Vale of Arryn
From A Wiki of Ice and Fire
Vale of Arryn or The Vale is one of the constituent regions of Westeros and was formerly a sovereign nation known as the Kingdom of Mountain and Vale before the War of Conquest. The Vale is ruled by House Arryn from the castle known as the Eyrie. Notable houses of this region include Hunter, Corbray, Redfort, and Royce. Bastards born in the Vale are given the surname Stone.
Contents |
Geography
The Vale is located on the eastern shore of Westeros, a tranquil land of rich black soil, wide slow-moving rivers, and hundreds of small lakes that shine like mirrors in the sun, protected on all sides by its largely impassable mountain range. The Vale tends to be slightly isolated from the rest of Westeros. The Vale's harsh winters make travel only possible through the mountains during warmer years, and rebellious mountain clans make travel even more dangerous. The Vale can be reached through the High Road, which connects the Vale and the Riverlands, and is protected by the Bloody Gate.
The borders of the Vale are held to be the Bite to the north, the Bay of Crabs to the south, the Mountains of the Moon to the west and the Narrow Sea to the east.
The Vale consists of various regions: the Vale of Arryn itself; the Mountains of the Moon; the Fingers; the islands of the Three Sisters, The Paps, and Pebble; and the peninsula around Gulltown.
Notable locations
See also: Category:Places in the Vale
- The Eyrie
- Gulltown
- The Three Sisters
- The Fingers
People and Economy
See also: Mountain clans
The people of the Vale, popularly called "valemen," are known as honorable, reliable warriors steeped in honor and the worship of the Faith of the Seven. Some of the valemen living in the foothills of the Mountains of the Moon have rejected the authority of the Eyrie and live by their own rules. These Mountain clans such as the Black Ears and Burned Men raid unwary travelers.
Wheat, corn, and barley is grown in the Vale. Not even in Highgarden do the pumpkins grow any larger nor is the fruit any sweeter. House Waxley is known for producing scented candles. The candles can be scented with nutmeg and other costly spices.
History
The Vale is where the Andals initially landed; as such the Arryns are one of the oldest lines of Andal nobility in the Seven Kingdoms and ruled as Kings of Mountain and Vale for centuries until they bent the knee to Aegon the Conqueror when the young king wanted to ride a dragon.
Robert's Rebellion began in the Vale, when Jon Arryn refused to surrender his wards Robert Baratheon and Eddard Stark to the Mad King. Defeating his royalist bannermen at Gulltown, Lord Arryn went on to help Robert secure the Iron Throne, and was named his Hand. In Lord Arryn's absence, Nestor Royce served as High Steward of the Vale. After his death, Jon's widow Lysa refused to lend the Vale's strength to any side of the war. With her marriage to Petyr Baelish and subsequent murder by him, Baelish rules as Lord Protector of the Vale, to the consternation of the Lords Declarant.
References and Notes
| |||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||
| ||||||||||||||
