Has the population of the Neck ever been talked about? Like if the crannogmen gathered a host, how many men could they field Hypothetically speaking

I doubt that many. Fenlands are characteristically poor, marginal places which can’t support that many people because they’re relying much more on fishing and bird-hunting than cereal agriculture.

Maester Steven, may I please ask if your Economic Development Plans would be subject to alteration were they applied to now defunct polities like the Kingdom of the Storm (in its “Sea to Shining Sea” phase) or the Ironborn domains during those years of darkness when the Islanders writ ran from the Arbor to Bear Islands?

Oh definitely they would change. As with Jaehaerys and his roads, economic and infrastructure development is usually driven by the interests of the center over the periphery.

So to take your example, I would imagine the Durrandons would discourage a Blue Fork canal in favor of a canal linking the Godseye to the Trident, as that would facilitate traffic in a southerly direction closer to the “home territories.”

As for the Ironborn at their coastal peak, well, they were rather notoriously uninterested in infrastructure that didn’t have to do with longships. Indeed, I would imagine they would ban bridge-building as a potential check on their power. But in the Hoare era of rulership over the Riverlands, I could see them favoring a Blue Fork canal to give the Iron Islands direct access to the Narrow Sea.

I love reading your Politics of the Seven Kingdoms. Thank you for writing them.

You’re very welcome!

Politics of the Seven Kingdoms: Dorne (Part I)

Introduction: The Dorne chapter of World of Ice and Fire is one I feel profoundly ambivalent about. On the one hand, of all of the kingdoms chapters it provides the most vivid portrait of a people, which does go to some lengths to giving Dornish culture more depth and variety. On the other hand, it is the least historical of any of the chapters, providing only a few snapshots of the very recent…

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How long does it take to travel from the Westeros East coast to Asshai? How much further is it from the West coast?

Well, from Sunspear to Qarth is 4,690 miles, and then Qarth to Asshai is around 2700 miles more, so that’s ~ 7,400 miles. Assuming an average speed of 160 miles a day, that’s 46 days…if everything goes well.

Going from Oldtown instead adds 1,760 miles to your journey, so add on another 11 days.

Hi! In your recent flag post I think you’ve conflated national flag with personal royal standard. The standard is defined by heraldic law (were there are different laws in Scotland and England) and it only a representation of an individual (the monarch). Plus the royal standard of Scotland is officially the same as the royal standard of England but with the lion rampant and three lions swapped positions. Check College of Arms and Court if Lord Lyon for more detailed explanations.

No, I got that distinction. My point more had to do with the usage of various flags.

Is there a cultural/historic reason why Wales has a more complex looking flag than England, Scotland or Northern Ireland?

Different reasons.

So to start with England, the quite heraldically-complex Royal Standard (shown below) was gradually de-emphasized, first because the Stuarts wanted to emphasize the personal union between England and Scotland, and then after the Civil War and the Glorious Revolution of 1688 a desire to de-emphasize the royal family in favor of the nation-state, and then after the Act of Union of 1707 the need to emphasize this newfangled concept of Britishness.

In Scotland, the Royal Banner which you can see on the top right quadrant there was de-emphasized by the Scottish Parliament in 1672 in favor of the St. Andrew’s Cross/the Saltire, to emphasize the distinction between the King of Scots and the kingdom of Scotland (given the fact that the latter had warred quite successfully against the former during the Bishops’ Wars and the “Wars of the Three Kingdoms”).

And in Northern Ireland, the “Ulster Banner” was discontinued after the imposition of direct rule in 1972, and after the end of direct rule in 1998 its use by government entities was avoided because of the flag’s association with unionist/loyalist politics, although it’s still used in international sports.

Why were lions so damn common in European heraldry? I get their symbolism I suppose but they are just so foreign to the lands that used the lion imagery so prominently. Who got the ball rolling on that trend?

Well, first I would guess that they might have been common because European lions were a thing, so they were very much a big element of ancient Greek symbolism, and on and on.

@goodqueenaly, as our resident heraldic expert, any thoughts?

How did the Stormbreakers originated?

We don’t know how, but given that there was a famous Baratheon knight called “the Stormbreaker,” I’m going to guess he founded it at some point after the time of Ser Raymont Baratheon (of the Kingsguard of Aenys I) and before the time of the Laughing Storm.

why did varys pay for gendry’s apprenticeship? assuming it was him

Because Robert isn’t an unkind man and would want his bastard child taken care of and Varys would be the man to do that discretely, because Varys doesn’t cause unnecessary harm to children (while being bang alongside the idea of necessary harm to children), and because Varys would want a bastard of Robert’s on hand to de-legitimize Joffrey/Tommen when the time was right.