Author: stevenattewell

Has it ever been explained how House Dayne became so prominent and were so especially loyal to the Targaryens? Not to second guess E&L’s decisions in the companion book, but always thought make more sense for Egg’s wife to from House Dayne to explain that. Egg seems like to the type to marry for love from a lower status house like the Daynes. My headcannon was perhaps Bloodraven’s full sister became Lady Dayne so he could have had a hand manipulating the match. Totally out to lunch on that?

Well, the Daynes’ prominence comes primarily from the fact that A. they’re one of the oldest Houses in Westeros, which gives them a lot of prestige, B. they’re also former royals, which gives them additional prestige, and C. they have a famous warrior tradition of the Sword of the Morning, which again gives them quite a bit of prestige in a warrior culture.Thus, despite not being one of the richest or most powerful of the Lesser Houses of Dorne, they have a ton of social/cultural capital.

In terms of their loyalty, I wouldn’t call the Daynes particularly notable as Targaryen loyalists beyond Ser Arthur Dayne himself – we don’t hear about any Daynes fighting at the Battle of the Trident, for example, nor do we see any Daynes of Starfall numbered among Oberyn’s partisans or Arianne’s conspiracy, and they arranged a betrothal to one of Robert Baratheon’s bannermen. 

Has it ever been explained how come Artos Stark aka Artos the Implacable is buried in the crypts beneath Winterfell despite never being a Lord of Winterfell? Pre-TWOIAF pedigrees, would have guessed that the honor was because Artos was Lord Edwyle’s good-father since marrying daughter of the hero who slew Raymund Redmund make more sense than the daughter of sellsword in Essos? Plus Artos goes up towards the Wall prepping for the battle so makes sense to create a marriage alliance to Clan Flint?

I think Artos is buried in the crypt primarily because he slew Raymun Redbeard; killing a King-beyond-the-Wall and ending a wildling invasion practically single-handedly is a huge deal in a warrior culture. 

Also, it’s possible that, since Willam died unexpectedly, Edwyle might not have been of age to rule when he became Lord, so Artos might have spent some years as Regent of Winterfell. 

Hello! Got a question I’ve never seen tackled before. Here goes: Do you think Lord Tywin tried to recall Gregor Clegane’s attack on Beric Dondarrion? I think It’s in “Ned XII” we learn that Tywin indeed was pissed that Ned sent riders after him. This in turn would mean that he knew Ned was not in the party and the plan to capture him is failed right? So could he have sent a rider after Gregor to stop it but simply was too late? Thanks in advance and keep posting great stuff as always!

No, because Tywin was present for the Battle of the Mummer’s Ford:

“Father must have known that, because he sent out some men to oppose them, under the king’s own banner. He gave the command to some southron lordling, Lord Erik or Derik or something like that, but Ser Raymun Darry rode with him, and the letter said there were other knights as well, and a force of Father’s own guardsmen. Only it was a trap. Lord Derik had no sooner crossed the Red Fork than the Lannisters fell upon him, the king’s banner be damned, and Gregor Clegane took them in the rear as they tried to pull back across the Mummer’s Ford. This Lord Derik and a few others may have escaped, no one is certain, but Ser Raymun was killed, and most of our men from Winterfell. Lord Tywin has closed off the kingsroad, it’s said, and now he’s marching north toward Harrenhal, burning as he goes.”

So it is absolutely not the case that Tywin tried to recall Gregor; rather, Tywin was the anvil to Gregor’s hammer, and the two of them were working in concert to hit Beric Dondarrion’s forces from two directions at once. Yes, Tywin was pissed that Ned wasn’t there in person so that he could force the fait accompli, but that wasn’t enough to get him to call the whole thing off. By this point, he’s already committed to war against the Tullys as revenge for Tyrion’s capture and isn’t blinking at the idea of attacking the King’s banner in the process.

1) Do you think the marcher lords of the Stormlands, Dorne, and the Reach are more similar to each other or their compatriots in terms of culture, customs, etc.? 2) Do you think the marcher lords of the Stormlands ever self-consciously organized as a power bloc in Stormlander politics? If so, how do you think having a particular faction with hard-to-take castles, kickass archers, and martial traditions have affected the region’s domestic politics?

1. Absolutely.

2. Absolutely not. The marcher lords are territorial, proud, and touchy. The Carons claim to be Lords of all the Marches but no one listens to them and the Swanns dispute their claim to be the oldest House, and so on. They can barely cooperare enough to deal with Dornish raids or Vulture Kings. 

Anon from the spear question, I was referring to the length of the frog spears and their usage in combat.

Ah, I see what you mean. Well, they would probably be on the short side, because normally frogs are hunted in fairly shallow water. They’re not made for combat – the multiple tines, for example, are actually going to be something of a hindrance against armor – so I would guess they would be only modestly effective unless combined with poison as per crannogmen doctrine. 

Do think it’s possible that Sansa and Cersei will see each other again before Cersei’s death (I am in the camp that thinks that Sansa will become the political leader of The North following the Battle for the Dawn)? Based on the directions of their present plotlines, I don’t see how it could be possible, but the idea of Sansa meeting Cersei again shortly before all is said in done is fun to dream about.

It’s possible, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. Sansa’s arc is leading her back to Winterfell, whereas Cersei is tethered to the Iron Throne at this point.