Men of the Reach[1] are natives of the Reach, a southern region of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.
Ethnicity
Many First Men of the Reach claimed descent from Garth Greenhand, legendary High King of the First Men.[2] The children of the forest were uprooted by the First Men.[3] The various smaller realms of the Reach eventually came under the dominion of House Gardener of Highgarden, Kings of the Reach.[4] Rather than oppose the coming of the Andals to Westeros, the Three Sage Kings welcomed the newcomers to the Reach, allowing First Men and Andals to come together peacefully.[5]
Culture
Religion
The Faith of the Seven is the predominant religion in the Reach, with the new gods having been welcomed by the Three Sage Kings.[5] The Starry Sept in Oldtown was the seat of the High Septon for "a thousand years prior" to the Wars of Conquest.[6][N 1]
Customs
The traditions of chivalry and singers are said to have begun in the Reach,[4] where legends claim chivalry was brought by the First Knight, John the Oak.[2] Knighthood is most esteemed in the Reach compared to the rest of the Seven Kingdoms,[7] and many tourneys are held in the region.[8]
The Citadel of the educated maesters is found in the ancient city of Oldtown.[9] Some say the Arbor makes the best wine in the known world.[10]
Considered the breadbasket of Westeros, the Reach has a rich farming culture.[4]
Many men of the Reach consider Dornishmen to their south to be their ancient enemies.[11][12][13]
Noble bastards born in the Reach can be given the surname Flowers.
Quotes
Once and always a great realm, the Reach is many things to its inhabitants: the most populous, fertile, and powerful domain in the Seven Kingdoms, its wealth second only to the gold-rich west; a seat of learning; a center of music, culture, and all the arts, bright and dark; the breadbasket of Westeros; a nexus of trade; a home to great seafarers, wise and noble kings, dread sorcerers, and the most beautiful women in all Westeros.[4]
—writings of Yandel
Many noble houses of the Reach trace their ancestry back to Andal adventurers given lands and wives by Garth IX, Merle I, and Gwayne V, amongst them the Ormes, Gracefords, Cuys, Roxtons, Ufferings, Leygoods, and Varners. As the centuries passed, the sons and daughters of these houses intermarried so freely with those descended from the First Men that it became impossible to tell them apart. Seldom has a conquest been achieved with less bloodshed.[5]
—writings of Yandel
You need to come south. You need a taste of summer before it flees. In Highgarden there are fields of golden roses that stretch away as far as the eye can see. The fruits are so ripe they explode in your mouth—melons, peaches, fireplums, you've never tasted such sweetness.[14]
Notes
- ↑ Pate recalls the Starry Sept "had been the seat of the High Septon for a thousand years before Aegon landed at King's Landing." (A Feast for Crows, Prologue). It is unknown if this is an exact figure or if George R. R. Martin is being figurative.
References
- ↑ Fire & Blood, Aegon's Conquest.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Reach: Garth Greenhand.
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Reach: The Gardener Kings.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 The World of Ice & Fire, The Reach.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 The World of Ice & Fire, The Reach: Andals in the Reach.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Prologue.
- ↑ So Spake Martin: Tourney Rules, April 29, 1999
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Reach: Highgarden.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 53, Bran VI.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 40, Daenerys III.
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, The Targaryen Kings: Aegon IV.
- ↑ The World of Ice & Fire, Dorne: Queer Customs of the South.
- ↑ A Feast for Crows, Chapter 13, The Soiled Knight.
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 4, Eddard I.