Who do the people from Westeros think is Jon Snow's mother?

[Chilli]

Robert and Ned:

Yours was... Aleena? No. You told me once. Was it Merryl? You know the one I mean, your bastard’s mother?”
“Her name was Wylla,” Ned replied with cool courtesy, “and I would sooner not speak of her.”
“Wylla. Yes.” The king grinned. “She must have been a rare wench if she could make Lord Eddard Stark forget his honor, even for an hour. You never told me what she looked like...”

Catelyn:

Ned would not speak of the mother, not so much as a word, but a castle has no secrets, and Catelyn heard her maids repeating tales they heard from the lips of her husband’s soldiers. They whispered of Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning, deadliest of the seven knights of Aerys’s Kingsguard, and of how their young lord had slain him in single combat. And they told how afterward Ned had carried Ser Arthur’s sword back to the beautiful young sister who awaited him in a castle called Starfall on the shores of the Summer Sea. The Lady Ashara Dayne, tall and fair, with haunting violet eyes. It had taken her a fortnight to marshal her courage, but finally, in bed one night, Catelyn had asked her husband the truth of it, asked him to his face. That was the only time in all their years that Ned had ever frightened her. “Never ask me about Jon,” he said, cold as ice. “He is my blood, and that is all you need to know. And now I will learn where you heard that name, my lady.” She had pledged to obey; she told him; and from that day on, the whispering had stopped, and Ashara Dayne’s name was never heard in Winterfell again

Cersei to Ned:

How dare you play the noble lord with me! What do you take me for? You’ve a bastard of your own, I’ve seen him. Who was the mother, I wonder? Some Dornish peasant you raped while her holdfast burned? A whore? Or was it the grieving sister, the Lady Ashara? She threw herself into the sea, I’m told. Why was that? For the brother you slew, or the child you stole?

Edric Dayne and Arya

“He is my milk brother.”
“Brother?” Arya did not understand. “But you’re from Dorne. How could you and Jon be blood?”
“Milk brothers. Not blood. My lady mother had no milk when I was little, so Wylla had to nurse me.”
Arya was lost. “Who’s Wylla?”
“Jon Snow’s mother. He never told you? She’s served us for years and years. Since before I was born.”
“Jon never knew his mother. Not even her name.” Arya gave Ned a wary look. “You know her? Truly?” Is he making mock of me? “if you lie I’ll punch your face.”
“Wylla was my wetnurse,”

Lord Godric to Davos

At the dawn of Robert’s Rebellion. The Mad King had sent to the Eyrie for Stark’s head, but Jon Arryn sent him back defiance. Gulltown stayed loyal to the throne, though. To get home and call his banners, Stark had to cross the mountains to the Fingers and find a fisherman to carry him across the Bite. A storm caught them on the way. The fisherman drowned, but his daughter got Stark to the Sisters before the boat went down. They say he left her with a bag of silver and a bastard in her belly. Jon Snow, she named him, after Arryn.

There are different stories going around: Wylla, Ashara Dayne, the fisherman's daughter. Cersei and Catelyn both mention Ashara as Jon's mother. Robert and Edric Dayne think it's Wylla because they were told so. I know his real mother is probably Lyanna Stark. But what do the other people from Westeros think who is the mother? Do they also think it's Ashara? And that after he killed Arthur Dayne, he went to Starfall to return the sword and take Jon from Ashara? Or did they think it was some random girl (like the fisherman's daughter), he returned to after 9 months to get the baby? Barristan Selmy thinks Ashara had a stillborn daughter. I think Jon Snow thinks it's some random girl. Did really no one besides maybe Benjen guess the truth? Everyone knew Rhaegar disappeared with Lyanna...

[I'm the Party Pooper]

No one, they don't care the slightest.

The "fake maester" book that is going to be released this autumn will probably still have Ned as dad and an unknown woman as mother of Jon. Maesters don't know the truth and don't care about it, their opinion goes into encyclopedias and thus is the 'dominant' perspective in Westeros. /thread

[RedShirt47]

I think the answer is simply they didn't know. Many had guesses. None mentioned guessed it could have been R+L=J but that's not to say that none ever did consider the possibility.

Ned never denied any rumours, hence why there were so many red herrings. These red herrings were so good that even now there are thread on N+A=J or B+A=J etc.

I think the fact that no one in the books ever considers R+L=J is the biggest clue that it is true.

[The Wolf Lord's Daughter]

No one, they don't care the slightest.

The "fake maester" book that is going to be released this autumn will probably still have Ned as dad and an unknown woman as mother of Jon. Maesters don't know the truth and don't care about it, their opinion goes into encyclopedias and thus is the 'dominant' perspective in Westeros. /thread

This. Also as Littlefinger says it is rude to pry into the origins of a man’s bastard children, which I guess Ned also knew

[Chebyshov]

Cersei's comment to Ned is probably closest to what most think. Maybe it's a peasant, maybe those rumors about Ashara were true :dunno: . It's not important enough to really investigate.

[WeaselPie]

A better question is: who do the rest of the Starks think is Jon's mother? Cat surely had an opinion, even if she was discouraged to ask about Ashara. All the children including Jon must have considered it. The servants and household staff of Winterfell surely speculated and talked about it, especially when Ned forbade the Ashara chat. People gossip. Jon must have asked someone other than Ned... Benjen? Luwin?

And moreso, all the Starks know that Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna, and they were missing for a year or so. Yet none speculate Lyanna might have been pregnant.

This is actually a huge plot hole for me. Very unrealistic that Jon's natural curiosity wouldn't have yielded a few probable candidates that he would, at the least, speculate about in his POV's.

[brew]

Possibly anyone who did think about that possibility decided it was best not to stir up trouble. The Stark servants aren't going to make Ned's life difficult for him and some of them if they did know might have thought it was best for Lyanna's boy to be able to grow up without something like that hanging over his head. And it's not like any of the southern houses would have been interested in doing anything about it so why pry?

The other more likely thing is people wanted to believe it because here was evidence that Ned was just like the rest of them and there were flaws in his supposed honor. Robert at least seemed to be somewhat pleased that Ned had a bastard, because to his mind at least it made his own whoring less of a big deal.

[Game Of Thrones]

I think most would have assumed Ashara or Wylla.

[KINGpanther]

Father is either Brandon Stark or Rhaegar Targaryen, Mother is either Ashara Dayne or Lyana Stark.

[Mokymok]

The people of Westeros think he is a bastard, I doubt they care anything about him.

Jon: I don’t know who my mother was.

Tyrion: Some woman, no doubt. Most of them are.

Not even Tyrion, who has a curious personality cares about her.

[Game Of Thrones]

Father is either Brandon Stark or Rhaegar Targaryen, Mother is either Ashara Dayne or Lyana Stark.

Then Jon's head would've come off.

[Lord Defiance]

A better question is: who do the rest of the Starks think is Jon's mother? Cat surely had an opinion, even if she was discouraged to ask about Ashara. All the children including Jon must have considered it. The servants and household staff of Winterfell surely speculated and talked about it, especially when Ned forbade the Ashara chat. People gossip. Jon must have asked someone other than Ned... Benjen? Luwin?

And moreso, all the Starks know that Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna, and they were missing for a year or so. Yet none speculate Lyanna might have been pregnant.

This is actually a huge plot hole for me. Very unrealistic that Jon's natural curiosity wouldn't have yielded a few probable candidates that he would, at the least, speculate about in his POV's.

I don't see it as a plot hole. Everyone around the Starks and beyond believes Lyanna was kidnapped. Most people would believe that IF Lyanna did give birth to a bastard from Rhaegar, she wouldn't want it. After all to them she was raped AND Robert was killing every Targaryan he could find. I doubt people would believe he would allow a child from his raped betrothed to be around.

I believe his parentage was suppose to come out MUCH sooner that he expected. After all it was only suppose to be three books. It's been 18 years and people have been able to create the craziest theories about him. Had he come out with the parentage sooner, it would have been more of a surprise. But now most people won't be shocked to know his parents are R + L.

Unless of course... It's not true. Lol

And he does speculate somewhat about his mother. He just doesn't think about it much later on since he is busy at the wall. Plus with his "father" dead he has lost hope of knowing who his mother is.

[Chebyshov]

<snip>

I'm sure Jon asked. And was met with nothing in return:

Not my mother, Jon thought stubbornly. He knew nothing of his mother; Eddard Stark would not talk of her. Yet he dreamed of her at times, so often that he c ould almost see her face. In his dreams, she was beautiful, and highborn, and her eyes were kind.

[PrinceHenryris]

"Some woman, most of them are."

[Wmarshal]

No one, they don't care the slightest.

The "fake maester" book that is going to be released this autumn will probably still have Ned as dad and an unknown woman as mother of Jon. Maesters don't know the truth and don't care about it, their opinion goes into encyclopedias and thus is the 'dominant' perspective in Westeros. /thread

This

[Bryden Tully]

some tavern wench Ned picked up in the war

[RoamingRonin]

Everyone but Lyanna. :lmao:

[Lord Damian]

In Westeros. Ned Stark was famous for many reasons, people love to speculate about famous people. Gossip etc.. All that is known is that Ned has a Bastard on by some woman. We really know the truth of it, we think but to Westeros it is rumored this and that.

[Sword of the Morgan]

I don't think it's much of an issue b/c bastards are common among noble lords and it doesn't really matter who the mothers are.

[KINGpanther]

Then Jon's head would've come off.

Which is why Ned kept it secret.