Author: stevenattewell

I think fandom tends to overestimate/glorify The Mountain. I’ve seen tons of threads where fans argue that Jaime thinks Gregor is one of three men who could beat him, for instance. In reality, The Mountain is a bully. He’s obviously very adept at fighting and killing but none of the main POV characters and many other characters think highly of him. Jaime dismisses him outright. Oberyn isn’t concerned with him and did kill him in battle. Even Bron doesn’t say he couldn’t defeat him. 1/2

Mountain 2/2 – The Mountain has entered many melees and jousts but didn’t win any. Most of what we’ve heard about him are war crimes but his battles aren’t much better. He’s lived but was rebuffed unless he has the numbers. Cercei named him her champion but she values brute force and The Mountain would be terrifying to sell-swords that Cercei would assume Tyrion could only get to champion him. His reputation is really made on his war crimes. He’s a bully and I think most in the books see that.

Here’s what Jaime thinks of the Mountain:

“The realization chilled him. Robert had been stronger than him, to be sure. The White Bull Gerold Hightower as well, in his heyday, and Ser Arthur Dayne. Amongst the living, Greatjon Umber was stronger, Strongboar of Crakehall most likely, both Cleganes for a certainty. The Mountain’s strength was like nothing human. It did not matter. With speed and skill, Jaime could beat them all.”

I wouldn’t say that he dismisses the Mountain, simply that he thinks that his speed and skill can compensate for his inhuman strength. And at the end of the day, Gregor is on a short list of who the best swordsman in the kingdom thinks could compete with him.

As for his skills, I don’t think he’s the most skilled jouster ever, but he is good enough to get into the semi-finals of a major tourney. That’s not nothing, but clearly his skills are more in the direction of the melee, and we’ve seen how brutally effective he can be on the battlefield at the Green Fork, where he turns what is supposed to be an engineered route into a victory. 

He’s not invincible, but he’s definitely among the most dangerous men in Westeros. 

Where would the officers for a fleet like the Redwyne’s come from? Second sons and lesser lordlings? Or would the navy be a bit more meritocratic as opposed to the strict and established structure of a land-based army?

Why just second sons and lesser lordlings? 

The Redwynes and their vassals live on an island, so the cachet of the navy would be much higher than on the mainland of the Reach, where cavalry is king. Thus, you’d expect Arbor lords to command squadrons or divisions (under their liege lord who commands the fleet) and lesser lords and knights to command individual ships. 

Who were the “She-Wolves of Winterfell”?

ladyofdragonstone:

racefortheironthrone:

“a group of formidable Stark wives, widows, mothers, and grandmothers that I dubbed ‘the She-Wolves“

Based on the timeline, we can work out who most of them are:

  • Larra Royce, wife/widow of Lord Beron Stark, mother of Donnor, Willam, Artos, Berena, Alysanne, Errold, and Rodrik. 
  • Myriam Manderly, widow of Lord Rodwell Stark (Beron’s older brother), no issue.
  • Alys Karstark, widow of Lord Brandon, mother of Lord Beron and Lord Rodwell.

Those are the three I’m most sure about. However, we know the She-Wolves were five in total, so there’s room for two others, and there’s a bunch of possible candidates to fill those slots:

  • Arrana Stark, daughter of Edric and Serena Stark, wife to Osric Umber, who has kids AND/OR Aregelle Stark, daughter of Edric and Serena Stark, wife to Robart Cerwyn. Either or both would be an interesting pick, because they both have issue, and they represent competing succession claims: Edric Stark was the third son of Cregan, whereas Beron and Rodwell succeeded from Brandon, who was the youngest of Cregan’s sons; moreover, Serena Stark was the daughter of Rickon Stark, Cregan’s oldest son (and was married to Edric to reconcile the claims). So they could plausibly argue that their claim is better than that of Beron and Rodwell and their heirs.
  • Serena Stark, if she’s still around, would probably want her line to regan the lordship that was lost to them when Rickon’s daughters were passed over in favor of his half-brothers. (Which does sort of muddy the “In the north the children of a man’s body still come before his uncles, ser.“ thing from Jon IV of ADWD.)
  • Wylla Fenn, highborn mistress of Lord Brandon Stark and mother of Lonnel Snow, the last surviving son of Lord Brandon’s body. 

Am I forgetting any? This period of Stark history is tangled indeed. 

@racefortheironthrone *wiggles eyebrows* which ones are of an age with Dunk? 

The young Old Nan. 

Who were the “She-Wolves of Winterfell”?

“a group of formidable Stark wives, widows, mothers, and grandmothers that I dubbed ‘the She-Wolves“

Based on the timeline, we can work out who most of them are:

  • Larra Royce, wife/widow of Lord Beron Stark, mother of Donnor, Willam, Artos, Berena, Alysanne, Errold, and Rodrik. 
  • Myriam Manderly, widow of Lord Rodwell Stark (Beron’s older brother), no issue.
  • Alys Karstark, widow of Lord Brandon, mother of Lord Beron and Lord Rodwell.

Those are the three I’m most sure about. However, we know the She-Wolves were five in total, so there’s room for two others, and there’s a bunch of possible candidates to fill those slots:

  • Arrana Stark, daughter of Edric and Serena Stark, wife to Osric Umber, who has kids AND/OR Aregelle Stark, daughter of Edric and Serena Stark, wife to Robart Cerwyn. Either or both would be an interesting pick, because they both have issue, and they represent competing succession claims: Edric Stark was the third son of Cregan, whereas Beron and Rodwell succeeded from Brandon, who was the youngest of Cregan’s sons; moreover, Serena Stark was the daughter of Rickon Stark, Cregan’s oldest son (and was married to Edric to reconcile the claims). So they could plausibly argue that their claim is better than that of Beron and Rodwell and their heirs.
  • Serena Stark, if she’s still around, would probably want her line to regan the lordship that was lost to them when Rickon’s daughters were passed over in favor of his half-brothers. (Which does sort of muddy the “In the north the children of a man’s body still come before his uncles, ser.“ thing from Jon IV of ADWD.)
  • Wylla Fenn, highborn mistress of Lord Brandon Stark and mother of Lonnel Snow, the last surviving son of Lord Brandon’s body. 

Am I forgetting any? This period of Stark history is tangled indeed. 

RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup

RFTIT Tumblr Weeklyish Roundup

Life can’t be all Fire & Blood, so in the mean-time let’s not fall behind on the Tumblrs (and run the risk of more mega-roundup posts). So what do we have?

ASOIAF:

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