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The identity of the Knight of the Laughing Tree


Ser Petyr Parker

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7 hours ago, Ferocious Veldt Roarer said:

Regarding the latter - where is it stated? Did I miss something?

 

I don't think it's usual to be short at the age of fifteen, and get remarkably tall at adulthood.

And I wouldn't call Mad King Aerys "logical" and "observant".

And challenge only the porcupine knight, the pitchfork knight and the knight of the twin towers, but pass the remaining two champions? That sounds like someone with a specific, personal, score to settle. That sounds like Stark or Reed, not Lannister. Should Jaime be in the mood to show them all that he were a gorram knight, I'd expect him to challenge and knock down all five champions of that day.

I tried to find it, but came up empty. Are you certain?

Yes its in WOIAF that Aerys believed it was Jaime.

Thats your opinion about shortness and growing, not fact at all.  Lots of tall men dont have full height at fifteen.  Whether Aerys is observant is besides the point that he jumped to a conclusion it was Jaime after just seeing him the day before. Sure you can poke holes but the weight here is that Jaime was the right size and stature or Aerys would not have suspected him.

Once again, your expectations are not the issue here.  With Aerys getting upset about the possible identity of the knight, it would be expedient to make a quick exit for whoever was the KOTLT, Lyanna, Jaime, whoever.

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8 hours ago, Julia H. said:

Another problem with Jaime as the mystery knight is that he has no known motivation to defend Howland Reed's honour. Was he even present when Howland was attacked? But even if he was secretly watching the scene somehow, I doubt he would enter the lists with this kind of purpose in mind. (Most knights - especially young, unexperienced ones - in the South would probably think a man should be able to defend his honour himself and those who can't do that deserve to be mocked.) Jaime would be more likely to enter the lists in order to win the tournament. Now he probably would realize at some point that it was time for him to disappear, just as the KOTLT did, but the KOTLT had apparently fulfilled a purpose before disappearing, a purpose that is much more difficult to associate with Jaime than with Lyanna. 

In addition, I tend to think that when a story is told in the novel, it is worth paying attention to who the story is told to. This story is told to a Stark.

Aerys believing the KOTLT to be Jaime may be important though - even for a paranoid mind it is easier to explain the jump from the appearance of a mystery knight defending the honour of a lesser house to the idea that said knight wants to kill him if he can link the knight to Tywin, his former friend and present-day enemy, whom he has just robbed of his heir, and - on top of that - when he has just humiliated his son by removing him from the tournament.

The Mad King's idea that Jaime was the KOTLT was probably based on Aerys's paranoia and fear of Tywin as well as on the knowledge that he had just wronged both Tywin and Jaime than on any actual evidence he might have had.   

Yes, some of these points are very true, but they still dont rule out Jaime.  Thats really all Im trying to say.  You just have to twist your perspective a little.  If Jaime did know or learn a little about Howland's plight, you have to remember one more thing about Jaime as a boy.  He hated bullies.  There's that passage about him going after a few of them.  So while I'm not saying he overheard Howland praying to the weirwood, coming back to champion him after feeling slapped in the face and disillusioned by Aerys would be completely in character.  Readers have to supply their own missing scenes for dots to connect, and they've done a lot of that in the Lyanna scenario as well. We simply don't have enough info. My 80% conviction it's Lyanna relies far more on the general theme of the story being told, and the number of little hints that George planted rather than the hints in and of themselves. But my 20% reserve that it could be Jaime is that we also get hints, parallels,etc., that he had motive and opportunity, and that thematically it could make sense if it doesnt focus on the Rhaegar-Lyanna relationship.

Anyway, I obviously didnt convince anyone he's still a possibility, but nobody so far has convinced me he couldnt be one, with much better evidence in support than anyone except Lyanna herself.  

 

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47 minutes ago, Lady Barbrey said:
Quote

2. Aerys believed it was Jaime.  He even believed Jaime as the KOTLT was going to kill him.

Yes its in WOIAF that Aerys believed it was Jaime.

And I asked for the "believed Jaime as the KOTLT was going to kill him" part. Quote, please?

47 minutes ago, Lady Barbrey said:

Thats your opinion about shortness and growing, not fact at all.  Lots of tall men dont have full height at fifteen.

And are they short at fifteen? That's the question. Not six foot one vs six foot three, but five foot vs six foot three.

47 minutes ago, Lady Barbrey said:

 Whether Aerys is observant is besides the point that he jumped to a conclusion it was Jaime after just seeing him the day before. Sure you can poke holes but the weight here is that Jaime was the right size and stature or Aerys would not have suspected him.

Huh?

Your argument goes like this: doesn't matter whether Aerys was observant and logical or not, as long as we all agree that Aerys was observant and logical. Seems somewhat circular.

47 minutes ago, Lady Barbrey said:

Once again, your expectations are not the issue here.  With Aerys getting upset about the possible identity of the knight,

...the next day, when the KOTLT was done with tourney work anyway.

47 minutes ago, Lady Barbrey said:

it would be expedient to make a quick exit for whoever was the KOTLT, Lyanna, Jaime, whoever.

 

Seems we're not communicating too well.

I'm asking why on (say) Wednesday Jaime issued challenges to three of the five champions of the day, and gave the other unnamed two a pass. You're saying that it's because on Thursday Aerys got mad, and on Thursday Aerys got mad because on Thursday the KOTLT disappeared.

Your answers don't seem to have much to do with my questions.

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11 hours ago, Ygrain said:

I certainly would be surprised because Jaime as KOTLT contribute very little to the story - his story arc is focused on the present, on his redemption, for which a feat at the beginning of his career means very little. Whereas, with Lyanna, it explains the background of the current event, where we're very much in the dark so far.

Truly, Rhaegar giving Lyanna the crown has always seemed to me because he did believe it was her.  But I disagree that Jaime being the Mystery Knight would not contribute to the story.  The Rhaegar Lyanna relationship is not the be all and end all of all that was happening at that Tournament.  Also, knowing who Jaime was as a boy contributes a lot to our understanding of his redemption arc, and he's a real character of the here and now, not dead like Rhaegar and Lyanna. You can see my bias here in that I would actually find Jaime being the Mystery Knight far more interesting than Lyanna being the MK.  A Lannister, one who hurled Bran out a window, once came to the defense of a Stark bannerman and by extension the Starks themselves without them knowing it.  An alliance of sorts against bullies, for honour, and the principles of chivalry to protect the weak.  A foreshadowing of Jaime's alliances in the future once that return to boyhood ideals, through Brienne, has time to work itself out in a redemption arc.  And just why, I ask, was so much emphasis in the fable placed upon Jaime joining the kingsguard.  What tragedies did that pecipitate?  Plots within plots.

I am STILL not arguing that it was Jaime. But to me it's an intriguing possibility.

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1 hour ago, Ferocious Veldt Roarer said:

And I asked for the "believed Jaime as the KOTLT was going to kill him" part. Quote, please?

And are they short at fifteen? That's the question. Not six foot one vs six foot three, but five foot vs six foot three.

Huh?

Your argument goes like this: doesn't matter whether Aerys was observant and logical or not, as long as we all agree that Aerys was observant and logical. Seems somewhat circular.

...the next day, when the KOTLT was done with tourney work anyway.

 

Seems we're not communicating too well.

I'm asking why on (say) Wednesday Jaime issued challenges to three of the five champions of the day, and gave the other unnamed two a pass. You're saying that it's because on Thursday Aerys got mad, and on Thursday Aerys got mad because on Thursday the KOTLT disappeared.

Your answers don't seem to have much to do with my questions.

Nope, we're not communicating, you're right.  Perhaps because there are pieces missing in my theory and some things remain to be explained for it to hold together - such as the Tree part and whether Jaime knew about Howland - but the same is true about the Lyanna theory, could she joust, did Rhaegar know, etc etc.  What I am trying to show is that Jaime is a valid candidate, not that he is THE candidate, so debating with me about who gets tall when, or why he might have named those knights (I dont know I can just guess), is not really productive, it's just poking holes, because it doesn't rule him out.  We have the king himself naming Jaime as the KOTLT, so what evidence do we have that it COULD NOT have been Jaime. And I've never seen anything that definitively rules him out, but have seen some things that could rule him in.

Re WOIAF: Am I on trial?  This is common knowledge, look it up yourself under the Tourney at Harrenhal bit if you question it. It's even on the Wiki under Knight of the Laughing Tree entry.

 

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One other thing that has always interested me re Jaime as a possible KotLT is the shield he finds at Harrenhal.  The shield left behind by the KotLT is the only clue to his or her identity.  It's the main focus of the mystery, this shield at Harrenhal.  Shields are mentioned any number of times throughout ASOIAF, but the most curious prominence, which we still have no explanation for, is the shield Jaime finds at Harrenhal and later gives to Brienne. Is it the same shield?  Probably not.  It has a bat on it, from the Lothstons.  It just struck me that the two shields most focused upon, and made mysterious, are these two shields, both found at Harrenhal, and Jaime describes when he wears it how freeing it is to go incognito, to be no one.  That whole passage is actually worthy of quoting but I have no cut and paste on this device.

Altogether, though, with the evidence I presented above, the subtext for me in many of these passages is that either Jaime did go back to Harrenhal as a boy to become the KotLT, or that he should have defied Aerys if he could have, because his departure that day really marks his slide away from himself. His return to save Brienne at Harrenhal on his parallel journey years later is either a mirror of his actions in the past, or a mirror of "what should have been".  I'm more inclined to the latter, believing Lyanna more likely as the KotLT, but it is curious how often motifs from the KotLT fable come up with Jaime.

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39 minutes ago, Lady Barbrey said:

One other thing that has always interested me re Jaime as a possible KotLT is the shield he finds at Harrenhal.  The shield left behind by the KotLT is the only clue to his or her identity.  It's the main focus of the mystery, this shield at Harrenhal.  Shields are mentioned any number of times throughout ASOIAF, but the most curious prominence, which we still have no explanation for, is the shield Jaime finds at Harrenhal and later gives to Brienne. Is it the same shield?  Probably not.  It has a bat on it, from the Lothstons.  It just struck me that the two shields most focused upon, and made mysterious, are these two shields, both found at Harrenhal, and Jaime describes when he wears it how freeing it is to go incognito, to be no one.  That whole passage is actually worthy of quoting but I have no cut and paste on this device.

Altogether, though, with the evidence I presented above, the subtext for me in many of these passages is that either Jaime did go back to Harrenhal as a boy to become the KotLT, or that he should have defied Aerys if he could have, because his departure that day really marks his slide away from himself. His return to save Brienne at Harrenhal on his parallel journey years later is either a mirror of his actions in the past, or a mirror of "what should have been".  I'm more inclined to the latter, believing Lyanna more likely as the KotLT, but it is curious how often motifs from the KotLT fable come up with Jaime.

 

Is it this one?

Quote

Lord Bolton had accoutred him as a knight, preferring to ignore the missing hand that made such warlike garb a travesty. Jaime rode with sword and dagger on his belt, shield and helm hung from his saddle, chainmail under a dark brown surcoat. He was not such a fool as to show the lion of Lannister on his arms, though, nor the plain white blazon that was his right as a Sworn Brother of the Kingsguard. He found an old shield in the armory, battered and splintered, the chipped paint still showing most of the great black bat of House Lothston upon a field of silver and gold. The Lothstons held Harrenhal before the Whents and had been a powerful family in their day, but they had died out ages ago, so no one was likely to object to him bearing their arms. He would be no one's cousin, no one's enemy, no one's sworn sword . . . in sum, no one.

You got me curious so I hope I got it right.

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3 hours ago, A_Man_Has_No_Name said:

I thought that the Knight of the Laughing Tree was Ser Duncan the Tall from The Adventures of Dunk and Egg, but I might just be confused.

The Dunk and Egg stories take place around 200 AC.

The Knight of the Laughing Tree and the Tourney of Harrenhal take place around 282 (281?) AC. Dunk is long dead.

Duncan did have a tree a his sigil though. His was an Elm tree with a shooting star. He also did appear as a mystery knight once so far, but his sigil for that was a hanged man.

Speaking of sigils, Ned is the only candidate for whom the laughing tree sigil makes any sense. Lyanna is never established as pious at any point. Ned constantly prays to his Tree gods and when he was young he used to laugh with Robert a lot.

KotLT = Ned on one of Bob's "giant destriers", making him appear small (just as the Mountain makes his horse look like a pony at the other Tourney Ned attends).

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  • 4 months later...
On 8/17/2017 at 11:49 PM, The Fattest Leech said:

 


It is late here, so I will be brief and these are just the broad strokes of what I believe. Sorry if I am repeating anything here, I only skimmed the thread... because it is late and I am tired. 

I believe it was Lyanna skinchanging the horse that Howland rode. This fits the theme of the story on a few levels, including the joining of two things to make a something stronger. We see this ideal repeated in a few areas, including but not limited to, when Ygritte tells Jon a true man steals a girl from afar to strengthen the clan, Bran slipping in to Hodor to do certain tasks, and I have no doubt that Sansa and Arya will end up coming together to take down the giant of Baelish who destroyed their lives. 

I think there are enough clues in the story to show us that skinchanging/warging talents were cut off from the north when "good" Queen Alysanne went north and closed Nightfort and drew attention elsewhere with her shiny jewels. Just like dragons need their magics and riders, skinchangers and their familiars need each other, and the magics, to become "active". 

Also, maesters are set in ridding the world of any magic or knowledge that takes away their won power and "worth". The maesters, including dear old Luwin, deny that any such skinchanging talents even exist. This means there was no one to teach or guide Lyanna, and Jon Snow, and why Bran received his training through Jojen (so far), Arya thinks she is dreaming, and who knows what with Sansa and her probable bird connection. And we know from the Varamyr prologue that it is best to have someone with these talents teach and guide the younger generation in how to use their gift. Borroq is most likely going to be the one who helps Jon with his warg talent as Jon heals. 

Also, all of the "horseplay" Lyanna does with her tomboy antics, her being described as "half a centaur", and when Jaime says jousting is mostly about the horse, etc, etc.We have Elia Sand, aka Lady Lance, en route with Arianne as a new Lyanna stand-in to help drive this message across. There is constant attention drawn to the horses in the story. They have names, they have detailed descriptions, they have personalities. 

By the way, we also have Jon taking on some horse symbolism as well, especially in Dance as his character arc is about to make a major leap. This includes, but is not limited to, things like:

  • Val, was Jon's first thought. But that was no woman's scream. That is a man in mortal agony. He broke into a run. Horse and Rory raced after him. "Is it wights?" asked Rory. Jon wondered. Could his corpses have escaped their chains?
  • Mully cleared his throat. "M'lord? The wildling princess, letting her go, the men may say—"
    "—that I am half a wildling myself, a turncloak who means to sell the realm to our raiders, cannibals, and giants." Jon did not need to stare into a fire to know what was being said of him. The worst part was, they were not wrong, not wholly.

This would also allow Howland to tell the story in truth because he was the "booming" knight. Lyanna guided the horse to be sure and true, knowingly or not, and allowed Howland to stand up to the bullies himself. Together, Lyanna the little girl and Howland the little man, were stronger.

This still fits with Lyanna being a "knight of the laughing tree" symbol because of the double entendre of skinchanging and it being connected to the weirwoods/old gods. Think of how the tree in the godswood at Winterfell was "laughing" at the marriage of a fake Arya to a historic Stark traitor, Ramsay Bolton. This was Lyanna "laughing" at the mockery of a wedding of a girl (Arya) that is frequently compared to her. 

Remember, George is a hippy who grew up poor, and he loves the idea of the little guy taking down the big A-hole bullies. 

Now, let me get out of here before the best balloon popper in all of Westeros gets here and tries to pop the one balloon I have left :leaving:

 

You and Pretty Pig think alike.

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28 minutes ago, Feather Crystal said:

Oh.

My.

Gawd :o

Yeah, @Pretty Pig is a rather interesting oinker. We had some low key bonding over Marvel and GRRM a while back.

I am going to paste here what PP wrote in that link because it is a perfect fit and one that feel a little Duh'd that I missed. :bang:

  • A Game of Thrones - Eddard VII
    When the Knight of Flowers made his entrance, a murmur ran through the crowd, and he heard Sansa's fervent whisper, "Oh, he's so beautiful." Ser Loras Tyrell was slender as a reed, dressed in a suit of fabulous silver armor polished to a blinding sheen and filigreed with twining black vines and tiny blue forget-me-nots. The commons realized in the same instant as Ned that the blue of the flowers came from sapphires; a gasp went up from a thousand throats. Across the boy's shoulders his cloak hung heavy. It was woven of forget-me-nots, real ones, hundreds of fresh blooms sewn to a heavy woolen cape.

    His courser was as slim as her rider, a beautiful grey mare, built for speed. Ser Gregor's huge stallion trumpeted as he caught her scent. The boy from Highgarden did something with his legs, and his horse pranced sideways, nimble as a dancer. Sansa clutched at his arm. "Father, don't let Ser Gregor hurt him," she said. Ned saw she was wearing the rose that Ser Loras had given her yesterday. Jory had told him about that as well.
     


    A reed, cloaked in vines and flowers, on a slim, fast grey mare, facing off against a powerful opponent.
    The wolf girl concerned for the rider's safety against a bigger, stronger, and more formidable foe.
    The wolf girl favoring the rider because of an earlier personal connection.
    The grey mare's scent distracts the opponent's horse and allows "her" champion to win.


    KOTLT: Howland. How did Lyanna help him cheat?


    ETA:  to take this further and make it both an echo and an inversion to the ToHH KotLT incident, we look at what happens next - the Mountain by no means accepts his defeat graciously, as did those defeated at the ToHH.  Instead, he flies into a rage, kills his own horse, and then tries to take out Loras next.   Loras is saved from death only by the intervention of the Hound - the personal protector of the Crown Prince.  (As many have noted, such as Melifeather, the Hound is the current day inversion of Arthur Dayne.)

    Also of note, during CleganeBowl Lite at the Tourney of the Hand, King Bob gets fed up and yells to "Stop this madness!" before    The Hound obeys and kneels, and the Mountain stomps away in a fury.    At the ToHH, King Aerys is incensed by the KotLT and sends out men to capture the mystery knight.
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On ‎10‎/‎22‎/‎2017 at 11:57 AM, Tygett Lannister said:

75% being riding skill doesnt mean if you are great rider you posses 75% of the jousting skill. You need special riding skills related to justing that you can learn only by practicing it rider to rider, you cant just beat three knights first time jousting for real. It is like saying I am best in figure skating I can play hockey in NHL.

In the Mystery knight Ser Quentyn Ball wins an entire tourney when he has never jousted before.  He borrowed knights horses and lances when they were in the whore house he lived at to practice at rings.

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37 minutes ago, The Fattest Leech said:

Oh.

My.

Gawd :o

Yeah, @Pretty Pig is a rather interesting oinker. We had some low key bonding over Marvel and GRRM a while back.

I am going to paste here what PP wrote in that link because it is a perfect fit and one that feel a little Duh'd that I missed. :bang:

  • A Game of Thrones - Eddard VII
    When the Knight of Flowers made his entrance, a murmur ran through the crowd, and he heard Sansa's fervent whisper, "Oh, he's so beautiful." Ser Loras Tyrell was slender as a reed, dressed in a suit of fabulous silver armor polished to a blinding sheen and filigreed with twining black vines and tiny blue forget-me-nots. The commons realized in the same instant as Ned that the blue of the flowers came from sapphires; a gasp went up from a thousand throats. Across the boy's shoulders his cloak hung heavy. It was woven of forget-me-nots, real ones, hundreds of fresh blooms sewn to a heavy woolen cape.

    His courser was as slim as her rider, a beautiful grey mare, built for speed. Ser Gregor's huge stallion trumpeted as he caught her scent. The boy from Highgarden did something with his legs, and his horse pranced sideways, nimble as a dancer. Sansa clutched at his arm. "Father, don't let Ser Gregor hurt him," she said. Ned saw she was wearing the rose that Ser Loras had given her yesterday. Jory had told him about that as well.
     


    A reed, cloaked in vines and flowers, on a slim, fast grey mare, facing off against a powerful opponent.
    The wolf girl concerned for the rider's safety against a bigger, stronger, and more formidable foe.
    The wolf girl favoring the rider because of an earlier personal connection.
    The grey mare's scent distracts the opponent's horse and allows "her" champion to win.


    KOTLT: Howland. How did Lyanna help him cheat?


    ETA:  to take this further and make it both an echo and an inversion to the ToHH KotLT incident, we look at what happens next - the Mountain by no means accepts his defeat graciously, as did those defeated at the ToHH.  Instead, he flies into a rage, kills his own horse, and then tries to take out Loras next.   Loras is saved from death only by the intervention of the Hound - the personal protector of the Crown Prince.  (As many have noted, such as Melifeather, the Hound is the current day inversion of Arthur Dayne.)

    Also of note, during CleganeBowl Lite at the Tourney of the Hand, King Bob gets fed up and yells to "Stop this madness!" before    The Hound obeys and kneels, and the Mountain stomps away in a fury.    At the ToHH, King Aerys is incensed by the KotLT and sends out men to capture the mystery knight.

There is a lot more to the story of the Knight of the Laughing Tree than who the identity or identities were. This is a pivotal event with regards to the current story, and because it occurred during the year of the False Spring, I believe its ground zero for when the history wheel was realigned to begin precisely at that moment in time. It's the cornerstone of the foundation of my inversion theory...here....and here.

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21 hours ago, The Fattest Leech said:

Oh.

My.

Gawd :o

Yeah, @Pretty Pig is a rather interesting oinker. We had some low key bonding over Marvel and GRRM a while back.

I am going to paste here what PP wrote in that link because it is a perfect fit and one that feel a little Duh'd that I missed. :bang:

  • A Game of Thrones - Eddard VII
    When the Knight of Flowers made his entrance, a murmur ran through the crowd, and he heard Sansa's fervent whisper, "Oh, he's so beautiful." Ser Loras Tyrell was slender as a reed, dressed in a suit of fabulous silver armor polished to a blinding sheen and filigreed with twining black vines and tiny blue forget-me-nots. The commons realized in the same instant as Ned that the blue of the flowers came from sapphires; a gasp went up from a thousand throats. Across the boy's shoulders his cloak hung heavy. It was woven of forget-me-nots, real ones, hundreds of fresh blooms sewn to a heavy woolen cape.

    His courser was as slim as her rider, a beautiful grey mare, built for speed. Ser Gregor's huge stallion trumpeted as he caught her scent. The boy from Highgarden did something with his legs, and his horse pranced sideways, nimble as a dancer. Sansa clutched at his arm. "Father, don't let Ser Gregor hurt him," she said. Ned saw she was wearing the rose that Ser Loras had given her yesterday. Jory had told him about that as well.
     


    A reed, cloaked in vines and flowers, on a slim, fast grey mare, facing off against a powerful opponent.
    The wolf girl concerned for the rider's safety against a bigger, stronger, and more formidable foe.
    The wolf girl favoring the rider because of an earlier personal connection.
    The grey mare's scent distracts the opponent's horse and allows "her" champion to win.


    KOTLT: Howland. How did Lyanna help him cheat?


    ETA:  to take this further and make it both an echo and an inversion to the ToHH KotLT incident, we look at what happens next - the Mountain by no means accepts his defeat graciously, as did those defeated at the ToHH.  Instead, he flies into a rage, kills his own horse, and then tries to take out Loras next.   Loras is saved from death only by the intervention of the Hound - the personal protector of the Crown Prince.  (As many have noted, such as Melifeather, the Hound is the current day inversion of Arthur Dayne.)

    Also of note, during CleganeBowl Lite at the Tourney of the Hand, King Bob gets fed up and yells to "Stop this madness!" before    The Hound obeys and kneels, and the Mountain stomps away in a fury.    At the ToHH, King Aerys is incensed by the KotLT and sends out men to capture the mystery knight.

I’d have to disagree with some of those parallels/inversions... but at least it’s a new argument. Kudos for that.

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39 minutes ago, Eiko Dragonhorn said:

I’d have to disagree with some of those parallels/inversions... but at least it’s a new argument. Kudos for that.

Which ones? I don't think I was trying to invert anything. It actually seems to me to be pretty straightforward, but I know we all see things differently.

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Just my opinion but I think Meera and Jojen absolutely all but confirm that it was Lyanna. 

"There was one knight," said Meera, "in the year of the false spring. The Knight of the Laughing Tree, they called him. He might have been a crannogman, that one." 

"Or not." Jojen's face was dappled with green shadows. "Prince Bran has heard that tale a hundred times, I'm sure."

skip.....

When his fallen foes sought to ransom horse and armor, the Knight of the Laughing Tree spoke in a booming voice through his helm, saying, 'Teach your squires honor, that shall be ransom enough.' Once the defeated knights chastised their squires sharply, their horses and armor were returned. And so the little crannogman's prayer was answered . . . by the green men, or the old gods, or the children of the forest, who can say?"

skip...

"Oh." Bran thought about the tale awhile. "That was a good story. But it should have been the three bad knights who hurt him, not their squires. Then the little crannogman could have killed them all. The part about the ransoms was stupid. And the mystery knight should win the tourney, defeating every challenger, and name the wolf maid the queen of love and beauty."

I think this is GRRM giving several clues that Bran’s conclusion (the little crannogman which he mentions at least 3 times as the KOLT) is actually not the case and I believe with Jojen questioning Bran’s very limited knowledge of the “greatest tourney of them all” (and overall gag joke of Bran and his immediate family history) leads credence to Lyanna being the mystery knight. But the most telling quote is by Meera..

"Then, as now," she agreed. "The wolf maid saw them too, and pointed them out to her brothers. 'I could find you a horse, and some armor that might fit,' the pup offered. The little crannogman thanked him, but gave no answer. His heart was torn. Crannogmen are smaller than most, but just as proud. The lad was no knight, no more than any of hispeople. We sit a boat more often than a horse, and our hands are made for oars, not lances. Much as he wished to have his vengeance, he feared he would only make a fool of himself and shame his people. The quiet wolf had offered the little crannogman a place in his tent that night, but before he slept he knelt on the lakeshore, looking across the water to where the Isle of Faces would be, and said a prayer to the old gods of north and Neck . . ." 

This also makes Howland’s prayer answered in full circle as Meera’s quote about the little crannogmen’s prayer being answered by the old gods, cotf, green men, who can say? I can say I’ve never considered anyone other than Lyanna. Old god connection check, skills needed to win check, mis-matching armor + a horse her own brother said he could acquire check, reason to hide identity check. Otherwise all her horseback skills that are brought up so much makes no sense really. I really wouldn’t overthink this one.

 

 

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Well, I've always thought it was Ned. Don't ask me why, this stuff is taking too long to remember the details.

Now than I reread the quotes, it makes sense. Ned took HR to his tent, HR prayed to the gods, and Ned heard, or the gods heard through Ned's ears, or whatever. The bottom line is, Ned did the deed.

I know, I must elaborate a bit more. Ned was not fond of tournaments, nowhere is told that he take part in any, Instead, he was a proficient warrior. He was not ready to joust, so he had to make do with a happenstance armour. IMO, Ned jousted as it was needed, defeated the knights, and quit.

As for his features, he still was a boy, his body was not full. He sure seemed shorter than he really was. Jon is a reference, he took after Ned and he was not too tall, either. He was a good fighter, but rather quick than strong, IIRC.

Moreover, I guess Benjen could have helped Ned to find his armour and it might have been the reason for him to take the black. Benjen was the closest to Lyanna and might have felt somewhat guilty, or sorry, miserable. Guilty or not, he'd lost his beloved sister while he was sitting on his hands in WF. Still, this can be a little too stretched, I could do without.

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