Why do people associate The North with Honour?

[Witch]

It's only Ned, guys.

[new djinn]

Propaganda is a insidious thing.

[FaceGardener]

A lot of folks at Winterfell seem to value honor. Ser Cassel. Most of the household guard.

Additionally, a lot of the lords seem to value honor. The Greatjon, for instance. The mountain clans. Howland Reed.

The Boltons are the only solid example of treacherous folks. The Manderlies could be perceived as dishonorable, but I would personally contest such a characterization.

There is a logical explanation for this: when you're in a very cold environment, you're much more dependent on your immediate clansmen (the lone wolf dies...)--therefore a code of conduct, well upheld, is more critical for individual survival than it is in a more temperate environment.

[jon stark I]

You must be new.Every week there are at least half a dozen "Evil Starks" thread is posted.And while I neraly worship "Frey pies" there is no honor in eating your enemy or making their family eat them.What I can say about North is that they are (most of them) loyal to their lords.They are ruled by Starks for 8000 years in that time most of these Lords owe Starks their castles like Manderly.But what I can say about Starks is they do care about their people and their people care about them.

[Bright Blue Eyes]

Because the Starks and in the wider sense the Northmen are the heroes of the story. That's the way they are introduced into the books. Of course the heroes are honorable people, aren't they? They are the good guys, right?

Fantasy tropes at work.

[JoeyBanana]

It's a Westerosi thing, not just the North. Everybody considers themselves the most honorable, apart from maybe Dorne. Some Northmen have it, some don't.

Best to judge individually rather than the entire region. If you don't, pretty much every kingdom is going to end up with a bad rep.

[Dornish Vinegar]

It's only Ned, guys.

The Myth of Northern Honor is a common one (I guess), but thankfully I usually see people being called out for it when it's being taken for granted.

(GREAT avatar, btw)

[Starfell]

They're a fairly sympathetic-protagonist-heavy region, the current generation of Starks are honourable and they get a lot of page time, the only other families who come close to having so many PoVs are the Lannisters and the Greyjoys, neither of whom are exactly shining paragons of honour during this period in history. And there are a few Martell associated PoVs besides Quentyn and Arianne so we get a good look at them too, but there we have to balance underhanded methods with honourable goals and debatebly lauadble loyalty (depending on whether you think that they should be praised or not for never giving up on the old regime).

From what we've seen, the Riverlords seem an honourable bunch, the Stormlords likewise (Cortnay Penrose, Beric Dondarrion, and Rolland Storm all jump to mind, and that's before we even get to Stannis). The Vale Lords were willing to involve themselves in a war that they could just as easily have remained aloof from because of their bonds with Ned and with Jon Arryn, and despite all of that, they remained obedient when their Lady refused to let them. So I don't feel that the North has any real "advantage" in honour when it compares to other regions.

Perhaps people see it that way because the North is less political than the South, which is mostly just a function of their low population density

[Lord Reaver]

Stark bias. End of story.

[Fat Mac]

I don't know. It really is only Ned, but he got the sense of honor from Jon Arryn, a Valeman.

Why isn't there a concept of Vale honor?

[jon stark I]

I don't know. It really is only Ned, but he got the sense of honor from Jon Arryn, a Valeman.

Why isn't there a concept of Vale honor?

I don't think we can just say it is Ned.Just look at the Mountain clans or Mormonts(exclude Jorah) or Howland or Manderlys(sort of).If we go back look how Brandon Ice eyes freed the slaves and destroyed the slavers same goes for pirates of Sisters.Look at Torrhen Stark he had a good plan to kill the dragons but he ddn't want to make a bargain on his peoples lifes.Rather then live a life of meaningless rich playboy Starks willingly take the black.So we can't just say it is Ned ofcourse there were bad ones but non of them were as bad as Roose or Ramsay or Tywin also Starks have been defending the realm against the wildlings for centuries.

[Fat Mac]

I don't think we can just say it is Ned.Just look at the Mountain clans or Mormonts(exclude Jorah) or Howland or Manderlys(sort of).If we go back look how Brandon Ice eyes freed the slaves and destroyed the slavers same goes for pirates of Sisters.Look at Torrhen Stark he had a good plan to kill the dragons but he ddn't want to make a bargain on his peoples lifes.Rather then live a life of meaningless rich playboy Starks willingly take the black.So we can't just say it is Ned ofcourse there were bad ones but non of them were as bad as Roose or Ramsay or Tywin also Starks have been defending the realm against the wildlings for centuries.

In the past few years, the North has had Jorah, Roose, Ramsay, Rickard Karstark, Arnolf Karstark, Cregan Karstark, Wyman Manderly and the Umbers. If anything, I can name more dishonorable people from the North than from other regions.

Sure Ned isn't the only honorable person from the North, but many confuse his values with Northern values, when if anything, they're Arryn values.

[Lee-Sensei]

I don't think any one Kingdom has a monopoly on honor, but I think that if any did it's probably the High as Honor Arryns. That's where Ned picked it up, I'm sure.

[jon stark I]

In the past few years, the North has had Jorah, Roose, Ramsay, Rickard Karstark, Arnolf Karstark, Cregan Karstark, Wyman Manderly and the Umbers. If anything, I can name more dishonorable people from the North than from other regions.

Sure Ned isn't the only honorable person from the North, but many confuse his values with Northern values, when if anything, they're Arryn values.

Umbers?Manderly?

I can count more dishonorable people in South.All Tyrells, Lannisters and StormLand lords were dishonorable.I can't say Martells are dishonorable for sure but Arienne is dishonorable.RiverLords seem okey, Same goes for most of the Vale Lords but we don't get their stories very much.

[Falstaff_Stark]

Winter. The Starks are the lords who shelter the North through the harshest winters in Westeros. Small folk in the North are also more protected from constant war unlike the South. Until they became involved in Southron scheming. yes, wildlings and iron men have raided but the vast interior of the North has seen more peace than the more chaotic South. Even some internal strife is hinted at, but when winter comes, the Starks care for the North.

[Fat Mac]

Umbers?Manderly?

I can count more dishonorable people in South.All Tyrells, Lannisters and StormLand lords were dishonorable.I can't say Martells are dishonorable for sure but Arienne is dishonorable.RiverLords seem okey, Same goes for most of the Vale Lords but we don't get their stories very much.

Umbers practice First Night. Manderly is a cannibal.

How are all Lannisters, Tyrells and Stormlords dishonorable?

[The Drunkard]

Ned.

[Lee-Sensei]

Umbers?Manderly?

I can count more dishonorable people in South.All Tyrells, Lannisters and StormLand lords were dishonorable.I can't say Martells are dishonorable for sure but Arienne is dishonorable.RiverLords seem okey, Same goes for most of the Vale Lords but we don't get their stories very much.

That's because you're comparing the North to the entire South. Compare them to the individual Kingdoms and the North doesn't look that exceptional.

[NorthernXY]

I'd say people get "Duty" and "Honor" confused because having honor usually comes from doing your duty or the "right" thing. Northmen see their duty as protecting the realm by joining the NW.

As Ned stated, when winter comes the lone wolf dies but the pack survives. Unless you're incredibly deceptive like the Boltons, the Northerners have to stick together/trust each other/do their duty to each other to survive.

Fighting for power seems less important when you have to worry about you and yours survival.

[Tywin Manderly]

The Ned.