On Gendry's age and POVs about it

[Lady Dacey]

4 hours ago, AryaUnderfoot33 said:

The original poster caught a ton of good details. I've always been a bit puzzled by the certainty that Gendry is definitely 5 years older, based off one thought from Arya in the heat of the moment when GRRM is known for unreliable narrators. I think 3 years older than Arya makes more sense. To add to Brienne's side: 

The common room was crawling with children...older here meant ten or twelve, Gendry was the closest thing to a man grown.  

As said before if he was five years older than 11-almost-12yo Arya he'd be 16/17 and so by Westeros standards is a "man grown." And given we know Gendry is strong for his age and takes after the big, well-built Robert, it seems unlikely Brienne is underestimating his age and thinking he's not yet a man when he's already 16+. More likely Gendry is actually around 14 but looks a bit older. 

 

That's a great catch! I'd like to edit the original post to include it and give you the credit, would that be ok? 

[AryaUnderfoot33]

7 hours ago, Lady Dacey said:

That's a great catch! I'd like to edit the original post to include it and give you the credit, would that be ok? 

Absolutely! Go for it  

[Lady Dacey]

Also, we've got Hyle Hunt calling him an "'prentice boy":

"One day that little girl will make some man a frightful wife," Ser Hyle observed. "That poor 'prentice boy, most like."

so, another adult that sees Gendry in 300 AC as a boy rather than a "man grown"... 

[Nevets]

The earliest he could have been conceived, assuming that he was conceived after the fall of KL, would be late 283/early 284.  This would mean he would be 14 (barely) when Ned met him, which would put him about a year behind Robb, who had just turned 15.  His time with Arya in the Riverlands was about 2-3 months later.  I would guess he was 14 by then.  

Given that blacksmithing is physically demanding and hazardous work, I doubt he was under 13.  My best guess is that he was  late 13 or just turned 14 when Ned met him, 14 in the Riverlands and Harrenhal, and is presently 15, which would put him at less than "a man grown".  

In a setting like Westeros, determining someone's chronological age is often a guessing game, as birthdates are often not kept close track of.  Even in the real Middle Ages, birth dates for even prominent figures are often uncertain or even just estimates.  So even if you asked Gendry (if he were real) how old he was, he well might not know.