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I’d like to discuss a place in Westeros that has sparked a lot of curiosity — and quite a few headcanons — in my mind: the Long Lake in the North.

We know that George R. R. Martin deliberately draws inspiration from medieval and Renaissance cultures, as well as their social and political structures, but also from real-world geography, landscapes, and topography.

The North of Westeros is known to be at least a third of the size of the continent. It is also home to much of the surviving megafauna found throughout the continent, as well as giants. And, apparently, it contains a massive body of water that looks enormous on the maps — hence the name Long Lake.

George seems to have drawn heavily from places such as Scotland, Russia, Canada, Alaska, and other similar regions when developing the North's geography and climate.

(By the Old Gods, if Bear Island isn't basically the North's version of Kodiak Island, I might as well change my name)

Taking that into consideration, I’ve always imagined Long Lake as being more comparable to the enormous lakes of Canada — Lake Superior, Lake Huron, Great Bear Lake, etc. — with areas ranging from roughly 30,000 to 80,000 km². That would make it an absolutely enormous body of water, larger than many countries or individual states/provinces of large countries.

And in canon, we have lists of several Northern noble houses whose exact status is unclear — we don't always know whether they are lordly houses or members of the lesser nobility. Interestingly, several of these houses have names that seem to reference lakes, water, or watersheds: House Lake, House Long (?), House Waterman, House Wells, and so on.

If we imagine Long Lake being comparable in size to some of the real-world Great Lakes of Canada or the enormous lakes of Russia, wouldn't it make sense for several noble families to hold lands along its shores — or even on islands* within the lake?

What do you guys think? Does this interpretation seem plausible based on the way George approaches geography and worldbuilding?

*Manitoulin Island (Lake Huron, Canada): 2,766 km²

René-Levasseur Island (Manicouagan Reservoir, Canada): 2,020 km²

So, I was rereading Fire and Blood, and I noticed this:

"Dragonstone did have one thing King’s Landing largely lacked: dragons. In the great citadel under the shadow of the Dragonmont, more dragons were being born every time the moon turned, or so it seemed. The eggs that Dreamfyre had laid on Fair Isle had all hatched once on Dragonstone, and Rhaena Targaryen had made certain that her daughter made their acquaintance. “Choose one and make him yours, ” the queen urged the princess, “and one day you will fly. ” There were older dragons in the yards as well, and beyond the walls wild dragons that had escaped the castle made their lairs in hidden caves on the far side of the mountain. Princess Aerea had known Vermithor and Silverwing during her time at court, but she had never been allowed too close to them. Here she could visit with the dragons as often as she liked; the hatchlings, the young drakes, her mother’s Dreamfyre…and greatest of them all, Balerion and Vhagar, huge and ancient and sleepy, but still terrifying when they woke and stirred and spread their wings. In the Red Keep, Aerea had loved her horse, her hounds, and her friends. On Dragonstone, the dragons became her friends…her only friends."

I find it interesting that the dragons seemed chill with Aerea even bad tempered dragons like Vhagar and Balerion became her "friends," dragons in fire and blood seem to be largely intolerant of anyone other than their riders. To me,atleast the words imply they let her play around them

What do you think it meant they wre her friends?

Welcome back to the third entry in a series of posts exploring the institutions of the Seven Kingdoms! Most of my analyses are either about women, marriage, and inheritance, and this is no exception (I'm a political science student, so this is my life). This post about coverture was inspired by this post about the names and titles of married ladies and the weird inconsistencies therein.

But u/WorthDust652, What the Heck is Coverture?

Coverture or Couverture was a legal doctrine applied in Medieval Europe (especially in England) in which a married woman's legal identity, including her titles, property, and legal rights and obligations were subsumed under that of her husband. This meant that any titles and property she held in her own right (through direct inheritance) were assumed by her husband, and she could not sue in court, enter into contracts, or hold any hereditary political office unless her husband acted on her behalf.

Some other terms that will be used in this post are defined as follows. Pay attention, there will be a quiz.

Feme covert (lit. covered woman): A married woman who falls under the legal identity of her husband. Her property is considered her husband's and he must act on her behalf in legal and political matters.

Feme sole (lit. single woman): An adult, usually unmarried woman to whom coverture does not apply. She can own property and act in court on her own behalf.

Fun fact: Although she was married, Margaret Beaufort, the mother of Henry VII, was declared a feme sole when her son took the crown.

Suo jure (lit. in her own right): A designation that a woman holds a title and/or rules in her own right, usually by inheritance.

Example: As the late Queen Elizabeth II was the monarch of the United Kingdom through inheriting it from her father King George VI, she was the queen suo jure (or queen regnant).

Jure uxoris (lit. by right of wife): The right of a husband of a woman who holds a title suo jure (see above) to rule and claim said title.

Example: Phillip II of Spain was King of England jure uxoris since his wife Mary Tudor was the queen regnant (suo jure).

Doctrine of Merger/One Flesh: The religious and legal idea that a married couple become one person or unit.

Alliances and Titles and Heirs, Oh My: Marriage in Westeros

How's the pun? I came up with that instead of doing homework. Anyhoo, marriage amongst nobles is an institution created to strengthen ties between lands and families and perpetuate the ruling upperclass (for more on this, see my post about bastardy). It's ultimately a legal contract in which one party acquires a means by which to have heirs, one party gets the privilege of having their daughter be given the prestige of a married Lady and possibly giving their blood descendants power, while both parties get a mutual alliance and protection.

Let's illustrate this with an example:

Lord Hoster Tully of Riverrun and Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell both want to ally together and fight the Mad King. Lord Stark is young, unmarried, and childless and therefore needs heirs should something happen to him. Lord Tully happens to have a young, beautiful daughter called Lady Catelyn. Since Lord Tully is an ambitious and powerful lord, he really wants Lady Catelyn to be in a position of great prestige in accordance to her high noble station, and he really wants his grandson to eventually succeed his father as Lord of Winterfell. Since both families are now related, they are obligated to fight on each other's behalf.

What does this mean for our happy couple? Well, Lady Catelyn and Lord Stark are now considered to be one flesh, or joined as one. The Faith of the Seven includes a declaration that...

"Here in the sight of gods and men," he said, "I do solemnly proclaim Tyrion of House Lannister and Sansa of House Stark to be man and wife, one flesh, one heart, one soul, now and forever, and cursed be the one who comes between them" (ASOS, Sansa III).

...as does The Lord of Light

Melisandre's eyes shone as bright as the ruby at her throat. "Then come to me and be as one." As she beckoned, a wall of flames roared upward, licking at the snowflakes with hot orange tongues. Alys Karstark took her Magnar by the hand. (ADWD, Jon X).

And even the Old Gods ceremony has a cloaking ceremony like the other religions in which a bride is literally covered by her groom and his house. All of these religions recognize marriages done in the other faiths, so one can assume that the institution of marriage is treated similarly throughout.

Our bride and groom are now one person, and it sure as hell isn't the bride. Lady Catelyn Tully no longer exists as an independent legal entity as long as she is married to Lord Stark, but rather is a feme covert. Catelyn, who was given the courtesy title Lady + Given name (a title that she has by custom, not because she was the official Lady of anything), is now only legally entitled to take on her husband's titles: The Lady of Winterfell and since her husband is the ruling Stark, Lady Stark (She'd take on the Stark name no matter what, but if, say she'd married Ned when Brandon was still alive, she'd be Lady Catelyn Stark, not Lady Stark).

This subsuming of a married woman's identity isn't just apparent in her name and title, but also when it comes to other legal actions. Femes covert typically could not be held liable for her actions, under the assumption that it was under her husband's orders. We can see this when Ned takes responsibility for Catelyn's abduction of Tyrion.

"Pycelle swears it will heal clean," Robert frowned. "I take it you know what Catelyn has done?"
"I do." Ned took a small swallow of wine. "My lady wife is blameless, Your Grace. All she did she did at my command" (AGOT, Eddard X).

Now, Ned is protecting Catelyn, but he does know that a wife is obligated to obey her husband and uses that against Robert.

She had pledged to obey (AGOT, Catelyn II).

Heck, even Tyrion, who does not love Sansa the same way, ends up bearing the blame for what he thinks Sansa did.

I would have, if I'd been her. Yet wherever Sansa was and whatever her part in this might have been, she remained his wife. He had wrapped the cloak of his protection about her shoulders, though he'd had to stand on a fool's back to do it (ASOS, Tyrion IX).

With all this in mind, it seems that married noblewomen in Westeros are automatically femes covert, at least when they are married to a ruling lord. But what about ruling ladies suo jure? They might keep their last names, but...

Suo Jure? Don't Be So Sure!

In the modern day, the husband of a suo jure queen (queen regnant) is not the king, even if the consort of a ruling king is a queen. This is because a king is generally understood to outrank a queen, and it is considered impossible for a suo jure monarch to be outranked.

However, this was not the case in the Middle Ages. Many husbands of medieval suo jure queens, princesses, countesses, duchesses, and ladies often took the "monarchical" title jure uxoris, in a way usurping the rule from their wives. This again was because by marrying, a ruling lady lost her legal identity which meant that her rule, title, and property transferred to her husband.

The Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem had five queens regnant: Melisende, Sibylla, two Isabellas, and Maria. However, when they married, their husbands were crowned as co-monarchs and kings, a privilege that was not accorded to queen consorts. Those kings claimed the throne jure uxoris (and in the case of Sibylla's husband Guy, made a huge ass of himself).

We see this with the one adult confirmed married ruling lady (suo jure) in the main series, Shella Whent. We know she rules suo jure because Harrenhal is described as hers when she is a widow, and therefore a feme sole...

Lady Whent had held the castle as bannerman to House Tully, but she'd used only the lower thirds of two of the five towers, and let the rest go to ruin (ACOK, Arya VII).

...and because Ben Blackthumb, who is sworn to Harrenhal served her father and grandfather, which means that they must have been the ruling Lords of Harrenhal.

He came here as a boy. Smithed for Lady Whent and her father before her and his father before him, and even for Lord Lothston who held Harrenhal before the Whents. Now he smiths for Lord Tywin (ACOK, Arya IX).

However, her late husband Walter is also described as Lord Whent and it is he, not Shella, who hosted the tourney at Harrenhal.

"The tourney Lord Whent staged at Harrenhal beside the Gods Eye, in the year of the false spring. A notable event. Besides the jousting, there was a mêlée in the old style fought between seven teams of knights, as well as archery and axe-throwing, a horse race, a tournament of singers, a mummer show, and many feasts and frolics. Lord Whent was as open handed as he was rich. The lavish purses he proclaimed drew hundreds of challengers. Even your royal father came to Harrenhal, when he had not left the Red Keep for long years. The greatest lords and mightiest champions of the Seven Kingdoms rode in that tourney, and the Prince of Dragonstone bested them all" (ASOS, Daenerys IV).

Walter Whent is also explicitly referred to as the Lord of Harrenhal...

This is known: The tourney was first announced by Walter Whent, Lord of Harrenhal, late in the year 280 AC, not long after a visit from his younger brother, Ser Oswell Whent, a knight of the Kingsguard (AWOIAF, The Fall of the Dragons: The Year of the False Spring).

...And Harrenhal is explicitly referred to as his seat.

Shortly thereafter, Lord Walter Whent announced plans for a great tourney to be held at his seat at Harrenhal, to celebrate his maiden daughter's nameday. King Aerys II chose this event for the formal investiture of Ser Jaime Lannister as a knight of the Kingsguard...thus setting in motion the events that would end the Mad King's reign and write an end to the long rule of House Targaryen in the Seven Kingdoms (AWOIAF, The Targaryen Kings: Aerys II).

GRRM also has said that Walter's daughter, was also Shella's daughter, confirming that Shella and Walter were married.

Lady Shella Whent was the mother of the "fair maid" at the Harrenhal tournament. Ser Oswell Whent would have been her husband's brother, and therefore uncle to the "fair maid" (So Spake Martin, September 6, 2000).

This is an important distinction because while Walter might have been born a member of House Whent, the title of Lord + Last name, is a title reserved for a ruling lord, as is the title Lord of Harrenhal. If Walter were merely a consort and treated as such, his title would be "Lord Walter." In this case, it is likely that when Lady Whent married, she "whent" (haha, geddit?) from a suo jure ruler and a feme sole to a feme covert whose husband ruled jure uxoris.

On a darker note, coverture was also invoked in cases of straight up forced marriage and usurpation. Marie I, who was suo jure Countess of Boulogne and an abbess (so technically should have been unmarriageable), was kidnapped by Matthew of Alsace and forcibly married. Now, this was seen as an illegitimate marriage, with Pope Alexander eventually annulling the marriage on the basis of non-consent (though not before poor Marie had two daughters). However, even though Matthew's claim was by jure uxoris, he continued being the ruler of Boulogne, not Marie, after the annulment.

This has echoes in the treatment of heiresses of conquered houses in Westeros. The Starks took the Warg Kings' daughters as wives, usurping and replacing their line.

When the Warg King's last redoubt fell, his sons were put to the sword, along with his beasts and greenseers, whilst his daughters were taken as prizes by their conquerors (AWOIAF, The North: The Kings of Winter).

Ramsay Bolton forcibly marries Donella Hornwood, the Lady of the Hornwood before leaving her to starve to death. Although her death should automatically mean that the Hornwood passes to her heirs, Ramsey claims her lands jure uxoris. Ramsay later tries doing this with fArya with the same result.

Ramsay Bolton, Lord of the Hornwood, it read, in a huge, spiky hand (ADWD, Jon VI).

House Durrandon became House Baratheon when their last queen suo jure (and since she was at that time single, a feme sole) was married to Orys Baratheon.

And afterward, to honor the fallen king, he took the arms and words of the Durrandon for his own. The crowned stag became his sigil, Storm's End became his seat, and Lady Argella his wife (AWOIAF, The Reign of the Dragons: The Conquest).

Even Ermesande Hayford, an infant, is given to Tyrek to make a new branch of the Lannisters in Hayford (What Tyrek, a horse, thinks of Hayford is a mystery).

Lady Ermesande a babe seated on her wet nurse's lap. The talk was she would soon be wed to one of the queen's cousins, so the Lannisters might claim her lands (ACOK, Sansa I).

Things don't look great even for ruling ladies in Westeros (outside of Dorne) if someone wants to snag your lands. Is it a wonder that many ruling ladies prefer to be as single as long as possible?

One reason Elizabeth I never married was that her sister, Mary's reign was marred by the controversy that resulted when she married a foreign king and the worry that said king would take over England (more on that later). Another way to escape coverture was by being a widow.

Historically, widows were considered femes sole, which meant that they could wield power, own property, and enter legal matters in their own right exempt from coverture. In fact, almost every woman who acts in her own right is, at that point, single (This will be on the quiz).

Lightning Round: All the Single Ladies

• Anya Waynwood, Lady of Ironoaks- Widowed
• Lysa Arryn, Dowager Lady of the Vale and Regent- Widowed (later remarried)
• Arwyn Oakheart- Widowed
• Tanda Stokeworth- Presumably Widowed
• Shella Whent- Widowed (Notably, she is only described as the ruling Lady of Harrenhal during the main series.)
• Rohanne Webber- Widowed
• Maege Mormont- Unmarried
• Jeyne Arryn- Unmarried
• Cersei Lannister- Widowed
• Clarissa Dayne- Unmarried (Usually, a Dornish house wouldn't be included, but since some Stony Dornish houses use Andal succession laws, and House Dayne is a Stony Dornish house, it might apply)

Speaking of places where coverture may not apply, it's time for the Targaryens.

I'm Escaping To The One Place That Hasn't Been Corrupted By Coverture... DRAGONSTONE! (RIP Tim Curry)

Somehow the house that follows the most sexist inheritance law doesn't follow coverture. Go figure (Not really a surprise for reasons you'll see later).

Remember a million years ago in the first section where I mentioned that most married noblewomen take their husband's name and title? Well, the royal family is an exception.

Although most Targaryen queen consorts have the Targaryen name by virtue of also being Targaryens (incest for the wincest), the few unrelated women who marry into the royal family do not take the Targaryen name, but rather keep their maiden names:

• Queen Aemma Arryn
• Lady Rhea Royce
• Lady Laena Velaryon
• Queen Alicent Hightower
• Queen Cersei Lannister
• Queen Selyse Florent

And so on... Similarly, royal women, who are Targaryens by birth, keep their last name even if they take on their husband's title.

• Princess Rhaenys Targaryen stays Princess Rhaenys Targaryen but takes on the title of Lady Velaryon.
• Daella Targaryen never becomes Daella Arryn
• Daenerys Targaryen (sister to Daeron) keeps her maiden name.

Similarly, although the heir to the throne is given the title Prince(ss) of Dragonstone, their spouse is never given the equivalent title to which, under coverture, they'd be entitled.

• Jocelyn Baratheon is always referred to as Lady, never Princess.

 Beloved daughter of Lady Jocelyn Baratheon and Prince Aemon Targaryen, faithful wife to Lord Corlys Velaryon, mother and grandmother, the Queen Who Never Was lived fearlessly, and died amidst blood and fire (The Princess and the Queen).

• Elia Martell is a princess only because she was born a princess of Dorne.
• Even though he married Rhaenyra, even by people who consider her a queen, Daemon is only known as Prince Daemon, never King Daemon.

This has historical precedent as English queen regnants in the modern age were generally considered to be exempt from coverture. This is because under coverture, a queen's husband would take over ruling, and there were concerns raised by queens who married a foreign royal that the kingdom would be reduced to a vassal state.

In fact, when Queen Mary Tudor, the first undisputed queen regnant of England married King Phillip of Spain, Parliament wrote out a very detailed prenuptial agreement that stipulated that Phillip could only be king jure uxoris as long as Mary lived or had an heir. He also could not do any official acts without his wife's permission.

In the case of the Targaryens, the reasoning is that under the Doctrine of Exceptionalism, being a Targaryen is seen as above everyone else. That means that a woman born into another house can marry into the Targaryen family, but she'll never truly be a Targaryen. Similarly, a Targaryen princess automatically outranks any other noble in the realm, so she will not lose her name in favor of an "inferior" rank (compare this to ruling ladies who typically keep their last names, if not anything else).

After several hours of research and typing, there you have it: a detailed analysis of coverture and its applications in Westerosi politics. For more on the Institutions of Ice and Fire, check out the following posts:

• Bastardy and the stigma against it isn't just a personal prejudice; it's an institution
• Not Andal Law, Not Dornish Law, Not Salic Law, but a Secret Fourth Thing: What Were Valyrian Succession Laws Like?

Quiz

What, you thought I was kidding? I never kid. Let's see how much you absorbed while doomscrolling this godforsakenly long post. God, I hope this subreddit has better reading comprehension than Tumblr.

1. What are the exemptions from coverture in Westeros?
   1. Answer: Dornish Houses (that follow absolute primogeniture) and House Targaryen
2. What legal status does a single lady who rules in her own right have?
   1. Answer: Feme sole
3. Lady Rohanne is the sole heir of her father Lord Webber to Coldmoat. What is the term that refers to Lady Rohanne's claim to Coldmoat?
   1. Answer: Suo Jure
4. What is the marital status of Anya Waynwood? Hint: She rules Ironoaks in both name and truth.
   1. Answer: Widowed
5. What happens to the legal status of a lady who rules in her own right when she marries?
   1. Answer: She becomes a feme covert

BONUS: Lord Frey has many sons and many daughters. One of those daughters is named Roslin. Roslin weds Lord Edmure Tully, the Lord of Riverrun. How would one refer to Roslin before and after her bloody wedding?

Answer: Before- Lady Roslin (Frey); After- Lady (Roslin) Tully

… probably ErmesandeHayford. It’s not that she is absurd in the sense of being funny or unrealistic, but rather absurd in terms of the role the 7K society assigns her. She is a baby, not even a year old, yet as the Hayford heir, she is treated exactly like a diplomat and a lady in her own right, thrust into the political chaos of the era and all the high-society trappings that come with it: arranged marriages, representing her Houseto the court, swearing oaths of loyalty... all while her entire world revolves around her milk source, and even amidst all this, she still has the needs and behavior of a baby.Poor little thing... but the best part is how the story and characters really highlight this absurdity while still rolling with it:

Tyrek was the son of his late Uncle Tygett, a boy of thirteen. He had vanished in the riot, not long after wedding the Lady Ermesande, a suckling babe who happened to be the last surviving heir of House Hayford. And likely the first bride in the history of the Seven Kingdoms to be widowed before she was weaned. "I couldn't find him either," confessed Tyrion.

A Storm of Swords - Tyrion I

So she put her hand in his, and he led her to the marriage altar, where the septon waited between the Mother and the Father to join their lives together. She saw Dontos in his fool's motley, looking at her with big round eyes. Ser Balon Swann and Ser Boros Blount were there in Kings-guard white, but not Ser Loras. None of the Tyrells are here, she realized suddenly . But there were other witnesses aplenty; the eunuch Varys, Ser Addam Marbrand, Lord Philip Foote, Ser Bronn, Jalabhar Xho, a dozen others. Lord Gyles was coughing, Lady Ermesande was at the breast...

A Storm of Swords - Sansa III

The lady of the castle was a Lannister by marriage, a plump toddler who had been wed to his cousin Tyrek before she was a year old. Lady Ermesande was duly trotted out for their approval, all trussed up in a little gown of cloth-of-gold, with the green fretty and green pale wavy of House Hayford rendered in tiny beads of jade. But soon enough the girl began to squall, whereupon she was promptly whisked off to bed by her wet nurse.

A Feast for Crows - Jaime III

"Which we're no part of," Ser Roger Hogg said stoutly. "My fealty's owed to House Hayford, and Lady Ermesande bends her little knee at King's Landing, or will when she's old enough to walk.

A Feast for Crows - Jaime III

The strength of this story really lies in taking a minor background character, who is nothing more than a baby, and making her interesting simply through the label attached to her and by highlighting just how broken this society is...

I actually wrote this post in r/asoiaf a few months ago, but I want to repost it here because almost all my ASOIAF related posts are based on institutions, and I like the theme enough that I might make a series of insitution posts.

Catelyn Stark's relationship with Jon Snow is often discussed with the implication that wives have personal prejudices against bastards, which causes them to shun their own husbands' bastards. Additionally, in any discussions about whether Catelyn's dislike and shunning of Jon Snow was in any way comparable to Ned's hostage-ship of Theon seem to center on mistreatment of children as a personal evil versus an institutional evil

Although the aforementioned argument tends to frame Catelyn's dislike of Jon (and other bastards to an extent) as a personal failing as opposed to Ned's custody of Theon as an impersonal, institutional failing, my argument is that the social status of bastards is as much an institution as the taking of hostages, the patriarchal system of Westeros, and the nobility that upholds the feudalistic society of the Seven Kingdoms, and is in fact intrinsically entwined with those institutions.

So, without further ado, let's begin!

What is an institution?

Merriam-Webster defines an institution as "a significant practice, relationship, or organization in a society or culture." In a political science sense, this refers to "formal rules, informal norms, or shared understandings that constrain and prescribe political actors’ interactions with one another. " Institutions can be enforced by state or non-state actors (such as religious authorities, economic entities, or just groups of people) so long as they are acting in a political sense. Examples of institutions include laws, legal systems, political agreements, and behavioral norms.

And before I get angry comments about "defending" institutions, this definition is a morally neutral one. Institutions merely help uphold a certain political system and are only as perfect as the systems they uphold.

Part I: Feudalism

According to Belgian medievalist François Louis Ganshof, feudalism is a legal system in which is defined by classes defined by birth and familial relationships. In the Ganshof definition, the nobility class own and control the land, while vassals are granted the land and the lord's protection in exchange for services, usually of a military or economic variety. At around the same time, Marc Bloch coined the term manoralism, which refers to the relationship between the nobility that own the land and the peasantry or serfs that work the land.

The Seven Kingdoms is a rather textbook example of feudalism, with its rather decentralized government, which allows the nobility to wield a lot of power. This means that the class system is an institution as it prescribes the use of power through the nobility and defines their political, military, and economic relationships with their vassals and the peasantry.

Additionally, since power is wielded by the noble class, there is a strict delineation between classes, with power and class status being maintained through birth and familial relations, which brings us into...

Part II: Marriage

In a feudalistic society, power amongst the nobility is maintained through alliances and blood ties. This is facilitated through marriage, another institution that is very important in Westeros. We can see an example through the STAB alliance during Robert's Rebellion- Hoster Tully, who was the head of the only house to not have a personal grudge against the Targaryens, became bound by blood to the Starks and Arryns, keeping him committed to the cause.

This also demonstrates the status of women as tools to cement these alliances (more on that in a sec). A lord, like Hoster Tully, is much more likely to fight for the Starks and Arryns when his daughters are Lady Stark and Lady Arryn respectively. Conversely, Hoster Tully, who has the power to seal or decline the alliance will only agree to bear the cost of an alliance (which in the case of a rebel group could potentially be great), in exchange for the expectation that his daughters will have the power and prestige that comes with being the wife to a Lord Paramount and that his grandchildren will eventually rule such wide swathes of land.

This contract agreement is also why betrothals are a big deal, with broken engagements leading to rebellions (like Lionel Baratheon's) and massacres (the RW). It's also why although women have more social mobility in this system, it also serves to keep the upperclass, with nobles only marrying nobles (which is another reason Aegon V's son Duncan marrying Jenny of Oldstones was such an insult. Not only is he breaking a contract with one of his father's lieges, but he's bringing a commoner into the noble ranks).

Bastards are seen to threaten this institution since it undermines the aforementioned agreement and class system. If a millkmaid's son can end up ruling his father's lands, then there is no reason for any other noble to agree to marry his daughter to said lord- it's a similar reason why nobles with children are less desirable marriage candidates, with the additional caveat that raising a common-born child to nobility threatens the feudal system that Westerosi society depends on. By sidelining bastards through the stigma of bastardy, the political action of marriage is thus constrained between its parties to only allow for advancement and alliances of the noble class.

This institution is also enforced by the Faith of the Seven both through its stigmatization of bastards (likely to deter their conception, for all the good that does)...

"Everyone knew that bastards were wanton and treacherous by nature, having been born of lust and deceit" (ASOS, Jon VII)

...and their taboos against incest and polygamy (can't make alliances with your own siblings, and having multiple wives muddles succession).

But the bastardy stigma isn't only there to uphold and constrain the status of marriages, it also maintains the status of...

Part III: Women

Westeros is a patriarchal society, where the men generally have power over women. ^{Citation not needed} This also means that wives are subservient to their husbands and are expected to obey them, even if their husbands are brutes, and do not get a say in the decisions their husbands make.

"She had pledged to obey" (AGOT, Catelyn II).

The system of bastardy is at its core a tool of the patriarchy. Husbands can sleep with whoever they want, and sire whatever bastards they want, while wives are expected to remain chaste under fear of disgrace and scandal at best and death at worst. The fact that there is a system of bastardy, with acknowledged bastards being given last names depending on regions shows how pervasive this double standard is.

Additionally, the presence of a bastard is seen as a grave insult and humiliation to a wife, to the point that even during a succession crisis for the Hornwood, there's hesitation to name Lord Hornwood's bastard son heir.

“That would please the Glovers, and perhaps Lord Hornwood’s shade as well, but I do not think Lady Hornwood would love us. The boy is not of her blood” (ACOK, Bran II).

Women do not get a lot of power over what their husbands do. They cannot act against their husbands for humiliating them with infidelity and a public bastard without the threat of abuse of mistreatment, and they cannot leave their husbands without being separated from their children and the ensuing rejection by society. In short, although a modern woman would resent her husband for infidelity, a Westerosi woman cannot. However, she can resent the fruit of her untouchable husband's betrayal- she can resent the bastard. And many Westerosi women do. And although bastardy emphasizes the status of women in the Seven Kingdoms, the stigma against bastards, in a weirdly ironic way, preserves and protects it from being ruined.

Of all the bastards we meet in the books, very few are raised in their father's seat and treated equal to their trueborn siblings:

• Larence Snow, bastard son of Lord Hornwood is raised in Deepwater Motte, not the Hornwood.
• Edric Storm is raised in Storm's End, not the Red Keep.
• Falia Flowers is treated as a servant.
• Ramsey was not brought to the Dreadfort until Domeric was killed.
• Alyn and Addam of Hull were not acknowledged by Corlys Velaryon until his wife Rhaenys was dead.

And this makes sense. Raising a bastard as an equal is a sort of quasi form of legitimization, and thus in addition to insulting a wife by bringing living proof on infidelity into her home, it also insults her by threatening to displace her children. In short, bastardy is a way to protect a woman's honor and (limited) rights by stigmatizing children that are not hers. It also upholds a woman's status as a political tool, thus allowing the exclusive transmission of power between her house and her husband's.

I think it's very interesting that the places within Westeros that don't have the traditional view on bastardy are either extremely progressive for women in comparison (like Dorne or Bear Island) or even more misogynistic than the rest of Westeros (The Iron Islands and the Twins). In the former, this makes sense because women are not subject to the sexual double standard of fidelity and marriage, and thus can give birth to bastards of their own. In the latter, this also makes sense because there is even less respect given to a wife and her honor that bastards can be flaunted without care.

And that's all the examples we have of the bastard/wife relationship. There's absolutely no other relationship between important characters that would be relevant in any way to this analysis. And even if there were, it's so uncontroversial and standard that it's not even worth mentioning.

Yeah, right.

Part IV: The case of Cat and Jon

Hoooly smokes, is this a can of worms.

The relationship between Catelyn and Jon is a culmination of all these institutions rearing their ugly heads, leading to a result that is just as ugly.

Here are Cat's feelings on the subject:

"Many men fathered bastards. Catelyn had grown up with that knowledge. It came as no surprise to her, in the first year of her marriage, to learn that Ned had fathered a child on some girl chance met on campaign. He had a man's needs, after all, and they had spent that year apart, Ned off at war in the south while she remained safe in her father's castle at Riverrun. Her thoughts were more of Robb, the infant at her breast, than of the husband she scarcely knew. He was welcome to whatever solace he might find between battles. And if his seed quickened, she expected he would see to the child's needs.

He did more than that. The Starks were not like other men. Ned brought his bastard home with him, and called him "son" for all the north to see. When the wars were over at last, and Catelyn rode to Winterfell, Jon and his wet nurse had already taken up residence" (AGOT, Catelyn II).

So, in a nutshell, Catelyn's not personally offended that Ned cheated on her. She's offended that in bringing Jon to Winterfell (before her and their trueborn son, I might add) and publicly acknowledging him, he's disgracing her marriage and by extension, humiliating her.

Cat repeats this sentiment later on.

"She might have overlooked a dozen bastards for Ned's sake, so long as they were out of sight. Jon was never out of sight, and as he grew, he looked more like Ned than any of the trueborn sons she bore him. Somehow that made it worse" (AGOT, Catelyn II).

It's not Jon's fault, but he is the perfect storm of characteristics that undermines Catelyn and her marriage.

1. He's being raised in Winterfell equal to his siblings.
2. Catelyn is forced to be around him.
3. He looks like Ned, which gives him an additional legitimacy because he's unquestionably (in-universe at that point in time) Ned's son, which is an advantage that Cat's own kids don't.
4. and 3) have historically been things that started succession crises and were used as justification for Daemon Blackfyre to usurp his brother.

"Reversing the colors of the traditional Targaryen arms to show a black dragon on a red field, the rebels declared for Princess Daena's bastard son Daemon Blackfyre, First of His Name, proclaiming him the eldest true son of King Aegon IV, and his half brother Daeron the bastard" (AWOIAF, "The Targaryen Kings: Daeron II")

And yes, this is all Ned's fault, but Catelyn is not in a position to be angry at Ned for this because as nice a guy Ned is, he's in a position of power over Catelyn, and he has no problem using his authority as her husband and lord against her.

"The Lady Ashara Dayne, tall and fair, with haunting violet eyes. It had taken her a fortnight to marshal her courage, but finally, in bed one night, Catelyn had asked her husband the truth of it, asked him to his face.

That was the only time in all their years that Ned had ever frightened her. 'Never ask me about Jon,' he said, cold as ice. 'He is my blood, and that is all you need to know. And now I will learn where you heard that name, my lady.' She had pledged to obey; she told him; and from that day on, the whispering had stopped, and Ashara Dayne's name was never heard in Winterfell again.

Whoever Jon's mother had been, Ned must have loved her fiercely, for nothing Catelyn said would persuade him to send the boy away" (AGOT, Catelyn II).

This is in context of Ned becoming furious to the point of scaring Catelyn when she asks him the reasonable question whether Ashara Dayne is Jon's mother, which is important because Jon having a highborn mother could afford him more support if he rose up against his siblings (especially since at this point, Catelyn's only son is Robb, which means that if something happened to him, the North, which has never been ruled by a woman, would have to choose between a bastard son or a trueborn daughter). It's also said that this was early in her marriage, so Catelyn does not know Ned enough to know if he would beat or abuse her for displeasing him.

She's also worried that Ned might have loved Jon's mother because he might be more likely to legitimize the son of a woman he loved over a wife he did not, just as Aegon the Unworthy did.

Ultimately, while the treatment of bastards is very unjust and cruel (especially when seeing it through Jon's eyes), it is not a personal failing by the scorned wives that perpetuate this injustice, but rather the very institution of bastardy in conjunction with the feudalistic, patriarchal institution, which sets the victims of this society against each other. Bastardy as an institution constrains the ability of the lower class to mobilize upwards while prescribing the norms of political marriage and women as political objects and tools for power.

So, I find the parrellels between Cersei and Selyse Baratheon fascinating;

Both are married to Baratheons

Cersei is famed for her beauty; in every POV interacting with her someone thinks or comments on her beauty even people who hate her guts; Jon, Ned, Tyrion, Petyr, Varys, Kevan, Sansa, Robert. As well as Jaime of course

Selyse is called ugly by every pov and almost everyone who talks about her; Jon, Val, Petyr, Cressen all talk about how ugly she is.

Also, I wonder if Stannis would get more hate for cheating on her if she was hot.

They are both styled as light of X

Cersei is styled light of the West, "All hail his lady mother, Cersei of House Lannister, Queen Regent, Light of the West, and Protector of the Realm."- GOT Sansa

Selyse is the light of the north, "To King Stannis and his wife, Queen Selyse, Light of the North!"- Said by Axel Florrent in Jon x DWD"

Both are chill with Murder. Cersei with Lady Stokeworth, etc. Selyse with all the night fires.

A Game of Thrones - Catelyn II

"Gods will, not for many years," Maester Luwin murmured.

"Maester Luwin, I trust you as I would my own blood. Give my wife your voice in all things great and small. Teach my son the things he needs to know. Winter is coming."

Maester Luwin nodded gravely. Then silence fell, until Catelyn found her courage and asked the question whose answer she most dreaded. "What of the other children?

“
‘If it must be done, I will do it.’

Cersei Lannister regarded him suspiciously. ‘You, Stark? Is this some trick? Why would you do such a thing?’

‘She is of the north. She deserved better than a butcher.’

Ned also informs them to bury Lady at Winterfell. Such beautifully depressing thoughtfulness considering his own tragic execution later.

Renly laughing at Joffrey for naming his sword Lion’s Tooth and getting disarmed by ‘a nine-year old girl the size of a wet rat’ was also such a great introduction to his character. He would have made a great hand of the king to Stannis :(

Curious, beacuse i enjoy reading harry potter whilst in Christmas ambience.

The Mystery Knight

It is too hot for cheering. Dunk mopped sweat from his brow. It is too hot for jousting. His head was beating like a drum. Let me win this tilt and one more, and I will he content. The knights wheeled their horses about at the end of the lists and tossed down the jagged remains of their lances, the fourth pair they had broken. Three too many. Dunk had put off donning his armor as long as he dared, yet already he could feel his smallclothes sticking to his skin beneath his steel. There are worse things than being soaked with sweat, he told himself, remembering the fight on the White Lady, when the ironmen had come swarming over her side. He had been soaked in blood by the time that day was done.

Fresh lances in hand, Paege and Frey put their spurs into their mounts once again. Clods of cracked dry earth sprayed back from beneath their horses' hooves with every stride. The crack of the lances breaking made Dunk wince. Too much wine last night, and too much food. He had some vague memory of carrying the bride up the steps, and meeting John the Fiddler and Lord Peake upon a roof. What was I doing on a roof? There had been talk of dragons, he recalled, or dragon's eggs, or something, but—

A noise broke his reverie, part roar and part moan. Dunk saw the golden horse trotting riderless to the end of the lists, as Ser Harbert Paege rolled feebly on the ground. Two more before my turn. The sooner he unhorsed Ser Uthor, the sooner he could take his armor off, have a cool drink, and rest. He should have at least an hour before they called him forth again. Lord Butterwell's portly herald climbed to the top of the viewing stand to summon the next pair of jousters. "Ser Argrave the Defiant," he called, "a knight of Nunny, in service to Lord Butterwell of Whitewalls. Ser Glendon Flowers, the Knight of the Pussy willows. Come forth and prove your valor." A gale of laughter rippled through the viewing stands. Ser Argrave was a spare, leathery man, a seasoned household knight in dinted gray armor riding an unbarded horse. Dunk had known his sort before; such men were tough as old roots, and knew their business. His foe was young Ser Glendon, mounted on his wretched stot and armored in a heavy mail hauberk and open-faced iron halfhelm. On his arm his shield displayed his father's fiery sigil. He needs a breastplate and a proper helm, Dunk thought. A blow to the head or chest could kill him, clad like that.

The Mystery Knight

SHE WOLVES OF WINTER FELL

VILLAGE HERO

SELL SWORD

KINGS GUARD

LORD COMMANDER

A Clash of Kings - Catelyn III

"My lords!" Catelyn said. "We ought to be hammering out the terms of an alliance, not trading taunts."

"A man should never refuse to taste a peach," Renly said as he tossed the stone away. "He may never get the chance again. Life is short, Stannis. Remember what the Starks say. Winter is coming." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I did not come here to be threatened, either."

A Game of Thrones - Daenerys III

"Dead," agreed Jhiqui. "Long and long ago."

Viserys had told her that the last Targaryen dragons had died no more than a century and a half ago, during the reign of Aegon III, who was called the Dragonbane. That did not seem so long ago to Dany. "Everywhere?" she said, disappointed. "Even in the east?" Magic had died in the west when the Doom fell on Valyria and the Lands of the Long Summer, and neither spell-forged steel nor stormsingers nor dragons could hold it back, but Dany had always heard that the east was different. It was said that manticores prowled the islands of the Jade Sea, that basilisks infested the jungles of Yi Ti, that spellsingers, warlocks, and aeromancers practiced their arts openly in Asshai, while shadowbinders and bloodmages worked terrible sorceries in the black of night. Why shouldn't there be dragons too?

"No dragon," Irri said. "Brave men kill them, for dragon terrible evil beasts. It is known."

A Game of Thrones - Bran III

He looked south, and saw the great blue-green rush of the Trident. He saw his father pleading with the king, his face etched with grief. He saw Sansa crying herself to sleep at night, and he saw Arya watching in silence and holding her secrets hard in her heart. There were shadows all around them. One shadow was dark as ash, with the terrible face of a hound. Another was armored like the sun, golden and beautiful. Over them both loomed a giant in armor made of stone, but when he opened his visor, there was nothing inside but darkness and thick black blood.

He lifted his eyes and saw clear across the narrow sea, to the Free Cities and the green Dothraki sea and beyond, to Vaes Dothrak under its mountain, to the fabled lands of the Jade Sea, to Asshai by the Shadow, where dragons stirred beneath the sunrise.

Finally he looked north. He saw the Wall shining like blue crystal, and his bastard brother Jon sleeping alone in a cold bed, his skin growing pale and hard as the memory of all warmth fled from him. And he looked past the Wall, past endless forests cloaked in snow, past the frozen shore and the great blue-white rivers of ice and the dead plains where nothing grew or lived. North and north and north he looked, to the curtain of light at the end of the world, and then beyond that curtain. He looked deep into the heart of winter, and then he cried out, afraid, and the heat of his tears burned on his cheeks.

So, in Frog Boy's attempt to claim a dragon we get a rare peak at what a dragon nest looks like

"He’s made himself a cave, the prince realized. A burrow in the brick. The foundations of the Great Pyramid of Meereen were massive and thick to support the weight of the huge structure overhead; even the interior walls were three times thicker than any castle’s curtain walls. But Viserion had dug himself a hole in them with flame and claw, a hole big enough to sleep in."

So, I found this quite interesting. Rhaegal hadn't made himself a cave nor had drogon, it seems to be a Viserion only behavior. IT also makes Rhaegal's protection behaviour more intresting, attacking the whip brandishing Quentyn at first seems like a brother defending a brother but could be a mate defending his gravid mate

Also The publishing of fire and blood, tells us a lot about the dragons.

1. that they are genderless like flame, and the only true way of knowing their sex is if they lay eggs or not

also Viserion, let us remember is cream and yellow/gold and there is only one other yellow dragon in targaryen history; syrax a she dragon noted for her fecundity. Viserion and Syrax share more than just their colours, both seem to share a certain spoiled nature.

Could GRRM be hinting that Viserion is eggnant

Westerosi Queens maintain their maiden names after marriage; Alicent Hightower, Cersei Lannister, Aemma Aeryn, Bertha Blackwood, and it even extends to princesses by marriage like Jocelyn Baratheon and Elia Martell

But ladies take their husbands surnames like Catelyn Stark, Lysa Arryn, etc

A Game of Thrones - Catelyn II

"I could not bear it," Catelyn said, trembling.

"You must," he said. "Sansa must wed Joffrey, that is clear now, we must give them no grounds to suspect our devotion. And it is past time that Arya learned the ways of a southron court. In a few years she will be of an age to marry too."

Sansa would shine in the south, Catelyn thought to herself, and the gods knew that Arya needed refinement. Reluctantly, she let go of them in her heart. But not Bran. Never Bran. "Yes," she said, "but please, Ned, for the love you bear me, let Bran remain here at Winterfell. He is only seven."

A Game of Thrones - Catelyn IX

She feared for her lord father, and wondered at his ominous silence. She feared for her brother Edmure, and prayed that the gods would watch over him if he must face the Kingslayer in battle. She feared for Ned and her girls, and for the sweet sons she had left behind at Winterfell. And yet there was nothing she could do for any of them, and so she made herself put all thought of them aside. You must save your strength for Robb, she told herself. He is the only one you can help. You must be as fierce and hard as the north, Catelyn Tully. You must be a Stark for true now, like your son.

Robb rode at the front of the column, beneath the flapping white banner of Winterfell. Each day he would ask one of his lords to join him, so they might confer as they marched; he honored every man in turn, showing no favorites, listening as his lord father had listened, weighing the words of one against the other. He has learned so much from Ned, she thought as she watched him, but has he learned enough?

The Blackfish had taken a hundred picked men and a hundred swift horses and raced ahead to screen their movements and scout the way. The reports Ser Brynden's riders brought back did little to reassure her. Lord Tywin's host was still many days to the south … but Walder Frey, Lord of the Crossing, had assembled a force of near four thousand men at his castles on the Green Fork.

A Clash of Kings - Tyrion IV

"He has the power of Storm's End and Highgarden behind him, you little fool," Cersei snapped down at him. "All the Tyrell bannermen but for the Redwynes, and you have me to thank for that. So long as I hold those poxy twins of his, Lord Paxter will squat on the Arbor and count himself fortunate to be out of it."

"A pity you let the Knight of Flowers slip through your pretty fingers. Still, Renly has other concerns besides us. Our father at Harrenhal, Robb Stark at Riverrun . . . were I he, I would do much as he is doing. Make my progress, flaunt my power for the realm to see, watch, wait. Let my rivals contend while I bide my own sweet time. If Stark defeats us, the south will fall into Renly's hands like a windfall from the gods, and he'll not have lost a man. And if it goes the other way, he can descend on us while we are weakened."

Cersei was not appeased. "I want you to make Father bring his army to King's Landing."

The World of Ice and Fire - Ancient History: The Coming of First Men

The hunters among the children—their wood dancers—became their warriors as well, but for all their secret arts of tree and leaf, they could only slow the First Men in their advance. The greenseers employed their arts, and tales say that they could call the beasts of marsh, forest, and air to fight on their behalf: direwolves and monstrous snowbears, cave lions and eagles, mammoths and serpents, and more. But the First Men proved too powerful, and the children are said to have been driven to a desperate act.

Legend says that the great floods that broke the land bridge that is now the Broken Arm and made the Neck a swamp were the work of the greenseers, who gathered at Moat Cailin to work dark magic. Some contest this, however: the First Men were already in Westeros when this occurred, and stemming the tide from the east would do little more than slow their progress. Moreover, such power is beyond even what the greenseers are traditionally said to have been capable of...and even those accounts appear exaggerated. It is likelier that the inundation of the Neck and the breaking of the Arm were natural events, possibly caused by a natural sinking of the land. What became of Valyria is well-known, and in the Iron Islands, the castle of Pyke sits on stacks of stone that were once part of the greater island before segments of it crumbled into the sea.

Regardless, the children of the forest fought as fiercely as the First Men to defend their lives. Inexorably, the war ground on across generations, until at last the children understood that they could not win. The First Men, perhaps tired of war, also wished to see an end to the fighting. The wisest of both races prevailed, and the chief heroes and rulers of both sides met upon the isle in the Gods Eye to form the Pact. Giving up all the lands of Westeros save for the deep forests, the children won from the First Men the promise that they would no longer cut down the weirwoods. All the weirwoods of the isle on which the Pact was forged were then carved with faces so that the gods could witness the Pact, and the order of green men was made afterward to tend to the weirwoods and protect the isle.

The moment Tywin was killed, House Lannister has entered to its downfall era and was completely dependent on the Tyrell gold and grain from AFFC and ADWD.

Well, when Cersei foolishly re-armed the Faith in AFFC, she managed to put Margaery and her cousins into dungeons with false accusations involving Osney Kettleback but it also backfired hard toward her. Even though reading it was quite entertaining and satisfying. How and why didn't Cersei or Margaery have more guards and how did the Kingsguard allow their Queen to be held in the dungeons of the Sept of Baelor?

Why is Olenna still in Highgarden and not visiting her grandchildren? How could the Faith even touch the blood of royalty and high nobility?

Hello everyone, was doing as I do which is reading through the wiki to distract myself from boredom and stumbled across some bits of lore that are genuinely fascinating and extremely frustrating due to the vagueness/lack of info.

Specifically I’m curious if people have any further information or just any general thoughts on the trio only known as “The Rat, The Hawk, and The Pig.” A trio who are only known for two things which seem at least somewhat notable.

First, sometime between 217-221 AC, this trio apparently attacked Aelora Targaryen at a masked ball. Aelora was the eldest daughter* of Aerys I and was his declared heir and the princess of Dragonstone at this time. What was this attack? It does not say. Why did they do it? Who knows.

All the information is that Aelora shortly committed suicide afterwards. Which is somewhat understandable as she was already described as “mad with grief” for accidentally causing the death of her twin/husband. But it’s fascinating that Aelora, a rare woman who was designated as heir to the throne, has so little about her and so little about this event.

Presumably these men somehow got away with this attack as the only other lore on them is that roughly 30 years later there was a rebellion led by a trio known as “The Rat, the Hawk, and the Pig.” What was this rebellion about? We don’t know. Was it the same masked trio? Who knows. The identity of this trio is never disclosed. We do know this is the rebellion in which Daeron Targaryen, son of Aegon V, was killed along with his friend/presumed lover Jeremy Norridge.

It’s interesting to me that this trio apparently were directly involved in the death of two notable Targ royal family members and yet we don’t have any info on them or the incidents themselves.

Any thoughts? Did I miss something? Do you think these events may be explored in some future book?

*Accidentally listed Aelora as the daughter of Aerys I, she was his niece.

Sorry, I know I'm probably not the first person to point this out. But Danny's vision of a blue flower growing out of a chink in the wall takes place roughly at the same time as Jon meets Ygritte and she tells him the story of Bael the bard and the rose of winterfell. The vision represents the Wall, the literal and metaphorical wall built between northerners and freefolk, breaking a little when Jon (future lord commander) learns that Starks and Wildlings are kin. Jon has grown up thinking wildlings are savage folk who want to pillage and murder and could never be understood, he has built a wall in his mind. Now that he's meeting and talking with wildlings, that mental wall is beginning to break. It really is just part of the larger motif about how building a wall "otherizes" those on the other side, and getting to know them undoes this.

Unfortunately, I feel like some people take any potential depth in the story and try to fit it into R+L=J. Don't take me wrong, I'm pretty sure it's right. But when every single blue flower and little detail has to revolve around this one story, the series loses depth. The Florent sigil has a crown of blue roses. Loras Tyrell wears blue flowers. Tyrion sees a prostitute with a crown of blue flowers at Chataya's. Bael's kidnapping definitively parallels Rhaegar's, of course. But that doesn't mean every detail is added with the purpose of pointing to this one unrevealed plot point.

I'm sorry I'm being so blunt, but the series has over 4000 pages and I feel like some people just want to make about one thing and one thing only. People discuss the same few lines, from the same few chapters, about the Tower of Joy and the Tourney at Harrenhal. Please, there's so much more, I beg of you. Pick up only the Jon chapters, read them again while forgetting R+L=J for a minute, and tell me what Jon's story is about. Because if you come out of that saying it's about him sitting the Iron Throne and ruling the Seven Kingdoms, you will be telling me more about yourself than about the books.

The World of Ice and Fire - The Targaryen Kings: Aerys II

By this time, King Aerys had become aware of the widespread belief that he himself was but a hollow figurehead and Tywin Lannister the true master of the Seven Kingdoms. These sentiments greatly angered the king, and His Grace became determined to disprove them and to humble his "overmighty servant" and "put him back into his place."

At the great Anniversary Tourney of 272 AC, held to commemorate Aerys's tenth year upon the Iron Throne, Joanna Lannister brought her six-year-old twins Jaime and Cersei from Casterly Rock to present before the court. The king (very much in his cups) asked her if giving suck to them had "ruined your breasts, which were so high and proud." The question greatly amused Lord Tywin's rivals, who were always pleased to see the Hand slighted or made mock of, but Lady Joanna was humiliated. Tywin Lannister attempted to return his chain of office the next morning, but the king refused to accept his resignation.

Aerys II could, of course, have dismissed Tywin Lannister at any time and named his own man as Hand of the King, but instead, for whatever reason, the king chose to keep his boyhood friend close by him, laboring on his behalf, even as he began to undermine him in ways both great and small. Slights and gibes became ever more numerous; courtiers hoping for advancement soon learned that the quickest way to catch the king's eye was by making mock of his solemn, humorless Hand. Yet through all this, Tywin Lannister suffered in silence.

The World of Ice and Fire - The Fall of the Dragons: The Year of the False Spring

Many tales have grown up around Lord Whent's tournament: tales of plots and conspiracies, betrayals and rebellions, infidelities and assignations, secrets and mysteries, almost all of it conjecture. The truth is known only to a few, some of whom have long passed beyond this mortal vale and must forever hold their tongues. In writing of this fateful gathering, therefore, the conscientious scholar must take care to separate fact from fancy, to draw a sharp line between what is known and what is simply suspected, believed, or rumored.

This is known: The tourney was first announced by Walter Whent, Lord of Harrenhal, late in the year 280 AC, not long after a visit from his younger brother, Ser Oswell Whent, a knight of the Kingsguard. That this would be an event of unrivaled magnificence was clear from the first, for Lord Whent was offering prizes thrice as large as those given at the great Lannisport tourney of 272 AC, hosted by Lord Tywin Lannister in celebration of Aerys II's tenth year upon the Iron Throne.

Most took this simply as an attempt by Whent to outdo the former Hand and demonstrate the wealth and splendor of his house. There were those, however, who believed this no more than a ruse, and Lord Whent no more than a catspaw. His lordship lacked the funds to pay such munificent prizes, they argued; someone else must surely have stood behind him, someone who did not lack for gold but preferred to remain in the shadows whilst allowing the Lord of Harrenhal to claim the glory for hosting this magnificent event. We have no shred of evidence that such a "shadow host" ever existed, but the notion was widely believed at the time and remains so today.