Septs outside Westeros

[Anthony Appleyard]

The Andals sailed from Andalos in northwest Essos, to Westeros, to get away from the Valyrians, and brought  their religion with them, and their religion had arisen in Essos.

But later I read that all the septs are in Westeros, except one sept in Braavos, and it was only used by visiting Westerosi sailors.

But I read that a mixed Andal-Valyrian population remained ;n Andalos, so it seems that some Andals remained in Essos and inter-bred with invading Valyrians. If so, what happened to the Faith of the Seven in Andalos?

I also read that early invading Andals in Westeros drew 7-pointed stars on rocks. But that habit stopped. It could be that the High Septon ruled that the 7-pointed star symbol was too sacred to be casually drawn on outdoor public surfaces and used as a graffiti.

 

[Lion of the West]

I don't claim some special insight but, yeah, Andalos is pretty much emptied of Andals by this point in the story.

Its a bit a bit sad but to my understanding GRRM wanted a story focused on Westeros and so cut many ties between Westeros and Essos to not drag Essos to much into Westerosi affairs in the main series. Thus no Andals in Essos for the Andals in Westeros to be in contact with or act as a kind of bridge for interaction between Westeros and Essos.

[Lady_Qohor]

Could it be that the Andals who worshipped the Faith of the Seven were driven out of Andalos, in part due to their religious beliefs?

This could have been by Andals who followed a different religion or a different civilization alltogether. Once the seven worshipping Andals were gone, their enemies could have then destroyed any trace of the 'heathen' religion in an attempt to please their own gods?

[OldLordWalder]

The same can be said about the first men that migrated west across the arm of Dorne. Granted theirs was a more primitive culture without writing or record keeping but some trace of them would surely have remained in Essos. Maybe George simply didn't want to dive too deep into that part of the world as it jut isn't relevant to the storyline.

[Hug-hammer]

They were absorbed by the free cities of essos.
Their cultures in Essos died out after the great migrations.

That was 4000 years ago

[Ser Lepus]

People in Essos just converted to other religions... I mean, how many worshipers of Jupiter or Minerva do you find in Europe nowadays...?

Also, it is likely that the Faith of the Seven Gods was very different back then. The Westerosi worshipers of the Seven will claim that their holy book is a perfect copy the one they received from the gods and that their doctrine is pure an unaltered... but that's what every religion claims...

The truth probably is that primitive Andal religion probably was quite different before the Andal migration to Westeros. The religion of the Andals who moved to Westeros evolved differently from the beliefs of the ones who stayed in Essos, and nowadays they have become so different that the Westerosi won't acknowledge their connection...

 

[norwaywolf123]

On 4/22/2021 at 3:02 PM, Lion of the West said:

I don't claim some special insight but, yeah, Andalos is pretty much emptied of Andals by this point in the story.

Its a bit a bit sad but to my understanding GRRM wanted a story focused on Westeros and so cut many ties between Westeros and Essos to not drag Essos to much into Westerosi affairs in the main series. Thus no Andals in Essos for the Andals in Westeros to be in contact with or act as a kind of bridge for interaction between Westeros and Essos.

Most of Westeros outside the North eventually came under Andal rule. Despite this we know that they do not solely descend from Andals. They also descend from First Men. One reason they are not though of as First Men in the same grain as Northmen could be religion. The North is mostly following the Old Gods, while the Southern Westeros mostly adheres to the Andal's Seven Gods. There is probably a similar dynamic in Essos. Where people are not though of as Andals anymore, because they neither follow the Seven nor descend solely from the Andals of old.

[Egged]

I don’t believe the faith started in Essos, I think it started in Westeros and was retroactively tied to Essos history. No tourney, no knights, no septs, there is none of this in Essos. It probably started in Oldtown, possibly concurrently with the Citadel.