A Thread for Small Questions VII

[Maestress Sand]

a guy with black hair and a scar in his face

The only one I remember matching this description is the Faceless Man who was Jaqen Harqar (spelling bad) and is probably now Pate in Oldtown.

I personally don't like to get into the-Faceless-Man-did-this! discussions, but you asked who fit the description.

[Doom of Valyria]

How did such a minor and poor House as Mormont come to possess a Valyrian steel blade when the much more wealthy and powerful Lannisters have such trouble acquiring one? I'd be very interested in learning how Longclaw found it's way to Bear Island.

[Masha]

How did such a minor and poor House as Mormont come to possess a Valyrian steel blade when the much more wealthy and powerful Lannisters have such trouble acquiring one? I'd be very interested in learning how Longclaw found it's way to Bear Island.

If you read carefully, you'd notice there is an ongoing theme through the books that what makes Lannisters so pushy and arrogant is their feeling of unequacy. They are the "new rich" of all the great Houses in 7 Kingdoms. They are relative newcomers compared to most other Houses including House Mormont.

Its very obvious in all Tywin scenes and Cersei, Jaime, and Tyrion memories of him, especially Cersei memories in aFfC. Her father promised or implied that he will marry her to Rhaegar, what happened is that Aeris laughed in his face! Thats what made Tywin to resign (the official story at least so far). They are newcomers who got rich, got power, and then Tywin is made King's Hand and given lands and prestige and more power. To complete Lannisters' rise to power and be considered as one of "true" great Houses all they need is a Valyrian blade (and you see how they stole Ned Stark's blade which they had no right to do since it belonged to his House even if he personally was accused of treachery) and some royal connections. (Starks were Kings of the North, Martel- Princes of Dorne, all great houses other than Lannister at one time were the Kings and Princes in their own right)

For example, if Starks bothered to come out of North and offer Lyanna as a bride for Rhaegar at a time when his marriage was being arranged, Aeris would have probably given some serious thought on that matter and considered that offer on equal par with Dorne. Lannisters claim was rejected outright because their House was "new rich".

Especially at the North where Starks were Kings, most of the Houses are ancient ones that go back thousands of years. However far many of them have fallen and however poor they got, I'll bet that most of them have Valyrian blade (or had them at one time). Lannisters are upstarts who probably weren't noble to begin with and got their noble status and Castle Rock when they sided with Targs who just arrived at 7 Kingdoms and then climbed upwards. (Pretty sure there was something in one of the books saying they were pirates or merchants who arrived at same time or shortly after Targs in 7 Kingdoms)

[Xenophon]

If you read carefully, you'd notice there is an ongoing theme through the books that what makes Lannisters so pushy and arrogant is their feeling of unequacy. They are the "new rich" of all the great Houses in 7 Kingdoms. They are relative newcomers compared to most other Houses including House Mormont.

I don't think that's right. They descend from Lann the Clever, who's basically before recorded history. I think they had just fallen on hard times during Tywin's father's rule. So, they're sort of new rich, insofar as Tywin is relatively self-made, but the house itself much older than either the Targs or the Baratheons, IIRC.

Also, I'm pretty sure the Lannisters had a Valyrian sword, but some fool lost it.

[Anya, Vengeance Demon]

If you read carefully, you'd notice there is an ongoing theme through the books that what makes Lannisters so pushy and arrogant is their feeling of unequacy. They are the "new rich" of all the great Houses in 7 Kingdoms. They are relative newcomers compared to most other Houses including House Mormont.

House Lannister dates back to roughly the Andal invasion thousands of years ago, and through the female line they claim descent from Lann the Clever in the Age of Heroes. They reigned as Kings of the Rock for ages before the Targaryen conquest. They're not new rich at all. The reason that House Lannister didn't have a Valyrian blade is because the family sword was lost, not because they never had one.

[Alexia]

For example, if Starks bothered to come out of North and offer Lyanna as a bride for Rhaegar at a time when his marriage was being arranged, Aeris would have probably given some serious thought on that matter and considered that offer on equal par with Dorne. Lannisters claim was rejected outright because their House was "new rich".

I'm not sure this is correct. One of the board members who is more knowledgeable than me (and of those there are plenty, rest assured) can come forward to correct me on this but IIRC, the reason the Targaryens only marry Dornish and other Targaryens is a racial thing about keeping their bloodlines pure. They are a distinct ethnicity from the rest of the Andals and I was under the impression that the only reason they married Dornish was become at some previous point, while conquering Dorne, some marriage alliances had been made and thus the Martells had Valyrian blood or whathaveyou so the marriages didn't dilute their precious pure bloodline. Therefore, Lyanna Stark would not have been an appropriate Targaryen bride as she was not an Andal but something else (descended from the First Men or something non-Andalish like that...).

[Anya, Vengeance Demon]

Alexia:

That's correct, and GRRM has said as much:

There was some talk about the Targaryen bloodline and how it worked when there weren't enough siblings to marry. Uncle might marry niece or aunt, nephew. There were also cousins in that family at one time. But when Rhaegar was born, the bloodline had decreased and there was no one available for him to marry. The problem Steffon Baratheon faced when looking for Valyrian blood was not that there wasn't any left, but that he couldn't find any appropriate females of noble-enough birth. Then, of course, he and his lady died on the way back, a tragedy for Stannis and Renly. Rhaegar ended up marrying Elia of Dorne, another tragedy.

[Sera dy Relandrant]

What's up with calling everyone 'lord father' and 'lady mother'?

[Talleyrand]

What's up with calling everyone 'lord father' and 'lady mother'?

They don't IIRC it's just said to people to refer to their father, who happens to be a lord. For example if someone is talking to Robb about Ned they will say "Your Lord father"

[Mara Jade]

Who was Taena Merryweather's lover? - He is described as a guy with black hair and a scar in his face. Is there maybe anybody who could fit this description, because I think we still don't know who she (maybe) was the employe of - someone who was manipulating Cercei - so maybe the identity of her lover would give a hint to this possible person (I'd guess Tyrell's or Littlefinger, or not so likely as the to other Varys).

And there was in AFFC a tale mentioned about a woman from Myr (like Taena) who influenced (certainly) the last Darklyn King to capature Aerys - and GRRM often tells us through tales that are simultaneously told to actual events to us, what a character could do. So there could be maybe a connection between Taena's acting and this tale.

I always thought it was Euron Greyjoy, but I've never been able to tease out GRRM's subtleties on my own (like on my first read I never realized Loras was gay, thought he and his sister were screwing. Ha!).

[EvilClosetMonkey]

Who was Taena Merryweather's lover? - He is described as a guy with black hair and a scar in his face. Is there maybe anybody who could fit this description, because I think we still don't know who she (maybe) was the employe of - someone who was manipulating Cercei - so maybe the identity of her lover would give a hint to this possible person (I'd guess Tyrell's or Littlefinger, or not so likely as the to other Varys).

And there was in AFFC a tale mentioned about a woman from Myr (like Taena) who influenced (certainly) the last Darklyn King to capature Aerys - and GRRM often tells us through tales that are simultaneously told to actual events to us, what a character could do. So there could be maybe a connection between Taena's acting and this tale.

Trying to remember, did Oberyn Martell have a scar? He certainly had black hair and lived in Essos for awhile. Maybe Taena is working for Doran?

[Sivek]

Was wondering if there was a list of houses that practiced gods that were a bit out of the norm for their region, such as the House Manderly being a northern family that practiced the Seven and houses below the Neck like the Blackwoods, Royces (not sure on this one) and so on that still held the old gods and not the more popular Seven. Similarly, I recall there being a knight among the ironborn so I'm guessing even a small amount of Iron Islands houses don't do the Drowned God thing.

[Maestress Sand]

House Manderly being a northern family that practiced the Seven

They were originally a house in the Reach, on the River Mander. So, as other Southrons (Andals) they worship the Seven. I forget the exact circumstances, but they ended up having to resettle in the north. I'd check the Wiki on it.

I'm not sure about the others exactly, but there are always differences amongst groups. Some of the Ironborn have greater ties to the mainland than others. It is hinted that the resurgence of "the old ways" is a relatively recent occurrence on the Isles, brought about by Balon. Before that, they'd been a vassal state of the Targaryens for 300 years. Their old ruling house (House Hoare) was destroyed during the Conquest. They really didn't have a choice, and I suspect many of them began to adapt accordingly in the intervening time.

I don't think it's Royce you're talking about, but rather the old houses around the Duskendale Rebellion that we learn about in Brienne's AFfC chapters. They were First Men who managed to hold out, IIRC.

[Mathis Waters]

On the HBO trailer the map appears to be concave. Is Westeros supposed to be on the inside of a sphere?

[Snow White]

On the HBO trailer the map appears to be concave. Is Westeros supposed to be on the inside of a sphere?

For the purposes of the opening sequence, yes. I don't know if there's any more to it than that.

[Xenophon]

For the purposes of the opening sequence, yes. I don't know if there's any more to it than that.

Pretty sure it's just for the purposes of the opening sequence (putting the map on the inside of the sphere means they can show how far apart distant places are really well). One guy in the HBO On Demand special makes it sound like the world actually is on the inside of a sphere, but I think he's just speaking loosely, since it doesn't make any sense for the actual world of ASOIF to be inside a sphere given that the sun rises and sets, the stars move overhead, etc.

[EvilClosetMonkey]

I don't think it's Royce you're talking about, but rather the old houses around the Duskendale Rebellion that we learn about in Brienne's AFfC chapters. They were First Men who managed to hold out, IIRC.

House Royce and House Blackwood are non-Northern houses that worship the old gods

[Sera dy Relandrant]

“The Black Pearl,” she told them. Merry claimed the Black Pearl was the most famous courtesan of all. “She’s

descended from the dragons, that one,” the woman had told Cat. “The first Black Pearl was a pirate queen. A

Westerosi prince took her for a lover and got a daughter on her, who grew up to be a courtesan. Her own

daughter followed her, and her daughter after her, until you get to this one."

Which Westerosi prince was that? One of the Targaryens, I suppose, but which?

[Pink Walder Frey]

Which Westerosi prince was that? One of the Targaryens, I suppose, but which?

Well if the story is true and if it was a Targaryen, maybe it was Aerion Brightflame, who was exiled for some years to Lys (and the visited some of the other Free Cities, too). But there were certainly other Targaryen princes, who came to the free cities.

[Sera dy Relandrant]

Tywin was made Hand of the King at a very young age... at 20 or 21, right? How come he was chosen so young?