A thunderbolt, or lightning bolt, is a symbolic representation of a lightning strike.
Culture
Westeros
The arms of House Leygood is a threefold thunderbolt.[1][2] The arms of House Dondarrion is a forked purple lightning bolt on a black field speckled with four-pointed stars.[3][4][5] According to semi-canon sources, the arms of House Kenning of Harlaw displays the Storm God's cloudy hand, pale grey, yellow lightning flashing from the fingertips, on black.[6]
The Ironborn believe that the Storm God sends cruel winds, lashing rains, and thunder and lightning down upon men.[7] According to Ironborn legend, the Grey King brought fire to the earth by taunting the Storm God into setting a tree on fire with a thunderbolt.[8]
Essos
The emblem of Old Ghis was a harpy clutching a thunderbolt in her talons.[9] The banner of the Stormcrows displays four crows between crossed lightning bolts.[10]
The godsway is lined with artifacts and monuments plundered by the Dothraki, including deities with broken thunderbolts.[11]
The Sealord's Palace has a golden thunderbolt that turns on a spire atop the palace.[12]
Known slave tattoos of Volantis include a lightning bolt that runs from jaw to brow.[13]
History
Antiquity
House Dondarrion was founded when a messenger was ambushed by two Dornishmen while riding on the marches on a stormy night. When the rider thought he was doomed, a bright purple lightning bolt killed both Dornishmen. Because the rider was able to deliver his crucial message, the Storm King raised him to lordship, and he became the first Dondarrion, hence why their sigil depicts a forked purple lightning bolt.[3]
Tybolt Lannister, also known as Tybolt the Thunderbolt, was a King of the Rock of House Lannister of Casterly Rock.[14]
Targaryen Era
In 58 AC, Ser Eustace Hightower and his brother, Ser Norman, accompanied Alys Westhill's journey west, on their ships Lady Meredith and Autumn Moon, but the voyagers were hit by three fierce storms, with the third having a bolt of lightning that split the mast of Autumn Moon, which then sank to the bottom.[15]
In the fight above Shipbreaker Bay, the dragons Arrax and Vhagar were locked together, as lightning crackled around them.[16]
At least a century before the birth of Eddard Stark, a lightning strike hit the broken tower, then the tallest watchtower of Winterfell, setting it afire, with the top third collapsing inward; no one rebuilt it.[17][18]
Old Nan once told Bran Stark a story about a boy who climbed too high and was struck by lightning.[17]
Recent Events
A Game of Thrones
During the Hand's tourney, Lord Beric Dondarrion carries a black shield slashed by lightning.[19]
A Clash of Kings
During the great ranging, Jon Snow sees a lightning-blasted chestnut tree overgrown with wild white roses in the haunted forest.[20]
A Storm of Swords
Beric Dondarrion becomes known as "the lightning lord" for his sigil,[21] and it is said he strikes suddenly, like lightning from a clear sky.[22]
With a storm approaching, Bran Stark, Hodor, and Meera and Jojen Reed stop at Queenscrown to take refuge in its tower. As they wait out the storm, Hodor becomes frightened by the lightning and thunder, shouting "Hodor!" loudly and grabbing at his sword as if to fight the storm. While they easily take the sword from him, the terrified Hodor rejects the attempts to calm him, screaming at each lightning strike. Bran eventually gets Hodor to be quiet by accidentally entering Hodor's mind as a skinchanger.[23]
A Feast for Crows
Brienne of Tarth spots a shield bearing the three thunderbolts of House Leygood among those that had been collected from the dead after the battle at Duskendale.[24]
Behind the Scenes
The sigil of House Leygood may be a reference by George R. R. Martin to comic book characters such as The Flash and Johnny Thunderbolt, or Peter Cannon, Thunderbolt.[25]
References
- ↑ The Sworn Sword.
- ↑ The Citadel. Heraldry: Houses in the Reach
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Hedge Knight.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 27, Eddard VI.
- ↑ The Citadel. Heraldry: Houses from the Stormlands
- ↑ The Citadel. Heraldry: Houses in the Iron Islands
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Iron Islands.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 19, The Drowned Man.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 23, Daenerys II.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 42, Daenerys IV.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 36, Daenerys IV.
- ↑ The Winds of Winter, Mercy I
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Free Cities: Volantis.
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Westerlands.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, The Long Reign - Jaehaerys and Alysanne: Policy, Progeny, and Pain.
- ↑ Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons - A Son for a Son.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 8, Bran II.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 35, Bran V.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 29, Sansa II.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 23, Jon III.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 22, Arya IV.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 11, Jaime II.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 40, Bran III.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 9, Brienne II.
- ↑ The Citadel: Are there any nods to other works in the series?