Alternate wives for Stannis

[Hrulj]

I will admitedly go trough only the most notable families of seven kingdom. I am sure there are many other eligible ladies for marriage that Stannis could have married but I am simply going after the most prominent names, as well as avoiding some, such as families of the North or Westerlands. I would love to hear your thoughts on the matches or some of them, as well as how you believe they could impact the War of the Five kings. 

 

Starting with the most famous or recognizable, Ashara Dayne. She is a bit older or of age with Stannis by the time Roberts rebellion breaks out. There is talk of her Romance with Nedd Stark but how much of it is truth and how much of it is fiction is debatable. Obviously a well known family from Dorne, sister of Arthur, sword of the Morning. Their lands are at the edge of Dorne, close to Hightowers and the reach. A well known beauty, which may make producing heirs a more enjoyable endeavour, from renowned family but otherwise the family doesn't seem either rich or strong to change things drastically to me. 

 

The second choice is Leyla or Lynesse Hightower, daughters of Leyton. Obviously the most powerful family in the reach after Tyrells and rulers of the richest city in Westeros - Oldtown, which is also the second most populous after King's Landing. There is also Malora, the mad Maid but I'm not sure if Stannis or Baratheons would be willing to marry her. Leyton gave away Lynesse to Jorah Mormon so I see no reason why he'd refuse a second son of Lord Paramount or King's brother in case of after-rebellion proposal. He's wealthy, has a large fleet, large tracts of land and could distract Tyrells in case of war long enough for Stannis to win a decisive battle. On the other hand Leyton hasn't left the tower for a decade by the time of War of the Five kings, reading magical texts with his mad daughter. Leyla is of age with Stannis, Lynesse would need a few years to come of age after Rebellion is over. They also fulfil the role Florents did, which is giving Royal house a grip on the reach trough a Tyrell rival.

 

And last of those able to marry before the rebellion begins is unnamed daughter of Walter and Shella Whent, Lord and Lady of Harrenhall. I can't find out much more about her except that she is the only daughter of the couple and that she was adult and unwed by the time the rebellion kicked off. I would be very curious to hear your thoughts on this match. 

 

Now onto those who would come of age after Robert sits the throne - around the time of Greyjoy rebellion.

On top of my list is Ryella, daughter of Bronze Yohn Royce who would be ready to marry around the time Stannis weds Selyse. A renowned family, highly influential in the Vale, her father is well known and respected. They own several ports and used to be Kings in the Vale before Arryns. I can't find any information about their military power. 

 

Another interesting match is Asha Greyjoy, who by the time of Greyjoy rebellion was 15 years of age. Greyscale already swept Dragonstone by that time and it is possible that Selyse may have died from it. In case that happened Asha Greyjoy seems like a decent choice to pacify the Iron Isles trough marriage, though I doubt Balon would much respect it. On the other hand he may see seating his Grandson on the Iron throne as ultimate Iron Price so who knows. If her father supports Stannis that may swings things widely in his favor. But that is a big IF. 

 

What do you make of these matches, which ones do you favor, do you have any alternatives and what impacts could they have on the war if Stannis were to pursue them. 

[Endymion I Targaryen]

A Hightower is the best choice. A powerfull house of the Reach, which makes a good threat to house Tyrell. 

Good choices are:

1. Cersei, if they abandoned the idea of marrying her to Robert.

2. Arianne, if they wanted to show that Targaryen loyalists are welcome to the new regime.

 

 

[Willam Stark]

54 minutes ago, Endymion I Targaryen said:

A Hightower is the best choice. A powerfull house of the Reach, which makes a good threat to house Tyrell. 

Totally agree.

56 minutes ago, Endymion I Targaryen said:

1. Cersei, if they abandoned the idea of marrying her to Robert.

We are talking about the impact of Stannis' marriage on the War of the 5 kings, Cersei can't be with anyone else than Robert.

57 minutes ago, Endymion I Targaryen said:

2. Arianne, if they wanted to show that Targaryen loyalists are welcome to the new regime.

They could have try.

[James Steller]

Pretty much any of the women already mentioned would have been better matches than Selyse Florent. She's the daughter of Lord Alester Florent's younger brother, so far down the line of inheritance that the Florents literally choose to support the Tyrells over her. I'm not going to make a big deal out of her physical appearance, because I'm much more repulsed by her bitter personality (though I don't know whether that is was how she always was, or if a loveless marriage has soured her). 

It's debatable whether Stannis personally chose Selyse to be his bride, but given how match making seems to work in Westeros, I'm inclined to believe that Robert and maybe even Jon Arryn were somehow involved. And assuming that the latter is the case, it really feels like they went out of their way to pick the single least appealing bride for Stannis that they could find. And then Robert also ruins his brother's marriage by defiling his wedding bed with Selyse's hot cousin. Robert never once stopped being the douchebag older brother; no wonder Stannis resented him.

[Canon Claude]

1 minute ago, James Steller said:

Pretty much any of the women already mentioned would have been better matches than Selyse Florent. She's the daughter of Lord Alester Florent's younger brother, so far down the line of inheritance that the Florents literally choose to support the Tyrells over her. I'm not going to make a big deal out of her physical appearance, because I'm much more repulsed by her bitter personality (though I don't know whether that is was how she always was, or if a loveless marriage has soured her). 

It's debatable whether Stannis personally chose Selyse to be his bride, but given how match making seems to work in Westeros, I'm inclined to believe that Robert and maybe even Jon Arryn were somehow involved. And assuming that the latter is the case, it really feels like they went out of their way to pick the single least appealing bride for Stannis that they could find. And then Robert also ruins his brother's marriage by defiling his wedding bed with Selyse's hot cousin. Robert never once stopped being the douchebag older brother; no wonder Stannis resented him.

To be fair, Stannis would be a terrible husband no matter how pretty or powerful his wife was. He doesn’t like being around women, and only sees it as a duty to marry them. He doesn’t even stay faithful to his wife either, though his sleeping around with Melisandre feels like an inconsistency on GRRM’s part.

[James Steller]

1 hour ago, Canon Claude said:

 though his sleeping around with Melisandre feels like an inconsistency on GRRM’s part.

Or it could be that Stannis was genuinely attracted to Melisandre, and his dislike for women could be an exaggeration. Neither Asha nor Catelyn like Stannis, and they aren't interacting with him under pleasant circumstances. 

I have my doubts about that, of course, but I won't completely rule it out either.

[Angel Eyes]

2 hours ago, James Steller said:

Pretty much any of the women already mentioned would have been better matches than Selyse Florent. She's the daughter of Lord Alester Florent's younger brother, so far down the line of inheritance that the Florents literally choose to support the Tyrells over her. I'm not going to make a big deal out of her physical appearance, because I'm much more repulsed by her bitter personality (though I don't know whether that is was how she always was, or if a loveless marriage has soured her). 

It's debatable whether Stannis personally chose Selyse to be his bride, but given how match making seems to work in Westeros, I'm inclined to believe that Robert and maybe even Jon Arryn were somehow involved. And assuming that the latter is the case, it really feels like they went out of their way to pick the single least appealing bride for Stannis that they could find. And then Robert also ruins his brother's marriage by defiling his wedding bed with Selyse's hot cousin. Robert never once stopped being the douchebag older brother; no wonder Stannis resented him.

I'm with you on that one; if Emmon Frey, the second son of a mid-tier Lord, raised a fuss because he was betrothed to the only daughter of a Lord Paramount, how could Selyse Florent, the daughter of a third son whose family was of a similar tier as the Freys, be a suitable match for the brother and heir presumptive to a king? On the other hand the rules seem pretty flexible since Tywin allowed his brother Kevan to marry the daughter of a disgraced family.

[Floki of the Ironborn]

47 minutes ago, Angel Eyes said:

I'm with you on that one; if Emmon Frey, the second son of a mid-tier Lord, raised a fuss because he was betrothed to the only daughter of a Lord Paramount, how could Selyse Florent, the daughter of a third son whose family was of a similar tier as the Freys, be a suitable match for the brother and heir presumptive to a king? On the other hand the rules seem pretty flexible since Tywin allowed his brother Kevan to marry the daughter of a disgraced family.

The Florents are not the same tier as the Freys. Not on any level.

The Freys have more than twice the manpower of House Florent and are one of the strongest houses in their region. The Reach equivalent of that military clout would be House Hightower to the Tyrells/Tullys. 

And the Florents are far above the Freys in terms of prestige. They have blood ties to the Gardeners and boast an ancient founder with ties to a legendary figure of the Reach. The Freys have been a noble house for hundreds of years and they're still the upjumped house descended from bridge builders and toll collectors.

[Jaenara Belarys]

The only wife I have for Stannis is an axe. He burns people alive. 

[Floki of the Ironborn]

6 minutes ago, Jaenara Belarys said:

The only wife I have for Stannis is an axe. He burns people alive. 

I hope you keep that axe sharp, because you're going to be using it on pretty much every character in the series. 

[Jaenara Belarys]

3 minutes ago, Floki of the Ironborn said:

I hope you keep that axe sharp, because you're going to be using it on pretty much every character in the series. 

Well, get me some whetstones please. I won't be using the axe on: Tyrion, Sansa, Arya, Jon ( he be dead right now anyway, but he'll probably be coming back), Jaime, Dany, Brienne, Podrick and Ser Hyle. 

[Floki of the Ironborn]

11 minutes ago, Jaenara Belarys said:

Well, get me some whetstones please. I won't be using the axe on: Tyrion, Sansa, Arya, Jon ( he be dead right now anyway, but he'll probably be coming back), Jaime, Dany, Brienne, Podrick and Ser Hyle. 

So you're okay with rapists, attempted child murderers, underage serial killers, and a woman who has actively and repeatedly ordered her pet dragons to burn hundreds of people alive? 

[Lord Lannister]

I've thought about Lynesse Hightower as a possible wife for Stannis as well. Lord Leyton marrying her off to the king's brother would make a lot more sense than some random knight. 

This might end up making a huge difference on if the Hightower's support Stannis during the War of the Five kings later on, or at the very least do so more full heartedly after Renly dies.

A rather large impact of finding Stannis an alternate wife would be the possibility of him having a son. If Lynesse or another wife bore him a son early in the marriage, he'd be old enough to be a factor by the time the war starts.

[Lord Lannister]

3 minutes ago, Floki of the Ironborn said:

So you're okay with rapists, attempted child murderers, underage serial killers, and a woman who has actively and repeatedly ordered her pet dragons to burn hundreds of people alive? 

Are you really using someone's likes for fictional characters to virtue signal? 

[Floki of the Ironborn]

Just now, Lord Lannister said:

Are you really using someone's likes for fictional characters to virtue signal? 

No, I'm pointing out an inconsistent moral code. I don't even like Stannis, but I'm tired of people harping on about his flaws while excusing people who do far worse than him. Tyrion is guilty of sexual assault (and I'm not talking about Tysha) and he's guilty of burning a whole fleet of people alive with wildfire. Danaerys and her dragons speak for themselves. But oh my god, Stannis burned a couple of people? Oh the humanity!

It's tedious hypocrisy, and I'll call it out even if it's in defence of someone I don't actually support.

[Aemond's Eye]

3 hours ago, Canon Claude said:

To be fair, Stannis would be a terrible husband no matter how pretty or powerful his wife was. He doesn’t like being around women, and only sees it as a duty to marry them. He doesn’t even stay faithful to his wife either, though his sleeping around with Melisandre feels like an inconsistency on GRRM’s part.

In fairness, that's not exactly helped by being married to a woman he's neither attracted to nor whose company he enjoys. By the time of his marriage he already thinks his elder brother enjoys slighting him, and being married to the niece of a Reach lord probably is seen by him as another slight, given he lived through the siege of Storm's End. He's not an outright misogynist nor hates women - by medieval standards at least, which ASOIAF is modelled after - and makes it clear he expects his bannermen to fight for his daughter's rights should he die in battle. Stannis married to someone who could pierce through the armour he's built up around himself since childhood rather than Selyse could very much change the man he is by the time of ASOIAF.

Not that I have any particular suggestions, as we don't really meet many women ages with Stannis that aren't already married. 

[Jaenara Belarys]

5 minutes ago, Floki of the Ironborn said:

So you're okay with rapists, attempted child murderers, underage serial killers, and a woman who has actively and repeatedly ordered her pet dragons to burn hundreds of people alive? 

Jaime's at least trying to redeem himself. Arya...tell me do you feel bad about all the people she's killed? Dany, those slaver turds can go **** themselves in seven hells. Tyrion, his wildfire, they would've killed him. 

[Lord Lannister]

2 minutes ago, Floki of the Ironborn said:

No, I'm pointing out an inconsistent moral code. I don't even like Stannis, but I'm tired of people harping on about his flaws while excusing people who do far worse than him. Tyrion is guilty of sexual assault (and I'm not talking about Tysha) and he's guilty of burning a whole fleet of people alive with wildfire. Danaerys and her dragons speak for themselves. But oh my god, Stannis burned a couple of people? Oh the humanity!

It's tedious hypocrisy, and I'll call it out even if it's in defence of someone I don't actually support.

A fair point, and one I agree with even though I missed it right away. Apologies for my remark in response to it.

[Aemond's Eye]

Just now, Jaenara Belarys said:

Jaime's at least trying to redeem himself. Arya...tell me do you feel bad about all the people she's killed? Dany, those slaver turds can go **** themselves in seven hells. Tyrion, his wildfire, they would've killed him. 

Or he just really likes the fantasy of being the hero rather than actually caring about redemption.

[Willam Stark]

3 hours ago, Canon Claude said:

To be fair, Stannis would be a terrible husband no matter how pretty or powerful his wife was. He doesn’t like being around women, and only sees it as a duty to marry them. He doesn’t even stay faithful to his wife either, though his sleeping around with Melisandre feels like an inconsistency on GRRM’s part.

I don't think that he doesn't like to be around women, just that he is very introvert and doesn't like his wife.

As an introvert I can testify that people often see us as cold persons, because we are not expressive, it seems to be the case here. But we only behave like this with strangers, with our loved ones we are more open and maybe it's the same with Stannis.

Melissandre on the other hand is sexually attractive, it's not surprising.