Lady Fevre Dream Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 I'd disagree when you live on an island(s) that have poor soil, few natural resources, and have little in the way of animal help. If the Eskimos 500 years ago said "We do not sow" they wouldn't be wrong and they aren't thieves. Not to defend the ironborn choices, but the Greyjoy motto only reflects "Thief" if you're already biased against them. It's not about bias for me, it's about looking at their motto and their way of life. It's also about looking at the reaction that Asha received at the Kingsmoot on her plea for some more land to build and farm and live upon. Asha pled for peace, land, and to try and become a 'part' of society. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleeve of Wizard Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 House Plumm: Come try me Ossifer, what a player... :hat: a BIG player... Lame:House Tyrell: Growing Strong Ossifer Plum could teach you a thing or two about growing strong... :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Reaver Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 In a preindustrial economy, the most important sector is agriculture and the second most important sector doesn't matter. So in a medieval setting it does, in fact, equate. And trying to apply a one-sentence adage from economics to all fields and all situations is the pretense of knowledge. Here's a hint: Educate yourself on the theory of the three Orders, which was prevalent in the "medieval setting" you allude to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dornishscorpion Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 Ours is the fury is the best. Proud to be faithful (stokeworth) the worst Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Fevre Dream Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 So WOW, if someone doesn't see something the same way as another........they need to educate themselves? Just WOW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Reaver Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 So WOW, if someone doesn't see something the same way as another........they need to educate themselves? Just WOW No, when someone posits that the only worthwhile thing people did in the medieval society was farm, THEN they need to educate themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barristan the G.O.A.T Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 I think people are misinterpreting "We do not sow" The Iron islands are rocky with poor land for growing crops. Based on the famous Biblical quote one reaps what they sow. However, the Iron Islands are bad ass and they reap what others sow by paying the iron price. To summarize this quote is essentially saying we are going to steal your shit and there's nothing you can do about it because growing your own crops is for sissies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chillboy Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 Winter is coming. It's so fucking amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Universal Sword Donor Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 It's not about bias for me, it's about looking at their motto and their way of life. It's also about looking at the reaction that Asha received at the Kingsmoot on her plea for some more land to build and farm and live upon. Asha pled for peace, land, and to try and become a 'part' of society. Look, they couldn't even sow if they wanted to, so it's a moot point. If their islands were fertile, who knows what their words would be. Also 5,000 years of raiding and trading were working against Asha, who is a woman in a *hugely* misogynistic culture. If Euron or Victarion had gone down that path, they probably could have won them over. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Khal Shaggydog Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 To whoever made the Katy Perry - Hear me Roar reference, yes. I almost convinced my wife that Katy Perry was a big Lannister apologist when that song came on once...then just gave up on it. But they are empty words - besides, Tyrion, Jamie and Tywin (the actually effective Lannisters), mostly let their actions, rather than their words, speak. Cersei is the main one "roaring" and its generally pretty ineffective.. Winter is Coming is just so "Ned" that you have to go with the pure classic-ness of it. Also, having a badass Lord named Ned is just so Stark. Still not sure on the lineage leading up to Anthony.. Reed words? Dayne words? I'll sticks with those...possibly... "Ours is the fury" is my personal favorite. Got a brutally poetic feel to it. Also a nice little dissonance with a vegetarian sigil... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Bastard Snow Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 House Bulwer:Death Before DisgraceSounds like an Astartes Chapter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonCon's Red Beard Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 No, instead they boast about burning and killing shit. Much better....Everybody boasts in their mottos, imagine what would happen if they were honest: "You're doomed unless you're from Dorne" "Fuck everything unless is on our side!". "We talk to much" "Inbreeding FTW!" "Work? What's that?" "Our children we'll fuck you if we tell them so". "Yes, we're social climbers, so?". "Ha Ha! You can't beat us because you can't stand the sun!" "We think we're better than you". Easily Winter is coming. 'Here we stand' is kind of ironic seeing how Jorah ran as Ned approached. "My lord Stark, shouldn't we hurry up before the traitor escapes?" "Not need. I'm sure there he wil--- fuck"- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Reaver Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 Everybody boasts in their mottos, imagine what would happen if they were honest: You will note, I hope, that I was not the one who started this ridiculous line of thinking. I'm actually the one criticizing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonCon's Red Beard Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 sorry, then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Fevre Dream Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 Look, they couldn't even sow if they wanted to, so it's a moot point. If their islands were fertile, who knows what their words would be. Also 5,000 years of raiding and trading were working against Asha, who is a woman in a *hugely* misogynistic culture. If Euron or Victarion had gone down that path, they probably could have won them over. I find it hard to believe that there is not one little section of Greyjoy land that could not benefit from a wee bit of planting and fertilization. There is a reason that Thralls exist on these islands and a reason that the Greyjoys proudly proclaim that they do not sow. There is a reason that Balon, twice in a row, crowned himself King of the Iron Islands and proclaimed his kingdom to be the re-emergence of the old way. That reason is because.......of all the connotations of the words, We Do Not Sow. I used the Kingsmoot and Asha as an example of the attitude to the idea of actually making land, any land, work for them and IMO, Euron and the dragonhorn was the game changer. Regardless of who would have or could have put the idea forth......I'm not so sure that the idea will ever be appreciated by many Greyjoys or many of the Ironborn. Well, to be more to the point, Asha's type of ideas won't be widely accepted, IMO, until the Ironborn face the facts that they are faced with the choice of extinction by trying to live The Old Way or life by trying to be part of a civilization instead of just stealing from it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twenty of House Goodmen Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 Ours is the Fury and Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken for best.Touch me Not is pretty lame. Growing Strong is meh. Tyrells should change their words considering that they're already the most overpowered region in Westeros. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Reaver Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 Touch me Not is pretty lame. Growing Strong is meh. Tyrells should change their words considering that they're already the most overpowered region in Westeros. I don't know, I find it sort of interestingly ironic that the most powerful House (after the royals) have just about the lamest words. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Universal Sword Donor Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 I find it hard to believe that there is not one little section of Greyjoy land that could not benefit from a wee bit of planting and fertilization. There is a reason that Thralls exist on these islands and a reason that the Greyjoys proudly proclaim that they do not sow. There is a reason that Balon, twice in a row, crowned himself King of the Iron Islands and proclaimed his kingdom to be the re-emergence of the old way. That reason is because.......of all the connotations of the words, We Do Not Sow. I used the Kingsmoot and Asha as an example of the attitude to the idea of actually making land, any land, work for them and IMO, Euron and the dragonhorn was the game changer. Regardless of who would have or could have put the idea forth......I'm not so sure that the idea will ever be appreciated by many Greyjoys or many of the Ironborn. Well, to be more to the point, Asha's type of ideas won't be widely accepted, IMO, until the Ironborn face the facts that they are faced with the choice of extinction by trying to live The Old Way or life by trying to be part of a civilization instead of just stealing from it. There might have been small sections of land, but they would not sustain any type of population, let alone a great house and a kingdom. There's only so much you can farm with thin, non-fertile soil in a cold climate, especially without draft animals. That's why they concentrate heavily on fishing. They need food. Raiding is never going to be a consistent source of food for tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people, especially during the winter. While it probably wouldn't have dissuaded them from raiding, the Iron Islanders would farm a lot more if they could. It's not as if they don't try. The islands are stern and stony places, scant of comfort and bleak of prospect. Death is never far here, and life is mean and meagre. Men spend their nights drinking ale and arguing over whose lot is worse, the fisherfolk who fight the sea or the farmers who and scratch a crop from the poor thin soil. If truth be told, the miners have it worse than either, breaking their backs down in the dark, and for what? Iron, lead, tin, those are our treasures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Fevre Dream Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 There might have been small sections of land, but they would not sustain any type of population, let alone a great house and a kingdom. There's only so much you can farm with thin, non-fertile soil in a cold climate, especially without draft animals. That's why they concentrate heavily on fishing. They need food. Raiding is never going to be a consistent source of food for tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people, especially during the winter. While it probably wouldn't have dissuaded them from raiding, the Iron Islanders would farm a lot more if they could. It's not as if they don't try. LOL, but even when it comes to what can be sown from the land, iron, tin, etc.....they move on to thralls. We've heard of parts of the Islands which don't even look on the sea, greenery sprinkled about here and there, that is why I'm thinking with some actual work, they could manage to do some useful things with their land, but.....the thralls and the mining show that they don't want to do it themselves. Hell, they don't even want their own smallfolk to do it, they steal people to do it. Your point about not being able to sow enough for their own population just leads me to ask....why they hell do they import more people, ie....the thralls? I'll give em this, the words do describe them well. But, I'm starting to think population wise, and thrall wise, George may just have too many people on those islands anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Universal Sword Donor Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 LOL, but even when it comes to what can be sown from the land, iron, tin, etc.....they move on to thralls. We've heard of parts of the Islands which don't even look on the sea, greenery sprinkled about here and there, that is why I'm thinking with some actual work, they could manage to do some useful things with their land, but.....the thralls and the mining show that they don't want to do it themselves. Hell, they don't even want their own smallfolk to do it, they steal people to do it. Your point about not being able to sow enough for their own population just leads me to ask....why they hell do they import more people, ie....the thralls? I'll give em this, the words do describe them well. But, I'm starting to think population wise, and thrall wise, George may just have too many people on those islands anyway. Well the offspring of thralls are free if they are given to the drowned god, so that's where you're getting your population boost. It's the same with salt wives. I'll just it more bluntly, there is only so much you can do with crappy farmland and no draft animals, full stop. Most of their food comes from fishing and farming. Raiding, especially since it's been curtailed since Dagon, just isn't giving them those resources. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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