Well, according to the wiki, it breaks down to:

– 1,200 Southrons.

– 2,500 hill clans.

– 1,200 Mormonts, Glovers, Hornwoods, Cerwyns, etc. 

– 400 Umbers.

Given the total surprise and the rout of Mance’s forces, being mounted vs. a largely infantry force, and superior discipline allowing them to maintain momentum and cohesion, I’d be surprised if Stannis’ army lost more than 50 men at the Battle for Castle Black. 

No, they probably participated, because otherwise (as with the Freys) it would have been mentioned.

Honestly, it was probably a matter of luck – having a commander who kept their cool, being placed on the right end of the line so that the rest of the army was between them and the Lannisters, sending a contingent that was mostly cavalry so it was easier to get away, etc. 

Well, think about it sociologically. 

Any society in which the means of production, as well as all political power, are distributed and redistributed on the basis of marriage and birthright is going to have a huge problem with bastards. Bastards have alternate claims of inheritance as the sons or daughters of the people who claim them, they come from outside the boundaries of dynastic marriage alliances, and they threaten the settled principle of primogeniture.

Eh, it’s a premodern society. 90% plus of the population probably never travels more than 10 miles from their birthplace, levels of international commerce and travel are much, much lower than in later epochs, levels of literacy are low and there’s no printing press, etc. 

There’s influence, but it’s contained to the port cities and among the nobility. 

warsofasoiaf:

The primary source of income was land taxes, but there were also customs fees and tolls for roads, as well as fines levied on lawbreakers. While we don’t see an example in the text, there were restrictions for smallfolk to use the lord’s facilities and pay a portion for the use, particularly for grain mills. The extra milled grain could be sold to places where grain was scarce, due to blight or bad soil.

However, several families are impoverished despite being noble in the setting. The Corbrays and the Westerlings come to mind, as do the Tarbecks, whose castle, Tarbeck Hall, was crumbling despite their old and impressive pedigree. Like the Tarbecks, the Conningtons might marry into a wealthy family, or come up with an idea to reverse their flagging fortunes. JonCon’s landing, however, is putting a halt to that.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

In the case of the Conningtons, since they’re right on the coast btw Storms End and the southern half of the Stormlands, they probably charge tolls on passengers crossing their land, since there’s prob. a good bit of traffic on that route.

Oh, definitely prophecy. 

Hey folks, quick update on the Kickstarter. First things first, as a number of people (didn’t forget you, Hardy and simsparkle) have been asking about this, I’ve reached out to my editor/publisher and we’ve figured out that **we can ship physical books to Europe!** We’re not sure how much the shipping will be, but since the printers are both in the U.S and Europe, it shouldn’t be too bad. So if…

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No, I think it it’s a rather straightforward case of not wanting to create rival houses who might compete for power amongst themselves and/or against their neighbors – as actually happened in Westerosi history. 

Well, he’s got a lot to survive – not long after Ashford, there’s the Great Spring Sickness, where in OTL both of his sons died. So the big question is whether Baelor and/or his sons survive all that. 

Well, first and foremost, Aerys I doesn’t become king, which means that Bloodraven doesn’t become Hand of the King and dictator-in-all-but-name, and instead Prince Baelor becomes King Baelor II.

As King, Baelor II’s going to have to deal with a hell of a crisis – a plague that wipes out a huge chunk of the population, a massive drought that lasts for upwards of a year, huge migrations of the smallfolk, Dagon Greyjoy’s reaving, Bittersteel’s scheming, etc.    

While that’s a lot for anyone to deal with, Baelor’s got a good enough rep that he should avoid the same hatred that Aerys I got for being a sorcery-obsessed bookworm who did nothing while the realm burned, probably because he’s a good enough administrator that he’d have been a lot more pro-active in dealing with these various crises. So expect at least part of the royal fleet to rally the West against the Ironborn, poor relief tied to your sept of residency to help the smallfolk but keep them from mass-migrations, etc. 

Good catch! Unfortunately, that doesn’t totally answer the question about the legal status of Westeros’ smallfolk. The smallfolk in those villages could have been serfs or villeins, but they could also be free peasants under copyhold, petty serjeanty, or other form of tenure where some form of rent is paid in service. For example, corvée labor existed in France up until 1789, long after serfdom itself had been abolished. 

And of course, feudal tenure was incredibly varied by region – so the legal status of smallfolk in the Gift could be very different from smallfolk in the Reach or in the Riverlands or in Dorne, etc.