| Jarl | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance | Mance Rayder |
| Culture | Free folk |
| Born | 278–280 AC[1] |
| Died |
299 AC near Greyguard |
| Lover | Val |
| Books |
|
Jarl is a free folk raider.
Appearance and Character
Jarl is a dark and fierce young man. He is in a relationship with Val.[2]
History
No more than twenty years old by 299 AC, Jarl has been a raider for eight years, having gone over the Wall with the Weeper and Alfyn Crowkiller. He has led his own band of raiders.[3]
Recent Events
A Storm of Swords
Jarl is present in Mance Rayder's tent when Jon Snow is presented to the King-Beyond-the-Wall.[2] Mance tasks him, together with Styr, to scale the Wall and take Castle Black from the rear.[4] Styr has a hundred Thenns, five times as many raiders as Jarl.[3]
Jarl and Styr share the command, although Styr, who commands significantly more men than Jarl, resents this and often acts as the sole commander. As they travel to the Wall, Jarl keeps a suspicious eye on Jon, who accompanies him. Together with Styr, Jarl questions Jon about the patrols of the Night's Watch on the Wall. Jarl specifically asks whether Stonedoor and Greyguard are presently manned, and is quick to realize when Jon lies about the number of men stationed at Castle Black, Eastwatch-by-the-Sea, and the Shadow Tower.[3]
Jarl divides his eleven men into three teams of four, being the twelfth climber himself, and leads his men up the Wall near Greyguard. During the sixth hour of their climb, Jarl and his group of three fall to their deaths when a large chunk of ice breaks off. Jarl's body is later found impaled on a tree.[5]
When Jon is sent to Mance's tent amid the battle beneath the Wall, he tells Jarl's lover Val that he is sorry for the raider's death.[6]
A Dance with Dragons
Before entering the haunted forest in search of Tormund Giantsbane, Val asks Jon about the manner of Jarl's death. The new Lord Commander of the Night's Watch explains that the Wall killed Jarl, not Jon.[7]
Quotes by Jarl
Mance: The good woman at the brazier is Dalla. Treat her like you would any queen, she is carrying my child. This beauty is her sister Val. Young Jarl beside her is her latest pet.
Jarl: I am no man's pet.
Tormund: Val's no man. You ought to have noticed that by now, lad.[2]
—Mance Rayder, Jarl, and Tormund
Quotes about Jarl
Mance Rayder had called the dark youth a "pet" of Val, who was sister to Dalla, his own queen, which made Jarl a sort of good brother once removed to the King-beyond-the-Wall. The Magnar plainly resented sharing his authority. He had brought a hundred Thenns, five times as many men as Jarl, and often acted as if he had the sole command. But it would be the younger man who got them over the ice, Jon knew. Though he could not have been older than twenty, Jarl had been raiding for eight years, and had gone over the Wall a dozen times with the likes of Alfyn Crowkiller and the Weeper, and more recently with his own band.[3]
—thoughts of Jon Snow
Jon: I was sorry when Jarl fell.
Val: He always climbed too fast.[8]
References
- ↑ See the Jarl calculation.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 7, Jon I.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 26, Jon III.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 15, Jon II.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 30, Jon IV.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 76, Jon XI.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 39, Jon VIII.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 73, Jon X.