What happened to the Mages and Fighters Guilds

Question

In The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, one of the mages in the College of Winterhold, when asked about Necromancy being despised by the Nords, says something like:

Those Arcanic views vanished along with the Mage's Guild. Necromancy, like any other magic, is a tool to be used.

From my point of view the College of Winterhold serves as the Mages Guild and the Companions serves as the Fighters Guild in Skyrim, however from what I remember both the Mages and Fighters Guilds in Morrowind and Oblivion were more Tamrial (or at least Empire) wide organizations, so they should have had Guilds in Skyrim.

Since the Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood are still in operation in Skyrim I am wondering what happened to the Mages and Fighters Guilds in the 200 years since the end of the 3rd era (the end of the Oblivion Crisis), are they just gone from Skyrim or gone from the world?

Answer 1

Mages Guild

Tamriel's Mages Guild was dissolved in the beginning of the Fourth Era, directly following the Oblivion Crisis. From one of Skyrim's loading screen tips:

The College of Winterhold is an independent organization, and thus was not affected by the dissolution of the Mages Guild at the beginning of the Fourth Era.

Apparently, the dissolution was due to the Oblivion Crisis itself. Common folk blamed the disaster on magic, and the Mages Guild was a simple scapegoat. The UESP cites a (real) book, The Infernal City, as supporting this conclusion - I admit, I've never read it.

Afterward, the Mages Guild splintered into the Synod (one of whom you meet during the Winterhold College questline), and the College of Whispers.

Fighters Guild

Unlike the Mages Guild, the Fighters Guild is actually still around - just not in Skyrim. From another loading screen:

Tamriel's Fighters Guild has no presence in Skyrim. Instead, warriors seeking adventure and kinship may join the Companions, in Whiterun.

It's likely that the Guild didn't succeed in extending to Skyrim because, as noted in another answer, the Companions were founded and held cultural significance in Skyrim long before the Fighters Guild existed.

Answer 2

If Serana is to be believed, the College of Winterhold is older than the Mages Guild, dating back to the First Era at least. If you only go by the documents held by the College, then it is approximately the same age as the Guild. Likely, the Mages Guild doesn't have a hold in Skyrim because the College served the same purpose before the Guild could spread that far.

The Companions date back to the Merethic Era; the Five Hundred Companions of Ysgramor were an army which played a vital role during the Return. The mead hall Jorrvaskr which you find the Companions inhabiting in Skyrim is made from one of the original longboats of the Five Hundred Companions, and the town of Whiterun was built around it. In comparison, the Fighters Guild was established in the Second Era, long after the Companions existed and their mead hall was built. There was simply no need for the Guild to extend into Skyrim, when the Companions served the same purpose and got there first.

Answer 3

So I dont see this shared much but as a fan of oblivion and skyrim I can conclude what happened. The lore of oblivion is 100% Completion. Meaning the main character really did get all those titles before leaving. Where did he go? He became the mad god Sheogorath. Thus the guilds were left without the leader and most of the oblivion guilds are only a fraction of what they once were. A guild without leadership is destined to fail. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/NQPaeLtfXNU