Kaibaman Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 I’ve been doing a reread of ACOK and I’ve discovered a small detail in Robb’s story which might be trivial but also might have averted the Red Wedding. We know that Robb was struck by an arrow while storming the Craig and needed serious medical attention. However the Craig didn’t have a maester on staff because the Westerlings were too poor to afford one. So instead of another Luwin or Pycelle treating his wound, Robb got the lord of the Craig’s daughter who just happened to be single and around his age. This results in a Florence Nightingale effect and sets off a chain of events which leads to Robb’s downfall. Now some might argue that Robb would have still ended up in Jeyne’s bed and married her anyway even if she didn’t take care of him. But I really feel that if the Westerlings had a maester then Jeyne wouldn’t have been needed to perform surgery. Therefore Robb wouldn’t have fallen for her and then slept with her and married her out of guilt. They might still have mingled while Robb was getting better and Jeyne might have given him her maidenhead. But I doubt they would have formed a very strong strong romantic feelings a nurse and patient would have, at least not enough for them to consider marriage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastTymor Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Jeyne's mother would have slit the maester's throat and shoved Jeyne into Robb's bedroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonardo Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Do you realize how poor you'd have to be not to be able to get a maester? Sounds like a bullshit lie to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juanml82 Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Jeyne's mother would have ordered the maester to hide Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lion of the West Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Jeyne's mother would have ordered the maester to hide Pretty much. The maester would have been whatever the Westerlings told him since he is there to serve them and thus everything would have gone on as usual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonardo Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 The westerlings bring something like fifty swords; that speaks to at least around 5,000 people living on their lands and likely more considering they had already been at war. This isn't like Eustace Osgrey who seemingly had only a few hundred beneath him I find it hard to believe they don't employ a maester when even the Glovers have one, and their castle is made of wood :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GallowsKnight Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 "Our old maester died from a flux and no replacement has made it from Oldtown due to the conflict in the south" Or the like. A pretty convenient lie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramsay's Penguins Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Who needs a maester when Spicers are descended from healers themselves? Not that maesterx are just physicians, but perhaps that is the train of thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rhaenys_Targaryen Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Who says the Crag doesn't have a maester? Taking care of Robb wouldn't have needed to be done by a maester 100% of the time. He would help initially with the wound, yes, but further stuff (changing of the bandages, bringing food and drink, checking for fevers) could mostly be done by Jeyne herself. Especially if Sybell ordered the man to stay mostly out of sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonardo Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Who says the Crag doesn't have a maester? Taking care of Robb wouldn't have needed to be done by a maester 100% of the time. He would help initially with the wound, yes, but further stuff (changing of the bandages, bringing food and drink, checking for fevers) could mostly be done by Jeyne herself. Especially if Sybell ordered the man to stay mostly out of sight. Aye. and this being the king in the north with no one more prestigious to treat aside from the king on the iron throne. Care could not be done 100% of the time for obvious reasons, even if they wanted to, a maester must needs sleep and eat. The crag almost certainly did have a maester; they are not minor lords, but vassals to the Lannisters or a vassal of a direct vassal. These are not landed knights or minor lords, the westerlings were kings at one point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaibaman Posted March 27, 2015 Author Share Posted March 27, 2015 Do you realize how poor you'd have to be not to be able to get a maester? Sounds like a bullshit lie to me The crag almost certainly did have a maester; they are not minor lords, but vassals to the Lannisters or a vassal of a direct vassal. These are not landed knights or minor lords, the westerlings were kings at one point Actually the Westerlings are a impoverished house. Although they were once a very powerful house, their financial situation is so bad at the moment that they have trouble paying for maintenance in the Crag, most of which have been left to ruin. I think this is why Jeyne's father had to marry into a wealthy spice merchant family and is now looked down upon for doing so. You have to realize that maesters don't grow on trees. There is a lot of time, money and effort spent towards the education and training of a maester. Like all educational institutions the Citadel has to have a source of income. I could be wrong but I'm quite certain all houses have to periodically pay the Citadel a fee for the privilege of having a maester in their service which I doubt would come very cheap. Given that the majority of the acolytes get admitted by a scholarship type of deal and most likely don't have to pay for their education. I think whichever house retains their services get hit with reoccurring fees and if they can't pay then the Citadel would repossess them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Fossoway Posted March 27, 2015 Share Posted March 27, 2015 Besides, being Sybelle a, I suspect, manipulative and control freak woman I dont think she would look with good eyes a maester, which is a source of political connection with other Houses. I feel pity for Lord Gawen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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