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Do you think Ned knew Old Nan's true identity?


Bloodraven's Spider

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15 hours ago, LiveFirstDieLater said:

zuuAnd a wolf suckling babies, where have I heard that tale? Romulus and Remus?

Wow, I love the parallel! What if it's inverted though? The capitoline wolf is a beast sucking human babies, and what if Old Nan was the human figure, the warm haert suckling Stark wolf-babies? Taming them... instillling fear with her tales? 

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15 hours ago, Ygrain said:

As for Old Nan's tales: they sound very much like the various myths, folk tales and legends that are passed down the generations until the truth behind them becomes obscured, rather than real knowledge of old history. Also, narratively, we are introduced to them very early on, at a point where obscure hints make more sense than the hard data which will be exposed only later.

Like Leech said, I believe Old Nan was once Young Nan, and that's about it. Maybe she's not northern but dornish, but that would not be so significant I guess... the North and Dorne have a lot in common with each other after all. 

I mean the whole "folktales turning into reallity" thing is a theme in asoiaf! Where do we draw the line between myth and history? What informations can be trusted? It's not just us, these questions are posed and must be answered by the characters in-universe.

Martin weaves an intricate tapestry of tales and prophecies, reality and fantasy, magic and tricks. The characters must make sense of it all the same as us, dismissing what they knew to be the truth (magic doesn't existe anymore, they learned from their maesters) without throwing the baby away with the bathwater. Should they just acknowledge all folklore as real and beware of Others and dragons as well as grumkings squishers and snarks? Or is the message "look with your eyes", draw conclusions from real-world experiences and some analytical thinking? 

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2 hours ago, Ferocious Veldt Roarer said:

She was actually "Shiera sister", or maybe even "Sherry sister" or "Cherry sister", only the Targaryens can't spell worth shit. (Why nickname "sister", though? 'Cause she was love interest to both Bittersteel and Bloodraven, and she was (half-)sister to both, and when you're a Targ, that's hawt.)

Maybe it's pronounced "Sharya" sister, as in share ya sister. Something Bittersteel and Bloodraven refused to do and the realm bled because of it.

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9 hours ago, Ygrain said:

Indeed, if she went to Winterfell right away after Mel was weaned, or kept milking herself to maintain the milk production. But why would they take this completely strange person in confidence to nurse the heir of Winterfell? Wouldn't an already trusted servant, or a relative of one that could be vouched for, be more suitable for the job? 

Fair point but Bloodraven is probably manipulating this some how

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16 hours ago, Ser Insight said:

1. I thought it wasn't confirmed which wife came first?

Jon is older then Dany and Robb

2. (N+A=J)...

1. What is known is which wife gave birth to which of his children - Lyanne was mother of Brandon, and Melantha was mother of two other children.

Lyanne died in childbirth. That's why they had to hire a wet nurse to feed the baby. And also why Willem married second time. Lyanne died, and Willem remarried. Thus Lyanne was first, and Melantha was second.

The opposite (Melantha first wife, Lyanne second) is impossible.

2. :rolleyes:

R + L = J.

N + C = R, S, B, A, R.     

A + HR = MR, JR, ED. ^_^

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15 hours ago, Megorova said:

1. What is known is which wife gave birth to which of his children - Lyanne was mother of Brandon, and Melantha was mother of two other children.

Lyanne died in childbirth. That's why they had to hire a wet nurse to feed the baby. And also why Willem married second time. Lyanne died, and Willem remarried. Thus Lyanne was first, and Melantha was second.

The opposite (Melantha first wife, Lyanne second) is impossible.

2. :rolleyes:

R + L = J.

N + C = R, S, B, A, R.     

A + HR = MR, JR, ED. ^_^

Thanks! You really think A+HR??? 

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She's a mystery but her uncanny ability to recall events that happened before her time, her interpretation of the comet, are on point.  If Bran is a greenseer, why not Old Nan.  Perhaps she never had the right tutelage and her powers were never fully developed.  That would explain how she knew the meaning of the comet, the N/K was a Stark, etc.  She can read the trees like Bran can.  

Now, ofcourse, Ned would have no way of knowing this.  To him, she's just a faithful servant who raised daddy Stark, Brandon, Ned, Lyanna, and the rest of them.

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2 hours ago, Ser Insight said:

Thanks! You really think A+HR??? 

You're welcome ^_^

Ashara Dayne + Howland Reed is just a possibility. But I'm not a big supporter of this theory. Could be that Ashara is alive. Could be that after events at Tower of Joy, she went together with Howland Reed to live at Greywater Watch, as his wife Jyanna. And that Edric Dayne is actually their third child. And he was sent together with Wylla (that after Tower of Joy, and prior Edric's birth was Jon's wet nurse at Winterfell), to be Lord of Starfall. Because he had blue eyes and blond hair, thus he didn't looked like a cranogmen of The Neck. And his parents to still keep Ashara's identiry in secret, had to send their baby to Dorne.

Though I won't be sad or anything like that, if in the end it will turn out that Ashara is actually dead, and there is no any mystery behind Edric "Ned" Dayne's identity.

The only theory by which rebuttal/disproof I will be upset, is R+L=J.

If it will turn out that Jon is not a secret prince, then I will cry a river :crying: I really want him to become Cinderella/Pea Princess/Swan Princess (like in fairytales https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princess_and_the_Pea and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Swans).

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 Brandon is the default Stark folk-hero name. History blends Brandons together, confusing one Brandon for another and merging their deeds.

Old Nan also confuses one Brandon for another. Her tales also contain remarkable historical details. 

Old Nan is history. QED.

Whether she's a literary conceit, symbolic of the oral traditions that both preserve and confuse history, or whether she is, as my crackpot headcanon insists, actually several thousand years old and the Brandon she came to Winterfell to wet nurse was the first Brandon, doesn't really matter. She is history personified.  

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1 hour ago, Kingmonkey said:

 Brandon is the default Stark folk-hero name. History blends Brandons together, confusing one Brandon for another and merging their deeds.

Old Nan also confuses one Brandon for another. Her tales also contain remarkable historical details. 

Does she?

Or does Bran not realize she’s talking about the same story... a scary story about a crow boy who didn’t like stories.

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4 hours ago, Megorova said:

You're welcome ^_^

Ashara Dayne + Howland Reed is just a possibility. But I'm not a big supporter of this theory. Could be that Ashara is alive. Could be that after events at Tower of Joy, she went together with Howland Reed to live at Greywater Watch, as his wife Jyanna. And that Edric Dayne is actually their third child. And he was sent together with Wylla (that after Tower of Joy, and prior Edric's birth was Jon's wet nurse at Winterfell), to be Lord of Starfall. Because he had blue eyes and blond hair, thus he didn't looked like a cranogmen of The Neck. And his parents to still keep Ashara's identiry in secret, had to send their baby to Dorne.

Though I won't be sad or anything like that, if in the end it will turn out that Ashara is actually dead, and there is no any mystery behind Edric "Ned" Dayne's identity.

The only theory by which rebuttal/disproof I will be upset, is R+L=J.

If it will turn out that Jon is not a secret prince, then I will cry a river :crying: I really want him to become Cinderella/Pea Princess/Swan Princess (like in fairytales https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Princess_and_the_Pea and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wild_Swans).

Jon is the sword of the morning come again

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On 1/30/2018 at 4:55 PM, Ser Insight said:

Do you think Ned knew who Old Nan truly was? If so why did he keep this information secret and who do you think she is? (I'm a firm believer she is Shiera Seastar) If not do you think any of the previous Stark's knew her true identity? And do you think she is still alive and if so where has she been since Theon took/lost Winterfell?

Yes.

Why wouldn't Ned know who Old Nan truly is? Bran might not know her origins but he is eight years old when we first meet him.  She was brought to Wintefell to nurse a Brandon of a previous generation of Starks and I find it highly unlikely that they would not know her history and lineage before trusting her to look after a member of their family. 

Shiera Seastar had a Targaryen appearance with silver-gold hair and striking mismatched eyes of blue and green colour.  None of those traits are mentioned in the chapters where Nan appears.  Maybe she was glamoured?   :D

Nan was transported to the Dreadfort after the sacking of Winterfell so it is possible that she remains alive.

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