Should the giant population have replenished sooner?

[Varysblackfyre321]

It seems before the others the giants would have reached similar numbers before man came no? 

Also, unrelated sorta but why do you think Giants would help Bran the builder? I suspect he took them as slaves. Hench Umber sigil being that of one breaking his chains while dressed in cloths.

[Chancho]

The giant umber slave is a nice theory, but who knows magic and religion can bring especies together too it seems.

[Corvo the Crow]

12 hours ago, Varysblackfyre321 said:

Also, unrelated sorta but why do you think Giants would help Bran the builder? I suspect he took them as slaves. Hench Umber sigil being that of one breaking his chains while dressed in cloths.

Nice theory but Umbers ruled as kings and were only vassalized by kings of Winter much later.

[Unacosamedarisa]

12 hours ago, Varysblackfyre321 said:

It seems before the others the giants would have reached similar numbers before man came no? 

We don't know anything about Giants' reproductive and life cycles. Probably, like the Children, they live for a long time, but are not particularly fecund. As Leaf states... 

Quote

 The gods gave us long lives but not great numbers, lest we overrun the world as deer will overrun a wood where there are no wolves to hunt them. 

I imagine it's similar for Giants, small numbers but long lives. 

[Rondo]

14 hours ago, Varysblackfyre321 said:

It seems before the others the giants would have reached similar numbers before man came no? 

Also, unrelated sorta but why do you think Giants would help Bran the builder? I suspect he took them as slaves. Hench Umber sigil being that of one breaking his chains while dressed in cloths.

While it may not have anything to do with the Umbers, it is possible that the giants were enslaved to build the wall.  Enslaved as in skin changed.  The worst form of taking away someone's freedom.  

The giants and the children are dying out.  Maybe they live longer than men and therefore balanced out by low fertility.

[Leo of House Cartel]

@Varysblackfyre321 Good question.

Perhaps the COTF are somehow responsible? The Giants were partly their "Bane" after all.

[Varysblackfyre321]

On May 20, 2018 at 9:43 AM, Tour De Force said:

Enslaved as in skin changed.  The worst form of taking away someone's freedom.  

I like this idea; it'd be a nice parallel to the current Brandon stark who frequently posses his large friend to tasks.

[Varysblackfyre321]

On May 20, 2018 at 9:43 AM, Tour De Force said:

The giants and the children are dying out.  Maybe they live longer than men and therefore balanced out by low fertility.

That's the usual reason for humanity supercedes races that are literally better in most ways in fantasy; still I can't help think over thousands of years(presumably), since the giant population had been decimated it'd make more of a recovery.

[Varysblackfyre321]

On May 20, 2018 at 7:46 AM, Corvo the Crow said:

Nice theory but Umbers ruled as kings and were only vassalized by kings of Winter much later.

Yes. That does not mean however, the Umber's sigil was randomly picked; houses usually have a reason to do with their history, and/or setting for the symbol they wish to convey to the world. 

[Corvo the Crow]

9 hours ago, Varysblackfyre321 said:

Yes. That does not mean however, the Umber's sigil was randomly picked; houses usually have a reason to do with their history, and/or setting for the symbol they wish to convey to the world. 

Agreed but it can be a lot of things.

Karstsarks' sigil and words are "The Sun of Winter", a pun of them being Sons of the King of Winter.

Umber sigil could be something of that sort too.

Umbers are also the best candidate for previous owners of Karstark lands, so they may have rebelled, the rebellion is put down and they lose lands but got better terms than they did like Dornish did so they have become "unchained".

[LynnS]

Where are all the giants?  Did the entire remaining population cross the Wall with the wildlings? 

[Unacosamedarisa]

17 hours ago, Varysblackfyre321 said:

still I can't help think over thousands of years(presumably), since the giant population had been decimated it'd make more of a recovery.

Except, they're limited in their environment... North of the Wall, in the cold, with humans competing against them. It's easy to imagine, just like the Children of the Forest, that their numbers never truly recovered from what happened to them in the past. 

[The Fattest Leech]

2 hours ago, LynnS said:

Where are all the giants?  Did the entire remaining population cross the Wall with the wildlings? 

Jon sent them all to Eastwatch to pass through the wall there. There is mention of them at Eastwatch and how they are all the talk, or something close to that, and there are no reports of misbehavior that I can remember. Sorry, no book quotes at the moment, but I do know it is said in Dance 

[LynnS]

48 minutes ago, The Fattest Leech said:

Jon sent them all to Eastwatch to pass through the wall there. There is mention of them at Eastwatch and how they are all the talk, or something close to that, and there are no reports of misbehavior that I can remember. Sorry, no book quotes at the moment, but I do know it is said in Dance 

Oh, yes I know that some came across with the wildlings but we're never told how many and they seem to be all male.  Is that the entire population?  

[The Fattest Leech]

3 hours ago, LynnS said:

Oh, yes I know that some came across with the wildlings but we're never told how many and they seem to be all male.  Is that the entire population?  

Ah, gotcha. Not sure about your specifics, but good questions. I’ll check it out when I get home to my books. 

[Lady Fevre Dream]

5 hours ago, The Fattest Leech said:

Jon sent them all to Eastwatch to pass through the wall there. There is mention of them at Eastwatch and how they are all the talk, or something close to that, and there are no reports of misbehavior that I can remember. Sorry, no book quotes at the moment, but I do know it is said in Dance 

 

4 hours ago, LynnS said:

Oh, yes I know that some came across with the wildlings but we're never told how many and they seem to be all male.  Is that the entire population?  

 

1 hour ago, The Fattest Leech said:

Ah, gotcha. Not sure about your specifics, but good questions. I’ll check it out when I get home to my books. 

Ah, all this reminds me of GRRM's Book Fevre Dream and the lack of fruitful multiplication that plagues the vampires.  Have we even heard of female giants in the story, presently, in the flesh?  I had almost forgotten about the giants being sent to cross at Eastwatch.  It's been a while since a reread of Dance.  

[The Fattest Leech]

1 minute ago, Lady Fevre Dream said:

 

 

Ah, all this reminds me of GRRM's Book Fevre Dream, and the lack of fruitful multiplication that plagues the vampires.  Have we even heard of female giants in the story, presently, in the flesh?  I had almost forgotten about the giants being sent to cross at Eastwatch.  It's been a while since a reread of Dance.  

What timing! I quit honestly just sat down because I just arrived back home from a wet, rainy day of errands.

The only giantess I can think of off the top of my head is the one that made Tormund a "giants babe" . But let me look at some other stuff before I attempt and adult answer.

[Lady Fevre Dream]

Just now, The Fattest Leech said:

What timing! I quit honestly just sat down because I just arrived back home from a wet, rainy day of errands.

The only giantess I can think of off the top of my head is the one that made Tormund a "giants babe" . But let me look at some other stuff before I attempt and adult answer.

LOL  Don't rule out the non-adult answers on my account. 

[aryagonnakill#2]

The environment is the likely answer here.  They use to live all over and now they live in pretty inhospitable land.

As for their numbers, there were dozens of them, but the mammoths couldn't fit through the gate at Castle Black so Jon sent them around to Eastwatch.  We have heard nothing of them since.

[The Fattest Leech]

9 minutes ago, aryagonnakill#2 said:

The environment is the likely answer here.  They use to live all over and now they live in pretty inhospitable land.

As for their numbers, there were dozens of them, but the mammoths couldn't fit through the gate at Castle Black so Jon sent them around to Eastwatch.  We have heard nothing of them since.

This is most likely the bulk of the answer, maybe a few small details to come (breeding habits?), but the giants were indeed put out with the other old races and they dwindled. The song seems to tell the history pretty well...

Ooooooh, I am the last of the giants,

my people are gone from the earth.

The last of the great mountain giants,

who ruled all the world at my birth.

Oh the smallfolk have stolen my forests,

they’ve stolen my rivers and hills.

And the’ve built a great wall through my valleys,

and fished all the fish from my rills.

In stone halls they burn their great fires,

in stone halls they forge their sharp spears.

Whilst I walk alone in the mountains,

with no true companion but tears.

They hunt me with dogs in the daylight,

they hunt me with torches by night.

For these men who are small can never stand tall,

whilst giants still walk in the light.

Oooooooh, I am the LAST of the giants,

so learn well the words of my song.

For when I am gone the singing will fade,

and the silence shall last long and long.

4 hours ago, LynnS said:

Oh, yes I know that some came across with the wildlings but we're never told how many and they seem to be all male.  Is that the entire population?  

ASOS - Jon II seems to have the most active giant info (and such a good chapter). There seems to be a speck of talk about female giants, and that it seems they are existing there still (in addition to the one Tormund loved on)...

A Storm of Swords - Jon II

"So," the girl called when she saw him, "d'you believe us now, Jon Snow? Did you see the giants on their mammoths?"

"Har!" shouted Tormund, before Jon could reply. "The crow's in love! He means to marry one!"

"A giantess?" Longspear Ryk laughed.

"No, a mammoth!" Tormund bellowed. "Har!"

 

A touch off topic, so I won't go in to very much, but speaking of Tormund, there is another in history that is said to have made babes with a giantess; John the Oak. I am sure if you squint a little, you can see the great big connections

 

25 minutes ago, Lady Fevre Dream said:

 

 

Ah, all this reminds me of GRRM's Book Fevre Dream and the lack of fruitful multiplication that plagues the vampires.  Have we even heard of female giants in the story, presently, in the flesh?  I had almost forgotten about the giants being sent to cross at Eastwatch.  It's been a while since a reread of Dance.  

That story

... but anyway, you are right! There is a lot of talk about the old races, and how misunderstood they are, and the difficulties with mating and procreating, etc, etc etc.