Was Jeor Mormont right to give Longclaw to Jon Snow?

[TallTyrion]

The first Mormont won BI in an arm wrestling contest maybe he got the sword the same way. :dunno:

I thought the Stark King won the Island and gifted it to the Mormonts, could be wrong though.

[Khal Shaggydog]

Story goes it was a Stark that won BI in a wrestling match from someone Ironborn.

Random VS question - why did the Starks purchase a Greatsword instead of a regular or bastard sword? I mean, better for ceremonial beheadings, but did someone like Ned actually use a greatsword in battle? If not, kind of a waste of a great purchase.

[Lord Sapna]

Longclaw is the traditional sword of House Mormont and therefore Jeor Mormont had no right to give it away. If Ned had survived and passed Ice on to Robb and Robb then gave it away so many people would be annoyed at this claiming Robb had no right. With Jeor Mormont in the Nights Watch I don't think he has any right to have the sword anyway, it should have gone to Dacey as a noted warrior.

Yeesh why didn't jeor have a right to the sword. He gives up lands titles and crowns. Now he's supposed to give up the sword to. I suppose if jeor dies it may have gone back to his sister at bear island, but he decided to give it to Jon. I mean if you overanalyse everything then fuck maybe he just didn't like his sister and nieces. Or is worried about giving the sword to another that may dishonour his name.

Also though the mormont daughters might keep there own names it's likely that they won't and then the sword will not pass to Mormonts any longer.

Jorah was so desperate for money he sold people into slavery, a capital offense, but he didn't sell the sword even though he could've gotten a fortune for it. That's how important the sword was for House Mormont. Then Jeor just gifted it to some guy he met a few months ago and barely knew. Makes total sense. Not.

Actually yeah. Jorah was desperate to keep his gold digger wife happy so he sold some slaves. Well he wasn't wanting to be caught was he. If he wasn't caught then he would have wanted to live happily with his wife and give the sword to his own son.

As for when he fled I suppose he realised he had brought shame on his house so had the sense not to sell the sword.

[Arya Targaryen]

Jprah left the sword behind- and that's why the sword reminded the Mormonts of Jorah - the son who lost his honor. Maege did not want to keep it, so she sent it to Jeor. She could have kept it, you know. Jeor put the sword away because it reminded him of Jorah and his shame. HE didn't want it. And then he gave the sword as a present to somebody of relatively high birth, fellow watchman, who has just saved his life. It is reasonable.

Valyrian steel sword are not sold - that's why Tywin never managed to get one. But they definitly can be passed on as a present. Jeor had no other son, and the Mormont girls did not want it. So he gave the sword to someone who might actually use it.

[Khal Shaggydog]

Well, they had to have been sold at one point - either by Valyrians or Targaryens or someone else. No way the Valyrians were just randomly sending VS blades to say, the Tarlys/Starks/Mormonts/Cobrays, etc.

By the time Tywin is looking to buy, no one is selling, because they can no longer be made. But back in the day they were sought after commodities that someone could buy.

[shadow282]

I get that you think "It's his sword, he can do what he likes with it" is a stupid argument, but that really doesn't change the fact that it's his sword and he can do what he wants with it. Jeor obviously gave it to Jorah when he left for the wall, and if the Mormonts had wanted it after they wouldn't have sent it to the Wall. He was grooming Jon for command, he probably wanted the sword to be the sword of the LC. After all, who else would Jon give it to but somebody in the Watch?

[sj4iy]

The plot called for it, so yes. He was right to do so.

[Lord Lannister]

I don't understand how people are saying this is stupid

Jeor is the last living male mormont (not counting Jorah, but he lost the rights). the male line is who holds the sword. Jon prevented Jeors death and maybe many more deaths by killing the wight. Jeor knows when he dies its just gonna collect dust, why not give it to Jon who he thinks will be future LC?

I can understand giving Oathkeeper to Brienne being stupid but giving Longclaw to Jon was actually a great move. maybe it can now become the sword of lord commanders

Why some of us don't like this move is because it basically insults the entire Mormont family by just giving this priceless family heirloom away to someone else. Even Jorah at his slaving worst didn't sink that low. There's a ton of daughters left, at least Alysane has a son, and apparently there's precedent in Westeros for the female to pass the name on to a son if there's no other male heir.

I'm not denying it was Jeor's to give, just that is was incredibly thoughtless move on his part. Screw the rest of the family and it's history, I like my steward and it's not like there's nothing else I can do to reward him.

[Knight of the Teabags]

There is a theory that pops up ever so often on these boards that 'Longclaw' is not actually 'Longclaw' at all but another valyrian steel blade entirely with a rather grander history which was last seen in the hands of a certain historical character who later in his life served as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch before disappearing beyond the Wall.

[JonCon's Red Beard]

There is a theory that pops up ever so often on these boards that 'Longclaw' is not actually 'Longclaw' at all but another valyrian steel blade entirely with a rather grander history which was last seen in the hands of a certain historical character who later in his life served as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch before disappearing beyond the Wall.

But Jeor would recognise his own sword. Besides, he said it was sent to him by his sister when Jorah left.

[Khal Shaggydog]

I think the Teabag Knight is saying the Longclaw was Dark Sister all along - the only people we hear of the ancestral sword story from is Joer. We never hear of it from Jorah. Its pretty crackpot, but its plausible. Putting the bears head on it might just be on instructions to keep this thing safe and secret as part of LC duties...which could help to explain why Joer was willing to alter the blade to fit Jon's identity.

But...crackpot. Possible.

[Light a wight tonight]

But Jeor would recognise his own sword. Besides, he said it was sent to him by his sister when Jorah left.

So he realized that this wasn't Longclaw and was totally cool with A, having some other Valyrian steel sword and B, happy that the real Longclaw remained with the Mormont family.

So what we have here may be fLongclaw. Maybe Dark Sister or some other lost sword.

My personal crackpot theory is that Jon was destined to go to the Wall and that the way was perpared by Benjen, Jeor, and others unnamed. Bloodraven may have had a hand in the plot, too.

[King Tommen Baratheon]

Well technically Jeor could have given it to Moon Boy if he wanted, but that doesn't make it right. He should have given it to a Mormont, not Jon.
It does add another reason (aside from potential conflict over Dany's affections. :ack:) for Jorah to not like Jon if they do end up meeting, but aside from that unlikely occurrence, it really doesn't serve any plot value yet.

[TheWolfHeart]

The hero should enter battle with a valyrian steel sword. Its also a bastard sword. King arthur had exacalibur. Link has the master sword.

[The Red Widow of Coldmoat]

Longclaw and Dark SIster aren't even the same type of sword

[Gronzag]

Jon should give it back to Mormonts eventually, and Starks should get back both swords that were made from Ice. And no, Brienne can't keep Oathkeeper. Lannisters are free to give her a VS sword that they got legally, not by dirty treason.

[Veltigar]

The first Mormont won BI in an arm wrestling contest maybe he got the sword the same way. :dunno:

That was Rodrik Stark actually

[Aemond's Eye]

Yeah it's a bit of a contrived plot device to be sure. When you think about it too long it doesn't make sense. Kind of like Ned/Jon/Stannis somehow knowing that Jaime is the dad (fine, Cersei's cheating but Jaime isn't the only blonde guy in KL and the first guy you suspect is her twin brother?).

But that's OK. It's not bloody Shakespeare.

Jaime was the only blonde person in constant close contact with Cersei though. I'd imagine it's not "oh, they're both blonde," so much as realising that the chances are any child of Cersei's fathered by Robert would have brown hair, then wondering who the dad is, and then suddenly various little moments between Jaime and Cersei go from "they seem a bit close for siblings, but they are twins," to "wait a second....".

[Veltigar]

There is a theory that pops up ever so often on these boards that 'Longclaw' is not actually 'Longclaw' at all but another valyrian steel blade entirely with a rather grander history which was last seen in the hands of a certain historical character who later in his life served as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch before disappearing beyond the Wall.

Dark sister is a long sword, not a bastard sword. If Longclaw is any missing sword (not very likely), than it's Blackfyre.

[Veltigar]

The strange thing is not Jeor having the sword. Giving the sword to Jon is not strange at all as well, the strange thing is that Jon did not sent it back after Jeor's death. Lynn Corbray wields Lady Forlorn, even though he's not the heir, after his death the sword returns to the main line. The same would have happened to Jeor. He wields LC until he dies and then it goes to Maege again. He could have given it to Jon, but on his death it should have returned.