Random Thoughts About ASOIAF

[Evolett]

On 9/15/2022 at 10:44 AM, Lady Misery said:

There seems to be an aweful lot of unnecessarily fancy helmets. Both Robert and Renly had ones with antlers, Bluetooth the Ironborn has ravenwings on his, Flement Brax has a horsehead shaped one with a two feet long horn, Gendry has his bull one with horns and so does some Prester knight.

The author probably uses them as a device to mark particular characters or to show us hidden traits or qualities a character might possess. In terms of the back story, Robert's and Renly's antlered helms are references to the Horned Lord, indicative of their connection to Garth the Green and the fertility theme. Bluetooth is funny as well as interesting: ravens carry messages and are thus important to communication in the 7K. Bluetooth is a wireless technology for sharing data. So raven wings on helmets probably mark the wearer as capable of telepathic communication such as through dreams or through the weirwood. Bluetooth the Ironborn himself seems unremarkable but Mance also wears a helm with raven wings which should be telling us something.

Flement Brax's helm represents a unicorn, a rare and mystical creature in the universe, believed now to exist only on Skagos. Perhaps this symbolizes a rare magical trait all but lost to the rest of the continent. Interestingly, it was thought  a unicorn could only be trapped by a virgin maiden which kind of puts me in mind of Rhaegar and his inexplicable (to the book characters) crowning of Lyanna (the long spear on which he presents Lyanna the crown of roses being the horn). Night's King may have been a symbolic unicorn trapped by the irresistable NQ. Anyway, trying to decipher the special helms is fun. 

[The Bard of Banefort]

I don’t know a lot about monarchical history—it’s not my field—but I often find myself reading about different historical figures on Wikipedia. I was thinking about the conversation on this site about how France is the only country in Europe never to have a queen regnant, so I looked to see if there were any powerful queen regents instead and ended up reading about Anne of France, who was the regent for her younger brother. I’ve theorized that Sansa will be raisin’ Bran later in the series, and I think this could be a good historical precedent for that. Granted, Anne doesn’t appear to have been featured in many historical retellings, which is where GRRM seems to get most of his inspiration (although she was apparently referenced in The Hunchback of Norte Dame lol).

[Corvo the Crow]

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Edited July 30, 2023 by Corvo the Crow

[Loose Bolt]

We know that 

Quote

"Maester Luwin has delivered all my children," Catelyn said. 

A Game of Thrones - Catelyn II

and Robb was born in Riverrrun. So I assume that Luwin came with Catelyn from Riverrun after previous maester of Winterfell either died or left that castle. We also know that there was no sept and almost certainly none septas in there either b4 Catelyn become Lady of WF=> Septa Mordane might have also came from RR. After all it would be odd if Ned and Cat would allow someone they did not trust to have access to their children. So I assume that Cat already knew Mordane b4 she was hired.

Edited September 18, 2022 by Loose Bolt
typo

[Corvo the Crow]

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Edited July 30, 2023 by Corvo the Crow

[Craving Peaches]

1 hour ago, Corvo the Crow said:

Well, there are some hints,clues, leads whatever about Jon's Targaryen name possibly being Aemon. For starters, he can't be Aegon since Rhaegar already had an Aegon as a son. We also know how he had developed a penpal quillpal relationship with Maester Aemon and that he revered him. Now to my random thought, Jon, who is in truth(to my belief of course) Aemon will, when lords come and try to install him to the throne will pass it off in favor of his brother just like his several times great uncle Aemon did. Which throne and which brother? Most likely Winterfell and Rickon.

There's also the bit where Jon cries, "I'm Aemon the Dragonknight!".

[Takiedevushkikakzvezdy]

I'll never forgive GRRM if a lord Crispin of House Glover isn't mentioned in a future book. The man gave us Kermit and Elmo Tully, but won't take advantage of the biggest layup in history?

[The Sleeper]

Children appear to be named by their parents at birth. Since Rhaegar had already died when Jon was born, it is unlikely that he would have picked a name for him. If he had, it probably would have been Visenya.

[EggBlue]

On 9/17/2022 at 4:57 AM, The Bard of Banefort said:

I don’t know a lot about monarchical history—it’s not my field—but I often find myself reading about different historical figures on Wikipedia. I was thinking about the conversation on this site about how France is the only country in Europe never to have a queen regnant, so I looked to see if there were any powerful queen regents instead and ended up reading about Anne of France, who was the regent for her younger brother. I’ve theorized that Sansa will be raisin’ Bran later in the series, and I think this could be a good historical precedent for that. Granted, Anne doesn’t appear to have been featured in many historical retellings, which is where GRRM seems to get most of his inspiration (although she was apparently referenced in The Hunchback of Norte Dame lol).

I like that theory . however , if I were to bet on a younger brother that Sansa will raise and guide , it would be Rickon . Bran is already quite independent and wise . besides , the reference of "if a 12 yr old has to save the world, so be it" is likely about Bran and I don't see that  that Bran could be in any need of Sansa . 

 

@Corvo the Crow are there parallels between Paul and Arya and their relationship with their tutors?  ... regardless of that , I won't be surprised if Serio turns out to be connected to Faceless Men .

Edited September 22, 2022 by EggBlue

[Corvo the Crow]

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Edited July 30, 2023 by Corvo the Crow

[The Bard of Banefort]

On 9/22/2022 at 12:29 PM, EggBlue said:

I like that theory . however , if I were to bet on a younger brother that Sansa will raise and guide , it would be Rickon . Bran is already quite independent and wise . besides , the reference of "if a 12 yr old has to save the world, so be it" is likely about Bran and I don't see that  that Bran could be in any need of Sansa . 

 

@Corvo the Crow are there parallels between Paul and Arya and their relationship with their tutors?  ... regardless of that , I won't be surprised if Serio turns out to be connected to Faceless Men .

@SeanF You’re pretty knowledgeable about this stuff. Do you see any potential parallels between Sansa and Anne of France?

[SeanF]

7 hours ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

@SeanF You’re pretty knowledgeable about this stuff. Do you see any potential parallels between Sansa and Anne of France?

I don’t know much about Anne, who seems not much written about, for someone so important.

I don’t know what Sansa’s endgame will be, either.  I think much turns on what part (if any) she plays in Sweetrobin’s death and Littlefinger’s downfall.

[The Bard of Banefort]

Aegon III hated the nobles for their scheming and treachery, but I think it’s noteworthy that he didn’t hate the smallfolk for the role they played in the storming of the dragonpit and forcing Rhaenyra to flee King’s Landing. Even at a young age, he seemed able to make the connection between poor rulership and revolts. I wonder if perhaps Tyland also imparted some of this wisdom on him as well?

[BlackLightning]

On 9/10/2022 at 12:20 PM, The Bard of Banefort said:

In retrospect, I think either house Greyjoy or Baratheon should have had different house colors to differentiate them better, and so each of the Great Houses had their own unique look. Maybe black and silver for the Greyjoys, or black and orange for the Baratheons.

I think it's fine as is.

The Baratheons are black-on-yellow whereas the Greyjoys are gold-on-black. I do think that the Greyjoys would've been better with a dark blue for the seas. But giving the Baratheons orange would've made it harder for a lot of readers to distinguish them from the Martells...especially since the Baratheon lands and the Martell lands are right next to each other.

People already have enough of a hard time with the concept that the Dornish Marches are not Dorne.

On 9/21/2022 at 11:52 AM, Corvo the Crow said:

Well, there are some hints,clues, leads whatever about Jon's Targaryen name possibly being Aemon. For starters, he can't be Aegon since Rhaegar already had an Aegon as a son. We also know how he had developed a penpal quillpal relationship with Maester Aemon and that he revered him. Now to my random thought, Jon, who is in truth(to my belief of course) Aemon will, when lords come and try to install him to the throne will pass it off in favor of his brother just like his several times great uncle Aemon did. Which throne and which brother? Most likely Winterfell and Rickon.

On 9/21/2022 at 1:28 PM, Craving Peaches said:

There's also the bit where Jon cries, "I'm Aemon the Dragonknight!".

I agree.

There's also the part where the firstborn daughter of arguably the greatest Targaryen king -- Jaehaerys I -- is called Daenerys and how Jaehaerys intended for her to marry and rule alongside her younger brother, Aemon, the king's eldest living son.

Things didn't work out well between the first Daenerys and the first Aemon but...what about the next set? History doesn't always repeat itself, but it definitely rhymes.

 

[EggBlue]

It's kinda funny how it's almost a routine that Targaryen princes are promising ,yet, they suck as kings . Aerys II , Aegon IV , Aegon V , Daeron I and Baelor were all alright . Aerys and Aegon's biggest flaws were sleeping around , while Egg , Daeron and Baelor were all nearly perfect . though in the end, they all pulled some sort of madness! Rhaegar could easily be in the same category and if GoT's ending is anything inspired by George's version ,so will Dany's . 

[The Bard of Banefort]

On 11/17/2022 at 10:21 AM, EggBlue said:

It's kinda funny how it's almost a routine that Targaryen princes are promising ,yet, they suck as kings . Aerys II , Aegon IV , Aegon V , Daeron I and Baelor were all alright . Aerys and Aegon's biggest flaws were sleeping around , while Egg , Daeron and Baelor were all nearly perfect . though in the end, they all pulled some sort of madness! Rhaegar could easily be in the same category and if GoT's ending is anything inspired by George's version ,so will Dany's . 

The reverse is true too. In no world were Jaehaerys I (a third-born son), Viserys II (fifth-born son), or Maekar (fourth-born son) supposed to ascend the throne, but they all did well once they did. George seems to like these tropes.

At the same time, I don’t know if we’re supposed to see Aegon V as a bad king. He’s never referred to as one, unlike the other kings you mentioned.

[The Bard of Banefort]

Knowing the story of the Black Brides, I’m genuinely confused as to why Henry VIII, after Jane Seymour’s death, didn’t seek out a young widow who had already given birth to a son before. Obviously it doesn’t guarantee any future sons (especially considering Henry’s own health problems) but it seems like it would be common sense from a sixteenth-century perspective. Did any other kings ever deliberately marry a widow for this reason?

[EggBlue]

12 hours ago, The Bard of Banefort said:

The reverse is true too. In no world were Jaehaerys I (a third-born son), Viserys II (fifth-born son), or Maekar (fourth-born son) supposed to ascend the throne, but they all did well once they did. George seems to like these tropes.

At the same time, I don’t know if we’re supposed to see Aegon V as a bad king. He’s never referred to as one, unlike the other kings you mentioned.

I like Egg and the idea of his reforms.  however, while he wasn't as bad as Aerys and AegonlV,  he might have been as bad of a king as Daeronl and Baelor. his reforms supposedly would've only benefited the commoners,  but even the smallfolk wouldn't remember him as a good king because his plans never happened.  then he pissed more nobles by the marrage aliances fiascos that ended with a pointless civil war that would've likely ended in more resentment from nobles AND snalllfolk,  all the while with the threat of another Blackfyre rebelion looming over the kingdom.  and finally he supposedly got obsessed with the idea of dragons and killed most of his families and a bunch of other people. 

[Jaenara Belarys]

18 hours ago, EggBlue said:

I like Egg and the idea of his reforms.

I'm honestly curious as to what those reforms were. Ideas, anyone?

18 hours ago, EggBlue said:

then he pissed more nobles by the marrage aliances fiascos that ended with a pointless civil war that would've likely ended in more resentment from nobles AND snalllfolk,

He should've just made Daeron the heir, IMO. All the sons were idiots, but he seems like the best, and with Olenna by his side, he would've been fine. 

And on another tangent, completely unrelated. 

@The Bard of Banefort, I've come to register a complaint for a thread with TWENTY SEVEN pages, while my lily-white threads were locked at 20-21. 

[The Bard of Banefort]

It sounds like Egg changed the law allowing a noble to cut off the hand of someone who struck them, since Jaime mentioned that Cersei wanted to bring it back after Arya’s fight with Joffrey by the Trident. He probably also enacted a law against forcing untrained peasants to engage in combat, since that was a big concern of his in The Sworn Sword.