Politics of the Seven Kingdoms: Part IX (Dorne)
Hey folks! After a long delay on my part, I’ve combined and edited together the three parts of my Politics of Dorne essay, which is now up on Tower of the Hand…
Tag: politics of the seven kingdoms
Politics of the Seven Kingdoms: Dorne (Part III)
credit to ser Other-in-law Politics of Dorne Part III With the arrival of Aegon I Targaryen to the Westerosi mainland, we get the most detailed section of Dornish history, with extensive coverage both in the Dorne chapter and the various chapters of the roll of Targaryen monarchs and their foreign policy towards the only foreign kingdom on their content. All the same there are some frustrating…
Different anon jumping off of the last Dornish ask: Would a less ambitious ‘conquer Dorne’ plan that just seeks to annex the Red Mountains (since that seems to be where most of the raiding comes from) have a good chance of success? If so, why do you think no Storm King or Reach King (especially pre-united Dorne) ever tried it, or if the tried it it didn’t work?
I think a less ambitious strategy would definitely increase the odds of success – it prevents over-extension, allows you to concentrate your forces in a more defensible location and keeps your supply lines much shorter and less vulnerable to attack, and means you can avoid the hazards of the open deserts.
I do think it has been tried in the past, but the reason why it hasn’t worked very well is that they weren’t able to divide the enemy against itself. The Yronwoods aren’t about to ally with the Dondarrions, because after thousands of years of war between the two Houses, they’re not going to trust one another. Likewise, I would imagine there’s a lot of bad blood between the Gardeners and the Daynes and Fowlers.
Politics of the Seven Kingdoms: Dorne (Part II)
Politics of the Seven Kingdoms: Dorne (Part II)
credit to Sir Other-in-Law If in Part I, there was a crippling lack of information about the history of Dorne, with the arrival of Nymeria and the Rhoynar we go from drought to flood. While I would argue that the full story of Nymeria’s odyssey to Dorne is one of the best additions to WOIAF, providing a great and sweeping drama of storms, pirates, haunted lost cities, plagues, and finally a safe…
Politics of the Seven Kingdoms: Dorne (Part I)
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…
In ADwD one of the Northern Clanlords mention that Winterfell used to ask for hostagewards from the hill clans, & those whose fathers went against the Kings of Winter would be sent back minus head. Given that the hill clans seem to be steadfastly loyal, what kind of events would necessitate something as drastic as execution of the wards?
Probably internal warfare and the breaking of peaces:
“These clans—located largely in the mountainous regions beyond the wolfswood, in the high valleys and meadows, and along the Bay of Ice and certain rivers of the North—owe their allegiance to the Starks, but their disputes have oft created difficulties for the Lords of Winterfell and the Kings of Winter before them, forcing them to send men into the mountains to quell the bloodshed (commemorated in such songs as “Black Pines” and “Wolves in the Hills”), or to summon the chiefs to Winterfell to argue their cases.” (WOIAF)
I would guess what happened is that the Starks took hostages when they sent men into the mountains to prevent a further outbreak of violence, and then someone was dumb enough to break the peace, and to prevent another war and another intervention from Winterfell, a Stark cut off some heads to show that they would enforce the peace personally if they had to.
So it’s not about disloyalty to the Starks, it’s more about the folkways of feuding and vendetta.
Politics of the Seven Kingdoms: Part VIII (The Stormlands)
Hey folks! If you’d like to read my essay on the politics of the Stormlands collected in one place, it’s now up on Tower of the Hand here. Check it out!
Politics of the Seven Kingdoms: the Stormlands (Part III)
Politics of the Seven Kingdoms: the Stormlands (Part III)
Politics of the Stormlands, Part III (credit to ser other-in-law) The Last Storm Through a combination of inept diplomacy and his raging temper, Argilac Durrandon had turned an offer of alliance with into a war against House Targaryen. But to give the last of the Storm Kings credit, he put up a hell of a fight against Aegon the Conqueror, far better than his old rival Harren, or arguably even the…
Politics of the Seven Kingdoms: The Stormlands (Part II)
Politics of the Seven Kingdoms: The Stormlands (Part II)
credit to ser other-in-law The Andals in the Stormlands Earlier, I discussed some of my frustration with the historical sections of the Stormlands chapter. In this section, we get to some of my biggest pet peeves with this section of the WOIAF – namely, that its account of the Andal Invasion of the Stormlands doesn’t really pass muster, especially when viewed in comparison to the other Seven…
Politics of the Seven Kingdoms: Part VII (The Reach)
Hey folks! If you’d like to read my essay on the politics of the Reach collected together in one place, it’s now up on Tower of the Hand here. Check it out!
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