Could Craster be giving up his sons to pay an ancient blood debt?

[Corvo the Crow]

 

 

How come it went from this

1 hour ago, White Night said:

the only two characters who were serving in the Nights watch around the time of Craster's inception and are still alive during the current events of the books are Bloodraven and Maester Aemon. Both of them would know the identity of Craster's father and perhaps the mystery of his bloodline. the following events could be mere coincidences or they could be not:

To this

11 minutes ago, White Night said:

What is Jon's kind to Ygritte which he has in common with Craster? He is a southerner, a bastard and a stark, but not a crow.

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I don't even know.

 

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She punched him again. “Craster’s more your kind than ours. His father was a crow who stole a woman out of Whitetree village, but after he had her he flew back t’ his Wall. She went t’ Castle Black once t’ show the crow his son, but the brothers blew their horns and run her off. Craster’s blood is black, and he bears a heavy curse.” She ran her fingers lightly across his stomach. “I feared you’d do the same once. Fly back to the Wall. You never knew what t’ do after you stole me.” -ASoS Jon III

Ygritte had looked so angry he thought she was about to strike him. “All of us,” she said. “You too. You’re no crow now, Jon Snow. I swore you weren’t, so you better not be.” She pushed him back against the trunk of a tree and kissed him, full on the lips right there in the midst of the ragged column. Jon heard Grigg the Goat urging her on. Someone else laughed. He kissed her back despite all that. When they finally broke apart, Ygritte was flushed. “You’re mine,” she whispered. “Mine, as I’m yours. And if we die, we die. All men must die, Jon Snow. But first we’ll live.” - ASoS Jon V

This is why quotes shouldn't be added without context, or in the case of things such as these, without even a hint as to the chronology of events. Ygritte tells Jon he is no crow two chapters after telling he is king with Craster, we don't even know how many days, weeks or even months passed between to chapters.

Craster being more kin to him is him being a crow's get, being the spawn of a "kneeler" ranger.

If Craster is really to be tied to any noble house, it's Targaryens with their family loving nature. Two Targaryens were there when there wasn't even a single Stark was there. How do we know there wasn't even a single Stark? Because if there were they would've been chosen to suck up to Winterfell.

[LongRider]

The black blood and heavy curse are very interesting, and I conducted a quick search, and it seems to pan out, so great catch!  

59 minutes ago, White Night said:

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She went t’ Castle Black once t’ show the crow his son

At first glance this is an incomprehensible action of a wildling woman. Yet a deeper look reveals a mother in despair, asking for refuge for her child beyond the reach of the cold gods, much like Gilly did. 

This is a different take on the wilding woman at the Wall with the new babe and seems a salient point. 

1 hour ago, White Night said:

the only two characters who were serving in the Nights watch around the time of Craster's inception and are still alive during the current events of the books are Bloodraven and Maester Aemon

While this may true, it cannot be proven that either of them fathered Craster, as there were many brothers there going beyond the Wall and could have died any time after Craster was born.  If it was important that his father be known, they might have let someone know. 

59 minutes ago, White Night said:

What is Jon's kind to Ygritte which he has in common with Craster? He is a southerner, a bastard and a stark, but not a crow.

Whoa!  It is very doubtful and cannot be proven he's a Stark, nor can his paternity be known. 

All of this raises the question, why does Ygritte think that Craster carries a heavy curse?

 

 

[Corvo the Crow]

10 minutes ago, LongRider said:

All of this raises the question, why does Ygritte think that Craster carries a heavy curse?

 

Craster is getting all Targaryen on his family.

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“He’s of my village. You know nothing, Jon Snow. A true man steals a woman from afar, t’ strengthen the clan. Women who bed brothers or fathers or clan kin offend the gods, and are cursed with weak and sickly children. Even monsters.”

Probably has something to do with that.

[White Night]

26 minutes ago, LongRider said:

 

Whoa!  It is very doubtful and cannot be proven he's a Stark, nor can his paternity be known. 

All of this raises the question, why does Ygritte think that Craster carries a heavy curse?

 

 

However vague it may be, his bloodline is known to Bloodraven and will be known to Bran. He may not be a direct descendant of the Starks, but some of their blood could still flow in his veins. Northern daughters are frequently stolen, so his maternal side may be just as important as his paternal one. 

 

It seems common knowledge among the wildling that his bloodline is cursed which is why no one steals his daughters. Val even refers to Gilly's boy as Little Monster; a sinister name for a babe at the breast.

[Corvo the Crow]

1 hour ago, White Night said:

However vague it may be, his bloodline is known to Bloodraven and will be known to Bran. He may not be a direct descendant of the Starks, but some of their blood could still flow in his veins. Northern daughters are frequently stolen, so his maternal side may be just as important as his paternal one. 

 

It seems common knowledge among the wildling that his bloodline is cursed which is why no one steals his daughters. Val even refers to Gilly's boy as Little Monster; a sinister name for a babe at the breast.

Ummm... literally one above

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Women who bed brothers or fathers or clan kin offend the gods, and are cursed with weak and sickly children. Even monsters.”

 

[Phylum of Alexandria]

5 hours ago, White Night said:

Both the seasoned forester Dywen and the wildling Ygritte refer to him as being black of blood.

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Black blood is also how the bloodline of House Hoare of the Ironborn is described. Harren the Black came from this line.

Interestingly, one type of Gilly flower is called "Hoary Stock," which could indicate Craster's heritage.

But given that the Grey King was described as "grey as a winter sea," and House Hoare claimed the greenlands through the Blue Fork of the Trident, there may possibly be a deeper connection of the ancient Ironborn with the Others. It's quite a speculative connection at this point, but something I've been chewing on, and trying to work though.

[GZ Bloodraven]

I don't think the black blood line has to do with his Hoare heritage, but there is something to be said that the ironborn say that the Hoares have black blood like the Andals, as opposed to the salt-water blood of the Drowned God worshippers. Dywen says that Craster has black blood and Dywen can, like, "smell cold" or something, and Ygritte says he has black blood probably because, as Gilly says, he gives his sons to cold gods. I don't think she's making that up, or misunderstanding, and neither does Jon: I think he gives his kids to The Others and that wasn't invented for the show. 

As to his motivation: His mom was from the four-house village of Whitetree, which has, I'm pretty sure, the largest weirwood tree so far in the series. If there is any familial/religious reasons, I'd start there, not with the unknown, probably lowborn random criminal who was a Night's Watch ranger 90 years ago. Maybe he was spiting the Old Gods? Maybe he didn't want to have to feed the extra mouths? Maybe his mom was the Night King's 600th-great-grandaughter, idk. I'd think it was probably just some basic human sacrifice, but I don't know what he thought he'd be getting in return.