Skyrim . In 2E 582 , there were Mages Guildhalls present in Riften , Nimalten , Shor ' s Stone , Windhelm , and Fort Amol . As of the Fourth Era , no official Mages Guild exists in Skyrim , although the College of Winterhold is begrudgingly considered its counterpart . Led by an Arch - Mage and a Master - Wizard , the guild accepts new students based on spell - casting merit , which must be demonstrated upon entrance into the college . The guild holds a fluid stance on the practice of necromancy , unlike the Arcane University , although its practice is considered taboo outside of the college . The College dates back to the Second Era , and sometime during the institution ' s history , it acquired the Ysmir Collective , a library dating more than 700 years . After Morrowind was invaded by the Argonian s and the Red Mountain erupted , several Dunmer refugees emerged at the college . Sometime there after , a cataclysmic event known as the Great Collapse destroyed Winterhold , the city surrounding it . Many speculate aftershock from Red Mountain ' s eruption caused the event , while most blame the mages of the college , causing much discord between the citizens of Skyrim which persists even into the age of the Dragon Crisis .