Who are the 10 best swordsmen in the series?

[Lord of the Night]

I know Jaime idolized him, but was it for strategic brilliance or swordsmanship?

It was swordsmanship. When the Blackfish asked him who he could fight in single combat and said Jaime, Jaime thought that such a battle would have been a sweet one, fodder for the singers. So I imagine he holds the Blackfish in high regard for his swordsmanship.

Lord of the Night

[mediocre cheese]

1. Ned Stark (he could of had Jaime untill he gets speared & consider Tower of Joy)
   
2. Jaime Lannister (before losing his hand)
   
3. Bronn (batters Ser Vardis)
   
4. Jorah Mormont (Kicks bloodrider ass)
   
5. Syrio Forel
   
6. Barristan Selmy
   
7. Gregor Clegane (although i doubt that this has anything to do with his actual skill)
   
8. Jon Snow
   
9. Sandor Clegane
   
10. Arya Stark
    

Read the books dude, ned is not a great swordsman. They changed this part in the show.

Anyway should Robert count? In his youth I think he was the best fighter around (dayne and selmy might have been his equal), but he uses a hammer rather than a sword.

[The King in the South]

1. Ned Stark (he could of had Jaime untill he gets speared & consider Tower of Joy)
   
2. Jaime Lannister (before losing his hand)
   
3. Bronn (batters Ser Vardis)
   
4. Jorah Mormont (Kicks bloodrider ass)
   
5. Syrio Forel
   
6. Barristan Selmy
   
7. Gregor Clegane (although i doubt that this has anything to do with his actual skill)
   
8. Jon Snow
   
9. Sandor Clegane
   
10. Arya Stark
    

...

This has got to be a joke...

[Danyl Stark]

Read the books dude, ned is not a great swordsman. They changed this part in the show.

Fair enough, havn't read first book in ages, but he's still on there - Tower of Joy

[Danyl Stark]

...

This has got to be a joke...

That's really useful, thanks for your wonderful contribution...

[mediocre cheese]

Fair enough, havn't read first book in ages, but he's still on there - Tower of Joy

We have no idea how this went down though. Other than that we know Martin said Brandon stark was a better swordsman than Ned, and that Bronze Yohn defeated Ned and Ser Rodrik 2 on 1.

I think Ned is supposed to be good, but no great, similar to Jon (but full-grown so better)

[Danyl Stark]

We have no idea how this went down though. Other than that we know Martin said Brandon stark was a better swordsman than Ned, and that Bronze Yohn defeated Ned and Ser Rodrik 2 on 1.

I think Ned is supposed to be good, but no great, similar to Jon (but full-grown so better)

Dude I forgot about Royce, don't know how, he's my favourite bar the Starks

Also i was just going by people alive during the events of the books, my historical version would be quite different

[The King in the South]

That's really useful, thanks for your wonderful contribution...

How are you going to put Ned as the no.1 swordsman in the series? How? What has done? Survive a 7 on 3 battle? Thanks to his friend, not because of his amazing skill.

Bronn as no.3, Jorah as no.4? So one fight now makes you one of the best fighters in the series?Jorah won because he was wearing armor and the other guy wasn't. Bronn won because he was twenty years younger and the other guy was worn down by armor.

Jon Snow as no.8? What has he done? He beat a bunch of Night's Watch Trainees. Every fight with a real swordsman he's been smacked around or let win.

And finally, Arya? What? Shes a ten year old girl. She's never fought in any battles. All she's done is stabbed a guy looking at his feet. How does that make her a better swordsmen then accomplished knights who have fought in dozens of battles?

Theres a contribution.

[Danyl Stark]

1. Aemon the Dragonknight
   
2. Jaime Lannister
   
3. Barristan Selmy
   
4. Brandon Stark
   
5. Daemon Blackfyre
   

[LordBloodraven]

...

This has got to be a joke...

Why? His horse trampled his leg when fighting Jaime, he was battered by Bronze Yohn, and he defeated the 3 Kingsguardmen with the help of 6 friends, but apart from that Ned is a great swordsman

[Ser Elfor the Landstander]

Given the fights we have seen:

1. Sandor Clegane (the Hound);

2. Jaime Lannister (Kingslayer *with 2 hands*);

3. Mance Rayder (King-Beyond-the-Wall);

4. Garlan Tyrell (the Gallant);

5. Barristan Selmy (the Bold);

6. Brienne of Tarth (the Beauty);

7. Bronn (does he have a nickname? I can't remember...);

8. Gregor Clegane (the Mountain);

9. Loras Tyrell (Knight of Flowers);

10. Beric Dondarrion (Lightning Lord).

Barristan should be higher, but his old age works against him - I don't think he could defeat any of the first four.

And I feel bad for not including Oberyn the Red Viper. That fight with the Mountain was just too awesome for words, but he fought with a spear.

[LordBloodraven]

Given the fights we have seen:

1. Sandor Clegane (the Hound);

2. Jaime Lannister (Kingslayer *with 2 hands*);

3. Mance Rayder (King-Beyond-the-Wall);

4. Garlan Tyrell (the Gallant);

5. Barristan Selmy (the Bold);

6. Brienne of Tarth (the Beauty);

7. Bronn (does he have a nickname? I can't remember...);

8. Gregor Clegane (the Mountain);

9. Loras Tyrell (Knight of Flowers);

10. Beric Dondarrion (Lightning Lord).

Barristan should be higher, but his old age works against him - I don't think he could defeat any of the first four.

And I feel bad for not including Oberyn the Red Viper. That fight with the Mountain was just too awesome for words, but he fought with a spear.

Is the Knight of the Flowers, a good fighter? He seems more a good tourney jouster than a fighter.....

[Ice Turtle]

Given the fights we have seen:

1. Sandor Clegane (the Hound);

2. Jaime Lannister (Kingslayer *with 2 hands*);

3. Mance Rayder (King-Beyond-the-Wall);

4. Garlan Tyrell (the Gallant);

5. Barristan Selmy (the Bold);

6. Brienne of Tarth (the Beauty);

7. Bronn (does he have a nickname? I can't remember...);

8. Gregor Clegane (the Mountain);

9. Loras Tyrell (Knight of Flowers);

10. Beric Dondarrion (Lightning Lord).

Barristan should be higher, but his old age works against him - I don't think he could defeat any of the first four.

And I feel bad for not including Oberyn the Red Viper. That fight with the Mountain was just too awesome for words, but he fought with a spear.

I agree on lot of names, but still

1. Jaime Lannister (with 2 hands);

2. Sandor Clegane (before leg injury);

3. Mance Rayder

4. Garlan Tyrell

5. Barristan Selmy

6.Syrio Forel

7. Bronze Yohn

8. Bronn (knight of Blackwater);

9.Brienne of Tarth

10. Benjen Stark/Qhorin Halfhand

[Tagganaro]

I think Jon should probably be on the list ahead of Brienne. My new and revised list would be:

1. Healthy Jamie Lannister

2. Barristan

3. Gregor Clegane (I know not necessarily a great swordsman, but using a 2 handed long-sword with one hand and ridiculous reach makes him really tough)

4. Sandor Clegane

5. Mance Rayder

6. Bronze Yohn

7. Garlan Tyrell

8. Syrio

9. Loras Tyrell

10. Jon Snow

As for why I think Jon Snow belongs on the list-

1. He was the best sword at Winterfell in AGOT.

2. While I know most of them are untrained, going 1 on 3 or whatever is still very impressive.

3. Seemed to be at least even with Qhorin who Mance thinks very highly of.

4. While he was getting beat by Mance, Jon was still able to hold his own for a decent amount of time, and that's without the benefit of Longclaw helping him. Jon himself thinks he would beat Mance with Longclaw.

5. Incredibly cerebral fighter, much like Bronn he seems to pick up on things and tendencies right away which gives him an advantage I would think in most fights.

Why Brienne doesn't belong on the list- We've pretty much seen three fights from her. In one of them she could barely hold her own against a chained Jaime Lannister who had been imprisoned in a dungeon for months beforehand and hadn't held a sword for that entire time. In the second one at the Whispers she dominated, but none of those guys seemed to be particularly formidable fighters and if I recall correctly one of them was only wielding like a small knife or something like that. In the third one, she would have gotten killed by Biter if not for Gendry. None of her fights have been particularly impressive, she's never faced someone on the level of Mance Rayder or Qhorin Halfhand like Jon has.

[Errant Bard]

As for why I think Jon Snow belongs on the list-

1. He was the best sword at Winterfell in AGOT.

2. While I know most of them are untrained, going 1 on 3 or whatever is still very impressive.

3. Seemed to be at least even with Qhorin who Mance thinks very highly of.

4. While he was getting beat by Mance, Jon was still able to hold his own for a decent amount of time, and that's without the benefit of Longclaw helping him. Jon himself thinks he would beat Mance with Longclaw.

5. Incredibly cerebral fighter, much like Bronn he seems to pick up on things and tendencies right away which gives him an advantage I would think in most fights.

1. He was not the best in the castle, he was just better than Robb. best out of two, 14 years old, whoop dee doo.
   
2. It's not when they are untrained. Brienne did it against real fighters, and for some reason, she's not on your list. Why?
   
3. He was not remotely even, Qorin let him win and Jon had A DIREWOLF helping him. and even with that, he struggled.
   
4. Yeah, and he would beat him with a firearm. Happens Mance would beat Jon if he had Longclaw, too. Why do you factor weapons in skill? Next time you'll argue Dany is a super fighter because she can tell her dragons to roast even the strongest fighter.
   
5. I didn't see anything above the norm. Any good fighter will be as "cerebral" as he is. And better physically. The Mance fight or the Iron Emmet fight, or the Qorin fight... actually any fight Jon too part in certainly go against your assertion, in any case.
   

she's never faced someone on the level of Mance Rayder or Qhorin Halfhand like Jon has.

She's faced Jaime Lannister, who's #1 on your list, and who thinks a lot of her afterwards. She has faced Loras Tyrell, no slouch himself, plus all the knights of Renly, including some of his Rainbow Guard.

And she had no direwolf to help, and no opponent who staged their loss.

[Tagganaro]

1. He was not the best in the castle, he was just better than Robb. best out of two, 14 years old, whoop dee doo.
   
2. It's not when they are untrained. Brienne did it against real fighters, and for some reason, she's not on your list. Why?
   
3. He was not remotely even, Qorin let him win and Jon had A DIREWOLF helping him. and even with that, he struggled.
   
4. Yeah, and he would beat him with a firearm. Happens Mance would beat Jon if he had Longclaw, too. Why do you factor weapons in skill? Next time you'll argue Dany is a super fighter because she can tell her dragons to roast even the strongest fighter.
   
5. I didn't see anything above the norm. Any good fighter will be as "cerebral" as he is. And better physically. The Mance fight or the Iron Emmet fight, or the Qorin fight... actually any fight Jon too part in certainly go against your assertion, in any case.
   

She's faced Jaime Lannister, who's #1 on your list, and who thinks a lot of her afterwards. She has faced Loras Tyrell, no slouch himself, plus all the knights of Renly, including some of his Rainbow Guard.

And she had no direwolf to help, and no opponent who staged their loss.

1. It's probably safe to assume that Jon is among the best in Winterfell if he's better than Robb. Being castle-trained their entire life probably makes them at least competent, and I can't imagine there's some random kids/people with more training and skill than Jon and Robb at Winterfell.

2.What fighters did Brienne actually defeat in straight combat? She surprised the first guy( I think it was Pyg) at the Whispers, the second was Timeon who only had a throwing spear on him, and the third was Shagwell who was being pelted with rocks by Pod and gave himself up anyway. The only guy she really defeated was Rorge, who just charged like a moron at her on his horse and wasn't even fighting her sword to sword.

3. How can you say Jon "was not remotely even"? Yes, he's outmatched (as he should be, Halfhand is a legendary fighter), but he's still able to hold his own against Halfhand, who's not exactly going easy on him. And while Halfhand wants Jon to win, he obviously can't just blow it on purpose or everyone will see. Obviously it's not much to go by since Ghost interrupted, but it's much more than Brienne would ever face.

4. I don't really know how to respond to this. Jon is normally fighting with much better steel, ovbiously it would make a huge difference if he was to run into Mance fully armed and ready, and not with practice swords. It might not entirely be fair but that's the way it is. And don't be ridiculous with the Dany comment haha. Obviously that's way different. A dragon and a sword are not the same thing.

5. How does every fight go against this assertion? What assertion? That Jon seems to be a particularly cerebral fighter? Or that Jon is a good swordsman? Obviously Jon is gonna be slightly overmatched when he's going against legendary swordsmen like Mance and Qhorin Halfhand. But he's still able to hold his own against them for a little bit, which is more than can be said for most imo.

Brienne has never, ever faced a swordsman of Mance's or Qhorin's caliber, unless you count a chained up and rusty Jaime, who was barely expecting anything from Brienne because she was a girl.

[Errant Bard]

1. It's probably safe to assume that Jon is among the best in Winterfell if he's better than Robb. Being castle-trained their entire life probably makes them at least competent, and I can't imagine there's some random kids/people with more training and skill than Jon and Robb at Winterfell.

2.What fighters did Brienne actually defeat in straight combat? She surprised the first guy( I think it was Pyg) at the Whispers, the second was Timeon who only had a throwing spear on him, and the third was Shagwell who was being pelted with rocks by Pod and gave himself up anyway. The only guy she really defeated was Rorge, who just charged like a moron at her on his horse and wasn't even fighting her sword to sword.

3. How can you say Jon "was not remotely even"? Yes, he's outmatched (as he should be, Halfhand is a legendary fighter), but he's still able to hold his own against Halfhand, who's not exactly going easy on him. And while Halfhand wants Jon to win, he obviously can't just blow it on purpose or everyone will see. Obviously it's not much to go by since Ghost interrupted, but it's much more than Brienne would ever face.

4. I don't really know how to respond to this. Jon is normally fighting with much better steel, ovbiously it would make a huge difference if he was to run into Mance fully armed and ready, and not with practice swords. It might not entirely be fair but that's the way it is. And don't be ridiculous with the Dany comment haha. Obviously that's way different. A dragon and a sword are not the same thing.

5. How does every fight go against this assertion? What assertion? That Jon seems to be a particularly cerebral fighter? Or that Jon is a good swordsman? Obviously Jon is gonna be slightly overmatched when he's going against legendary swordsmen like Mance and Qhorin Halfhand. But he's still able to hold his own against them for a little bit, which is more than can be said for most imo.

Brienne has never, ever faced a swordsman of Mance's or Qhorin's caliber, unless you count a chained up and rusty Jaime, who was barely expecting anything from Brienne because she was a girl.

1. No it's not. They are children taught how to fight. It's like assuming that if Jon did better on a math test than Robb he'd be the best at math in Winterfell. And following that, implying he'd be the best at math in the world... Children don't make a castle, a castle doesn't represent the world (as Ned proves when being hammered in the yard by Bronze Yohn)
   
2. She defeated Loras Tyrell (and every single one of Renly's knights), she defeated Jaime Lannister, she defeated Rorge, she defeated her father's master at arms. Coincidentally, they were the only one who fought with her with swords. She's never been beaten in a swordfight, unlike someone.
   
3. I can say Jon was not remotely even because A) the opponent staged his loss B) He had a fucking direwolf helping him yet struggled to win c) he had a Valyrian blade on top of the direwolf and still struggled to win. He'd be even if he had no ghost, no longclaw, and no Qorin staging his death, yet still managed a draw somehow. Impossible, evidently: without Longclaw, Ghost, and Qorin trying to die, he'd be dead in 3 seconds flat. I mean, it is ludicrous to claim that there is anything "even" in a 2 vs 1 fight, where the side with two people is magically armed, large and coordinated, yet the lone fighter is only losing because he wants to. If the three untrained guys Jon beats were one castle-trained guy with a magical sword, and one pony-sized wolf, you would be claiming that this guy is the best fighter ever, at this rate.
   
4. A dragon and a sword are the same thing for the subject matter: tools offering an edge in conflict. If you factor a bloody superior tool in a character skill, anyone is vindicated to do the same, with even superior ones. If it's not your taste, imagine I said "Stormbringer" instead of "dragons". As it happens, saying Jon is better because he has Longclaw is ridiculous: if anything, it says that he's weaker than the others, having to rely on magical technology to try to be even with the others who use inferior tech.
   
5. The assertion that Jon is cerebral: fact is, he's not thinking about stuff when he fights, it's shown in all his fights (especially Iron Emmet). He holds his own like any other good fighter would. Bronn strategies? Haha, no. Bronn has actual strategies, Jon has none. Mance is hardly a legendary fighter, also, you pull that out of your ass.
   

Brienne won every swordfight she was into. She's been rated to be the best by the best, who actually know what they are talking about. And please drop the "Jaime was not expecting it": it works for the first two seconds, afterwards he gave it his all and the girl had "an impenetrable iron wall"

[Ser Elfor the Landstander]

I forgot about Syrio Forel... I'll have to drop Dondarrion now.

Is the Knight of the Flowers, a good fighter? He seems more a good tourney jouster than a fighter.....

From what we've seen, Loras is a fantastic jouster and a great fighter. GRRM proved this in ACOK, when Loras was the runner-up in that melee at Renly's camp, losing only to Brienne.

Also in that same book, Loras killed three Rainbow knights when he discovered that Renly was dead.

But even then, he isn't very high on my list.

[BrosBeforeSnows]

I really can't believe how many people are glossing over Daemon Blackfyre. By all accounts, he was the Warrior incarnate. Aegon IV gave him the Targaryen family sword because he was such an impressive swordsman, even though he was a bastard. Granted, his rebellion ultimately failed, but that had more to do with Bloodraven's arrows than Daemon's swordsmanship.

[mediocre cheese]

1. It's probably safe to assume that Jon is among the best in Winterfell if he's better than Robb. Being castle-trained their entire life probably makes them at least competent, and I can't imagine there's some random kids/people with more training and skill than Jon and Robb at Winterfell..

What about Theon, or Rodrik, or Ned for that matter? I'm willing to bet theon is the better swordsman than Jon (although Theon tends to fight with a bow and was an expert at that) as he is 19, while Jon is 14. There is going to be a huge gap in strength and size between a 14 year old and a 19 year old.