Who are the 10 best swordsmen in the series?

[Juli]

I can't do the quote but he showed no interest until he read something that told him he needed to, and then like everything else he did he excelled at it

[The BlackBear]

It's Storm of swords Dany's first chapter or chapter 8 overall.

[Jon's Queen Consort]

I can't do the quote but he showed no interest until he read something that told him he needed to, and then like everything else he did he excelled at it

You mean for Rhaegar?

Go on,” she urged. “You may speak freely to me.”

“As you command.” The old man leaned upon his hardwood staff, his brow furrowed. “A warrior without peer ... those are fine words, Your Grace, but words win no battles.”

The way I see it is, that the lost the only battle he participated in.

[Rickon Stark King of Wintr]

I see Garlan Tyrell on this list a lot. Why? I know he wore renly's armor during the battle of the blackwater but felt that was more important for the moral of his men than for his actual skill. Any other documentation of this?

[The BlackBear]

I see Garlan Tyrell on this list a lot. Why? I know he wore renly's armor during the battle of the blackwater but felt that was more important for the moral of his men than for his actual skill. Any other documentation of this?

Sansa sees him training in the yard against 3 men, and Loras says he's a much better sword than he is. And Loras maybe isn't the best, but he's no slouch. Plus he fitted in Renly's armur, and Renly was big and well muscled so Garlan probably is too.

[Free Northman]

Loras is apparently rated as a top swordsman. He certainly cut through the Rainbow Guard like they were swiss cheese. And he says Garlan is better than he is.

[eggs]

well, i'm a great fan of the Targaryen history from Aegon III to Maekar and Egg. and of course, of the Blackfyre Rebellion :D.

Daemon is mentioned often in the books. I don't remember if the duel with Gwayne Corbray is in the books or only in the second Dunk&Egg tale.

BTW, actually i have no doubt that Daemon is the best warrior of all the saga. i mean, if you ask Martin, he'd say that, i'm absolutely sure, and is pretty obvious in the book that Daemon ability with a sword, just like Bloodraven ability with a bow, were unmatched and probably almost 'superhuman'

i dont doubt that he's the best; i had just forgotten about him. Who else is compared to the warrior himself and could fight a man for an hour straight?

it's also pretty clear to me that JAIME is overal a best swordsman than Arthur Dayne and Barristan. of course, they're all top-tiers, and no one can be sure to defeat the other, but GRRM stated clearly in an interview that Barristan and Arthur, if armed with normal swords, were even. And Jaime is better. again, this doen't mean that Jaime VS Arthur, at their best, would have ended always with Jaime victory. it only means that jaime is better. maybe just 1% better, but still better. as GRRM stated in an interview, Jaime is one of the best in the whole westeros History ;)

the real 'special skill' that only Barristan and Mance Rayder have, is the '007' skill :D .

They're the James Bond of Westeros, able to do things that no other man can do, doesn't matter how good he is with a sword.

I also agree that Jaime is better than both of those guys.

You need to read what I said before you respond. I said "better than most people give him credit for" as in the readers. Did you see me say badass or he kicked the stuffing out of x, y, or z?

i agree with this. ive seen plenty of posts that basically say ned would drop in seconds against a competent opponent. too bad the only warrior of note he came across is arthur dayne.

Loras is apparently rated as a top swordsman. He certainly cut through the Rainbow Guard like they were swiss cheese. And he says Garlan is better than he is.

exactly. Garlan has to be a beast for loras to admit inferiority.

[Blue Rose Direwolf]

Rhaegar was a pretty damn good swordsman too. He won the Tournament at Harrenhal, after all, beating the best of the best.

[BericDondarrion]

I am a litte rusty but where in the text is Ned described as an average swordsman?I mean him and Howland defeated 3 of the best knights of all time including Arthur Dayne who is considered the finest knight in history.

[Craxi03]

Trying to focus of dudes who are still around - not necessarily swordsmen but wouldn't want to mess with any of the following:

- - Jamie Lannister (the best ever at a young age)

- Sandor Clegane (all around powerful fighter - pure & simple)

- - The Red Viper (unbelievably fast, skilled, and sneaky)

- Areo Hotah (would be a great match-up against Khal Drogo)

- - Gregor Clegane (rage and size - wrapped in steel and swinging a sword)

- Loras Tyrell (all around magnificence - could have been one of the best)

- - Syrio Forrell (so skilled, but too small - The Mountain would eat him for lunch)

- Khal Drogo (a beast of a fighter - so fast, so strong)

- - Mance Rayder (toyed with Jon Snow - whom some have on this list)

- Garlan Tyrell (as good as his brother in battle, maybe not in tourneys...I fear his 'ghostly' advantage at the Battle of the Blackwater has people ranking him a bit high)

- - Daario Naharis (still reputation more than deeds)

- Dagmer Cleftjaw (master-at-arms for the Greyjoys)

- - Barristan Selmy (old, for sure - but he was something - could still be for a few minutes)

- Darkstar (still reputation more than deeds)

A handful of the deadliest fighters in the series. There are others, but yoiu can't go wrong taking any 5 of those guys on your team...

[GarthKITN]

I haven't read through the thread, but my list, for characters alive or dead from the beginning of Game of Thrones (so not guys like Arthur Dayne, Robert Baratheon in his prime or Rhaegar Targaryn), and with everyone at their best from what we see in the series (meaning Jaime has his hand), my list goes like this:

1) Jaime Lannister (this one isn't even close)

2) Barriston Selmy

3) Sandor Clegane

4) Gregor Clegane

5) Loras Tyrell

6) Garlan Tyrell

7) Oberyn Martell

8) Brieanne

9) Quorin Halfhand

10) Eddard Stark

Big honorable mentions I wanted to include are Mance Rayder and Jon Snow

[Jon Wolfwalker]

- Khal Drogo (a beast of a fighter - so fast, so strong)

Would loved to have seen him vs. The Red Viper.

[C_G]

Is there much mention of Robb Stark as a swordsman in the book? My memory is a little hazy about this to say the least but surely someone defeats Jaime Lannister at the Battle of the Whispering Wood, as he is captured and I can't see him ever going down without a significant fight. Also, if I remember correctly there is a scene at the start of AGoT where Robb is training, is there any hint of his skill there?

[GarthKITN]

Is there much mention of Robb Stark as a swordsman in the book? My memory is a little hazy about this to say the least but surely someone defeats Jaime Lannister at the Battle of the Whispering Wood, as he is captured and I can't see him ever going down without a significant fight. Also, if I remember correctly there is a scene at the start of AGoT where Robb is training, is there any hint of his skill there?

I think Robb is a highly skilled fighter, comparable to Jon (who is on quite a few lists here), but I don't think he's quite on the same level as a swordsman personally as someone like Jaime or Selmy. I know the book and the show are different, but he states very openly in the show that if he and Jaime fought one-on-one, he would lose.

That said, lots of people tend to write him off completely, which I don't think is correct either. We don't see Robb in any close-combat battles, we generally just go with what we here, but he does fight in the vanguard, right on the front lines, of every one of his battles, and he wins decisively every time. Not quite the same I know, but it's worth something. Plus, Jon reflects on their time together a few times and I remember him thinking they're around the same level. Jon has proven himself to be a highly skilled fighter, so if that's any indication it signifies Robb would be in the boat.

Tactically, as a leader, commander and strategist, I think Robb is the best in the entire series. He makes Jaime look like a fool.

[Blue Rose Direwolf]

The Knight jousted, and that was all. We have no idea of her/his.it's fighting capabilities.

We don't know the specifics of those jousts, though. We don't know if they yielded quickly or the fight proceeded to swordplay once someone was knocked off their horse. All we know is that the KotLT won his/her bouts.

[Athanasius Pernath]

I think Robb is a highly skilled fighter, comparable to Jon (who is on quite a few lists here), but I don't think he's quite on the same level as a swordsman personally as someone like Jaime or Selmy. I know the book and the show are different, but he states very openly in the show that if he and Jaime fought one-on-one, he would lose.

That said, lots of people tend to write him off completely, which I don't think is correct either. We don't see Robb in any close-combat battles, we generally just go with what we here, but he does fight in the vanguard, right on the front lines, of every one of his battles, and he wins decisively every time. Not quite the same I know, but it's worth something. Plus, Jon reflects on their time together a few times and I remember him thinking they're around the same level. Jon has proven himself to be a highly skilled fighter, so if that's any indication it signifies Robb would be in the boat.

no, Robb is not a great swordsman :) i remember that in AGOT, Jon says very clearly that he is a better swordsman than Robb, and that Robb is better than him with a lance. but yeah, i think that, in some years, Robb probably would have become a good swordsman, probably better than Ned..and he is almost surely a better lance than Ned even at the beginning of the saga. but no, he's not a top-tier with any weapon. i'm with you about his tactical ability, he's probably as good as Ned , plus he has a special 'charisma' that few people have.

[Harald Hard-Ruler]

I am a litte rusty but where in the text is Ned described as an average swordsman?I mean him and Howland defeated 3 of the best knights of all time including Arthur Dayne who is considered the finest knight in history.

Him and Howland and five others. We have no idea how that fight played out, anything could have happened so it's impossible to really use that as a barometer for his fighting ability. Even Sandor is possibly mortally wounded when he fights Polliver and Ticker at the same time and he's considered one of the top swordsman in Westeros and they're nothing special.

[Coldhands' Elk]

Is there much mention of Robb Stark as a swordsman in the book? My memory is a little hazy about this to say the least but surely someone defeats Jaime Lannister at the Battle of the Whispering Wood, as he is captured and I can't see him ever going down without a significant fight. Also, if I remember correctly there is a scene at the start of AGoT where Robb is training, is there any hint of his skill there?

Jaime cuts through Torrhen and Eddard Karstark along with Daryn Hornwood trying to gut Robb himself. Robb's probably good with a sword but nowhere near the top. And remember that the WW involved only a few hundred Lannisters outnumbered by a hell of a lot of northern foot (and horse I would presume).

[intheswamp]

Eddard lost to Yohn Royce in the yard. He is probably above average, but not a top ten fighter.

Robb isn't as good a swordsman as Jon to start with and Jon did nothing but train for half the series. However, neither should be on the list. Mance on the other hand, beat Jon and every other major fighter north of the Wall to gain their loyalty.

Loras lost to Brienne and says Garlan is a better sword. He did kill those Rainbow Guard members, but they were likely not ready for it and may not have been good fighters to begin with.

With a sword, at their best in the 5 books:

Jaime

Barristan

Oberyn

The Hound

Yohn Royce

Mance

Greatjon

Bronn

Drogo (an arakh is a type of sword, if I'm not mistaken)

Gregor

Other possibilities: Robert Strong, Half-hand, Garlan, Syrio, Thoros, Jorah, Black Walder, Darkstar, Brienne, Lyn Corbray, Brienne, Daario, Lothor Brune, Marbrand, Belwas, Strongboar, Harras Harlaw

[C_G]

What about Eddard and Jaime fighting then after Cat takes Tyrion? The scene from the book escapes my mind, yet again (perhaps one day I shall reread), but I certainly remember in the TV series that Jaime takes him on with a level of caution. Is it similar in the book? The other thing that strikes me in this scene is that Jaime is angry at the guard for wounding Eddard before they properly start fighting. Is this a hint toward Jaime's honour or the fact that he was actually looking forward to fighting him, presumably because he is a good fighter.

Also, seven other men went up against the three members of the kingsguard at the ToJ yet only two came out alive. Of course, there are no real clear indications of how the combat went down but the odds were stacked against Eddard and his men, considering how many died. I'd argue that for Eddard and Howland Reed to survive they would have to have been good fighters.