Harrenhal
From A Wiki of Ice and Fire
Harrenhal is a great castle constructed before the War of Conquest by Harren the Black, king of the Iron Islands and the Riverlands. Sitting on the shore of Gods Eye, it is the largest castle in the Seven Kingdoms. Since the War of Conquest, however, it has become a dark and ruinous place.
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[edit] Features
The proud Harren built Harrenhal as a monument to himself, intending it to be the greatest of all castles. The castle has five towers of dizzying size, the smallest of which is half again as tall as the towers of Winterfell. The equally monstrous curtain wall is as sheer and high as a mountain cliff, causing the scorpions on top to resemble their namesake in size. Its walls are incredibly thick and its rooms are built on a scale that would be more comfortable for giants than humans. The castle's hall is called the Hall of the Hundred Hearths, though it actually has only 34 or 35 hearths, and is said to be able to entertain an army. The castle's holdings are some of the richest in Westeros, claiming vast tracts of green fertile land.
Since the Conquest, however, the castle has become a twisted and menacing ruin. The stones are blackened and cracked by the heat of dragonfire. The towers are slumped, sagging, and lopsided, looking like melted candles. They came to be called the Tower of Dread, the Widow's Tower, the Wailing Tower, the Tower of Ghosts, and Kingspyre Tower. Ghosts are thought to haunt the whole castle. The Wailing Tower is so called because the wind whistles through the cracks in the stone. The sound is thought to be the cries of Harren and his sons, though they died in the Kingspyre. Many places in the castle have not been entered in decades. Bats infest the tops of some of the towers. The heart tree of the castle's godswood appears to have a terrible visage full of hatred, with a twisted mouth and flaring eyes.
[edit] History
[edit] From 1 AL till 298 AL
Construction of the castle took forty years. Just after the castle's completion, however, the War of Conquest began. The high walls and forbidding towers of Harren's stronghold proved useless against the dragons of House Targaryen. Aegon and his sisters burned Harren and his host alive within the castle's walls. Due to the extreme heat, the castle took on a charred, melted appearance.
Since the Conquest, the castle has become something of a white elephant. It is too big to garrison effectively and too expensive to maintain.
After Harren the following houses held Harrenhal:
- Qoherys, who were followers of Aegon the Conqueror and of Valyrian descend
- Towers
- Harroway
- Strong
- Lothston who had a very bad reputation
- Whent
- Slynt
- Baelish
In addition, Harrenhal is considered a cursed and haunted place due to Harren's hubris and the horrors that have occurred within the castle's walls. The curse is thought to prevent any lord from holding Harrenhal for long. All the Houses ever to hold Harrenhal have died out.
[edit] After 298 AL
During the early stages of that war, Lady Whent yielded Harrenhal to Lord Tywin Lannister, who held it with his own troops. Officially, Cersei Lannister granted the castle to Janos Slynt in return for his service. Tyrion Lannister, acting as Hand, revoked the castle and gave it to Petyr Baelish. Baelish has retained official title to the castle ever since. Though he has never set foot within his walls, the Castle's large dominion technically elevated Petyr's social position to marry Lysa Tully.
In truth, however, the castle was seized several times throughout the War and harbored a number of atrocities. Tywin Lannister's garrison included bannermen lead by Armory Lorch and Gregor Clegane. They were bolstered by the Brave Companions mercenary company. All three groups had cut bloody swaths across the land to reach Harrenhal. The men treated the smallfolk of the castle cruelly. Lorch's men and the Brave Companions feuded, resulting in more deaths. Tywin left, leaving Lorch in charge. Arya Stark, who had been hiding at the castle, convinced Jaqen H'ghar to help her free the castle's Northern prisoners and revolt against the Lannisters. The Brave Companions butchered the Lannister bannermen and all who were loyal to them, then handed the castle to Roose Bolton.
Roose ruled over Harrenhal for only a short time. Vargo Hoat suspected that Roose would switch sides to the Lannisters, and maimed his captive Jaime Lannister in an attempt to prevent this. The ruse failed, and the Northern men abandoned the castle, leaving it to the Brave Companions. With Lannister reprisal dangling over their heads, the Companions indulged in wanton sadism and kept the castle's bearpit well-stocked with victims. Eventually Gregor Clegane's men returned to the castle and butchered the mercenaries who had not already fled. Clegane left to participate in the trial by combat of Tyrion Lannister, and Jaime Lannister returned to take control. He cleared out Clegane's men and replaced the garriosn with the pious regiment known as the Holy Hundred.
[edit] References and sources
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Strongholds of A Song of Ice and Fire. |
