I recently got a friend into the books and he's asked me how the White Tower makes money. I thought this was a good question as the books don't really mention it. I'm guessing its mainly taxing Tar Valon and possible donations from some of the nations. They always seem to have loads of money in any case.
What do you guys think?
It seems to be a combination of factors.
The White Tower owns property (we've seen a farm that some of there troublesome Novices are sent to so we can infer there are many more) and is probably living off of the taxes from the trade that goes through Tar Valon. It is known as a cosmopolitan city with a form of currency that is recognized in most forms of the world, so there must be strong investments and deposits going on since the banks would be so secure there:
The Tower maintains it's own bank, which is considered the oldest and safest in Randland. It can be assumed that it collects fees and interest in the course of conducting it's usual business. [NS 13]
The Tower used to collect a monthly tribute from the nations, however this practice has fallen into disuse with only the Borderlands still continuing the tradition. [TGS 18: A Message in Haste]
(from the site: http://wotfaq.dragonmount.com/node/134)
Also, while they aren't quite in the same regard as priestesses, I would think that there are devout people who would donate to them in the same way religious believers in the real world tithe 10% of their earnings. It also seems that each Ajah has administrators that manage the overall finances of its' members ("A new sister is given dresses, carpets and furnishings out of the Ajah’s finances (New Spring, Entering Home)." from Linda Sedai's awesome site: http://13depository.blogspot.com/2002/03/aes-sedai-laws-and-customs.html)).
Last but not least, women of means who trained at the Tower would still have access to their wealth. Upon their deaths or by design, a portion of all of their wealth might be given to their Ajah or Aes Sedai in their wills.
We don't see the Sisters who dealt with Tar Valon's Council, but it would be reasonable to think that they would be knowledgeable about economics, business and investments. These same women might serve as advisors to rulers or wealthy individuals. We do know, for example, that there are members of the White Ajah who apply mathematics to thinks like spoilage during the latter part of the series. They probably use this knowledge to calculate logistics and agricultural needs for the city and other purposes.
*NM*
- 23/03/2013 01:18:09 AM
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