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Steward of the Red Keep


Ser Leftwich

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So we meet and hear much of the stewards of Winterfell and Riverrun (Vayon Poole and Utherydes Wayn, respectively). Vayon even leaves with Ned to set up his household in KL.

Why do we never hear of a steward in the Red Keep? There must have been someone that ran the household. Oversight or just inconsequential?

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I think stewards and castellans are embodiments of the places they oversee. Rodrik and Jory Cassel represent the castle. When they fall, House Stark is disposessed of its home. Vayon Poole represents the sacred pool under the weirwood in the gods wood. The spirit of that pool lives on through his daughter, Jeyne, but she is not well after the Starks leave. ("Not well" is a good choice of words to describe a damaged pool.) Theon rises to the challenge, however, and takes care of her.

I don't have a strong feel for Riverrun, except that Hoster seems to have been a distant and somewhat passive lord for some time. Maybe Wayn kept things together in the hope that Edmure would mature into a good leader. He did let the small folk shelter in the keep during some of the violence in the Riverlands, so it seems as if Edmure might become a worthy Lord (from our 21st Century perspective).

I suspect we don't hear about the steward of the Red Keep because the important symbolism associated with King's Landing and the Red Keep all connects to the Targaryen dynasty:

  • GRRM wants us to know that Aegon and his two sisters each built something on a separate hill, each with a different purpose.
  • The most important part of the Red Keep, in terms of the Game of Thrones, is Maegor's Holdfast. So Maegor's story is the one we need to know about that part of the structure.
  • The Hand's Tower is associated with Tywin.
  • Littlefinger seems to know his way around some of the secret doors and hillside paths.
  • Varys is the undergaoler, along with Rennifer Longwaters and Ilyn Payne.
  • Baelor came along and expanded the Great Sept in King's Landing, so he is the individual associated with that building.
  • The Dragon Pit has been a burnt shell for hundreds of years, which seems illogical in a thriving, crowded city. (So it must have a literary purpose as a vacant wreck.)

In other words, GRRM tells us about the buildings without creating a steward character.

On the other hand, I think Bowls of Brown are very important to understanding King's Landing. They are a special, local type of stew with some creepy mystery ingredients. I think there is wordplay around stew and stewards (and wards / swords / etc.). So we may be learning about the Red Keeps "steward" when we pay attention to the local "stew."

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1 hour ago, Ser Leftwich said:

So we meet and hear much of the stewards of Winterfell and Riverrun (Vayon Poole and Utherydes Wayn, respectively). Vayon even leaves with Ned to set up his household in KL.

Why do we never hear of a steward in the Red Keep? There must have been someone that ran the household. Oversight or just inconsequential?

Robert’s Steward is mentioned in passing once or twice in a Game of Thrones so he position definitely exists. Eddard IV certainly, maybe a few other times

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19 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

Robert’s Steward is mentioned in passing once or twice in a Game of Thrones so he position definitely exists. Eddard IV certainly, maybe a few other times

Thanks, I looked those up. It is just a nameless person, so inconsequential.

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