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Why was Lyanna Stark betrothed to Robert Baratheon in particular?


Angel Eyes

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Of all the eligible young men in Westeros connected to Great Houses, why was Lyanna Stark betrothed to Robert Baratheon? There were a few other options available, which were closer to home such as Elbert Arryn and Jaime Lannister, and if Cersei is any indication, married life with Robert is... psychologically unhealthy.

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1 hour ago, LindsayLohan said:

Bob asked, Rickard said yes

This, in a nutshell. The union of two great houses, Ned and Robert fostered together and being close as brothers. On paper it looks great. 

Also, @Angel Eyes, as reprehensible as Bobby B is, I think it's the other way around... being married to Cersei is what is really unhealthy, mentally and emotionally and physically. :D

 

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14 minutes ago, kissdbyfire said:

This, in a nutshell. The union of two great houses, Ned and Robert fostered together and being close as brothers. On paper it looks great. 

Also, @Angel Eyes, as reprehensible as Bobby B is, I think it's the other way around... being married to Cersei is what is really unhealthy, mentally and emotionally and physically. :D

 

So would Big Bobby B be a better person if he wasn’t married to Cersei?

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1 minute ago, Angel Eyes said:

So would Big Bobby B be a better person if he wasn’t married to Cersei?

Tough one... I don't necessarily think Robert was a bad person... super flawed, sure, but the man had positive qualities as well. I actually think the character is rather tragic. And a very good portrayal of what may happen when someone is put in a position where they're an extremely ill fit. I think the more interesting question is, "would Big Bobby B be a better person if he wasn't king?" :dunno:

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1 hour ago, Angel Eyes said:

Well, the betrothal just seems poorly thought out.

Heh. Like Joffrey and Sansa. One of those things where it looks good on parchment, neither side wants to offend the other Great Lord by hesitating or worse yet, saying "no," and no time is taken to consider potential negative consequences. Plus, apparently you never bother to ask the woman.

I suspect that Lyanna may have kept Robert on a tighter leash than Cersei, and would have gone out and done things with him, like hunting and riding and maybe even displaying her fighting skills. But for that charming Targaryen, Rhaegar. If Lyanna hadn't seen Rhaegar as an alternative and had been stuck with Robert, their children actually would be little Baratheons.

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13 minutes ago, zandru said:

Heh. Like Joffrey and Sansa. One of those things where it looks good on parchment, neither side wants to offend the other Great Lord by hesitating or worse yet, saying "no," and no time is taken to consider potential negative consequences. Plus, apparently you never bother to ask the woman.

I suspect that Lyanna may have kept Robert on a tighter leash than Cersei, and would have gone out and done things with him, like hunting and riding and maybe even displaying her fighting skills. But for that charming Targaryen, Rhaegar. If Lyanna hadn't seen Rhaegar as an alternative and had been stuck with Robert, their children actually would be little Baratheons.

Pretty much agree. Which makes me reconsider @Angel Eyes's question... I actually think Big Bobby B might have been a better person - and a better ruler - with a different type of woman by his side. 

9 minutes ago, EloImFizzy said:

Rickard Stark's Southern ambitions. 

:bs:

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2 hours ago, Angel Eyes said:

Of all the eligible young men in Westeros connected to Great Houses, why was Lyanna Stark betrothed to Robert Baratheon? There were a few other options available, which were closer to home such as Elbert Arryn and Jaime Lannister, and if Cersei is any indication, married life with Robert is... psychologically unhealthy.

I believe you already know the answer.  The Baratheons and the Starks were the ringleaders of a conspiracy to oust the Targaryens from the throne.  This, at its heart, is the Southron Ambitions.

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1 hour ago, Angel Eyes said:

So would Big Bobby B be a better person if he wasn’t married to Cersei?

Yes.

Robert is a shit husband, but no one could deal with Cersei. She cheated on him on the wedding day, refused to bed him, aborted his son, made no attempt to make the marriage work, keep cheating him, denied Robert to even see his daughter and threat her, even tough she hated him she sold one of his lovers in slavery and killed her babies.

I doubt Robert would be a loyal husband, but without Cersei he wouldn't be a fat depressed drunk that he become.

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2 hours ago, Angel Eyes said:

So would Big Bobby B be a better person if he wasn’t married to Cersei?

I think that Robert post-Rebellion is a Robert fundamentally unhappy with life, stressed and depressed and as a result his worst character aspects become the dominant facets of his personality.

If he'd had Lyanna... maybe he'd have been happier. Maybe. It's also possible that a relationship with her wouldn't work because he might still fail to remain faithful. It is possible Robert was just destined to be unhappy as an older man because his character flaws were too big for him to conquer, or he simply always lacked the will.

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On 9/14/2018 at 2:38 PM, Angel Eyes said:

Of all the eligible young men in Westeros connected to Great Houses, why was Lyanna Stark betrothed to Robert Baratheon?

Maester Conspiracy.

The Maesters have been using selective breeding for centuries to strengthen certain traits and stifle others. Lyanna Stark pretty clearly had the Stark skinchanger trait, Robert obviously has the Durrendon wargod trait. The two might not seem terribly complimentary, but consider that Lyanna is often suspected to be the Knight of the Laughing Tree. If that's true, then despite having no particular strength or experience, she was able to successfully compete in a jousting tournament, presumably by exerting influence over the horses. Imagine if someone had those gifts AND the Baratheon combat competence.

 

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But Mr. Tor, you keep telling us the Maesters HATE magic and are trying to get rid of it! That for a while they DID get rid of it! Now you're telling us they're breeding better magic? Which is it?

It's both. There are two factions at the Citadel, anti-magic and pro-magic. They aren't enemies, they're rivals at best; both do seem to be working towards the same end, the final victory over the Children of the Forest.

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On 9/14/2018 at 6:28 PM, Angel Eyes said:

So would Big Bobby B be a better person if he wasn’t married to Cersei?

IIRC, Ned remembers Lyanna saying of Robert: "Love is sweet, but it cannot change a man's nature."

Basically she knew that Robert would never stay faithful to any one woman. He might--probably would-- have been less of a screw-up with Lyanna than he became with Cersei. But then Cersei's malignant nature would F-up anybody's brain.

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