The Stark family tree

[DavosSeaworthy]

Everything about the Stark's family tree is odd. They're 8000 years old and to date have basically only 5 remaining members.

How is it there are more secret Targs than any legitimate Starks?

Karstark was a cadet branch of House Stark, as were the Greystarks who are presumed to have been extinguished during one of the Bolton rebellions. In the North it wouldn't be that uncommon to have smaller families than in the south. Not only are conditions harsher, but for generations they held the Nights Watch in high regard so many second born sons and beyond may have taken the black when an heir was secure. Also if more daughters were born than sons, they would just marry off the daughters to other houses. It would only take a couple of generations to have the current situation, literally from Neds great grandfather down. I've always been a bit confused by Robb's will though, there must be more Northern families related to the Starks, I'm guessing they just wanted the closest relative possible and maybe there haven't been enough Stark/North marriages as of late, so Cat was spitballing ideas to avoid Robb naming Jon heir.

[Ghost's Shadow]

To me it didn't make that much sense that third son Benjen, after basically becoming the second son, left for the Night's Watch. Yes, Eddard had a son, and even a bastard (if Benjen considered that - Lyanna's son?), but why did he not either marry someone not necessarily high born into Winterfell - it's not like Edward would throw his only living sibling out - or why did he not go marry some bannerman's daughter and live there.

One disease and the Starks of Winterfell were no more since there were only like 3.

[Sevumar]

The Starks are Lords Paramount in the north, and one would think they would have daughters, aunts, younger sons and so on who had married into other prominent families in the north, and at least a few marriages to other Families Paramount from throughout the realm. This is after all the coin of power in Westeros - you 'seal the deal' of alliances by marriage.

The Starks traditionally married into the families of their bannermen and have for untold generations. Rickard's children are the ones with the unusual marriage arrangements, as the Starks didn't normally select marriage partners outside of their culture.

[rystine]

Catelyn definitely states that Rickard Stark was an only child. As far as why there are not more legitimate Starks running around, well there's a lot of potential reasons for that.

Obviously the Stark family would be afflicted with all the same things that plagued families in that world, high rates of infant mortality, childhood illness, infertility, and people like the Blackfish who just refuse to marry.

Females would marry into other houses and over the years they would "lose their identity" as Starks.

Second or third sons would form cadet branches of the house, which over the years would become completely different houses ( like the Karstarks and Greystarks).

And for the Starks in particular, because they apparently were great supporters of the Nights Watch throughout their history, it would likely have been quite common for many members of the house to join the NW removing them from being able to produce more legitimate members of the family.

[Littlefingers In The Air]

I have to say, writing responses as if you are actually Littlefinger cracks me up. Thanks for the laughs. :cheers:

Brandon Stark laughed at me too. :cheers:

[Maxpey]

Brandon Stark laughed at me too. :cheers:

:lmao: That's what I'm talking about. Keep it up, dude.

[Luthien Targaryen]

It must be pretty harsh up there, and medical knowledge is primitive at best. Perhaps many more children died in infancy and women in childbirth than in the south.

[Starfell]

The Starks are Lords Paramount in the north, and one would think they would have daughters, aunts, younger sons and so on who had married into other prominent families in the north, and at least a few marriages to other Families Paramount from throughout the realm. This is after all the coin of power in Westeros - you 'seal the deal' of alliances by marriage.

You can't marry off children that you don't have. I don'y think that the relative lack of fecundity in the generations preceding Rickard's was a matter of policy, just something that happened. All it requires is two or three consecutive generations producing no more than a child or two and you can end up with no extended family.

Plus, there's always the Night's Watch for the younger sons which effectively deadends that branch right there

[Lady Gwynhyfvar]

The Starks traditionally married into the families of their bannermen and have for untold generations. Rickard's children are the ones with the unusual marriage arrangements, as the Starks didn't normally select marriage partners outside of their culture.

Could you please provide a link or quote for where this information comes from? Aside from King Rickard Stark who married the Marsh King's daughter centuries before the Conquest and Ned Stark and Catelyn Tully, I'm under the impression we don't know the identity of a single Stark wife. The most we even know about Lord Rickard of the Southron Ambitions is that his wife was a Flint from her mother's side.

This strikes me as an assumption which ignores the obvious mystery that what we don't know could be significant, even shocking. In fact, Ran knows the identity of Lord Rickard's wife (which I imagine will be in the World book) and has said it is surprising.

[thelittledragonthatcould]

Could you please provide a link or quote for where this information comes from? Aside from King Rickard Stark who married the Marsh King's daughter centuries before the Conquest and Ned Stark and Catelyn Tully, I'm under the impression we don't know the identity of a single Stark wife. The most we even know about Lord Rickard of the Southron Ambitions is that his wife was a Flint from her mother's side.

This strikes me as an assumption which ignores the obvious mystery that what we don't know could be significant, even shocking. In fact, Ran knows the identity of Lord Rickard's wife (which I imagine will be in the World book) and has said it is surprising.

Maybe that the Sept was only built by Ned and not before, this doesn't mean that the Starks never married into the South but suggests that it is a rarity.

[Lady Gwynhyfvar]

Maybe that the Sept was only built by Ned and not before, this doesn't mean that the Starks never married into the South but suggests that it is a rarity.

Maybe it could suggest that and most like it probably was a rarity. Don't forget though, that they could have found families below the neck who retained the Old Gods for a long time after the introduction of the Faith and it's always possible that they demanded conversion of their brides. At any rate, I was replying to an unequivocal statement that IMO simply cannot be proven given what we know of the situation.