Law, Religion and Warging

[Corbeau]

Hello!

I was wondering about some issues in Westerosi society, religion and law:

First: There are very different religions combined in one realm. Since Westeros is pretty much a pre-modern society, all law is derived from

the gods (like in medieval Europe or some islamic societies today). When the official religion of the Iron Throne is the Faith of the Seven,

what reason (despite from becoming destroyed otherwise) have the Ironborn or the Northerners to obey the law of a foreign religion?

(Same with the Manderlys to the Starks and the King's Men to Stannis) I was also wondering if the subjects of House Blackwood are also

followers of the Old Gods.

Second: Warging. Is faith in the Old Gods required for warging? The Farwynds of Lonely Light are probably followers of the Drowned God,

but nontheless they seem to be skinchangers. In the 2012 Game of Thones video game you're playing Mors Westford, who is originally a

westerman and therfore probably a follower of the Faith but he's also a skinchanger (he can warg his hound). But I don't know if the game content

is "official" lore.

So...some thoughts about this?

[TheSovereignGrave]

I think the main thing in your first point is that all law isn't derived from religion. Religion has nowhere near the hold on Westeros that it did on actual medieval Europe, and the religions are far more tolerant of other faiths than Christianity was. The Northerners and Ironborn aren't following the law of a foreign religion, they're following the law of the King that they're vassals to.

As for warging, I think the only prerequisite is probably that you have some blood of the First Men in you. Which pretty much everyone in Westeros does. The ability to warg does seem like it could be a genetic thing, though.

[RumHam]

Hello!

I was wondering about some issues in Westerosi society, religion and law:

First: There are very different religions combined in one realm. Since Westeros is pretty much a pre-modern society, all law is derived from

the gods (like in medieval Europe or some islamic societies today). When the official religion of the Iron Throne is the Faith of the Seven,

what reason (despite from becoming destroyed otherwise) have the Ironborn or the Northerners to obey the law of a foreign religion?

(Same with the Manderlys to the Starks and the King's Men to Stannis) I was also wondering if the subjects of House Blackwood are also

followers of the Old Gods.

It's worth noting that the Ironborn don't always follow the laws or customs of the mainland. Slavery is illegal, yet they have "thralls." Polygamy is abhorred by the Faith and probably illegal, yet they take "salt wives." Raiding the shores of Westeros is also illegal and yet it's happened quite a few times since the Targaryens took control.

It doesn't seem to be as much of an issue in the North, for whatever reason. But even there you have things like Roose Bolton and allegedly the Umbers and Mountain Clans still practicing the right of the first night.

Second: Warging. Is faith in the Old Gods required for warging? The Farwynds of Lonely Light are probably followers of the Drowned God,

but nontheless they seem to be skinchangers.

House Crane also apparently produces the occasional skinchanger, and I doubt they follow the old gods. As TheSovereignGrave said, if anything's a requirement it's First Men blood, and it probably will never be an issue because most families have at least some of it.