Magnar of Thenn is the title held by the leader of the Thenns, a tribe of free folk from the Thenn valley found beyond the Wall in the Frostfangs.[1]
Culture
Magnar is a word in the Old Tongue translated as "lord" in the Common Tongue.[2][3]
The Thenns appear to see Styr more as a god than a lord.[2][1]
History
Mance Rayder had to defeat Styr three times before the Magnar agreed to support him as King-beyond-the-Wall.[4]
Recent Events
A Storm of Swords
Styr, Magnar of Thenn, resents having to share authority with Jarl when they are sent by Mance Rayder to cross the Wall.[1] Jarl falls to his death while attempting to climb the Wall.[5]
Styr leads the attack on Castle Black but is slain when the castle's wooden stair and several tons of ice collapse on him and his men.[6]
Styr's son Sigorn, the new Magnar of Thenn,[7] is held captive by Stannis Baratheon after the battle beneath the Wall.[8]
A Dance with Dragons
Word spreads at Castle Black that Stannis intends to grant lands and castles to wildling leaders like Rattleshirt and the Magnar of Thenn.[9] Stannis considers placing wildlings led by Sigorn as his van when he departs Castle Black, but Jon Snow, Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, advises him against the idea.[10]
Iron Emmett recommends that Jon grant one of the ruined castles of the Night's Watch to the Thenns.[11]
Alys Karstark flees Karhold to avoid being forced to marry her kin Cregan.[12] Lord Commander Snow arranges for her to marry Sigorn. During their wedding, Sigorn dons arms for the newly-created House Thenn. Alys believes that Karhold will open its gates to her and Sigorn's two hundred Thenns.[4]
Known Magnars of Thenn
Quotes
The Magnar claimed to be the last of the First Men, and ruled with an iron hand. His little land of Thenn was a high mountain valley hidden amongst the northernmost peaks of the Frostfangs, surrounded by cave dwellers, Hornfoot men, giants, and the cannibal clans of the ice rivers. Ygritte said the Thenns were savage fighters, and that their Magnar was a god to them. Jon could believe that. Unlike Jarl and Harma and Rattleshirt, Styr commanded absolute obedience from his men, and that discipline was no doubt part of why Mance had chosen him to go over the Wall.[1]
—thoughts of Jon Snow
The Magnar is a ruler, not a raider.[5]
—thoughts of Jon Snow
Emmett: You might do well to bestow a castle on the Magnar.
Jon: I might if I could trust him. Sigorn blames me for his father's death, I fear. Worse, he was bred and trained to give orders, not to take them. Do not confuse the Thenns with free folk. Magnar means lord in the Old Tongue, I am told, but Styr was closer to a god to his people, and his son is cut from the same skin. I do not require men to kneel, but they do need to obey.
Emmett: Aye, m'lord, but you had best do something with the Magnar. You'll have trouble with the Thenns if you ignore them.[11]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 26, Jon III.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 7, Jon I.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 48, Jon VI.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 49, Jon X.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 30, Jon IV.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 55, Jon VII.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 A Feast for Crows, Appendix.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 76, Jon XI.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 3, Jon I.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 17, Jon IV.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 35, Jon VII.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 44, Jon IX.