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Small Questions v.10099


Jon Weirgaryen

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A place for small questions that you feel don't need a thread of their own...

Trying to find a quote, but don't have ebooks? Try A Search of Ice and Fire.


A list of all Small Questions threads of the past:



A Thread for Small Questions 08-02-09 (ISO8601 thread start date: YY-MM-DD)

A Thread for Small Questions II 09-12-27

A Thread for Small Questions III 10-05-19

A Thread for Small Questions IV 10-09-01

A Thread for Small Questions V 10-11-22

A Thread for Small Questions VI 11-02-10

A Thread for Small Questions VII 11-04-11

A Thread for Small Questions VIII 11-05-19

A Thread for Small Questions IX 11-06-13

A Thread for Small Questions X 11-07-01

A Thread for Small Questions XI 11-07-28

[ADWD SPOILERS] Small Questions (ADwD I) 11-07-31

Small Questions on ADwD II (ADwD II) 11-08-24

Small Questions XII 11-10-10

A Thread for Small Questions XII 11-10-10

Small Questions for ADwD III (ADwD III) 11-11-11

A Thread for Small Questions XIII 11-12-13

A Thread for Small Questions XIV 12-02-04

Small Questions for ADwD IV (ADwD IV) 12-03-09

A Thread for Small Questions XV 12-03-11

A Thread for Small Questions XVI 12-04-09

A Thread for Small Questions XVII 12-05-01

A Thread for Small Questions XVIII 12-05-29

A Thread for Small Questions XIX 12-06-23

A Thread for Small Questions XX 12-07-15

A Thread for Small Questions XXI 12-08-01

The thread for small questions, version XXI 12-08-01

Thread for Small Questions v. xxii 12-08-14

Again With the Small Questions 12-09-04

More Small Questions, Really? 12-10-12

This Small Question Thing 12-11-06

Small Questions v.10000 (1000 zero) 13-01-01

Small Questions v.10001 (1000 one) 13-01-20

Small Questions v.10002 (1000 two) 13-02-01

Small Questions for ADwD, v.V. (ADwD V) 13-02-10 still running

Small Questions v.10003 (1000 three) 12-02-25

Small Questions v.10004 (1000 four)

Small Questions v.10005 (1000 five)

Small Questions v.10006 (1000 six)

Small Questions v.10007 (1000 seven)

Small Questions v.10008 (1000 eight)

Small Questions v.10009 (1000 nine)

Small Questions v.10010 (100 ten)

Small Questions v.10011 (100 eleven)

Small Questions v.10012 (100 twelve)

{version number jumps one for obscure reasons}

Small Questions v.10014 (100 fourteen)

Small Questions v.10015 (100 fifteen)

Small Questions v.10016 (100 sixteen)

Small Questions v.10017 (100 seventeen)

Small Questions v.10018 (100 eightteen)

Small Questions v.10019 (100 nineteen)

Small Questions v.10020 (100 twenty)

Small Questions v.10021 (100 twenty-One)

Small Questions v.10022 (100 twenty-two)

Small Questions v.10023 (100 twenty-three)

Small Questions v.10024 (100 twenty-four)

Small Questions v.10025 (100 twenty-five)

Small Questions v.10026 (100 twenty-six)

Small Questions v.10027 (100 twenty-seven)

{version number jumps 50 for obscure reasons}

Small Questions v.10078 (100 seventy-eight)

Small Questions v.10079 (100 seventy-Å„ine)

Small Questions v.10080 (100 eighty)

Small Questions v.10081 (100 eighty-one)

Small Questions v.10082 (100 eighty-two)

Small Questions v.10083 (100 eighty-three)

Small Questions v.10084 (100 eighty-four)

Small Questions v.10085 (100 eighty-five)

Small Questions v.10086 (100 eighty-six)

Small Questions v.10087 (100 eighty-seven)

Small Questions v.10088 (100 eighty-eight)

Small Questions v.10089 (100 eighty-nine)

Small Questions v.10090 (100 ninety)


Small Questions v.10091 (100 ninety-one)

Small Questions v.10092 (100 ninety-two)

Small Questions v.10093 (100 ninety-three)

Small Questions v.10094 (100 ninety-four)

Small Questions v.10095 (100 ninety-five)

Small Questions v.10096 (100 ninety-six)

Small Questions v.10097 (100 ninety-seven)

Small Questions v.10098 (100 ninety-nine)



Don't feel like reading through all those previous threads to find the answer to your question? Try this new feature:

Most Frequently asked Small Questions

On The Winds of Winter:

When will "The Winds of Winter" be published? What's the latest news?

Nobody knows. Current rumours say October 2015, but so far every rumor has been wrong.

The best bet is to follow GRRM's blog.

GRRM himself has expressed in December, 2014:

Look, I've said before, and I will say again, I don't play games with news about the books. I know how many people are waiting, how long they have been waiting, how anxious they are. I am still working on WINDS. When it's done, I will announce it here [on GRRM's site]. There won't be any clues to decipher, any codes or hidden meanings, the announcement will be straightforward and to the point. I won't time it to coincide with Xmas or Valentine's Day or Lincoln's Birthday, the book will not rise from the dead with Jesus on Easter Sunday. When it is done, I will say that's it is done, on whatever day I happen to finish.

I don't know how I can make it any clearer.



What's the material that has already been published from The Winds of Winter?
Spoiler tagged for obvious reasons

  • Barristan I, published in 2013 paperback edition of A Dance with Dragons
  • Tyrion I, read at Miscon 2012
  • Victarion I, read at Miscon 2012
  • Barristan II, read at Boscone 50 in 2012
  • Tyrion II, released in the 2014 update of A World of Ice and Fire, the official app
  • Theon I, released on GRRM's website in 2011, also released in the back of several A Dance with Dragons paperback editions
  • Arianne I, released on GRRM's website in 2013
  • Arianne II, read at Worldcon 2011
  • Mercy, removed from A Dance with Dragons, placed in The Winds of Winter, released on GRRM's website.
  • Aeron I, mentioned by GRRM on his blog to have been removed from A Dance with Dragons in 2010, reserved for The Winds of Winter
  • Alayne I, removed from A Dance with Dragons, placed in The Winds of Winter. Recently posted on GRRMs website, currently available for reading.
  • Prologue, featuring an appearance by Jeyne Westerling. It is currently unknown who the POV will be for this prologue.

In total, we know about 11 chapters



On the tales of Dunk & Egg, and links to the main series:

How many Dunk & Egg stories have been published? Where are they published in?

Three Dunk and Egg stories are published at the moment. For now, they are

  • The Hedge Knight
    A short story to be found either in "Legends, edited by Robert Silverberg" or in "Dreamsongs II by George R.R. Martin"

    There is also a rendition as a graphic novel by the same name: "The Hedge Knight".
  • The Sworn Sword
    A short story to be found either in "Legends II - Dragon, Sword and King, edited by Robert Silverberg" or in the original hard- and softcover editions of "Legends II" from 2003 & 2004

    There is also a rendition as a graphic novel by the same name: "The Sworn Sword".
  • The Mystery Knight
    A short story to be found either in "Warriors, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois" or in the paperback "Warriors 1, edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois"

    No graphic novel... yet.



Two more Dunk & Egg stories yet to be written have already been described. They are known as "The She-wolves of Winterfell" and "The Village Hero". Both of these are working titles, though, not final titles.


Will the Dunk & Egg tales be published in one book?
The first three tales of Dunk and Egg will be published in one book, titled "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms", to be released in english on 6-10-2015. In some other languages, however, it has already been published. "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" will contain pages filled with artwork, which the other versions don't have.


Was Dunk ever knighted by Ser Arlan?
In spoiler tags:


No. Whether he was knighted later in life, is unknown, but likely, given his status as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard.




Are any descendants of Dunk still alive in the main series today?
Yes. GRRM has expressed that we'd meet one of Dunk's descendants. Brienne of Tarth finds the shield Dunk owns in The Hedge Knight. Hodor is often heavily suspected to be a descendant of Dunk's due to his enormous size, and the fact that people believe the young girl and the "knight as tall as Hodor" in the vision Bran sees in A Dance with Dragons are Old Nan (in her youth) and Dunk, and that the event is to take place during The She-Wolves of Winterfell.
Small Paul (from the Night's Watch) has also been suggested to be a descendant of Dunks, due to his size and the mention of "thick as a castle wall", which is also used to describe Dunk.


On the main series:

When was Robert Baratheon declared King?
Around the time of the Battle of the Trident.

Why were Ned and Robert at the Eyrie when mad king Aerys II sent to Jon Arryn for their heads?
It is true Ned and Robert were past their squiring and fostering age, when they visited Jon Arryn together at the Eyrie at that certain time. There is clarification on this both in TWoIaF and an older SSM telling that they liked to spend some of their time there together.

What is the right of the first night?
The right of the first night, better known as droit du seigneur (which only looks French, although it is English usage, the French use different terminology) or jus primae noctis is a medieval custom that has been abolished in Westeros (by Jaeherys I & Septon Barth) as in the real world (apart from a few small islands in the English channel).
It allows the lord to be the first to consummate any marriage before the husband, thus potentially to sire numerous bastard children. In the real world, husbands would pay a fee to their lord for not making use of this right.


What is "guest right" and why is it so important?
The guest right is a sacred law of hospitality. When a guest, no matter the station of birth, eats the food and drinks the drink beneath the host's roof, the guest right is invoked. Bread and salt are the traditional provisions.
When invoked, neither the guest is allowed to do harm to his host, nor is the host allowed to do harm to his guest for the length of the guest's stay. For either to do so would be to break a sacred covenant that is believed to invoke the wrath of the Gods both old and new. Both the teachings of the old gods and the Faith of the Seven hold to this. Even robber lords and wreckers are bound by the ancient laws of hospitality.

Guest gifts can be given when the guests depart, ending the guest right. House Manderly practises this tradition in A Dance with Dragons.

Breaking the guest right is seen as a terrible thing. The example stated in the books concern the Rat Cook. A cook in the Night's Watch who killed the kings son, and cooked the son in a pie he served to the king, leading to the unknowingly eating his own son. The gods punished the Rat Cook, by turning him into a giant rat who could only feed by eating its own young. The gods did not punish the cook for feeding the king his own son, but for killing a man beneath his own roof.


Does the Wall block warging?
It appears so. Jon Snow isn't capable of connecting with Ghost anymore, when they have the Wall in between them, nor can Jon, warged in Ghost, feel Summer when Summer is north of the Wall, and Jon and Ghost south.

Whether this is the same for each warg/skinchanger, or depends on the strength of the individual, is a matter of discussion. It does appear that Bran, warged into the weirwood net, can see south of the Wall, whilst being north of it.


What's the kindness Jaime never did?
Jaime is referring to Tysha, and how Tyrion believed that Jaime bought Tysha's services to make Tyrion into a man (making him lose his virginity). Jaime never paid Tysha, however, as Tysha wasn't a whore. In other words, a kindness that Jaime never did.


In A Dance with Dragons, Septon Chayle is at the Wall. Wasn't he the septon at Winterfell? Didn't he die in A Clash of Kings?
Indeed. This is an error., Septon Cellador is the Septon at Castle Black. Septon Chayle, as far as is known, is dead.


If the gates in King's Landing were closed, how did Arya get to the harbor? You need to cross a gate...
A well known issue. People have tried to find explanations for it, but most have not yet been satisfied. Here's the most recent given explanation.


How come Cersei and Margaery need a Kingsguard Knight to defend them in their trials in A Dance with Dragons, while Gregor Clegane, not a Kingsguard Knight, was allowed to defend Cersei in Tyrion's trial in A Storm of Swords?
Because in Tyrion's trial, it wasn't Cersei who stood accused.. Tyrion was accused, Cersei the accuser. Tyrion didn't necessarily need to use a Kingsguard knight in that trial because he isn't royalty.

In Cersei's case in Dance (and in Margaery's case, should she opt for a trial by combat, should her first trial fail), Cersei is the Queen Regent, Margaery the Queen. They are royalty, and it is them who stand accued. They are not the accusers. Thus, they need a Kingsguard to defend them.


If knights are custom of the followers of the Seven, why there are knights in the North (Old Gods) and in the Iron Islands (Drowned God)?
There aren't many. So far we know of a single Ironborn knight. Knights from the North spring forth from a few sources:

  • White Harbor and the Manderlys
    The Manderys in White harbor brought the new gods and Southern customs along, so knighthood is more common there.
  • Houses near the Neck
    Houses who have business with the South may have a few knights, as customs mingle.
  • War returnees
    Some Northerners simply get knighted by Southern nobility during war time, it cannot be helped. Ser Jorah Mormont is an example.
  • Hedge Knights and Freeriders
    People living the life of a hedge knight or freeriders in service in the South might face the same treatment, when the do too many chivalrous deeds, although an example is missing here.


Who can make a knight?
Any knight can make a knight. As knighthood is a form of distinction, the higher in renown or social status the maker, the better for the image of the knight made. Kings can also knight people, but lords cannot (unless they have once been knighted themselves).

So for example, King Robert Baratheon, knighted in his youth, can knight people (and has) because he is a knight himself, and because he is a king. King Baelor I, a king, but not a knight, could have knighted anyone he wanted to. Lord Eddard Stark, never knighted himself, can't knight anyone.


Which Targaryens had deformed children?

  • King Maegor I Targaryen (multiple malformed children by multiple wives)
  • Daemon Targaryen (a malformed son by Lady Laena Velaryon)
  • Rhaenyra Targaryen (a malformed stillborn daughter, Visenya, by Prince Daemon, according to Mushroom)
  • Daenerys Targaryen (a malformed stillborn son, Rhaego, by Khal Drogo)



How big do dragons grow?
Dragons seem just to grow if they get enough food and space.


How old are Dany's dragons as of the end of Dance?
Born in early 299 AC, the dragons are currently around 1,5 years old.


Who is Jon Snow's mother?
Have a look into the first post of the current (fixed) R+L=J thread in the General ASoIaF forum. It links to collections of theories on Jon Snow's parentage.



What is a masterly house?
Masterly houses are beneath lordly houses. They cannot dispense justice, and they technically do not own the land, they administer it. Deepwood Mott is a masterly house I believe, they administer the Wolfswood but cannot dispense justice.


Who are the marcher lords?
Marcher lords are powerful lords who guard region near border with Dorne, known as the Dornish Marches. They have large keeps and maintain large forces, to defend lands of the Reach and Stormlands in case of Dornish attack.

Marcher lords:
- in the Stormlands:
House Selmy, House Dondarrion, House Swann, House Caron
- in the Reach:
House Tarly, possibly House Peake


Any other questions:

Is The Ice Dragon part of the asoiaf universe?

No, it is not.

Continue

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Reported, yes. From the previous thread:

Balerion the one eared cat, on 09 Apr 2015 - 10:37 PM, said:

Mind if I hijack this question? I have a few questions about knighthood!

So a hedge knight is someone who's been knighted, but has no lands or men to follow him (other than a squire, I guess).

Next up is a household knight, who again, holds no lands or men, but is sworn to serve a specific lord. Same as a sworn sword, I assume?

Then a landed knight, who has lands/maybe a keep or castle, etc.

A sworn sword and a household knight will probably and usually amount to the same, when the sword is sworn to the head of a household ("Mund"). In antiquity's codified Roman law and just the same in Germanic law, the head of a household is the source of justice, allowing him or her to do as she pleases, including killing any member of the household. Seems barbaric, but is of course very traditional.

It is the Feud law that involved to the Feudalism we see in ASoIaF: When Ser Gregor's men go breaking the king's piece, get Ser Gregor (the Mund) apprehended for it. When Lannister Minion's kill Martell family members, seek to bring Tywin Lannister (the Mund) to justice.

eta: I forgot to mention the exceptions to the above.

Brienne of Tarth's service to Catelyn Stark as a personal sworn sword does not place her in Catelyn's household. Cat has not got one, she is not her family's Mund.

Sandor Clegane's service as Prince Joffrey's personal shield does not place him in Prince Joffrey's household. Joff had not got one (yet), he is not his family's Mund.

Can't think of any others at the moment, but there must be a few more.

Balerion the one eared cat, on 09 Apr 2015 - 10:37 PM, said:

Are there any higher order of knights after this? Other than Faith Militant/Kingsguard, because they're specific orders of knights. Have I missed any denominations of being a knight?

In the real world, there was a distinction between knights that would be allowed and those who were required to lead a group of soldiers or knights and those who weren't allowed to (banneret).

In ASoIaF there is none. Either you are a knight or you aren't. If you need more distinction, you need lands, a keep, incomes, money and "good" deeds to eventually earn your son or grandson a lordship.


Balerion the one eared cat, on 09 Apr 2015 - 10:37 PM, said:

A king can knight someone - does the king have to be knighted himself? Or does he get to dub people because he's the king, whether he himself is a knight or not? So, for example, could Baelor the Blessed have knighted someone (as far as I know he himself was not a knight)?

In medieaval France and in the Seven Kingdoms, "All justice flows from the king" -- AGoT 20 Eddard IV

The king can do whatever he likes, and as there cannot have been a nilth knight to knight the first knight, the king does not need to be a knight to make knights. That would be really perilous to a king who was a minor facing a battle...

Balerion the one eared cat, on 09 Apr 2015 - 10:37 PM, said:

Is it the norm for a person being knighted to have been a squire first? I know Bronn wasn't, but is that a relatively regular occurence, or is it unusual for someone who has never served as a squire to be knighted?

Hmm, I have been working in a then very recent field of technology for a few years and was granted the right to train people in it. Those then got academic degrees, that I never was able to attain, unless willing to submit to the same procedure. There's a lot of usefulness in the idea of trainee-journeyperson-master approach of learning, but there's also quite a lot of madness or nonsense in it, too. I cannot simply be a master, but am honoured to have been a masters' master for a while.
I like the idea of the Doctor honores causa, that is giving a person whose writing is the source of a route of training the title without having them undergo the training itself.
That's what happened to Bronn, to say it nicely.

On the other hand, Tywin will probably have thought it was no use to pay Bronn money, if a knighthood would do the trick to turn him away from Tyrion's side.

Balerion the one eared cat, on 09 Apr 2015 - 10:37 PM, said:

Finally, what does "earn his spurs" mean? It comes up a lot, and I initially assumed it simply meant being knighted, but then realised they usually talk about being knighted and earning spurs as separate things, and earning spurs seems to have something to do with tourneys. So is earning your spurs simply riding in/proving yourself in a tourney?

Earn your spurs. Prove worthy in the field, that is in the particular field of your work. The phrase hangs around in probably all European languages.

Balerion the one eared cat, on 09 Apr 2015 - 10:37 PM, said:

what do you actually have to do to become a knight? Is it just if you prove yourself well in battle? Or if you ride well at a tourney? Entirely based on the knight-er 's discretion on whether you've earned it?

Make another knight knight you. That's it. For money, for valour in battle, whatever.
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Hey, didn't want to start a new thread about it so I decided to write it here.
Did someone here read The Accursed Kings series by any chance?GRRM highly recommends the books on several interviews,saying his novels are heavily influenced by these books. So I read the prologue online and what do you know, it does feel like reading ASOIAF a bit...So my question here is - if someone here did read them, are they any good like the man says?

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Hey, didn't want to start a new thread about it so I decided to write it here.

Did someone here read The Accursed Kings series by any chance?GRRM highly recommends the books on several interviews,saying this book series was a major influence for his novels. So I read the prologue online and what do you know, it does feel like reading ASOIAF a bit...So my question here is - if someone here did read them, are they any good like the man says?

I read the French original "Les Rois Maudits" in a single paperback edition of all 7 books and also listened to the 7 English audiobooks "The Accursed Kings" individually, only a short time after that. The very first book, "Le Roi de Fer"-"The Iron King" is really good, pretty similar to the "A Game of Thrones" effect and feeling. The following books' reading experience is a bit more mixed, but you really want to see the story progressing.

You have the same technique of changing narrator viewpoints, though fewer than we have in ASoIaF. The same density of intrigue though.

eta: A number of wordings and some whole sentences from the English translation have found their way litterally into ASoIaF. GRRM really has been truly impressed by Maurice Druon's writing.

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I read the French original "Les Rois Maudits" in a single paperback edition of all 7 books and also listened to the 7 English audiobooks "The Accursed Kings" individually, only a short time after that. The very first book, "Le Roi de Fer"-"The Iron King" is really good, pretty similar to the "A Game of Thrones" effect and feeling. The following books' reading experience is a bit more mixed, but you really want to see the story progressing.

You have the same technique of changing narrator viewpoints, though fewer than we have in ASoIaF. The same density of intrigue though.

eta: A number of wordings and some whole sentences from the English translation have found their way litterally into ASoIaF. GRRM really has been truly impressed by Maurice Druon's writing.

First of all, thanks for answering so fast!

So, since reading in French is something I simply cannot do(3 years in high school and honestly the only thing I remember is bonjour haha) I'll be reading it in Egnlish and I hope the translation do justice to Druon's original writing.

GRRM actually wrote a funny line in his introduction for the new reissued English translation - "The Starks and the Lannisters have nothing on the Capets and the Plantagenet." He also wrote that "if you like A song of Ice and Fire you will love the Accursed Kings." So I guess I'll just have to take his word for it.

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First of all, thanks for answering so fast!

So, since reading in French is something I simply cannot do(3 years in high school and honestly the only thing I remember is bonjour haha) I'll be reading it in Egnlish and I hope the translation do justice to Druon's original writing.

GRRM actually wrote a funny line in his introduction for the new reissued English translation - "The Starks and the Lannisters have nothing on the Capets and the Plantagenet." He also wrote that "if you like A song of Ice and Fire you will love the Accursed Kings." So I guess I'll just have to take his word for it.

I have the same with French.

Second year of learning and I can't even introduce myself... ;)

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Is it ever mentioned why Dorne has no major city? Sunspear or Plankytown seem to be in perfect position for a smaller major city much Like Gulltown or White Harbor to form in with trade to the free cities. The Martells don't seem to be poor and actually seem quite wealthy so i am wondering if Dorne as a region is just one of the poorest in Westeros?


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Besides dothraki riding in the night lands is there any other talk of an after life? I don't think I've seen it mentioned with the 7. Besides what bran knows there doesn't seem Be any mentioned with the old gods either?

Well, there are seven hells, and according to the religion of the old gods, the people join then them ina a very natural process.
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In Westeros the septons spoke of seven hells and seven heavens, but the Seven Kingdoms and their gods were far away. If she died here, Dany wondered, would the horse god of the Dothraki part the grass and claim her for his starry khalasar, so she might ride the nightlands beside her sun-and-stars? Or would the angry gods of Ghis send their harpies to seize her soul and drag her down to torment? Drogon roared full in her face, his breath hot enough to blister skin. Off to her right Dany heard Barristan Selmy shouting, "Me! Try me. Over here. Me!"

Faith of the Seven belives in seven heavens...
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Besides dothraki riding in the night lands is there any other talk of an after life? I don't think I've seen it mentioned with the 7. Besides what bran knows there doesn't seem Be any mentioned with the old gods either?

The Drowned God's watery halls.

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