Post by Melifeather on Jan 25, 2019 17:19:29 GMT
What's the backstory on Rickard Stark? Why did he send Ned to foster with Jon Arryn, and what did Lady Barbary mean when she said Rickard had 'southron ambitions'?
Brandon and Catelyn were 12 years old when Rickard and Hoster negotiated their marriage. Ned was 8 years old at the time, and it's mentioned that he was sent to Jon Arryn to foster, but I suspect he was actually sent there to be his squire along side Robert Baratheon so that they could train together as knights. Ned talked about some of his training including being taught how to give orders in a booming voice.
Some squires choose to never become a knight, and live the rest of their lives as squires. This may be because the individual does not have the inclination to live a knight's martial lifestyle, or does not have the funds to properly equip himself. According to George R. R. Martin:
We tend to think of squires as teenaged boys, knights in training, but that is only part of the truth. Historically, there were many men who spent their entire lives as squires, and never became knights. It was quite common to have thirty- and forty-year-old squires, even some in their fifties. Such men perhaps did not have the wealth to become knights (knights had to pay for their own equipment), or perhaps did not have the inclination. They were the medieval counterparts of the career army sergeant who has no desire to be promoted to lieutenant, let alone general.
Squires remain with their knights until they themselves are knighted. Ned was still living in the Eyrie with Jon until he was 17 years old, and only left after Jon Arryn defied King Aerys and refused to give up Ned and Robert.
In ASOIAF there’s a ceremony tied to the Faith of the Seven where the candidate would participate in an elaborate religious ceremony where he would be presented with his sword, followed by an overnight vigil in the sept. His tools and sword would be placed upon the altar to be blessed by a septon.
Of course, any knight can make a knight, usually on the battlefield as a reward for courageous service. This is called ‘earning your spurs’. The main point is that knighthood is reserved for followers of the Faith. The northmen, who are descendants of the First Men and followed the old gods, were more like Viking warriors in culture. They may have worn a few bits of metal for protection, but most of the time they simply wore boiled leather and furs.
When Rickard was younger he fought alongside Jon Arryn, Hoster Tully, Prince Aerys Targaryen, and Tywin Lannister during the War of the Ninepenny Kings. It’s quite possible that Rickard was introduced to the tradition of knighthood from these war time friends.
It’s important to point out that Rickard promised Brandon to Catelyn, and sent Ned to Jon Arryn, a full six years prior to the Rebellion, so his actions had nothing to do with the Rebellion. This is why I believe that when Lady Barbary Dustin accuses Rickard of having ‘southron ambitions’, and how she blamed ‘grey rat’ Maester Walys for his influence, that what she’s really talking about was Rickard’s conversion to the Faith. Maesters are more than healers - they are educators, and part of the education they provide is on the Faith of the Seven - complete with exciting tales of honorable and courageous knights. Where did you think young Bran Stark got is desire to become a knight from? Why, Maester Luwin of course!
When King Aerys summoned Rickard to answer for his son’s crimes, Rickard dressed in the armor of a knight:
“There were trials. Of a sort. Lord Rickard demanded trial by combat, and the king granted the request. Stark armored himself as for battle, thinking to duel one of the Kingsguard. Me, perhaps. Instead they took him to the throne room and suspended him from the rafters while two of Aerys’s pyromancers kindled a blaze beneath him. The king told him that fire was the champion of House Targaryen. So all Lord Rickard needed to do to prove himself innocent of treason was… well, not burn.
“When the fire was blazing, Brandon was brought in. His hands were chained behind his back, and around his neck was a wet leathern cord attached to a device the king had brought from Tyrosh. His legs were left free, though, and his longsword was set down just beyond his reach.
“The pyromancers roasted Lord Rickard slowly, banking and fanning that fire carefully to get a nice even heat. His cloak caught first, and then his surcoat, and soon he wore nothing but metal and ashes. Next he would start to cook, Aerys promised… unless his son could free him. Brandon tried, but the more he struggled, the tighter the cord constricted around his throat. In the end he strangled himself.
“As for Lord Rickard, the steel of his breastplate turned cherry-red before the end, and his gold melted off his spurs and dripped down into the fire. I stood at the foot of the Iron Throne in my white armor and white cloak, filling my head with thoughts of Cersei. After, Gerold Hightower himself took me aside and said to me, ‘You swore a vow to guard the king, not to judge him.’ That was the White Bull, loyal to the end and a better man than me, all agree.
TLDR - Ned was sent to the Eyrie when he was eight years old, because I believe Rickard wanted him to be Jon Arryn’s squire, and train along side Robert Baratheon to be a knight. They both remained with Jon Arryn up until the Rebellion, because neither one of them had been knighted yet.
Brandon and Catelyn were 12 years old when Rickard and Hoster negotiated their marriage. Ned was 8 years old at the time, and it's mentioned that he was sent to Jon Arryn to foster, but I suspect he was actually sent there to be his squire along side Robert Baratheon so that they could train together as knights. Ned talked about some of his training including being taught how to give orders in a booming voice.
Some squires choose to never become a knight, and live the rest of their lives as squires. This may be because the individual does not have the inclination to live a knight's martial lifestyle, or does not have the funds to properly equip himself. According to George R. R. Martin:
We tend to think of squires as teenaged boys, knights in training, but that is only part of the truth. Historically, there were many men who spent their entire lives as squires, and never became knights. It was quite common to have thirty- and forty-year-old squires, even some in their fifties. Such men perhaps did not have the wealth to become knights (knights had to pay for their own equipment), or perhaps did not have the inclination. They were the medieval counterparts of the career army sergeant who has no desire to be promoted to lieutenant, let alone general.
Squires remain with their knights until they themselves are knighted. Ned was still living in the Eyrie with Jon until he was 17 years old, and only left after Jon Arryn defied King Aerys and refused to give up Ned and Robert.
In ASOIAF there’s a ceremony tied to the Faith of the Seven where the candidate would participate in an elaborate religious ceremony where he would be presented with his sword, followed by an overnight vigil in the sept. His tools and sword would be placed upon the altar to be blessed by a septon.
Of course, any knight can make a knight, usually on the battlefield as a reward for courageous service. This is called ‘earning your spurs’. The main point is that knighthood is reserved for followers of the Faith. The northmen, who are descendants of the First Men and followed the old gods, were more like Viking warriors in culture. They may have worn a few bits of metal for protection, but most of the time they simply wore boiled leather and furs.
When Rickard was younger he fought alongside Jon Arryn, Hoster Tully, Prince Aerys Targaryen, and Tywin Lannister during the War of the Ninepenny Kings. It’s quite possible that Rickard was introduced to the tradition of knighthood from these war time friends.
It’s important to point out that Rickard promised Brandon to Catelyn, and sent Ned to Jon Arryn, a full six years prior to the Rebellion, so his actions had nothing to do with the Rebellion. This is why I believe that when Lady Barbary Dustin accuses Rickard of having ‘southron ambitions’, and how she blamed ‘grey rat’ Maester Walys for his influence, that what she’s really talking about was Rickard’s conversion to the Faith. Maesters are more than healers - they are educators, and part of the education they provide is on the Faith of the Seven - complete with exciting tales of honorable and courageous knights. Where did you think young Bran Stark got is desire to become a knight from? Why, Maester Luwin of course!
When King Aerys summoned Rickard to answer for his son’s crimes, Rickard dressed in the armor of a knight:
“There were trials. Of a sort. Lord Rickard demanded trial by combat, and the king granted the request. Stark armored himself as for battle, thinking to duel one of the Kingsguard. Me, perhaps. Instead they took him to the throne room and suspended him from the rafters while two of Aerys’s pyromancers kindled a blaze beneath him. The king told him that fire was the champion of House Targaryen. So all Lord Rickard needed to do to prove himself innocent of treason was… well, not burn.
“When the fire was blazing, Brandon was brought in. His hands were chained behind his back, and around his neck was a wet leathern cord attached to a device the king had brought from Tyrosh. His legs were left free, though, and his longsword was set down just beyond his reach.
“The pyromancers roasted Lord Rickard slowly, banking and fanning that fire carefully to get a nice even heat. His cloak caught first, and then his surcoat, and soon he wore nothing but metal and ashes. Next he would start to cook, Aerys promised… unless his son could free him. Brandon tried, but the more he struggled, the tighter the cord constricted around his throat. In the end he strangled himself.
“As for Lord Rickard, the steel of his breastplate turned cherry-red before the end, and his gold melted off his spurs and dripped down into the fire. I stood at the foot of the Iron Throne in my white armor and white cloak, filling my head with thoughts of Cersei. After, Gerold Hightower himself took me aside and said to me, ‘You swore a vow to guard the king, not to judge him.’ That was the White Bull, loyal to the end and a better man than me, all agree.
TLDR - Ned was sent to the Eyrie when he was eight years old, because I believe Rickard wanted him to be Jon Arryn’s squire, and train along side Robert Baratheon to be a knight. They both remained with Jon Arryn up until the Rebellion, because neither one of them had been knighted yet.
