Freedmen

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Liberated men in Astapor, by Tomasz Jedruszek © Fantasy Flight Games

Freedmen are people who have been freed from slavery.

Culture

Freedmen are not allowed within the Black Walls of Volantis unless invited by its denizens.[1]

History

During his trip to the Free Cities, Steffon Baratheon, Lord of Storm's End, was so impressed by Patchface, a jester slave in Volantis, that he decided to buy his freedom and bring him to Storm's End, with Steffon hoping the fool might be able to make his serious son Stannis laugh.[2]

Serra and the widow of the waterfront were once pleasure slaves in Lys and Yunkai, respectively, but the widow was purchased by Vogarro, a Triarch of Volantis, while Serra was brought to Pentos by Illyrio Mopatis.[3][4] Vogarro fell in love with the widow, causing a great scandal, and an even greater scandal when he freed her and married her,[4] while Mopatis also grew to care for Serra and eventually married her.[3]

Recent Events

A Storm of Swords

Belwas, a eunuch former slave from the fighting pits of Meereen, becomes a Queensguard to Daenerys Targaryen.[5]

After Daenerys agreed to purchase the Unsullied in exchange for all her goods, ships, and Drogon, the Good Masters of Astapor give her Missandei as a gift, but Daenerys frees her and gives her the option to leave her service. Missandei decides to stay with Daenerys, however.[6] After the fall of Astapor, Daenerys frees all of its slaves, including the Unsullied, with most of them deciding to serve her as free men, including Grey Worm,[6] and Missandei's brothers, Marselen and Mossador.[7] Thousands of freedmen followed her north during her campaign in Slaver's Bay.[7] Thousands more former slaves join her host after the battle near Yunkai.[7]

Ser Jorah Mormont organizes the fighting men into four companies, who aid in Daenerys's siege of Meereen.[8] Later in the siege, Strong Belwas and twenty other men enter Meereen through the sewers to take the city. Some of the freedmen in the group are afraid of the huge sewer rats, until Belwas bites one of them in two. When they enter the city, Belwas leads the group to the nearest of the fighting pits, where they raise the enslaved pit fighters to revolt against the Great Masters, enabling Daenerys to take the city.[9]

A Dance with Dragons

Half of Daenerys's freedmen are from Yunkai,[10] with Rylona Rhee becoming a leader for Yunkai's freemen and often speaking for them on the ruling council of Meereen.[11] The Sons of the Harpy attack unarmed freedmen in Meereen,[10] breaking into Rylona's house and killing her, so Daenerys orders the creation of the Brazen Beasts, a new city watch composed of shavepates and freedmen.[11] She also has Grey Worm turn companies of freedmen into soldiers, including the Free Brothers, commanded by Symon Stripeback, the Mother's Men, and the Stalwart Shields, commanded by Mollono Yos Dob,[12] but he dies from the pale mare infection that sweeps Meereen, and is replaced as commander by another freedman, Tal Toraq.[13]

The four mates of the Selaesori Qhoran are all freedmen.[14]

Ser Barristan Selmy, the Lord Commander of Dany's Queensguard, begins training more than sixty freed slaves, with thirty of them persevering.[15] The most promising of them become Barristan's squires, including Tumco Lho, a native of the Basilisk Isles, Larraq, the Lhazareen Red Lamb, and three Ghiscari brothers.[16][17] Symon Stripeback and Tal Toraq are present at the council when Ser Barristan prepares for war against the Yunkai, who are besieging Meereen.[13]

Known freedmen

Quotes

It is a lucky name. The name this one was born to was accursed. That was the name he had when he was taken for a slave. But Grey Worm is the name this one drew the day Daenerys Stormborn set him free.[7]

—Grey Worm to Daenerys Targaryen

I told them they were free. I cannot tell them now they are not free to join me.[7]

—thoughts of Daenerys Targaryen

Jorah: The slaves are weak from the march.

Daenerys: Freedmen. They are slaves no longer.

Jorah: Slave or free, they are hungry and they'll soon be sick.[8]

—Jorah Mormont and Daenerys Targaryen

Her children were the freedmen. Mhysa, they called her, all those whose chains she broke.[15]

—thoughts of Barristan Selmy

References

  1. ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 6, The Merchant's Man.
  2. ↑ A Clash of Kings, Prologue.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 5, Tyrion II.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 27, Tyrion VII.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 A Storm of Swords, Appendix.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 27, Daenerys III.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 42, Daenerys IV.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 57, Daenerys V.
  9. ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 71, Daenerys VI.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 2, Daenerys I.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 11, Daenerys II.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 16, Daenerys III.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 70, The Queen's Hand.
  14. ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 33, Tyrion VIII.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 55, The Queensguard.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 67, The Kingbreaker.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 A Dance with Dragons, Appendix.
  18. ↑ A Clash of Kings, Appendix.
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