Another Horn.... of Herrock

[TheLastWolf]

Was rereading Feast in a skim through way and spotted this horn

Jaime tells Ser Kennos of Kayce to blow this Horn to herald their arrival at Harrenhal to it's occupants. Black old large twisted old gold (runes or not, not mentioned) all caught my eye. I'm searching for more information and mentions as we speak, well...type. Thoughts and information would be nice.

I've a fetish of sorts for Horns (Celtigars, Joramuns, eurons/victarions dragonbinder, Sam's, Melisandre's etc etc)

 

....,  Valyrian steel blades and redheads among other things....so..

[TheLastWolf]

From the wiki

https://awoiaf.westeros.org/index.php/Horn_of_Herrock

The Horn of Herrock is a black, twisted horn that is banded with gold. It is named after Herrock Kenning, the founder of House Kenning of Kayce.

Herrock the Whoreson used the horn as a signal for the whores of Kayce to open a postern gate, allowing his men to take the town from the ironborn for House Lannister.

It's passed down as a heirloom. So mustn't it be with Lord Terrence Kenning and not Ser Kennos OF Kayce?

Ser Jaime Lannister orders Ser Kennos of Kayce to blow the Horn of Herrock to announce his arrival before the barred gates of Harrenhal, and does so again when they arrive at Darry. Kennos sounds it a third time upon their arrival at Riverrun.

Old thread 

Stub and archived. (Shrug) 

Horny wordplays and Sam of horn Hill to be in mind

[TheLastWolf]

Well,... anybody? 

[Curled Finger]

You scared us with the avatar change, Man.  I got nothing for your horn, but love the title Whoreson.  Nearly as good as Whoresbane.  Aside from that, Lyn Corbray is a 2nd son in possession of a family heirloom, Lady Forlorn.  TWOAIF goes into some detail about Dawn not being passed father to son, but rather by merit.   Could be your horn was employed in some meaningful way, such as Lady Forlorn was, and the indirect heir got it?  Could be your boy Kennos is a professional herald?  

[TheLastWolf]

7 hours ago, Curled Finger said:

You scared us with the avatar change, Man. 

Sorry man, I just can't seem to get fixed on one. You have no problem with yours lol. Tips would be great. I know I can't continue changing profile pictures, at least after making it to Council Member. If I make it. 

7 hours ago, Curled Finger said:

I got nothing for your horn,

Pity. Thanks anyway 

7 hours ago, Curled Finger said:

Could be your boy Kennos is a professional herald?  

He is not even mentioned as a member of House Kenning, correct me if I'm wrong. Just Ser Kennos of Kayce. Is he Lord Terrence's son? Dunno. We actually dunno anything much about the horn. Duh. 

And all the Horn buildup in the series is getting too much for me. 

[TheLastWolf]

The Kayce Peninsula lies to the south of Fair Isle and north-west of Casterly Rock. 150 miles long and almost 50 miles across for much of its length, the peninsula extends into the Sunset Sea. The peninsula is dotted with watchtowers from the days of frequent ironborn raids. Kayce, the second-largest port of the Westerlands, can be found on the west cost of the peninsula. The castle, watchtower and lighthouse of Feastfires can be found near the tip of the peninsula, about 140 miles west of Casterly Rock.

https://atlasoficeandfireblog.wordpress.com/2017/02/17/geographic-map-9-the-westerlands/ is the source for the aboce text.

I could find no illustrations of the Horn, so if some kind soul comes upon one (by Ted Nasmith allegedly) please share it here.

And since the Horn of Herrock is matching in description to Dragonbinder (black, twisted, huge, old gold with runes et cetera), could it be a similar Horn?

Coz I don't think now that its a potential Horn of Winter candidate, since there are already so many of them fitting the bill more accurately.

[TheLastWolf]

Spoiler

Mammoth tusks are like they are for brushing snow aside to reach vegetation.

Could this Horn (of herrock) be from a mammoth mammoth's tusk?

Mammoths could have roamed the westerlands after all

Or is it "HER ROCK" that became Herrock?

Who's the her (she) then?

The Rock would mean Casterly Rock obviously, with the westerland origin

Could the "she" be a Casterly?

@Seams is the best I know in wordplay, help me out here if you can, mate.

[Seams]

If there is any basis for them, I suspect that wordplay hints are most likely to be helpful when taken in context with other details and symbols.

It sounds as if this horn is used in conjunction with opening gates or dropping barriers: Harrenhal, Darry, Riverrun.

It is held by Ser Kennos of Kayce but earlier belonged to Herrock Kenning of House Kenning of Kayce. Actually, the wiki clarifies: the horn is still in possession of House Kenning. Ser Kennos is a knight in service to House Kenning. The Kayce seat of House Kenning was founded by one of the Kennings of Harlaw, an Ironborn line. Based on information in the wiki, it looks to me as if GRRM is using this House Kenning to show a transition from the declining glory of the Ironborn to the ascendancy of House Lannister as a power in Westeros.

We don't know much about House Kenning. When Ramsay sends Theon/Reek to negotiate surrender by the Ironborn at Moat Cailin, Theon gives Ralf Kenning the "gift of mercy," cutting his throat with the tip of his sword. This is similar to Jon Snow cutting Qhorin Halfhand's throat just before Jon Snow infiltrates the wildlings at Qhorin's direction. I would say that both of these incidents could be compared to opening a gate or dropping a barrier - the characters with the power to cross dividing lines (Jon Snow, Theon) "kill" the old mentor or representative of their past in order to enter into a new level of being.

Jaime Lannister also seems to be a character with a special ability to cross barriers. I believe this power may be exercised by all king's guard members (and characters who function as king's guards - Areo Hotah or the Rainbow Guard members, for instance) but it may be special and stronger with Jaime.

I suspect that Jaime would have included Ser Kennos in his Riverlands quest specifically because his goal is to pass through or break down barriers in that region. Jaime alone might have been able to enter each of those fortified castles, but he needed the gates to open for the rest of his traveling companions (particularly the King's Justice, Ser Ilyn, I suspect) and for resolution of the fighting throughout the region.

Ironborn houses do seem to play a role in holding special treasures. Some of the Valyrian steel swords are in their hands or have passed through the hands of Iron Isles houses. We see rare pages of secret books arrive at House Harlaw. Perhaps even the taking and holding of thralls is symbolic of this sort of treasure-holding function of the Ironborn. Euron managing to obtain a dragon egg and the dragonbinder horn may be part of this larger tendency within the clan.

As for wordplay, the Horn of Herrock does look like a good candidate for an anagram. If the surmise is correct that its function is to open doors or break down barriers in the Riverlands (or in general), you can narrow the possibilities for solving the anagram: "fork" (associated with rivers) might be a good direction to explore. "Echo" might be part of the solution because we know that horns are used to make a noise.

Another important clue, however, is Ralf's infected neck. He is so badly infected that the men he commands have all abandoned him to his suffering. Theon's tiny intervention not only kills him, relieving him of his suffering, but also lets loose the puss and maggots that had collected in the wound. This could be symbolic of the Ironborn invading the mainland. But it also sounds like possible foreshadowing: a metaphor for the Others crossing from the north through the Neck to the Riverlands. Or maybe it symbolizes "opening the gates" to the Bolton forces.

I suspect that neck wounds are a special category in ASOIAF, relating to beheading, hanging, drowning and choking in general. If you want to explore anagrams and the Horn of Herrock, you might try words such as "neck" or "choker" to narrow the possible solutions. The metaphor of the blocked throat would be a good companion to the horn's function as an opener of gates or breaker of barriers.