Why is the Silence crewed by mutes?

[mankytoes]

I'm not the best at spotting plot devices and stuff, but it suprises me there isn't a thread on this. Surely there's a reason they are all mutes. And cutting someone's tongue out isn't the best way to ensure their loyalty.

Obviously his claims to having sailed into Valyria and that are highly suspect, but then he didn't get all that gold and treasure by sitting on his arse.

Any ideas? Or do people not share my conviction that there must be an important reason?

[mankytoes]

Wrong forum, sorry, meant for general stuff, please move.

[ejhawman]

I'm going to say it's at least partly so they can't give their captain any guff. "Just shut up and do your job!"

[Denny Crane]

I think it is stated at some point that Euron cut their tongues out but you do raise a good point that its not exactly a good idea on Euron's part to go around in a ship full of people he mutilated. So I agree there might be more too it, or it might indicate Euron has some sort of power up his sleeve that compels these people to fight for him even if he cuts their tongues out.

[Blasted Femur]

I think it might be so they can't call bullshit on any of his stories about his voyages to Valyria etc. At one point, somebody (I think Rodrik Harlaw?) questions all of Euron's tales, and Euron basically just responds with threats. Euron is pretty well-established as a liar, so this exchange casts doubt on his supposed achievements.

I also seem to remember somebody else, possibly Salladhor Saan, saying that mutes are ideal crewmen, though I don't recall the reason.

[GrandPoobah]

So they'll keep silent on his dabbling with black magic?

[Mrs.Grumpy]

Because Euron didn't sailed to Valyria...

and also it's the Silence xD What did you expected ? :cool4:

[The BlackBear]

Yeah, it's also not terribly convenient, you can only have certain people on lookout, there's no point having lookout who can't tell you what he sees, and for a crew to work efficiently they need to be able to exchange information with the mate.

[mankytoes]

So they'll keep silent on his dabbling with black magic?

He seems fairly open about that, though I guess he wouldn't want all the details out there.

[Ser Endrew Tarth]

Euron gets terrible migraines and can't stand all of the shouting on a normal ship. He sailed the entire known world looking for a cure, he even tried nightshade, but in the end the answer was there on his hip the whole time... a knife. :ack:

[Jon Blackfyre]

Euron is a sick bastard and does some crazy shit that he doesn't want anyone talking about...

[Mad Monkey]

It's an affirmative action thing. He was facing legal challenges for discriminating against mutes, so he decided to make one of his ships an all-mute people ship so that if anyone questions him again he can just point to that and say that he's an equal-opportunity employer.

[brut]

Same reason why unsullied are castrated, I would say.

[manting]

I think just the rowers are mutes. I would guess he does it for anti-insubordination reasons

[Harlan]

Who says any of them are actually mutes. I think all we have is whispered reports by drunk sailors, right?

[Net-Viper X]

I think that Euron is a big phony and he cut the tongues out so they could not chatter in the brothels and bars about how their dipshit captain had never been within a hundred leagues of half the places he claims, and is in fact nothing more than a two bit con artist propped up by a 20 foot pillar of bullshit.

I also do not believe for a second that he has real warlocks enslaved on his ship. Why exactly would they let him enslave them rather than just make him burst into flames with magic? If they aren't capable of using their magic to protect themselves then I would say they aren't much of warlocks. They are probably charlatans just like Euron himself that are merely posing as warlocks using a bag of cheap tricks to impress people and Euron didn't know any better and thinks he has captured the real deal.

[Varamyr Sixskins]

People have a good case for Euron's motivation stemming from him being a charlatan, but perhaps part of the reason is a guilt for not having joined the three-eyed crow when he was younger. Perhaps, Bloodraven just nagged him so much it drove him a bit nuts, thus pushing him in the direction of trying to ensure silence on his ship.

[Sword Of Mid Afternoon]

Because Balon was mad, Aeron was madder, and Euron was maddest.

[CanadianWolvie]

Yeah, it's also not terribly convenient, you can only have certain people on lookout, there's no point having lookout who can't tell you what he sees, and for a crew to work efficiently they need to be able to exchange information with the mate.

Sign language, reading & writing, flag / light signals are also not outside the realm of possibility (we do these things IRL for sailing). So, chances are the mutes are still able to communicate the information necissary for the running of the ship / fleet.

[LynnS]

I'm guessing that they are "chained" or bound to him in some way. That being mute provides a ward of silence around his ship so that he can't be "seen" in the red god's night fires. I'm not sure that they actually have no tongues. Wex and the Dusky woman are also mute and I think Wex comes to Theon as his squire indirectly from Euron. Both understand language but are blocked from speaking in some way. It's not clear if they both have tongues or not. Euron seems to have some knowledge of magic or the ability to enslave magic users.

From wiki:

Although earlier ships had often had some form of bow ornamentation (e.g. the Viking ships of ca. A.D. 800–1100), the general practice was introduced with the galleons of the 16th century, as the figurehead as such could not come to be until ships had an actual stemhead structure on which to place it.[1] The menacing appearance of toothy and bug-eyed figureheads on Viking ships also had the protective function of warding off evil spirits.[2]