Maester Aemon is a character in season one, two, four and five of the series Game of Thrones. The character roles are played by a guest star Peter Vaughan who debuts in the ‘Lord Snow’. The Maester title is earned by Aemon as he is the master at Castle Black and the closest advisers of the Lord Commander in the Night’s Watch.
At birth, his name is Aemon Targaryen, the last of the Targaryen in Westeros. Aemon is the great-uncle of Daenerys Targaryen, who is in exile in Essos, completely oblivious of Aemon’s existence. Aemon’s whereabouts have been forgotten and can rarely be recalled by anyone since he has abided by his allegiance as a master and a close brother of the Night’s Watch for several decades.
Aemon is born into the royal House Targaryen, the son of King Maekar I. Since he was not the eldest son, he automatically joined the order of Maesters. He forwent all his entitlements to inheritance shortly after he took his vows, which also forced him to forego his surname of Targaryen.
In the coming days, his older brothers kicked the bucket and some people strongly felt that the crown should be passed to him, this is despite the fact that he had been sworn in as a maester. In response and to his best interest, Aemon turned down the request to assume the throne. Instead, the throne went to his younger brother, who was crowned King Aegon V. Aemon later joined the Night’s Watch in order to isolate himself from the political ongoing of the royal court and evade those who were intent on setting him up against his brother the king.
Time passed by and the crown was handed over to Aerys II who was Aegon V’s son and Aemon’s nephew, who was called The Mad King. Aerys was immensely hated by the people. This hatred ultimately gave rise to the infamous Robert’s Rebellion, which led to the extermination and untimely ending of the Targaryen dynasty. Upon realizing what had befell his family in the King’s Landing, Aemon was clouded with sadness which he bears to this day.
One hundred years down the line, Aemon is supposed to be among the oldest men in Westeros, though his mind is still very clear in judgment. Up until now, he has served as the master at Castle Black for a good number of years now. Albeit sad, Aemon goes blind because of old age and relies on the assistance of others to perform his duties as a maester like handling messages.