Robin Arryn's fostering

[Ser Leftwich]

18 hours ago, Angel Eyes said:

So is Ned any better than Lysa for not wanting his kids fostered out?

It is a question of actions taken. Lysa coddled her child and was not actually raising him. Also, Ned didn't murder anyone to prevent fostering his children out.

[FictionIsntReal]

On 1/16/2019 at 1:15 PM, The hairy bear said:

 

• it shows that Robert doesn't trust his brothers, as he thinks of sending the boy to Tywin instead of Stannis (who had a daughter of age) or to Renly (who has a ward of age).
• it show that Robert is really dumb and carelessly dependent of the Lannisters, as he would deliver to an unreliable ally the child lord of the Vale.

I don't think it's a matter of trust. He doesn't know Stannis was earlier going to do it and merely receives notice that Tywin is willing to do it. Robert reasons that Tywin never fosters children (he appears to be wrong about this) so it's really prestigious for his namesake to be fostered there.

On 1/26/2019 at 11:03 AM, zandru said:

I'm not sure how much Robert Baratheon "mistrusted" his younger sibs; I think more likely that he held them in contempt. Renly for his handsomeness, popularity, and sexual orientation; Stannis for his failure to be a drunken, dissipated womanizer like Robert himself. Neither would have met King Bob's definition of "manliness." Plus, Robert seemed to have a strong desire to humiliate and marginalize Stannis, once again recognizing that Stannis really was the better man. (Or I may be projecting...)

 

Robert had nothing but praise for Loras. He doesn't seem to have any awareness of the true nature of Renly & Loras' relationship. Robert dislikes when Renly makes jokes at his expense, but likes when Renly mocks Robert's preferred targets.

On 1/22/2019 at 12:53 PM, Chris Mormont said:

Therefore, the answer to both these questions  may be the same, Ned did not want to play politics with his kids.  He wants them to have the freedom to go where they want, love who they want and marry when and who they want.  This may have been a direct result of Ned knowing the truth of the theory that Lyanna ran away with Rhaeger instead of marrying Robert.

I don't think Ned has that modern of a worldview. He doesn't tell Arya that she can do whatever she wants when she grows up, but instead that she'll marry a lord. He accepts Robert's suggestion that Sansa be engaged to Joffrey, and his bigger hesitation is going to King's Landing as Hand after the murder of Jon Arryn.

[The hairy bear]

9 hours ago, FictionIsntReal said:

I don't think it's a matter of trust. He doesn't know Stannis was earlier going to do it and merely receives notice that Tywin is willing to do it. Robert reasons that Tywin never fosters children (he appears to be wrong about this) so it's really prestigious for his namesake to be fostered there.

Being the ward of the Lord of Casterly Rock would be prestigious for a son of a minor lord, but not so much for the Lord of the Eyrie. It's a seat as much prestigious on its own. As I see it, the one who would see his prestige increased by the arrangement would be Tywin, as it would show the realm that he was favored by the king with the heir of his trusted Hand and friend.

And if is not only that. Robert's wife was a Lannister, Jaime regicide had been overlooked, both Robert's squires were Lannisters, Robert was planning to name a Lannister Warden of the East... This last one, when Stannis is a seasoned warrior with a holding strategically positioned to control the East is particularly offensive.

Not to mention that Tywin is the man who ordered his son's wife gangraped to teach him a lesson. Is the man who had no problem murdering the grandchildren of a old friend of him for political advancement. No one in his sane mind would think it's a good idea to entrust him with the care of a kid.

[Angel Eyes]

21 hours ago, Ser Leftwich said:

It is a question of actions taken. Lysa coddled her child and was not actually raising him. Also, Ned didn't murder anyone to prevent fostering his children out.

True. He didn't murder anyone to prevent his children fostering out.

It's just that there were no plans to foster his children with other houses, no betrothals except for the really stupid one (Joffrey and Sansa). Nobody else was fostered at Winterfell but Theon; surely there would be another lordling fostered at Winterfell, should there not? Jon could have been fostered with the Reeds; Howland's a friend of Ned, they're a minor house that needn't be bothered with a bastard, and they're far enough from Winterfell that Catelyn wouldn't throw a fit.

[FictionIsntReal]

19 hours ago, The hairy bear said:

Being the ward of the Lord of Casterly Rock would be prestigious for a son of a minor lord, but not so much for the Lord of the Eyrie. It's a seat as much prestigious on its own. As I see it, the one who would see his prestige increased by the arrangement would be Tywin, as it would show the realm that he was favored by the king with the heir of his trusted Hand and friend.

I expect it is prestigious for both, which is why Ned & Robert were both sent to foster at the Eyrie.

Quote

And if is not only that. Robert's wife was a Lannister, Jaime regicide had been overlooked, both Robert's squires were Lannisters, Robert was planning to name a Lannister Warden of the East... This last one, when Stannis is a seasoned warrior with a holding strategically positioned to control the East is particularly offensive.

Stannis fled to Dragonston as soon as Robert named Ned hand. He's completely unavailable for anything, including serving as Warden of the East, during that time.

Quote

Not to mention that Tywin is the man who ordered his son's wife gangraped to teach him a lesson. Is the man who had no problem murdering the grandchildren of a old friend of him for political advancement. No one in his sane mind would think it's a good idea to entrust him with the care of a kid.

Littlefinger has heard of that story, but I don't know if it's widely known among the nobility. According to the appendices, Red Walder Frey & Robert Brax are both cupbearers at Casterly Rock.

[The hairy bear]

4 hours ago, FictionIsntReal said:

I expect it is prestigious for both, which is why Ned & Robert were both sent to foster at the Eyrie.

I'm not denying that. But for Robert Arryn, it would be of a comparable level of prestige being fostered in Dragonstone or in the Rock. Meanwhile, the statuts of Stannis and Tywin would be greatly heightened if ether were chosen to take care of him.

4 hours ago, FictionIsntReal said:

Stannis fled to Dragonston as soon as Robert named Ned hand. He's completely unavailable for anything, including serving as Warden of the East, during that time.

Robert had started favoring the Lannisters over his brothers way before that:

Ned was ready for that. “Yet we still must have a Warden of the East. If Robert Arryn will not do, name one of your brothers. Stannis proved himself at the siege of Storm’s End, surely.”
He let the name hang there for a moment. The king frowned and said nothing. He looked uncomfortable.
“That is,” Ned finished quietly, watching, “unless you have already promised the honor to another.”
For a moment Robert had the grace to look startled. Just as quickly, the look became annoyance. “What if I have?”
“It’s Jaime Lannister, is it not?”
Robert kicked his horse back into motion and started down the ridge toward the barrows. Ned kept pace with him. The king rode on, eyes straight ahead. “Yes,” he said at last. A single hard word to end the matter.

There's a clear pattern of Robert advancing the Lannisters over his brothers. Robert Arryn is just another example of that.

And I'm not saying that Stannis was a great guy (he wasn't) or good father figure (he wasn't). I'm just saying that Tywin was no better, and choosing one over the other was a political statement.