Is Melisandre 400 years old?

[The Red Melli]

http://youtu.be/MtvPQsq4cHk?t=50s

This is a pretty interesting interview with Oliver Davies the actor who played Maester Cressen.

During the interview Oliver talks about Melisandre, Stannis and Davos.

While talking about Melisandre he told about the poison scene and during takes he asked to Carice "Why don't you die?"

In Which she replied "I'm 400 years old"

Many people here thinks Melisandre glamours her appearance because she is old as example, but 400 years old?!?

Now this could be just a joke made by Carice, though she has mentioned several times that Melisandre is very old.

I've also read an interesting theory that Melisandre is a survivor ot the Doom of Vayria.

Thoughts?

[Petite Psycophant]

I'm going with it's just a joke. But I'm biased against any crackpot theories or anything that has no textual evidence.

[The Red Melli]

http://www.accesshollywood.com/access-countdown-to-game-of-thrones-season-2-qanda-carice-van-houten-talks-melisandre_article_62348

Interview with Carice, second question in which she said that Melisandre is way over 100 years old.

Carice sure likes to spoil alot or she's just trolling. :smug:

[John Reynolds]

Melisandre is most likely a fire wight, so she could be 100s of years old. We know she doesn't *need* to eat, she survived Cressen's poison, she doesn't sleep, etc.

[yolkboy]

I don't think Carice knows how old Mel is. The magazine interview came after she said 400 and she says...

I don’t how old she is

It sounds like she's been told she'd very old, but not exactly how old.

Going back to the actual text, there's hints she's old ("long before Asshai"), but no reason whatsoever to believe she was born well before Aegon the Conqueror. We see in her POV she has memories of her childhood that remain fresh to her mind.

[Not Dead Just Broken]

I don't think Carice knows how old Mel is. The magazine interview came after she said 400 and she says...

It sounds like she's been told she'd very old, but not exactly how old.

Going back to the actual text, there's hints she's old ("long before Asshai"), but no reason whatsoever to believe she was born well before Aegon the Conqueror. We see in her POV she has memories of her childhood that remain fresh to her mind.

Yeah, I don't really buy her being ridiculously old. Doesn't she have her period during her vision in ADWD? I think there's certainly some sort of glamor bestowed upon her by Rhaegar's ruby but I'm not sure she's 400 years old.

[TalalOfDorne]

I think she is old, but not that old.

[MasterJack]

I would be happy if the 4 great bastard are still fighting over the throne some 100years after their first battle.
-BR is still there

-the golden company too (bittersteel),

-Daemon (f(a)Aegon),

-Shiera(melisandre)

[Gar Weg Wun Sygerrik]

400 would be convenient since that's roughly the same date as the Valyrian Doom.

Edit: For Crackpots I mean. I don't have any theories.

[Dany Girl]

I really like the idea that she is Sheira and Bloodraven's child... that theory just made a lot of sense to me and I think it really lends to her misunderstood motivations.

[Sevumar]

I would be happy if the 4 great bastard are still fighting over the throne some 100years after their first battle.

-BR is still there

-the golden company too (bittersteel),

-Daemon (f(a)Aegon),

-Shiera(melisandre)

I'd find it dissatisfying if all of these people were still in play. One (Bloodraven) is pretty interesting, but I think the conflict means more if it's being played out mostly by the descendants of the original parties.

I think there's some indication that Melisandre is alive beyond the normal human lifespan, but I also don't want her to be yet another 100-year-old-plus Targaryen relative.

[GallowsKnight]

No.

I think there'd be clues in her POV chapters if that was the case. I found her more human after those.

[Sordelor]

Has the actress wh plays Melisandre read the books?

[Thucydides]

It seems pretty clear that Melisandre is very aged. Centuries old? Maybe.

[Sordelor]

It seems pretty clear that Melisandre is very aged. Centuries old? Maybe.

Why?

[danm_999]

Why?

Despite looking like she's in her thirties, she makes a very curious comments in her POVs;

Melisandre had practiced her art for years beyond count, and she had paid the price.

That said, we don't really know how old she is, since even she seems to have lost track of her age.

[Mithras]

Mel is the daughter of Shiera and Bloodraven which makes her old but not that old.

[SeanF]

I certainly like the theory that she's Shiera Seastar's daughter.

"Years beyond count" implies that she's far older than her appearance, although we don't know how much older.

I wonder what's meant by "paid the price". Possibly, the gradual loss of her humanity, as she loses the need for food or sleep. Or having to be a slave. Or perhaps she's given some being a claim on her soul when she dies, in return for learning shadow-binding.

[Bronn Urgandy]

I buy that she is old, however, if she glamours, does anybody notice it start to go fuzzy or anything like with other glamours?

[Mithras]

I certainly like the theory that she's Shiera Seastar's daughter.

"Years beyond count" implies that she's far older than her appearance, although we don't know how much older.

I wonder what's meant by "paid the price". Possibly, the gradual loss of her humanity, as she loses the need for food or sleep. Or having to be a slave. Or perhaps she's given some being a claim on her soul when she dies, in return for learning shadow-binding.

I think she died at least once and was resurrected Beric style. That explains a bit about her memory supression but the curious thing is that she does not seem to remember anything about dying. That is most probably because fire consumes.