Small Questions v 10019

[SherlockHodor]

That's a good question. I have no idea how the female inheritance thing is supposed to work. Like Jon mentions Sansa being next in line after Robb, and by implication Tyrion will inherit Winterfell. But their enemies kidnapped Sansa and forced her to marry, so how is that legal in Westeros? Can the Bracken Lord just kidnap a Blackwood daughter, force her to marry his son, then kill Tytos Blackwood and get the Blackwood castle for himself? And if Sansa really inherits Winterfell, how does that somehow mean the husband gets to rule?

[Mr Fixit]

And if Sansa really inherits Winterfell, how does that somehow mean the husband gets to rule?

Exactly. Sansa would, in that case, be Lady Regnant (or whatever the hell it's called), ruling in her own right, and Tyrion would be nothing more than a glorified Prince Philip.

[SherlockHodor]

Exactly. Sansa would, in that case, be Lady Regnant (or whatever the hell it's called), ruling in her own right, and Tyrion would be nothing more than a glorified Prince Philip.

The Lady Dustin example seems to imply that Tyrion could just lock Sansa up in a tower though and start ruling himself. Which I suppose is consistent if a little silly sounding ("women can inherit but men can force them to do whatever they want anyway").

[Rhaenys_Targaryen]

A question concerning the legal position of Lady Dustin. Why exactly is she still Lady of the House? After Lord William Dustin had died in Robert's Rebellion, shouldn't the lordship have passed to his closest living relative, whoever that may be? Same seems to have happened with Lady Hornwood who "named" Ramsey Snow as her heir, apparently giving him the rights to Hornwood lands. But why would that be as she was Lady Hornwood only through her husband and not in her own right (similar to the difference between Queen Regnant and Queen Consort or Queen Dowager).

The fact that both ladies inherited their husbands castle, shows that the men had no living relatives left. No other Dustins are known to exist, or to have existed.

Where the Hornwoods are concerned, this is tricky. Lord Halys Hornwood also had a sister, who married to Leobald Tallhart and had two sons with him. Both the sister (Berena Hornwood) and her sons (Brandon and Beren) are still alive. They would have a claim to the lands, I suppose.

Another possibility for Lady Donella would have been her husbands bastard, Larence Snow, who is also still alive. He might just end up with the Hornwood lands, as he's most likely freed from his prison in Deepwood Motte by Stannis' men.

Larence was already once a possible candidate, but before any decision could be made, Ramsay happened.

That's a good question. I have no idea how the female inheritance thing is supposed to work. Like Jon mentions Sansa being next in line after Robb, and by implication Tyrion will inherit Winterfell. But their enemies kidnapped Sansa and forced her to marry, so how is that legal in Westeros? Can the Bracken Lord just kidnap a Blackwood daughter, force her to marry his son, then kill Tytos Blackwood and get the Blackwood castle for himself? And if Sansa really inherits Winterfell, how does that somehow mean the husband gets to rule?

Yes. When a woman inherits, and she is married to another man, the man get's to rule, though the castle shall not be his in name. It's like Dany, who let Hizdar do court after their wedding. In Westerosi times, men are seen as superior, and thus, they'll take what they can get through their wives' claims. So should Sansa inherit Winterfell, it will be up to Tyrion to rule.

I don't know what the rules are for when you kill a man, but most likely, that will get you and your family banned from owning rights to the castle and/or titles. So no Brackens killing Blackwoods and then getting their castle. :)

[Mr Fixit]

The fact that both ladies inherited their husbands castle, shows that the men had no living relatives left. No other Dustins are known to exist, or to have existed

That seems unlikely. They needn't be "Dustins" in name, but surely there is someone around. The only thing that could explain the situation is that Barbrey Dustin is in fact the closest living relative to late Lord William (like a distant cousin or what have you) and therefore inherited the lands and titles in her own right.

Where the Hornwoods are concerned, this is tricky. Lord Halys Hornwood also had a sister, who married to Leobald Tallhart and had two sons with him. Both the sister (Berena Hornwood) and her sons (Brandon and Beren) are still alive. They would have a claim to the lands, I suppose.

Exactly. That's why I don't understand how it's possible for Ramsey to inherit the Hornwood lands though Lady Donella. As far as I can see, there's no way it could happen.

Yes. When a woman inherits, and she is married to another man, the man get's to rule, though the castle shall not be his in name.

I'm not so sure it's that simple. The name carries a lot of weight in Westeros. Maybe the husband formally gets to rule, but I would think that the power in practice stays with the wife, especially if she is strong-willed and belongs to an old and powerful house. It seems that even the children of such a couple would get the mother's name.

[SherlockHodor]

Then there's the issue of who can be named an heir. I got the impression from the way Robb talked that a Lord can name Moonboy his heir if he wants to... but that seems to go against the idea of blood relations always having some kind of superior claim to non-blood.

I don't know what the rules are for when you kill a man, but most likely, that will get you and your family banned from owning rights to the castle and/or titles. So no Brackens killing Blackwoods and then getting their castle.

I dunno, the entire North seems on paper at least to accept Ramsay as Lord of Winterfell via his "marriage" to Arya, despite the fact they conspired to murder the existing one (Robb). For that matter Ramsay basically killed Lady Hornwood and took her lands, but when Maester Luwin is talking about it with Rodrik he shrugs and says oh well he forced her to marry him then killed her so that means he inherits all her lands. If this is the legal norm in Westeros, I'm surprised it's not happening more often, with warring lords kidnapping each other's daughters and then "inheriting" the enemy castle.

[Rauros Reed]

Were there ever lions in the Westerlands? Seeing as House Lannister, House Reyne, and House Osgrey (Despite holding lands in the Reach, they bordered the Westerlands) have a lion for their sigil

[RumHam]

Were there ever lions in the Westerlands? Seeing as House Lannister, House Reyne, and House Osgrey (Despite holding lands in the Reach, they bordered the Westerlands) have a lion for their sigil

Yes.

That was in the dawn of days, when our sun was rising. Now it sinks, and this is our long dwindling. The giants are almost gone as well, they who were our bane and our brothers. The great lions of the western hills have been slain, the unicorns are all but gone, the mammoths down to a few hundred. The direwolves will outlast us all, but their time will come as well. In the world that men have made, there is no room for them, or us.”

[iolahardy]

Was Dany pregnant?

In the last Dany chapter of ADWD Dany experiences severe cramps & then has her moonblood. She also remembers that she hadn't bled for some months now. ("The moon is still a crescent though. How can that be? She tried to remember the last time she had bled.The last full moon. The one before? The one before that? No, it cannot have been so long.") So can it be possible she was pregnant. Did she miscarry after she took off with Drogon & was almost dying of thirst & hunger? But then wasn't she supposed to be barren after miscarrying Rhaego.

Or do the cramps & bleeding mean she contracted some disease by drinking the dirty water. Flux maybe?

[KingofSothoryos]

As GRRM has said many times, there are no strict rules to inheritance in Westeros like in real medieval times. Ultimately it is up to the liege lord on who rules a castle or lands. There are some traditions which are respected like primogeniture, but it is not set in stone. Whether a wife inherits and who rules are even murkier. Look at LF after Lysa's death. He is ruling the Vale, but his nobles appeal to the crown, refusing to accept his right to rule. It's even murkier when you consider whether LF is ruling as Lysa's widower or as Robin's regent. Cersei responds that the crown doesn't care how they work it out as long as LF isn't hurt. Like I said, inheritence is ultimately up to the liege lord.

[KingofSothoryos]

I dunno, the entire North seems on paper at least to accept Ramsay as Lord of Winterfell via his "marriage" to Arya, despite the fact they conspired to murder the existing one (Robb). For that matter Ramsay basically killed Lady Hornwood and took her lands, but when Maester Luwin is talking about it with Rodrik he shrugs and says oh well he forced her to marry him then killed her so that means he inherits all her lands. If this is the legal norm in Westeros, I'm surprised it's not happening more often, with warring lords kidnapping each other's daughters and then "inheriting" the enemy castle.

No one accepts Ramsey's claim to the Hornwood lands through his marriage to Lady Hornwood. That's why Ser Rodrik thinks he kills Ramsey and captures Reek as proof of Ramsey's crimes against Lady Hornwood.

[KingofSothoryos]

Was Dany pregnant?

In the last Dany chapter of ADWD Dany experiences severe cramps & then has her moonblood. She also remembers that she hadn't bled for some months now. ("The moon is still a crescent though. How can that be? She tried to remember the last time she had bled.The last full moon. The one before? The one before that? No, it cannot have been so long.") So can it be possible she was pregnant. Did she miscarry after she took off with Drogon & was almost dying of thirst & hunger? But then wasn't she supposed to be barren after miscarrying Rhaego.

Or do the cramps & bleeding mean she contracted some disease by drinking the dirty water. Flux maybe?

I thought she was riding the pale mare when I first read ADWD, but upon a reread, she is just having her period and eating berries that make her sick.

[Sansa_Stark]

Did Cersei have any part in the conspiracy of Jon Arryn's death?

Pycelle could have just been imagining things.

[SherlockHodor]

Did Cersei have any part in the conspiracy of Jon Arryn's death?

Pycelle could have just been imagining things.

We have a POV of Cersei and she never thinks about poisoning him, so I lean toward it being purely Littlefinger's plan like Lysa said. That doesn't mean she wasn't involved at all - it's possible Cersei hinted to Pycelle that it might not be so bad if Jon Arryn died. It's been awhile since I've read AcoK, did Pycelle try to pin the blame on Cersei for that when Tyrion confronted him?

[Rhaenys_Targaryen]

Was Dany pregnant?

In the last Dany chapter of ADWD Dany experiences severe cramps & then has her moonblood. She also remembers that she hadn't bled for some months now. ("The moon is still a crescent though. How can that be? She tried to remember the last time she had bled.The last full moon. The one before? The one before that? No, it cannot have been so long.") So can it be possible she was pregnant. Did she miscarry after she took off with Drogon & was almost dying of thirst & hunger? But then wasn't she supposed to be barren after miscarrying Rhaego.

Or do the cramps & bleeding mean she contracted some disease by drinking the dirty water. Flux maybe?

It is possible. If indeed she was, that would mean yet another part of Mirri's prophecy/prediction came true.

The fact that none of her periods have been mentioned, argues the believe that this bleedig has importance, and goes beyond a simple monthly issue.

My guess is, especially since here was so much pain and sickness involved, that this was a miscarriage.

[Rhaenys_Targaryen]

Did Cersei have any part in the conspiracy of Jon Arryn's death?

Pycelle could have just been imagining things.

Pycelle tells Tyrion he knew Arryn knew about Cersei's secret, and that Arryn was going to act on it. When Arryn fell ill, Pycelle knew Cersei would want the man dead, but he believes she didn't dare say it out loud, because Varys is always listening. So Pycelle acted on his own, sending away the maester who actually was doing a good job, and preventing Jon Arryn from recovering. Cersei never told Pycelle what to do, he sensed what he thought she wanted and acted accordingly.

[Balaurderaa]

Does anyone know which house Pycelle was originally from before he went to the Citadel?

[Rhaenys_Targaryen]

What year was Baelor the Blessed born? The wiki says 143 AL, but I can't find a source?

[Ser Leftwich]

What year was Baelor the Blessed born? The wiki says 143 AL, but I can't find a source?

Calculated like many other ages/births, I believe that is maths/guesswork because Baelor was older than Daena and younger than Daeron, so it more like a 143-144 range.

[Ser Leftwich]

Does anyone know which house Pycelle was originally from before he went to the Citadel?

We do not know. Guesses have be very wide ranging.