Manderly's Navy and Heavy Horse

[Demonblade]

I've already discussed all of your points ad nauseam and essentially agree. Some posters have placed the economic and military strength of House Manderly on par with the greatest Houses in the realm. There was talk of Lord Manderly mustering 10,000-15,000 men, in addition to the 5,000 plus men he would need for his 50 plus war galleys. That is an enormous amount of strength and bit much in my opinion. It was also stated that he owns a silver mine (just not true) and that all of the lords in the area were his bannerman. Thats not true of the Flints and Lockes. He likely has strong economic influence over them however.

I will definitely place them in the top 10 of houses, but well outside of the top 5. If we limit the discussion to the non paramount houses, then I will put him in the top 5:

Including paramount houses (military and economic strength:

1. Lannister

2. Tyrell

3. Hightower

4. Redwyne

From there is get tricky. You have to look at Walder Frey, Lord Grafton, Doran Martell, and Wyman Manderly.

I have a feeling that Grafton is probably lower than Manderly, given that they fought against Robert and Jon. There's no way that the Freys are stronger or richer than the Manderlys. You might have a case with Doran, but Dorne doesn't even have any major cities. Manderly however is lord of the fifth major city in the Seven Kingdoms, as well as the surrounding area, and has strong influence even further than that. I'd say that he's likely fifth, as well.

[Stallion That Mounts Texas]

I have a feeling that Grafton is probably lower than Manderly, given that they fought against Robert and Jon. There's no way that the Freys are stronger or richer than the Manderlys. You might have a case with Doran, but Dorne doesn't even have any major cities. Manderly however is lord of the fifth major city in the Seven Kingdoms, as well as the surrounding area, and has strong influence even further than that. I'd say that he's likely fifth, as well.

1. Its true that Robert took gold and land from houses loyal to Aerys during the rebellion, but the Graftons are a bit different. I'd wager Jon Arryn forgave them for their loyalty to the Crown. They are still in power after all. Additionally, Gulltown is the fourth largest major city in Westeros and just as important. I would certainly assert that the Graftons wealth equals or exceeds the Manderlys. Remember that Littlefinger ran the finances for some time, and it was his work in Gulltown that got him noticed by King's Landing. Lastly, the Arryn navy fought the Targaryens to a standstill, which delayed invasion of the Vale. I'm assuming the navy still exists and is in control of House Grafton.

2. Its also true that Dorne has no true city, but Sunspear and its surroundings are pretty damn close. Adiitonally, the Planky Town is very close and provides all the trade that Dorne ever needs. The Dornish economy is also extremely robust. In addition to citrus fruits (blood oranges and lemons), there are also olives, pomegranates, spices, and special wines. Dornish Yew is also famous worldwide for making bows. Dorne also breeds special sand steeds. With all that being said, I would definitely have to make House Martell a very solid number 5. If Dorne had a navy and trading vessels, I may move it up even further.

3. I mentioned Frey because of the their tremendous wealth from spanning a key bridge and exacting hundreds of years of high tolls to cross. Also, being able to muster at least 4,000 men is nothing to sneeze at.