Purple Sigils

[Hippocras]

I wanted to collect and do an analysis of the Houses with purple sigils. Purple is the royal colour in real world history, and GRRM may be trying to tell us something with the purple sigils in his series, in spite of the apparent obscurity of many of these houses. I would appreciate some collaboration on tracking them down and drawing together what we know. As always I will be speculating on lineages.

Belmore - Vale

Brax - Westerlands

Dalt - Dorne

Dayne - Dorne

Dondarrion - Stormlands

Farring - Crownlands

Fenn - North

Hasty - Stormlands

Locke - North

Mallery - Crownlands

Payne - Westerlands

Peckledon - Westerlands

Plumm - Westerlands

Polander -  Unknown region

Royce of the Gates of the Moon - Vale

Swygert - Stormlands

Terrick - Riverlands

Woolfield - North

Wydman - Vale, but bit of purple comes from House Brax

Wynch - Iron Islands

 

Edited February 17 by Hippocras

[direpupy]

Dayne and Locke where petty royal houses in Dorne and the North respectively, and i think the purple of Royce of the gates of the moon may be because the Gates of the Moon was they original royal castle of house Arryn before they build they Eyrie.

[James Steller]

Don’t forget Dondarrion

[Hippocras]

15 minutes ago, James Steller said:

Don’t forget Dondarrion

don’t know how I skipped that one, since it is one of the most notable. Added.

[Landis]

Payne

Peckledon

Wydman

Outside of Westeros:

Loraq of Meereen

Purple Emperors of the city of Tiqui

Braavosi ships are famed for their purple hulls and sails, which lends Purple Harbour (where only Braavosi ships can dock) its name

Tyroshi swordsmen in the Brave Companions use purple, green, and silver dye in their beards

Also possibly of interest, houses with indigo:

Edgerton

Mallister

Sloane

Whitehill

Indigo Emperors of the city of Yin

… and burgundy:

Langward

Parren

Redding

Redwyne

Loraq of Meereen

 

[Hippocras]

1 hour ago, Landis said:

Payne

Peckledon

Wydman

Thanks. Adding them above.

1 hour ago, Landis said:

Braavosi ships are famed for their purple hulls and sails, which lends Purple Harbour (where only Braavosi ships can dock) its name

This gives a fascinating angle IMO. The purple association with royalty real world may be misleading, and maybe in GRRM’s world is has a very different meaning related to Braavos. Definitely worth keeping in mind. Thanks.

As for Tyrosh, I think given how factional the free cities are with their shifting alliances, purple Tyroshi beards may still have something to do with Braavos.

1 hour ago, Landis said:

Also possibly of interest, houses with indigo:

Edgerton

Mallister

Sloane

Whitehill

Indigo Emperors of the city of Yin

… and burgundy:

Langward

Parren

Redding

Redwyne

Loraq of Meereen

 

While I don’t discount as possibly relevant I think I won’t focus my efforts beyond purple because things start getting quite broad if I do that. Colour is a spectrum with no clear division lines after all.

[Springwatch]

Bravos don't wear purple, but nobles do: In the Seven Kingdoms nobles draped themselves in velvets, silks and samites of a hundred hues whilst peasants and smallfolk wore raw wool and dull brown roughspun. In Braavos it was otherwise. The bravos swaggered about like peacocks, fingering their swords, whilst the mighty dressed in charcoal grey and purple, blues that were almost black and blacks as dark as a moonless night.

No sigils at all I guess, Illyrio doesn't think much of them.

[Craving Peaches]

I'm not sure if purple in heraldry would have the same connection with royalty as in the real world, because it isn't necessarily as rare in Westeros, and it is never mentioned as being associated with royalty beyond Targaryen eye colour. The fact that so many sigils seem to feature it would suggest it isn't really that rare/is much cheaper to acquire. I don't think many of those houses listed are noted as being particularly wealthy. For example, Houses Dalt and Hasty are 'only' landed knights. If purple is supposed to be as prestigious as it was in real life I am not sure why they would be able to afford it or allowed to use it. House Fenn's sigil also displays with more of a lilac colour than a deep royal purple but that could just be the wiki's interpretation.

In real life I think proportionally far fewer CoA from the medieval or early modern period feature the colour purple, and not all of those that feature 'purpure' are featuring the Tyrian royal purple. Best example I can think of is the Kingdom of Leon. Also, there is some confusion over what the 'purpure' tincture actually was.

Quote

Until the early 15th c., it is usually depicted as a color in-between grey and brown. Later heraldists have thought that this color was a result of pigment deterioration; but certain treatises of the 15th c. make it quite clear that purpure is a combination of the other 4 colors in equal proportion.

The Wikipedia page gives me these 'meanings' for the colour aside from the royal connection.

Quote

The different tinctures are traditionally associated with particular heavenly bodies, precious stones, virtues, and flowers, although these associations have been mostly disregarded by serious heraldists.^[3] Purpure is associated with:

• Of jewels, the amethyst^[4]
• Of heavenly bodies, Mercury^[3][5] (however, Western alchemy associates the amethyst with Jupiter). The planet Mercury is further associated with the element mercury or "quicksilver" in traditional alchemical/occultistic lore.
• Of virtues, temperance^[3]

With all that said, GRRM doesn't seem that bothered with having the sigils obey proper heraldic rules or conventions (House Lynderly is a notable example), so it may be as you suggest and actually indicate an obscure royal connection.

[Hippocras]

Starting in the North, and Purple=Royal version (Purple=Braavos version later):

Houses Locke and Woolfield are both seemingly vassals of House Manderly. House Manderly made several attempts at matches with Targaryens that did not succeed for various reasons, however if the purple sigil does hint at royalty, the logic behind those matches may have been in part related to an earlier royal(ish) match in the North immediately following the conquest, that was a result of Houses Manderly and Stark coming to the aid of the Conquerors by putting down the Sistermen’s rebellion. Most of the Starks of the time may not have seen a marriage to a royal relative as a desirable honour or mark of distinction (if we consider the attitudes of Torrhen’s sons and of Alaric Stark anything to go by) but the Manderlys would have seen it differently.

So let’s speculate that 2 Manderlys not directly in line for White Harbour (females?) had a mother of Targaryen descent (probably first via a different family such as Velaryon) in a marriage arranged by Visenya. This line then founded knightly Houses Woolfield and Locke in Manderly territory that made reference to their royal descent in their sigils. Daughter(s) born to these Houses then married back into House Manderly, giving the main line of House Manderly a small drop of distant royal blood. This small drop then helped form the basis for the subsequent betrothal of Vissera to Theomore Manderly in 86 AC.

The wife of Brandon the Boastful may have been related to this same source, or may have been the source herself. We have not yet been given a reason why this particular Brandon was boasting, and a royal-ish marriage could have been the reason. IMO the names Alaric and Alarra may suggest this. In which case Alaric may have had a sister or niece not yet indicated in the tree, who may have been the mother of Theomore Manderly and the source of Houses Locke and Woolfield.

House Fenn may have the same backstory, or their drop of « purple » blood may have come from South of the Neck. As a border region it is hard to say, though the Neck does remain relatively close to the Manderly lands.

 

Edited February 17 by Hippocras

[Hippocras]

Purple=Royal version continued, Stormlands (Purple=Braavos version later):

I am fairly certain that ties between some places in the Stormlands and the Valyrian Houses Velaryon and Celtigar long predate the Conquest, in particular those Houses based near Massey's Hook or on islands in the Narrow Sea. Houses Tarth is directly stated to have ties with Houses Durrendon, Baratheon and Targaryen, and there are hints of early Velaryon connections to House Estermont as well.

However as those connections predated the conquest, no effort would have been made to indicate it via sigils. Most of the purple sigils of the Stormlands would indicate later connections, maybe passing first through Houses Baratheon, Tarth and Estermont, and/or Massey, Bar Emmon, and of course, Velaryon.

Dondarrion, Hasty and Swygert are of course the Stormlands Houses of interest here. Of these Swygert is the most obscure, without even a character to go with yet, but their sigil seems vaguely related to that of House Penrose. One of Elaena Targaryen's children is the most likely origin of their "purple blood". The same could in fact be true of House Hasty, though in their case they may have had older connections as well. House Hasty may be vassals of House Tarth.

The purple in the Dondarrion sigil predates the conquest and is part of the mythology of the House's origin. It is always possible the sigil and the myth were CHANGED to purple at a later date, but that does not seem likely. So if the purple has any royal meaning it is probably pre-Targaryen. This does not mean, however, that their bloodline was unaffected by any marriages to Tarths or Penroses, etc. In fact the opposite is likely.

[Hippocras]

Purple=Royal version continued, Westerlands (Purple=Braavos version later):

In the Westerlands, the Houses of interest here are Brax, Payne, Peckledon and Plumm.

Of those, House Plumm has a clear, confirmed path of royal descent.

House Payne, however, has no revealed history that predates Illyn Payne, unless we eventually learn the story of the coins on the sigil. My best guess is that if remotely royal then they descend from a royal bastard. But with the coins, a Braavos connection might make more sense here.

House Peckledon's sigil bears a striking resemblance to that of House Mallery, though the number of stars is different. It also shares its colours with House Plumm. This House also has apparently no history, making it impossible to draw lineage clues from past events.

Finally, House Brax is almost certainly connected to House Doggett (another Westerlands House that shared the unicorn sigil). Interestingly, the only other House than these with a unicorn on the sigil is House Rogers of the Stormlands. And while the Rogers' do not use the colour purple, they do make reference to Braavos with the Patternmaker's maze. So once again in the Westerlands we are left suspecting the purple is more likely a reference to Braavos than royalty. But if House Brax is in any way of royal descent, it could easily have come via House Plumm, or possibly via Joy Penrose who I suspect married into the Westerlands.

 

Edited February 19 by Hippocras

[Seams]

I'm pretty sure that the key to understanding purple starts with the key to understanding much of GRRM's color symbolism:

Renly's purple guard was Ser Parmen Crane. He ends up held prisoner at Highgarden, after being captured by Ser Loras. We know that Loras killed red (Royce) and yellow (Cuy), for failing to protect Renly from the shadow assassin. Renly never had an indigo guard, which has always struck me as significant. Brienne (blue) and Ser Loras (commander) are the only survivors of Renly's guard aside from Crane.

Why is GRRM saving Ser Purple for later in the story, I wonder?

If you search on the word "crane," it is often associated with a dragon craning its neck. So there may be a Targ association in that sense. But the bird known as a crane also appears in the sigil of House Crane, and is associated with Rose of Red Lake, a daughter of Garth Greenhand (more of GRRM's color symbolism comes from the Garth legends). Red Lake used to be Blue Lake, so there is another purple clue for us. 

The House Plumm symbolism also seems important in analyzing purple. Ser Parmen Crane wears purple plums on his surcoat. We know that the important Targaryen princess, Elaena Targaryen, had a child from her Plumm marriage, although that child might have been fathered by Aegon IV. 

Similarly, Ser Bonifer Hasty might be the father of Rhaegar Targaryen. Another house with a purple sigil. 

These seem like significant clues for us in understanding the possible "royal" connection of purple. GRRM constantly creates doubt about paternity and even suggests that swapped babies could lead to questions about maternity. I think he may be using purple as a sort of "mystery sperm donor" hint. Maybe this connects to the old legend of storks (cranes) delivering babies and to the fertility story in the Garth Greenhands legend. Joyeuse Erenford, the unlucky eighth wife of the fecund Lord Walder Frey, brings a heron sigil into the Frey family tree. 

This would tie in with the plum / lump wordplay I have tried to decipher: "Lump" was the name that Varamyr Sixskins was given when he was still in utero. Varamyr turns out to be a talented skin changer, perhaps another grey area like the unclear paternity for certain complex characters.

[A topic for another thread, but it's possible that Varamyr is a symbolic Jon Snow with his three wolves, bear, shadowcat and eagle companion animals. Jon Snow as Lord Commander brings his Stark heritage but also served under Mormont (bear) and Mallister (dead eagle - I think the Shadow Tower is the Valhalla equivalent for the Night's Watch, and Denys Mallister is a dead guy). Shadowcats are associated with Marillion, Tyrion, Mort - the guard at the Eyrie - and with cracking the bones of dead wildlings to prevent them from becoming wights.]

I agree with Landis, above, that the Purple Harbor could also help us to understand the deeper meaning of purple in GRRM's motifs. Arya is in her Cat of the Canals guise when she makes her first entrance into the Purple Harbor district and she later returns as the ugly girl. There is important symbolism in her interactions with Tagganaro, Little Narbo and Casso, a performing seal known as King of Seals. The performers are secretly cutpurses, which may have a "usurper" wordplay connection. If you examine the passages featuring these players, there is wounded hand symbolism that links to the major "Hand of the King" and Kingslayer severed hand and other hand-related stories. The seal may link to the Sealord.

Arya undertakes her first Faceless Man assignment in the Purple Harbor and she uses a cutpurse ruse that substitutes a poison-coated gold coin for a different gold coin. Do these gold coins bring us back to the gold coins on the Payne sigil? Or the gold coin found under the chamber pot after the death of Tywin Lannister? Or the gold coins that Brienne throws into the grave of Nimble Dick? If the gold coins on the Payne sigil double as checkers on a checkerboard, the symbolism could mean "king me." 

Anyway. I'm always glad to sort out another layer of meaning for colors. I am anxious to see how or when Ser Parmen will be released from the Tyrell dungeon. 

 

 

[Evolett]

@Hippocras I really admire your ability to sift through these innumerable family trees and bloodlines and come up with plausible matches and explanations where information is lacking. I must admit to not having the patience for it so my first thought on purple sigils seems elementary in comparison. 

The colour purple is special in part because it's the colour of Targaryen/Valyrian eyes and usually found in people of Valyrian ancestry. In RL, the trait is very rare. One can assume the Valyrians maintained it through inbreeding or breeding within a relatively confined gene pool. The Daynes who've lived in Westeros since the Dawn Age however also exhibit purple eyes, indicating an origin much older than Valyria (assuming they did not acquire the trait at a later date). Durrandurandon's excellent theory, Daenerys is the Amethyst Empress Reborn opened our eyes to gemstone Emperors as potential ancestors to the Valyrians and a point of origin of the purple eyes. 

So, it's possible that the purple sigils hint at the ancient and royal GEotD origins of the houses in question, suggesting some blood connection that has been maintained or has entered the bloodlines over the centuries. One thing I noticed while looking through the sigils - most are a combination of purple/silver or purple/white and a few include yellow or gold, all what we've come to accept as Valyrian colouring - purple eyes and silver/gold hair. Stars also occur which could be a nod at the sky worship practiced within the Great Empire (Maiden-made-of-light, Lion of Night, falling stars etc.). 

While the purple Strangler crystals suggest a connection to poison and death, I suspect purple also symbolizes freedom, secrecy (Braavos, Sansa's escape by means of the Purple Wedding) and possibly the supernatural (Ashara's "haunting eyes").

 

[Hippocras]

Just to continue the series before diving into responses to thoughts above.

Purple = Royal, Vale:

In the Vale we have Houses Belmore, Royce of the Gates of the Moon, and Wydman.

Since the Wydman sigil is a direct and clear reference to House Brax, there is no need to trace their degree of purple any further than a historic joust where a Wydman defeated a Brax. The connection between these two Houses is not a blood link but a tournament.

House Royce of the Gates of the Moon was only granted the castle very recently and it is unclear if they had their own sigil before that. However this is an interesting one, because hints of a vague royal connection to House Royce (unspecified branch) are sprinkled throughout the post-conquest history of the Kingdoms, so some degree of royalty in one branch or the other, possibly both, is in fact quite likely. However only the cadet branch would have had grounds to indicate it in their sigil as the House was formed post-conquest, and the older Royce branch already had a great deal of pride in their own history.

Interestingly, the only House on the Iron Islands with purple on their sigil, House Wynch, has one that is really fairly similar to the Royce of the Gates of the Moon sigil. In their case the moon is covered in dripping blood (charming), and there is no gate or bronze border of runes. Since both of those details are clear references to specific Royce history, their absence on the Iron Islands sigil is unremarkable. Without them what is left is almost exactly the same. What to make of that?

Finally, House Belmore's sigil is once again very similar to that of House Mallery. Bells instead of stars, but the number and pattern are the same. The colours are similar as well though not exactly the same. Still, it seems fairly likely that GRRM wants us to associate these two Houses, so they may have the same source of "purple" blood.

 

Edited February 19 by Hippocras

[Hippocras]

Purple = Royal, Crownlands, Riverlands

Houses in this region are: Farring, Mallery, Terrick

The Crownlands are in fact full of Houses that have some degree of Valyrian descent. Most do not indicate it in their sigils, and in many cases it probably predates the conquest, being the result of 200 years of Velaryon and Celtigar presence before even the Targaryens arrived, and then another 100 years of Targ presence before the conquest. This means that Houses Mallery and Farring may be distinct only in the sense that they acquired their degree of "purple" blood later than the others, if that is what the purple means.

House Mallery were Maegor supporters, though probably only after Maegor put down the Faith Millitant, and they were probably also allies of House Bracken at the time. This Faith millitant history would also connect them to House Terrick, the only Riverlands House on our list. Interestingly House Terrick shares the purple and yellow colours with the Westerlands Houses already mentioned and could be our intermediary link between Houses Mallery and Peckledon, who share colours with House Terrick and Houses Plum and Payne, and who share the star theme and pattern with House Mallery.

House Farring is another one we know very little about, save the dubious reputation of Walder Frey's 7th wife. This is another House that, if remotely royal, acquired their drop of "purple" blood most likely via the bastard route IMO. 

[Hippocras]

And last but not least, Dorne. Purple = Royal version

In Dorne there seem to be only 2 sigils that concern us here: House Dayne and House Dalt.

House Dayne has of course a large degree of mysterious importance to the series and inspires a great many theories. We know this House provided a bride for a Prince, mother to a King, so confirmed royal connections. I also strongly suspect that a descendant of either Rhaena or Baela or both married into this family during the period when many matches were being made to unite Dorne with the 7 Kingdoms (reigns of Baelor, Viserys, and Daeron II) In other words I very much doubt that Dyanna Dayne was herself entirely devoid of drops of Dragon blood. I am as intrigued as others by the Amethyst Empress hypothesis, however that would be so far back in the past that it is mainly a historic anecdote. In GRRM's world, anything of definitive importance to the series has at least some of its roots in more recent events and relationships. Finally, I believe the Dayne family was the family to absorb and contain the threat of the line of Maegor, son of Aerion. The Dayne royal connection is therefore beyond question, regardless of whether the Amethyst Empress theory proves true.

House Dalt is interesting because the sigil similar to the Westerlands ones we discussed. This is not a particularly powerful House, very similar in status to House Payne. However their proximity to Sunspear means they could easily descend from a younger child of Daenerys (Targaryen) Martell.

[Sandy Clegg]

If you're going to look at purple, I think it might be useful to note that there are many things which denote 'purple-ness' due to their connection with that colour, which may be found adjacent to sigils, or in House Names.

Do an image search on heather, for example, and you will see that purple is its dominant colour. We have no heathers in ASOIAF, strangely, but we do have a House Hetherspoon. So I would add this to the list for the sake of analysis.

Other 'things which are, or can often be seen as, purple' include:

• blackberries
• lavender
• lilac
• amethysts
• grapes
• beetroot/beets
• plums
• figs
• the purple martin (a bird)  

EDIT:

and of course there is Tyrian Purple (royal purple)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrian_purple

There was even a postage stamp (of 2 pennies) named the Tyrian Plum!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VII_2d_Tyrian_plum

Edited February 20 by Sandy Clegg

[Hippocras]

3 hours ago, Sandy Clegg said:

If you're going to look at purple, I think it might be useful to note that there are many things which denote 'purple-ness' due to their connection with that colour, which may be found adjacent to sigils, or in House Names.

Do an image search on heather, for example, and you will see that purple is its dominant colour. We have no heathers in ASOIAF, strangely, but we do have a House Hetherspoon. So I would add this to the list for the sake of analysis.

Other 'things which are, or can often be seen as, purple' include:

• blackberries
• lavender
• lilac
• amethysts
• grapes
• beetroot/beets
• plums
• figs
• the purple martin (a bird)  

EDIT:

and of course there is Tyrian Purple (royal purple)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrian_purple

There was even a postage stamp (of 2 pennies) named the Tyrian Plum!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_VII_2d_Tyrian_plum

I think analyzing everything to do with purple in the series is too big a task for me at the moment. But if any of these things tie in to the speculations above or seem otherwise relevant people are of course welcome to connect the dots.

As you can see above, even just looking at the possibility above, purple=royal, gave me a large handful of posts, with the clear sense that the purple, even if it is meant to hint at a royal connection, does not at all cover every House with royal blood or royal connections. So the House adopting the colour would need to be following their own specific logic of reputation and self-interest that Houses such as Royce or Penrose to name just a few would have no need for.

Edited February 20 by Hippocras

[Sandy Clegg]

56 minutes ago, Hippocras said:

I think analyzing everything to do with purple in the series is too big a task for me at the moment. But if any of these things tie in to the speculations above or seem otherwise relevant people are of course welcome to connect the dots.

As you can see above, even just looking at the possibility above, purple=royal, gave me a large handful of posts, with the clear sense that the purple, even if it is meant to hint at a royal connection, does not at all cover every House with royal blood or royal connections. So the House adopting the colour would need to be following their own specific logic of reputation and self-interest that Houses such as Royce or Penrose to name just a few would have no need for.

Still it's nice to have a neat little repository, forum-wise, of all things purple. So I give this thread my royal stamp of approval  

I think we have to think in a Targaryen-direction as much as royalty, though. Possibly even as specific as Danaerys herself, not forgetting Jon and Young Griff. For now it's enough to collect the dots, I'm sure if we throw enough at the wall then some patterns will start to emerge.

 

[Seams]

I like the way you have organized these Houses/sigils by kingdom but also examined the similarities to sigils in neighboring areas. 

On 2/19/2024 at 7:21 AM, Hippocras said:

In the Vale we have Houses Belmore, Royce of the Gates of the Moon, and Wydman.

The significance of the Gates of the Moon might be that it is a bookend: the entrance to the Eyrie, as opposed to the Moon Door, which is the rough exit from the Eyrie. We know that GRRM uses Isis (moon) and Osiris (sun) allusions -- including in the story of Sweetrobin who, like Bran Stark, is a symbolic Horus (son of Isis and Osiris) figure. In the ancient Egyptian story, the sun disappears each night because it sinks into the water like a crocodile but is reborn in the morning.

The cadet House Royce emerges after Lysa (Isis/moon) flies out the Moon Door. The symbolism could be that the moon behind the portcullis represents the imprisonment of the moon - consistent with Edmure Tully being taken prisoner within Riverrun BUT his black fish uncle Brynden escaping by swimming under the slightly-open portcullis.  

The bloody moon of the Wynch (Iron Islands) sigil could represent the "revenge of the moon," perhaps alluding to Catelyn's rebirth as the vengeful Lady Stoneheart. Crescent or curved blades are associated with scythes and arakhs. Jaime Lannister's hand is cut off by a Dothraki arakh. Since Jaime is the golden boy who seems to symbolize the sun, maybe this represents the battle of the sun and moon. Jaime was a prisoner at Riverrun (and Tyrion a prisoner at the Eyrie) before Edmure was imprisoned at Riverrun. 

I don't know whether I'm truly helping with the purple analysis, except that I mentioned before that Renly's purple guard is imprisoned at Highgarden. 

While purple is certainly associated with Targaryens and Valyrians, maybe we are supposed to include the many pre-conquest kings in our examination of the royal vibe associated with purple. 

The two moon sigils on purple, along with House Mallery's mullets, could also mean that purple is associated with night time, when the moon and stars would be present. This may be too much for this thread, but I wonder whether there is a yellow/orange equivalent for each of the purple sigils on your list. If so, we may be looking at day-night counterparts. 

On 2/19/2024 at 8:34 AM, Hippocras said:

Purple = Royal, Crownlands, Riverlands

Houses in this region are: Farring, Mallery, Terrick

The Belmore (Vale) and Mallery resemblance are intriguing. I had never heard the word "mullet" as describing a star, so I looked it up. In heraldry, this word is specifically used to indicate the arms of a third son. So maybe House Mallery is descended from a younger son in the line of House Belmore? (Note: House Peckledon on your list has ten mullets.)

It makes me laugh when I think that GRRM is slipping in multiple meanings in a funny way, but a mullet is also a type of small fish and a name for a sort of funny-looking haircut. Fat Walda (Frey) says that Edmure's manhood is a small fish:

Quote

Patrek Mallister climbed up onto a table to propose a toast to Edmure's one-eyed fish. "And a mighty pike it is!" he proclaimed. "Nay, I'll wager it's a minnow," Fat Walda Bolton shouted out from Catelyn's side. Then the general cry of "Bed them! Bed them!" went up again. (Storm, Catelyn VII)

House Mallister has an indigo (near purple) sigil, so it's probably significant that he proposes the toast.

Of course, at the same wedding feast, Catelyn says, "Don't cut my hair." Maybe she is fending off the possible mullet that she anticipates is coming. 

The Mallery name also has a relationship to the word for a millstone. Since Roose Bolton tells us that Ramsay was an illegitimate son through a miller's wife, and Theon kills two sons of a miller's wife, claiming that they are Bran and Rickon Stark, this could come back to the possible Catelyn/Lysa and "rumored sperm donor" motifs. 

House Belmore (Vale), with six bells on purple, could be part of the larger bell motif: Battle of the Bells and (possibly) Robert's ReBELLion, as well as Robert's love-child, Bella, who is prostitute at the Peach in the Stoney Sept. Dothraki bells symbolize prowess in war. Bells ring at the Sept of Baelor when a king dies and a new one is crowned, but also when Cersei makes her walk of shame. So there's an association with war but also with turnover in rulers. I wonder whether House Mallery, if it represents a cadet branch of House Belmore, carries similar symbolic meaning. 

A possible association for House Terrick: If you believe that GRRM sometimes uses rhyming words to indicate paired symbols (I believe he does) then House Terrick could be linked to Beric Dondarrion (betrothed to a Dayne). Hawks could be trained hunting birds but could be seen as "cousins" of the Mallister eagle. As you point out, House Terrick is in the "color family" with purple and gold sigils from Houses Payne, Peckledon and Plum. 

Bear with me.

GRRM uses some famous poems to add layers of meaning to the stories, including "Tyger" and "Poison Tree" from William Blake. There is a passage in Tyger that goes something like, "And when the stars threw down their spears, and watered heaven with their tears, did he smile, his work to see? Did he who made the lamb make thee?" 

Stars throwing down spears might be an explanation for lightning OR shooting stars. The Dondarrion sigil is a lightning bolt (and Dayne is a falling star). The Peckledon sigil is stars. The Terrick sigil is hawk heads, possibly linking to the birds of prey motif (think of Crowfood Umber and all of the crows pecking at corpses in cages). Jon Snow feeds meat to ravens when he visits Maester Aemon. Olenna Tyrell's husband was killed in a falconry accident. I wonder whether all of these purple/gold sigils are part of a Game of Thrones (cyvasse) strategy involving deposing a king or lord through the use of lightning/birds of prey?

But the sword Dawn of House Dayne is supposedly made from a fallen star or meteor. So the point may be that there is a cycle of moons and stars set in contrast to the cycle of sunrise. 

The spear of Sunspear and House Martell may be necessary to sort out this line of thinking. Once the lightning bolt or meteor hits the ground, maybe it becomes a spear that can be retrieved (when it's not the sword Dawn). Or maybe the Martell sunspear is the opposite of the Dayne lightning bolt - a ray of the sun come to earth. This might finally explain why Queen Rhaeynys (sister-wife of Aegon the Conqueror) disappeared - possibly crashed and died - with her dragon, Meraxes, in Dorne. Part of the cycle of sun/moon set and rise. 

As for House Dalt (Dorne), with lemons strewn on a field of purple, I have speculated elsewhere that there is a mouth association with lemons because of the Westerosi practice of using lemons to clean one's teeth but also because of the Emmon characters who chew sour leaf. Renly's yellow guard was named Emmon Cuy. Of course, we also have Dany longing for a lemon tree by a red door and Sansa and Sweetrobin lusting for lemon cakes. Jeor Mormont likes lemon in his beer, but not in his mulled wine, and he says that dragonglass (obsidian) could be called lemon pie.

I'm thinking that maybe red and yellow represent a pair of doors/mouths, which would make sense as Royce and Cuy were guarding Renly's green tent when the shadow assassin snuck in and killed him. So sour leaf and lemon are the red and yellow associated with mouths. Having House Dalt near Sunspear could show that Dorne controls the sunrise, which will take place when the sun emerges from a dragon's (crocodile's) mouth in the form of fire - maybe? 

Stream of consciousness writing and thinking. Thanks for raising a provocative discussion.