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Missing swords from Winterfells crypt


cmclain5

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  • 2 weeks later...

Had the swords been made of Valyrian Steel, that'd be an open invitation for looters. Ned's sword, Ice, was the only one known at Winterfell to be of such much-sought-after steel.



There was one other in Ned's possession at one time, IIRC. Wasn't Ser Arthur Dayne's sword, Dawn, made of Valyrian Steel?



Returning a knight's sword is/was the ultimate in chivalry. It shows, despite fighting on opposite sides, there was great respect for each other that particular knights (or lords) had. That's what Ned displays. It could be an act to prompt something else.



Who better to trust with a new-born babe than a man with honour, like Ned? I'd say news of the shenanigans in KL would certainly make someone consider this.


Wouldn't Arthur do the same had the result been the other way? I feel that's yes.




Returning to the swords in the crypt. Those were about symbolism and ceremony. A noble's sword would pass to his eldest (surviving) heir, as do all lands, titles and levies.


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Was it Bran's uncle Brandon? Would he have been enshrined below winterfell? he took the black, was not a lord and was not KNOWN to be dead. so another Brandon perhaps?



Would Lyanna have had a sword?


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Dawn is forged from a "falling star". Not Valyrian Steel... interestingly it could even pre-date Valyrian Steel-making technology. That's pure conjecture, but the Daynes are very old and their sigil is the same falling star. So it seems likely enough.

Could that be a way of describing the process? Valyrian Steel should have spells..... are they 'woven' or 'folded' in? The other thing is, when forging most hot metals, sparks fly everywhere. All complete their arc downward, hence falling stars.

Descriptions are often embellished in 'songs' as well.

It's worth a trip to a forge sometime, particularly in certain Northern Towns in England. You'll see what I mean. Most steel manufacturing areas will have them.

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  • 4 weeks later...

They were all swords from the last few hundred years, and they were all iron. The book mentioned that in the older tombs you could only see the outline of where the sword was because it corroded away. That's pretty reasonable when you are talking about a damp crypt in a castle that's older than human history.



Even though the First Men did not have iron, there's been plenty of time for it to become part of very ancient customs. The Andal invasion is ancient history to the people of 300 AE - the first Andal castles in Westeros are older than the Great Pyramids.


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Was it Bran's uncle Brandon? Would he have been enshrined below winterfell? he took the black, was not a lord and was not KNOWN to be dead. so another Brandon perhaps?

You're thinking of Uncle Benjen, I think. "Uncle Brandon" is indeed dead (murdered by the Mad King), 15 years before AGoT.

Would Lyanna have had a sword?

Probably not, she may have been wild and somewhat, shall we say, nontraditional, but there's no mention of her having a sword, and she wasn't, iirc, known for being a fighter. There may be the Knight of the Laughing Tree thing, but that's speculation, and unlikely to be something Ned would use when arranging her burial - he'd probably want to draw as little attention to her as possible, given all that happened since.

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