Phylum of Alexandria Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 I was just stewing on why the Stark's greenseer/wolf traits seem a lot warmer than their ancestry as Kings of Winter would have us expect. Of course, unlike the Targaryens, the Starks do not try to keep their bloodline pure through incest. Craster did so, however. I'm not the first to wonder if he has kept the icy bloodline pure. But while most people think about the baby boys taken by the Others, my thoughts turned to Gilly, who has the same pure blood as her brothers/uncles/son. I just realized that one type of Gillyflower is "hoary stock." I think GRRM is giving us a subtle punny smack on the head here with respect to Craster's icy bloodline. My guess is that the warging and greenseeing came after the truce with the Children of the Forest. But perhaps before that, the Kings of Winter preserved icy magical traits and served icy gods, and (as others have speculated) their house words were a jeering threat to their enemies rather than a word of prudence to their friends. Good thing Monster is safely away from the North, in Gilly's care. Oh wait... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandy Clegg Posted January 5, 2023 Share Posted January 5, 2023 10 hours ago, Phylum of Alexandria said: I just realized that one type of Gillyflower is "hoary stock." I think GRRM is giving us a subtle punny smack on the head here with respect to Craster's icy bloodline. Ooh, we're back to my favourite bit of wordplay in the series, the old whore/hoar connection. Gillyflowers are indeed known as "hoary stock" and have a notable smell of cloves - a scent which crops up multiple times throughout the series. Here's the only one found in Sam's chapters: Quote "The boy needs a bit of seasoning, that's all," his father had told Lord Redwyne that night, but Redwyne's fool rattled his rattle and replied, "Aye, a pinch of pepper, a few nice cloves, and an apple in his mouth." This could be part of one of GRRM's subtle clue trails, using smells and food descriptions to allude to thematic forces in the books. Can't say that I've had great breakthroughs trying to crack any such food/smell code, but I'm working on it. I actually did look into which flowers smell like cinnamon (another popular scent in the books) and found that the species Dodecatheon meadia, or 'Shooting Star' (!!) is well-known for this fragrance. Are there any old threads out there dealing with flowers and their properties or symbolism? I feel like this a rich seam well-worth mining. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phylum of Alexandria Posted January 5, 2023 Author Share Posted January 5, 2023 3 hours ago, Sandy Clegg said: Ooh, we're back to my favourite bit of wordplay in the series, the old whore/hoar connection. I definitely thought of you when I read that term! 3 hours ago, Sandy Clegg said: Are there any old threads out there dealing with flowers and their properties or symbolism? I feel like this a rich seam well-worth mining. I remember a thread about the blue winter roses, but beyond that I don't know. I just happened to chuckle at the "icy stock" pun, particularly given that "stock" can also imply food, like livestock. Maybe the sheep Craster offered won't do after all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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