How well is the Tower of Joy showdown known throughout Westeros?

[Mumbles9172]

Is it common knowledge? Are there any songs about it?

[TheOldWolf]

I think most people know that there were 12 people there (IIRC) and only 2 came back and that's about it

[Bright Blue Eyes]

Basically not at all.

[BRANDON GREYSTARK]

Eddard boasted about it.

[cocoalover1956]

I think people know that it happened, but not the details.

[Sword of the Morgan]

Basically not at all.

This is my impression.

[Mumbles9172]

Eddard boasted about it.

When he returned Dawn to the Daynes right? "I brought this lump of shit back, find me a musician to write a song about how I cut me up some white cloaks"

Thanks for the answers everyone!

[The Santa of House Claus]

I am sure it is known. It was a part of the Rebellion, but I would imagine that most people (lords), like all us readers, are in the dark about the details.

[King Tyrion XX]

I can't recall anyone ever speaking of it.

[Liz Stark-Targaryen]

Basically not at all.

This is my impression.

Mine too. The only people who lived to tell anyone about the ToJ were Ned Stark and Howland Reed. I'm sure Ned filled Ashara in, but she's gone. Wylla may or may not know details, but not many.

I don't even think the full KOLT story has ever been told outside of Greywatch Watch... at least, not the way Meera told it.

Seriously, I think we know WAY more about the pieces of R+L=J than everyone in Westeros. Which is probably a good thing. It's ensured Jon's safety for 17 years and counting (well, until his last POV in ADwD, but...)

[willofDorne]

Meera and Jojen may know something. They seemed to know who Theo Wull was and he was involved, "Faithful Theo Wull"

[The Wight]

It is rumored that Eddard killed Dayne in single combat, but Eddard says that Dayne would have killed him were it not for Howland Reed. There are a lot of rumors, but the main occurrences are well known.

[corbon]

It is rumored that Eddard killed Dayne in single combat, but Eddard says that Dayne would have killed him were it not for Howland Reed. There are a lot of rumors, but the main occurrences are well known.

I think nothing is known by anybody.

The only people we know of that were there are Ned Stark and Howland Reed, and the 'they' that found Ned holding dead Lyanna in his arms afterward - probably Wylla.

The original point of the KG at the ToJ with Lyanna was secrecy. Virtually no one knew they were there other than Rhaegar, that we know of.

Someone must have been providing them with some sort of logistical support though. And thats probably the same someone that led (metaphorically speaking, not physically) Ned to find the KG at ToJ. So that person probably knows, but that person must have been a trusted and discreet Rhaegar loyalist, capable of keeping such a secret even from Aerys. Such a person would have no good reason to tell others about Ned vs KG at the ToJ because that would expose Jon eventually, which is not a good thing for any Rhaegar supporter, or any Stark supporter.

So we can rule out that source 'spreading'.

Wylla is in a similar situation. Telling anyone about the KG leads to questions about Jon and risks Jon's life. She's clearly also a Rhaegar loyalist, if selected to wetnurse his son, or at very least a Jon loyalist, and clearly also selected in part for discretion and loyalty, as much as 'milk-ability'. So thats a source we can rule out.

Ned obvious never told anyone. Too dangerous for Jon and Ned, and Ned's the closemouthed silent type anyway.

HR obviously never told anyone either. Loyal to Ned, and practically a hermit as far as the rest of the world goes.

So what of the rumours?

Well, Ned publically returned Dawn to Starfall. Everyone knows that, its a famous, characterful story about probably the single most famous artifact in Westeros, and the greatest knight in westeros.

But all that tells peope is that smewhere, at some time, Ned and/or his men found Arthur Dayne dead, or killed him. That doesn't mean ToJ, and that doesn't mean two other KG in one epic battle.

Thats why Ned's men whisper of Ned slaying Dayne in one on one combat, even though we know from Ned's own words that that is unlikely to be true, and from his old recurring dream that it wasn't true. All those young recruits know is that Ned gave back the sword, and the legendary Ser Arthur Dayne surely wouldn't have given it up while alive. Therefore, Ned took it off his body, and therefore the morale-boosting rumour forms that Ned beat Arthur in single combat.

Long story short, no one alive in Westeros except Wylla (not talking) and HR (not talking) have any idea about what went down at ToJ.

Which is why the rumours created to fill the void between known and unknown are wide of the mark.

[Mithras]

I agree that nobody knows it. They probably think that the last three KG led some small band of loyalist forces and took refuge in the Red Mountains; then, Ned tracked them and defeated them in battle.

[Jaak]

Lord Gerold Hightower must have become officially dead - otherwise Robert would not have had Lord Commander vacancy for ser Barristan.

[How I Met Your Hodor]

It must be generally known that there was some sort of final showdown between the last few members of the still loyal kingsguard and ned's group, but this would be all the smallfolk know, hence the rumours. I'm guessing that a bit more would be known by Robert and Jon Arryn and a few other nobles because Ned obviously had to tell Robert what had happened to Lyanna. He would have lied about how she died (he's not gonna tell him that it was during childbirth, because Jon) but he would have told them something of the rescue attempt and the fate of those members of the kingsguard

[Ibbison from Ibben]

I think that a bare-bones version of the story is common knowledge. Robert certainly would not want anybody to think that Hightower, Whent, and Dayne were alive and leading a resistance movement. The fact that Lyanna is dead seems to be common knowledge. Cersei knew that Ned killed Dayne. So did Cat. In fact, Ned killing Dayne seems to be well known at Winterfell. Something had to be said to the Hightowers and the Whents as well (especially the Whents, since Catelyn is a relative.)

No songs, though. Ned didn't provide enough detail.

[Ingelheim]

I think I remember someone telling me Jaime knew how Dayne had died, and he had textual proof. Many people knew about that.

[Julia Martell]

I get the impression that it's remember as the last three loyal members of the Kingsgaurd preforming a "suicide by Northmen" kind of thing.

And that Ned encourages this in a "yeah, focus on that and don't ask any follow up question about what the fuck they were doing in the middle of nowhere in Dorne" kind of way.

[oopeed]

Well, it's a well-known fact around the lords of westeros.

Ser Gerold Hightower (a.k.a. The White Bull), Ser Arthur Dayne (a.k.a. The Sword of the Morning), Ser Oswell Whent, Lord Howland Reed and Lord Eddard Stark... Three KG from renowned and powerful families, the Lord guardian of the Neck and the Warden of the North were part of the battle. Obviously people would know.

The details are only known by one living person in Westeros. And the TOJ event I believe is not a polite topic of conversation. After all it's about three knights whose king was already dead and their new king hiding in Dragonstone, but instead were either protecting or holding Lyanna Stark (the spark of the whole conflict) and two of them were involved in the "abduction" of said lady, and yet they stayed and fought and died on that place. Asking questions or even thinking on it leads to crazy theories.