House Stark

House Stark of Winterfell
Winter Is Coming
Coat of arms	A running grey direwolf, on an ice-white field (Argent, a direwolf courant cendrée)
Seat	Winterfell (formerly)
Head	Unknown; Bran Stark (de jure)
Regions	North Riverlands (formerly)
Titles	King of Winter/King in the North (formerly) Prince of Winterfell (formerly) Lord of Winterfell (formerly) Warden of the North (formerly) King of the Trident (formerly)
Heirs	Rickon Stark (Bran's heir) Jon Snow (per Robb Stark's will)
Overlords	House Baratheon of King's Landing (AGOT) House Bolton (ADWD)
Cadet branches	House Greystark (extinct) House Karstark Barrowton Starks (possibly) White Harbor Starks (possibly)
Ancestral weapon	Ice (reforged)
Founder	Brandon the Builder
Founded	Age of Heroes

House Stark of Winterfell is one of the Great Houses of Westeros and the principal noble house of the north. In days of old they ruled as Kings of Winter, but since Aegon's Conquest they have been Wardens of the North and ruled as Lords of Winterfell. Their seat, Winterfell, is an ancient castle renowned for its strength.

Their sigil is a grey direwolf racing across a field of white. Their words are "Winter Is Coming", one of only a few house mottoes to be a warning rather than a boast. Several of the POV characters of A Song of Ice and Fire are members of House Stark.

Aside from the Karstarks of Karhold, the Starks of Winterfell may have other, distant relatives in the north. White Harbor and Barrowton are considered to be likely options for offshoot branches. Some younger Starks have also held vassal holdfasts for the Lords of Winterfell.

Culture

Traits

The Starks have a reputation for long faces, brown hair, and grey eyes. Some are known for melancholy and iciness, while others have a wildness sometimes called "wolf blood".

In the current generation of Starks, several members (e.g., Arya and Bran Stark and Jon Snow) have the ability to enter the minds of their direwolf pets as wargs, giving them the ability to experience the senses of their direwolves and to see through their eyes. The latter occurs most frequently when the children sleep, although they are able to do it at will when awake, once they are more practiced.

Customs

House Stark traditionally buries deceased members of their family in the crypts below Winterfell. The Kings of Winter and Lords of Winterfell are given a statue of their likeness, sitting by their tomb, whereas other family members normally do not get one. Exceptions include Brandon and Lyanna Stark, who were given statues by their brother, Lord Eddard Stark, and Artos Stark. The statues of the kings and lords have stone wolves by their feet and have swords placed upon their lap, which are said to keep the spirits of the dead at rest, locked within their tombs.

House Stark traditionally follows the old gods. Following the marriage of Eddard to Lady Catelyn Tully, a follower of the Faith of the Seven, a small sept was constructed for her at Winterfell.

The Starks have traditionally been friends of the Night's Watch. The four youngest men to have served as Lord Commander, including Osric Stark, were brothers, sons, or bastards of Kings in the North.

The Starks hold the belief that there must always be a Stark in Winterfell. When the head of the house is away, the Stark remaining in the castle to rule the north is referred to as "the Stark in Winterfell".

Starks are less interested in tourneys and gambling than southrons.

History

Kings in the North

Stark cavalry, Tomasz Jedruszek © Fantasy Flight Games

The Starks are an ancient house of First Men descent. House Stark was founded by Brandon the Builder, a legendary figure who lived during the Age of Heroes. Bran the Builder is said to have raised Winterfell, the seat of the Starks, and the Wall, and other legends connect him with Storm's End and the Hightower. The Starks were Kings of Winter in the north for eight thousand years since the Age of Heroes, possibly beginning with Bran the Builder. The Night's King, the attainted thirteenth Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, has been suggested to have been a Stark, among other possibilities. The Night's King is said to have been defeated by Brandon the Breaker and Joramun.

The ancient Starks gradually defeated rival kings, such as the Barrow Kings to their south and the Red Kings to their east. For several millennia, the Starks were not the uncontested Kings in the North. Their primary antagonists, the Red Kings from House Bolton of the Dreadfort, swore fealty some thousand years ago, ending their flaying ways. Meanwhile, King Jon Stark drove raiders from the White Knife, and the Wolf's Den was built at its mouth. This stronghold was often granted to sons and grandsons of the King in the North; one such branch, the Greystarks, was extinguished after allying with the Boltons against the Starks. King Jon's son, Rickard, defeated the Marsh King and married his daughter, bringing the Neck into Winterfell's realm under the lordship of House Reed.

When Andals attempted to conquer the north, King Theon Stark made common cause with House Bolton and defeated Argos Sevenstar in the Battle of the Weeping Water, after which he raised a fleet and sailed to Andalos. There he took revenge by sacking and putting hundreds to death. He later conquered the Three Sisters, attacked the Fingers, and battled against the ironborn, driving them away from Cape Kraken and Bear Island and slaying Ravos Hoare. Both places were later taken back by King Loron Greyjoy, and King Rodrik Stark took Bear Island back after Loron's death. It is said that he did so by winning a wrestling match, though some scholars doubt the truth of this tale. Rodrik's sons and grandsons took back Cape Kraken. King Theon also smashed a rebellion in the Rills, and gave aid to the Night's Watch against wildlings.

Thousands of years before Aegon's Conquest, King Brandon the Shipwright attempted to sail across the Sunset Sea, but never returned back home. His son, also named Brandon, burned the northern shipyards in his grief. The north has since lacked strength at sea.

House Stark attempted to conquer the Three Sisters, which began a conflict between the Starks and House Arryn from the Vale. In response to the Rape of the Three Sisters, the Sistermen asked for help from Mathos II Arryn, King of Mountain and Vale. This conflict, the War Across the Water, lasted for a thousand years, during which time the Starks thrice landed on the Fingers. During King Edrick Stark's hundred-year long reign, the Wolf's Den, already torched by House Arryn, was captured by slavers from the Stepstones. Edrick's great-grandson, King Brandon "Ice Eyes", took back the Wolf's Den. After a thousand years of war, the Arryns were victorious over the Starks, and the Valemen have ruled over the Three Sisters ever since.

Several centuries before Aegon's Conquest, House Manderly was driven into exile from the Mander by Lord Lorimar Peake during the reign of Perceon III Gardener, King of the Reach. The Starks welcomed them to the north, and accepted oaths of fealthy from the Manderlys, giving them the Wolf's Den and the surrounding lands, leading to the creation of White Harbor around the Wolf's Den.

Possibly around 700 BC, Karlon Stark, a younger son of Winterfell, helped crush a rebel lord. As a reward, he was granted lands on which he built a keep named Karl's Hold. Over time, the keep became known as Karhold and Karlon's descendants became House Karstark. Three hundred years before the Conquest, the commanders of the Snowgate and Nightfort went to war with each other, then joined together to murder the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch when he tried to stop them. The Stark in Winterfell intervened and took both men's heads easily because the strongholds of the Night's Watch were not designed to be defensible from the south.

The Starks helped repel several major wildling invasions, such as when they and their Umber bannermen defeated the brother Kings-Beyond-the-Wall Gendel and Gorne three thousand years ago. Bael the Bard is said to have sired a son on the maiden daughter of Brandon the Daughterless. Bael was later slain by his own son, who was unaware of the fact that Bael was his father.

Targaryen Conquest and Aftermath

Stark loyalist, by Katherine Dinger © Fantasy Flight Games

During Aegon's Conquest, King Torrhen Stark raised thirty thousand northmen and marched south. With the burning of Harrenhal and the Field of Fire in mind, however, Torrhen submitted without battle to Aegon I Targaryen. Since the time of the King Who Knelt, the Starks have held the north for the Lords of the Seven Kingdoms as Wardens of the North. Queen Rhaenys Targaryen arranged the marriage of Torrhen's daughter to Ronnel Arryn, the Lord of the Eyrie, in an attempt to knit the new realm together. There are letters at the Citadel which suggest that Torrhen only agreed to this match after much protest, and that his sons had refused to attend the wedding. Torrhen's sons did not agree with the rule of House Targaryen. Some spoke of rebelling and raising the Stark banner.

Torrhen was succeeded by Brandon the Boisterous. At some point rule of the north passed to Roderick Stark, and Roderick was succeeded by Brandon the Boastful. Brandon the Boastful attended the Golden Wedding in 49 AC, along with his sons Walton and Alaric, though Brandon died soon after his return to the north.

Despite earlier rumblings of dissent by Torrhen's sons, the Starks did not rise like the rebels Jonos Arryn, Lodos the Twice-Drowned, and Harren the Red against Aegon the Conqueror's son, King Aenys I Targaryen. As the north follows the old gods, they did not heed the High Septon's calls for rebellion, and the Starks took no part in the Faith Militant uprising against Aenys and then his brother, King Maegor I Targaryen. Captured members of the Faith Militant had been exiled to the Night's Watch by Maegor the Cruel, and Aenys's son, King Jaehaerys I Targaryen, exiled many of Maegor's supporters to the Wall as well, including surviving members of his old Kingsguard. Neither group had love for Jaehaerys, so in 50 AC the two groups made common cause to rebel against the leadership of the Watch. Lord Walton Stark called his bannermen to intervene and crushed the deserters, but survivors fled beyond the Wall; Walton pursued them but was ambushed by wildlings and killed by giants. Walton was succeeded by his brother Alaric.

In 58 AC Queen Alysanne Targaryen visited Winterfell and was received by Lord Alaric, who was initially cold to her and Jaehaerys because of Walton's fate. Alaric was gradually charmed by Alysanne's visit, however, and his daughter ​Alarra grew particularly close to the queen during her visit. Two of Alaric's sons attended the tourney in King's Landing which celebrated the tenth anniversary of Jaehaerys's coronation. Alaric ordered his bannermen to put aside half of their harvests in anticipation of the winter of 59–60 AC, but not all of the northmen obeyed, resulting in famine. The Shivers followed later that winter, though no specific casualties are mentioned in the north and Alaric survived. Lord Alaric died in 72 AC and was succeeded by his grandson, Edric Stark, as Alaric's two sons had preceded him in death.

Alaric's relationship with the Targaryens remained complicated throughout his reign. According to Archmaester Gyldayn, Alysanne charmed a reluctant Alaric into granting the New Gift to the Night's Watch because, even though Alaric was a strong friend to the Watch, he knew the northern lords who already held the lands in question would not be happy to give them away. According to Maester Yandel, however, the Starks were opposed to the royal demand for a different reason: the Starks feared that, under the control of Castle Black, the New Gift would inevitably decline, for the Night's Watch would always look northward and never give much thought to their new tenants to the south. Time proved this criticism correct, for as the decades passed the Night's Watch neglected the New Gift and it fell into disuse. Yandel cites that there are archived letters in the Citadel sent by Lord Stark’s sons, asking the maesters about precedents against forced donation of property. Whatever the case, on the whole Jaehaerys and Alysanne became popular in the north due to their other generous donations to the Night's Watch, and their construction of the new kingsroad extending from the Neck to Winterfell and the Wall.

The Dance of the Dragons

Edric was succeeded by Lord Ellard Stark, who attended the Great Council of 101 AC to determine the new heir of the elderly King Jaehaerys. The final vote came to a choice between Viserys Targaryen (son of Jaehaerys's second son, Prince Baelon) and Laenor Velaryon (grandson of Jaehaerys through Rhaenys, daughter of his first son, Prince Aemon). Viserys was the candidate Jaehaerys himself preferred, and he won the final vote by a landslide, though the Starks were among the minority of lords who had supported Laenor (and one of only two Great Houses, the other being the Baratheons). Yandel that Ellard voted against Jaehaerys's preferred successor because the Starks were still bitter about the king forcing them to donate the New Gift to the Night's Watch, leading to its mismanagement. The pushed the Starks closer to the Velaryon faction at King Viserys I Targaryen's court, and through them to ultimately side with Rhaenyra Targaryen during the Dance of the Dragons.

At some point after 101 AC, Ellard was succeeded by Benjen Stark, and later Benjen was succeeded by his son Rickon. Rickon died in 121 AC, and was succeeded as the nominal Lord of Winterfell by his only surviving son, the thirteen-year-old Cregan Stark. Rickon's brother, Bennard, served as regent during Cregan's minority. When Cregan came of age in 126 AC, however, Bennard was slow to surrender his power. Relations grew strained between Bennard and Cregan as the young Lord of Winterfell chafed under the limits imposed on him by his uncle. Ultimately, Cregan rose up against his uncle, imprisoned Bennard and his sons, and took rule of the north into his own hands.

Cregan Stark, as depicted by Douglas Wheatley in Fire & Blood.

In 129 AC, as the Dance of the Dragons began, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon recruited Lord Cregan's aid for his mother, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen, known as the Pact of Ice and Fire, even though the north was considered to be too remote to be of much influence in the war. Cregan initially sent the Winter Wolves under Roderick Dustin, Lord of Barrowton, and knights from White Harbor led by Ser Medrick and Ser Torrhen Manderly.

After the gathering of one last harvest before winter, Cregan led a great army of childless, homeless, unwed, or old men, and younger sons, to King's Landing. He arrived after King Aegon II Targaryen had been poisoned, however, and though he had hoped to punish those lords who had supported the late king, Corlys Velaryon, Lord of the Tides, had already sent out ravens suing for peace. While the court awaited replies, Cregan held sway and arrested all those involved in Aegon II's death, as he objected to the murder of a king. The as-yet-uncrowned Aegon III Targaryen was cowed into naming Cregan as Hand of the King, though Cregan served only a day in that office, a time known as the Hour of the Wolf. Lord Stark held trials for twenty-one out of twenty-two of his prisoners, with Corlys the only one spared a trial. Aegon III pardoned Lord Velaryon and restored his titles to him, which Cregan allowed when Alysanne Blackwood offered the Hand her own hand in marriage. Cregan returned north the next day.

Cregan struggled to hold the north together against several threats during the regency of Aegon III. A devastating winter had already begun late in the war which ultimately lasted six years, and in 132 AC the north was one of the first regions in Westeros struck by the Winter Fever, which continued through 133 AC. With the north weakened by winter, famine, and plague, a large wildling war-band led by Sylas the Grim seized on the opportunity to force their way south of the Wall. His force of 3,000 raiders overwhelmed the Night's Watch at Queensgate and proceeded to plunder the lands to the south. Lord Cregan rallied what few remaining able-bodied men were left among his bannermen, then rode out to hunt down and destroy Sylas's raiding bands.

Cregan's eldest son and heir was Rickon, named after his own father. Rickon predeceased his father when he died in one of the final battles of the conquest of Dorne, during the reign of King Daeron I Targaryen. The north lamented Rickon's death, for the subsequent reigns of Cregan's younger sons after him were troublesome.

Cregan's successors

Cregan Stark had five sons: Rickon, Jonnel, Edric, Barthogan, and Brandon. Though Rickon predeceased his father, he was survived by his own two daughters, Sansa and Serena, and by the known laws of succession they should have been ahead of Rickon's younger brothers in line of inheritance. Northern succession laws may be different, there has never been a ruling Queen of Winter or ruling Lady of Winterfell for example, however, and primogeniture is not necessarily binding elsewhere in the Seven Kingdoms either. Cregan's second son Jonnel succeeded Cregan upon his death, marrying his half-niece Sansa. Cregan's third son Edric married Rickon's other daughter Serena. Jonnel's marriage to Sansa was childless, but upon his death rule passed not to Cregan's third son Edric, but to his fourth son, Barthogan. While it is possible that Edric predeceased his older brother, Edric did have two sons and two daughters with Serena, and the daughters had children of their own, and all of these normally would have been ahead of Barthogan in the line of succession. The exact reasons and circumstances under which Barthogan became lord are as yet unknown.

Barthogan himself later died childless, when he was slain in the Skagosi rebellion during the reign of King Daeron II Targaryen, and he was succeeded by Cregan's fifth and final son, Brandon, from whom the later generations of House Stark descend. Convoluted succession challenges remained for decades, possibly through Serena and Edric's children and between Brandon's own rival grandchildren. Brandon was succeeded by his eldest son Rodwell, who died without issue, after which rule passed to his younger brother Beron. The grandson of Cregan, Beron was mortally wounded fighting off an incursion by Dagon Greyjoy's ironborn, and as he lay dying in Winterfell multiple Stark widows pushed their children's rival succession claims against the others.

Ultimately Beron was succeeded by his eldest son, Donnor Stark, but when he died without issue rule passed to second son, Willam Stark. In 226 AC, Raymun Redbeard, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, led a large wildling invasion. Lord Willam and Harmond Umber, Lord of the Last Hearth, met the wildling host in battle on the shores of Long Lake. Although Willam was killed by Raymun, his younger brother, Artos, avenged him by slaying the King-Beyond-the-Wall.

Willam was succeeded upon his death by his son Edwyle Stark, father of Rickard Stark and grandfather of Eddard Stark.

Robert's Rebellion

Lord Rickard Stark, urged on by his maester, Walys, allegedly sought to further southron alliances. He sent his second son, Eddard, to be fostered with Lord Jon Arryn at the Eyrie at the age of eight. There, Eddard befriended fellow ward Robert Baratheon. Rickard betrothed his heir, Brandon, to Catelyn Tully, the daughter of Hoster Tully, Lord of Riverrun, and his only daughter, Lyanna, to Robert, Lord of Storm's End. Rickard's four children attended the tourney at Harrenhal in 281 AC, where they met Howland Reed. After winning the jousting competition at the tourney, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen crowned Lyanna as his queen of love and beauty, passing over his own wife, Princess Elia Martell.

In 282 AC, Brandon Stark was at Riverrun when the date of his wedding to Catelyn Tully was announced. Petyr Baelish, Lord Hoster's ward, had been in love with Catelyn for years, and challenged Brandon to a duel for Catelyn's hand. Brandon won. After the duel, Brandon left Riverrun, promising his bride-to-be that he would return soon. On his way back to Riverrun, however, Brandon heard about Lyanna's abduction by Prince Rhaegar, and rode for King's Landing, where he was arrested by Aerys II for threatening the life of the crown prince. Rickard, who had been on his way to Riverrun with the wedding party, was summoned to court to answer for Brandon's crime. Brandon and Rickard were executed by Aerys II; Rickard was burned alive, while Brandon strangled himself in his attempt to rescue his father. After the executions, King Aerys demanded the heads of Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon from their former foster father, Jon Arryn. The Lord of the Eyrie refused, however, and raised his banners in revolt. This act is seen as the start of Robert's Rebellion.

Lord Eddard Stark with Ice, by Tomasz Jedruszek © Fantasy Flight Games

Eddard made an arduous journey through the Mountains of the Moon and the Bite to call his banners in the north. The new lord then marched south and won an important victory during the Battle of the Bells, rescuing his friend Robert with the aid of Hoster Tully. Next, he went to Riverrun, where he honored his late brother Brandon's betrothal by marrying Catelyn as part of the alliance to bring House Tully into the rebel fold.

One of the principal commanders in the war, Eddard took command of the rebel army after the Battle of the Trident, following the remnants of Rhaegar's army to King's Landing. Ned arrived at the capital after the Sack of King's Landing by Lord Tywin Lannister, however, and Lord Stark found Aerys II dead and Ser Jaime Lannister sitting on the Iron Throne. He had a falling out with Robert when Robert accepted the aid of House Lannister and condoned the murders of Rhaegar's wife, young daughter, and infant son. Eddard rode south the next day to relieve the siege of Storm's End.

After Storm's End, Eddard and six companions went to retrieve Lyanna at the building Rhaegar had named the tower of joy, finding it defended by three knights of the Kingsguard. Eddard and Howland Reed were the only survivors of the ensuing combat at the tower of joy. Eddard found Lyanna dying in a bed of blood, clutching rose petals, dead and black, in her palm. She forced him to make a promise to her, the contents of which are unknown, but which have haunted Eddard since. Eddard and Robert were reconciled in their shared grief over Lyanna's death.

Eddard returned from the war with his bastard son, Jon Snow, said to have been birthed by Wylla, and Ned was presented with his trueborn son, Robb, by Catelyn when she arrived from Riverrun. Ned buried Lyanna's body in the crypt of Winterfell beside her father and brother. Eddard's younger brother, Benjen, joined the Night's Watch within a few months of Eddard's return from the war. A skilled ranger, Benjen eventually became First Ranger.

Lord Stark fought in Greyjoy's Rebellion in 289 AC, and he took Balon Greyjoy's son Theon with him to Winterfell, a hostage to ensure the loyalty of the Lord of the Iron Islands. Eddard has ruled the north in Robert's name, keeping a distance from the intrigue-ridden politics of King's Landing.

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

Eddard Stark by John Picacio ©

Following the death of his Hand of the King, Lord Jon Arryn, King Robert I Baratheon journeys to Winterfell to offer Lord Eddard Stark the office. A letter arrives from Lysa Arryn, Jon's widow and Eddard's wife Catelyn's sister, who claims the Lannisters were behind Lord Arryn's sudden death. At Catelyn's urging, Ned grudgingly accepts the Handship and a betrothal of their daughter Sansa to Prince Joffrey Baratheon. During the royal party's stay, Eddard's second son, Bran, accidentally witnesses Queen Cersei Lannister having sex with her twin brother, Ser Jaime. Jaime throws Bran out of the tower window, hoping to kill him to keep their relationship a secret. Bran survives, but is crippled and comatose.

Eddard rides to King's Landing along with his daughters, Sansa and Arya, while Catelyn remains at Winterfell with their sons. Meanwhile, Ned's bastard son, Jon Snow, rides north with his uncle, Benjen, to join the Night's Watch. Catelyn is inconsolable in her worry for Bran, ignoring her duties as Lady of Winterfell, but she is jolted back to reality by an attempt on Bran's life thwarted only by his direwolf. As Bran lies comatose, he begins to have visions of a three-eyed crow.

Near the ruby ford and the crossroads, Arya defends her friend Mycah from the aggressions of Prince Joffrey Baratheon, upsetting Sansa. This is exacerbated when Sansa's direwolf, Lady, is ordered killed in place of Arya's, Nymeria, which has escaped.

In King's Landing, Eddard is outraged to find that the crown is heavily in debt (largely to Robert's goodfather, Tywin Lannister, Lord of Casterly Rock) and that the king intends to throw a lavish tourney in his honor. After taking up his duties as Hand, Eddard assigns twenty of his household guard to assist the gold cloaks in keeping order in King's Landing.

Ned investigates the death of Jon Arryn, determining that he was looking into the king's bastard brood. When Robert holds a small council meeting to arrange the death of the exiled Daenerys Targaryen, who has wed Drogo, a mighty khal of the Dothraki, Ned refuses to condone the assassination and resigns as Hand. In the streets of the capital, he is waylaid by Jaime Lannister and red cloaks in retaliation for Catelyn's abduction of Tyrion Lannister, whom her foster-brother, Petyr Baelish, had told her was responsible for the attempt on Bran's life. Ned's leg is broken and his best men slain, but Ned survives and Robert re-confirms his appointment as Hand before going on a hunt and leaving Ned to sit the Iron Throne. In this capacity he sends men, including twenty Stark guards, under Beric Dondarrion, Lord of Blackhaven, to stop Ser Gregor Clegane from raiding the riverlands. Gregor's attacks were ordered by Lord Lannister; since Lord Stark was wounded he was not lured into the field and thus could not be captured and traded for Tyrion. The men sent after Gregor are ambushed and many are slain. Catelyn brings Tyrion to her sister Lysa at the Eyrie, but Tyrion is released after Bronn is victorious in a trial by battle.

Rickon, Bran, Arya, Sansa, Jon, and Robb, by enife ©

At the Wall, Jon Snow deals with the cruel tutelage of Ser Alliser Thorne while making friends such as Samwell Tarly and learning lessons from his elders. Jon becomes the personal steward of Jeor Mormont, Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. The youth encounters a hint of the evil that supposedly lies beyond the Wall when the corpses of two of his uncle's men rise from the dead and go on the rampage at Castle Black; Jon saves the Lord Commander from being killed by one of the wights.

Eventually, Ned arrives at the same conclusion at which Jon Arryn did: that Queen Cersei's children are not Robert's, but bastards born of incest between the Lannister twins, and determines that it is this secret for which Jon was murdered. He approaches Cersei with this truth, warning her to flee the city. Enlisting Lord Baelish to recruit the gold cloaks, Ned confronts Cersei after Robert's death from a hunting accident, insisting that Stannis Baratheon is now king by rights. Littlefinger betrays Ned, however, and the Hand's men are slaughtered by Janos Slynt's gold cloaks and Ned is thrown into a black cell. Sansa is held hostage in the Red Keep, but Arya manages to escape thanks to Syrio Forel, the fencing master Ned had hired to train her in swordplay.

Robb Stark calls the banners to Winterfell and marches south to aid his mother's family, House Tully of Riverrun, against the Lannisters, and to rescue his father and sisters from the capital. At the Twins, Catelyn arranges an alliance with Walder Frey, Lord of the Crossing, to negotiate passage over the Green Fork, promising that Robb and Arya will wed Freys. Robb captures Jaime in the Whispering Wood and then relieves the Lannisters' siege of Riverrun with the Battle of the Camps. The rest of the Stark army, led by Roose Bolton, Lord of the Dreadfort, is defeated by Tywin in the battle on the Green Fork, however.

Ned initially refuses to name Joffrey as the true king, but in the end agrees in order to ensure the safety of Sansa. When he publicly announces this support at the Great Sept of Baelor, however, the capricious boy king orders Ned's execution rather than allow him to join the Night's Watch as planned. In response, the northern and river lords at Robb's war council in Riverrun proclaim him King in the North, seceding from the realm of the Iron Throne.

Benjen has gone missing beyond the Wall, and Jon Snow, after briefly deserting the Watch to join his half-brother's army, rides as part of the great ranging meant to determine his fate and the threats of the Others and wildlings.

A Clash of Kings

Robb Stark invades the westerlands, by Tomasz Jedruszek © Fantasy Flight Games

Robb, King in the North and King of the Trident, invades the westerlands, winning a string of victories against Lannister bannermen. In an effort to gain allies, he sends his father's ward, Theon Greyjoy, and his mother, Catelyn, as envoys to Balon Greyjoy and Renly Baratheon, respectively. However, Theon joins his family, House Greyjoy, in attacking the north, while Catelyn's diplomatic progress is shattered when Renly is killed by Melisandre's shadow assassin. Renly's sworn shield, Brienne of Tarth, takes up service with Catelyn. While Riverrun celebrates the Battle of the Fords, Robb is reported to have taken the Crag.

Arya journeys north with Yoren and his new recruits for the Night's Watch, including King Robert's bastard Gendry, but their band is attacked by westermen at a Gods Eye town and she is eventually taken into captivity by the Mountain's men. At Harrenhal, she is witness to myriad atrocities, but remains strong, orchestrating several deaths of her tormentors via the assassin Jaqen H'ghar. During the fall of Harrenhal to Roose Bolton, Arya helps free a band of northern prisoners. The incognito Arya is named Roose's cupbearer, but she does not trust her father's bannerman and flees the castle when Roose intends to give it to Vargo Hoat. Meanwhile, Sansa remains in custody at the Red Keep, betrothed to King Joffrey. She suffers abuse at his hands, but makes tenuous relationships with Sandor Clegane, Dontos Hollard, and Tyrion Lannister, the acting Hand of the King.

At Winterfell, Bran enjoys titular reign and hosts two Frey wards, Big Walder and Little Walder. Maester Luwin and Ser Rodrik Cassel deal with such issues as the harvest feast, the Hornwood inheritance, and the atrocities of Ramsay Snow, the Bastard of Bolton. With the guidance of the Reed children, Jojen and Meera, Bran hones his gift for greensight and skinchanging. When Rodrik leads six hundred Winterfell men, among others, to battle the ironborn under Dagmer Cleftjaw, Theon Greyjoy seizes Winterfell. On his return to Winterfell, Rodrik and his men mean to liberate the castle from Theon, but are betrayed and routed by Ramsay. Luwin is mortally wounded by Ramsay's men, and Theon is captured during the sack of Winterfell. Bran and Rickon, thought to have been killed by Theon, leave the crypts of Winterfell after the Boltons depart. The Stark boys split up and flee towards remote northern havens.

Benjen remains lost beyond the Wall. Jon Snow joins Qhorin Halfhand on a scouting mission in the Skirling Pass, during which he refuses an order to execute a spearwife named Ygritte. On their return to Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, the pair encounter a wildling band led by Rattleshirt. Jon, on orders from Qhorin, joins the wildlings as a double agent, and is forced to kill the Halfhand to prove his earnestness. Ygritte, now with Rattleshirt, vouches for Jon.

A Storm of Swords

The Freys murder Robb Stark and sew his wolf's head on his body, by Zippo514 ©)

With Stannis Baratheon's power broken by the Battle of the Blackwater and the Tyrells and Martells allied with the Lannisters, the Stark-Tully forces stand alone against their foes in the south, and the Greyjoys threaten the north. Ramsay blames the slaughter at Winterfell on Theon and his ironborn.

Having been informed of Bran's and Rickon's alleged deaths, Catelyn frees Jaime Lannister in a desperate attempt to trade him for her daughters, sending Brienne to accompany him to King's Landing. Catelyn is put under house arrest at Riverrun. Meanwhile, Robb returns from his westerlands campaign having wed Jeyne Westerling, the daughter of a minor Lannister bannerman. Jeyne had treated Robb's wounds after the storming of the Crag, and the youths slept together after Robb was informed of the deaths of his brothers. This marriage breaks the Starks' alliance with the furious Freys, however. With Jaime gone from Riverrun, the vengeful Rickard Karstark, Lord of Karhold, murders two prisoners, Willem Lannister and Tion Frey. Rickard is in turn executed for treason by Robb, alienating House Karstark.

Lord Walder Frey accepts Robb's offer to forgive his breach of marriage contract by having Robb's uncle, Edmure Tully, now Lord of Riverrun, stand in the king's place. Robb and Catelyn ride with thirty-five hundred veterans to attend the wedding at the Twins. At Hag's Mire Robb designates his heir (believed to be Jon Snow, in spite of the Night's Watch vows) and resolves to march north to reclaim his homeland from the Greyjoys. Meanwhile, Arya traverses the riverlands, unknowingly entering the mind of her lost direwolf, Nymeria, and killing several sellswords of the Brave Companions chasing her from Harrenhal. She joins with the brotherhood without banners, whose founding members included the Winterfell guards Alyn and Harwin. However, Arya is abducted by the Hound, Sandor Clegane, who hopes to ransom her at Edmure's wedding.

In preparation for the siege of Moat Cailin, Robb's host reconvenes with Lord Roose Bolton's thirty-five hundred men at the Twins. Lord Tywin Lannister, the Hand of the King to Joffrey I Baratheon, has been conspiring with Roose and Walder, however. Despite guest right, Robb, Catelyn, and many of their bannermen are murdered or taken captive in the Red Wedding.

Bran journeys north with Hodor, Jojen and Meera Reed, and his direwolf Summer. They pass through the Wall at the Nightfort with the aid of Samwell Tarly and Coldhands.

Further north, Jon Snow ingratiates himself with the free folk, beginning a romance with Ygritte and befriending Mance Rayder, the King-beyond-the-Wall, and other wildling leaders. He scales the Wall with Styr, the Magnar of Thenn, and escapes from Queenscrown to Castle Black in time to help prepare for the assault of the wildlings. Ygritte and Styr are killed during the fighting, and command over the black brothers falls to Jon after the death of Donal Noye. Jon successfully defends the Wall during the early stages of the battle beneath the Wall, until Ser Alliser Thorne and Lord Janos Slynt arrive and imprison him for allegedly betraying his vows. They send him to assassinate Mance under a flag of parley, but Stannis Baratheon's arrival breaks the wildling host before the deed is carried out. After the battle, Stannis offers to legitimize the youth as Jon Stark, Lord of Winterfell. Jon decides to decline the offer, however, and is then elected Lord Commander of the Night's Watch thanks to the maneuverings of his friend, Samwell Tarly.

Sansa Stark by ildraws

The Hound brings Arya toward the Eyrie in an attempt to ransom her to her aunt, Lady Lysa Arryn, but they are halted by snow in the Mountains of the Moon. They are attacked by the Mountain's men at the crossroads inn and Sandor is stabbed. Arya leaves the Hound to die along the Trident. At Saltpans she uses the iron coin given to her by Jaqen H'ghar to book passage across the narrow sea on the galleas Titan's Daughter.

Sansa's engagement to King Joffrey is ended by his betrothal to Margaery Tyrell. She begins to mingle with the Tyrell women in King's Landing and is nearly betrothed to Willas Tyrell. She is abruptly wed to Tyrion Lannister instead, but they never consummate their match. The pair are blamed for Joffrey's murder at his wedding feast; in truth it was orchestrated by Petyr Baelish and Olenna Tyrell. Petyr smuggles Sansa out of the capital, murdering his pawn and her friend, Dontos Hollard. He brings Sansa to the Fingers, where he marries her aunt, Lysa, and then to the Eyrie. Littlefinger keeps Sansa hidden by presenting her as his natural daughter, Alayne Stone. Lysa observes Petyr kiss Sansa after the girl builds a snow castle of Winterfell. When Lysa drunkenly accuses Sansa of trying to steal her new husband and reveals that she and Petyr had killed her first husband, Lord Jon Arryn, Littlefinger throws Lysa from the Moon Door.

With Bran and Rickon thought dead and Sansa and Arya missing, House Stark is all but extinguished in the eyes of the world. The Iron Throne names Roose Bolton as Warden of the North and legitimizes his son Ramsay, and most rivermen return to the king's peace. Ice, the ancestral Valyrian steel blade of the Starks, has been reforged into two new Lannister blades, Widow's Wail and Oathkeeper. A revived Catelyn Stark takes leadership of the brotherhood and hangs Freys.

A Feast for Crows

The small council of Queen Cersei Lannister, the regent for King Tommen I Baratheon, believes that northmen will accept Bolton control and rule by the Iron Throne once the ironborn are expelled from the north. Ser Brynden Tully continues to fly the Stark banner at Riverrun, but Ser Jaime Lannister peacefully resolves the siege of Riverrun.

Sansa remains in the Vale of Arryn, where she takes on a maternal role for her young cousin, Robert Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie, and she presents herself as Alayne to Nestor Royce and the Lords Declarant. Littlefinger plots to reveal her identity, wed her to Robert's heir, Ser Harrold Hardyng, and use the knights of the Vale to retake the north in her name.

Arya arrives in Braavos, where she takes up training at the House of Black and White to become a Faceless Man.

Soldiers bearing the colors of House Stark have washed up on the shores of the Quiet Isle. According to the Elder Brother, they are buried alongside their enemies. Brienne of Tarth, tasked by Jaime with finding Sansa, uses Oathkeeper in her journeys through the crownlands and riverlands. She is captured by the brotherhood, however, and brought to Lady Stoneheart, Catelyn.

A Dance with Dragons

Jeyne Poole posing as Arya Stark, by GibiLynx ©

Lord Commander Jon Snow begins an uneasy alliance with the free folk, executes the recalcitrant Janos Slynt, and tactfully deals with the imperious Stannis Baratheon. While again refusing the king's offer to be legitimized and wed the "wildling princess", Val, Jon offers Stannis advice that helps him in his campaign against the Boltons and Greyjoys.

At Winterfell, Sansa's friend Jeyne Poole is wed to Ramsay Bolton in the guise of "Arya Stark" in an effort to legitimize Bolton overlordship, with Ramsay claiming to be Lord of Winterfell. A disguised Mance Rayder, sent by Jon Snow, recruits a broken-willed Theon Greyjoy to rescue the girl and deliver her to Stannis. When Jon gives orders to retake Winterfell from Ramsay after receiving an inflammatory letter, the senior officers of the Watch turn on Jon in the mutiny at Castle Black for allying with wildlings and meddling in the affairs of the realm.

Bran arrives at the cave of the three-eyed crow, where he meets the last greenseer and children of the forest. The boy begins perfecting the advanced arts of greensight.

Rickon, Osha, and Shaggydog are said to be on Skagos, where Wyman Manderly, Lord of White Harbor, has requested that Davos Seaworth search for Rickon, so that Stannis can rally the northmen to fight in his name.

House Stark at the end of the third century

The known Starks during the timespan of the events described in A Song of Ice and Fire are:

• {Eddard Stark}, also known as "Ned", middle son of Lord Rickard and Lady Lyarra Stark. Eddard rules as Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North until his execution in King's Landing, several months after taking office as Hand of the King.
  • {Catelyn Tully}, Lord Eddard's wife. She is the mother of Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon. She is killed during the Red Wedding, but is later resurrected by Beric Dondarrion. Now leading the brotherhood without banners and called "Lady Stoneheart".
    • {Robb Stark}, Lord Eddard's eldest trueborn son and heir, also known as "the Young Wolf". He takes his father's position as Lord Stark and is later crowned King in the North and of the Trident by his bannermen, prior to his death in the Red Wedding. His direwolf is named Grey Wind and is killed along with him at the Twins.
      • Jeyne Westerling, Robb's widow and queen.
    • Sansa Stark, Eddard and Catelyn's elder daughter. Her direwolf is named Lady and is killed under Queen Cersei's orders in retribution for Arya's direwolf savaging her son Joffrey. She is currently hiding in the Vale of Arryn as Alayne Stone.
      • Tyrion Lannister, Sansa's estranged husband.
    • Arya Stark, Eddard and Catelyn's younger daughter. She is publicly known to have married Ramsay Bolton, but Ramsay has instead married Jeyne Poole, who was forced to pose as the Stark girl. Arya is instead in Braavos training with the Faceless Men. Her direwolf, Nymeria, leads a great pack roaming the riverlands.
    • Brandon Stark, mostly known as "Bran", Eddard and Catelyn's second son. Bran becomes crippled and learns how to become a warg. He is believed to have been killed by Theon Greyjoy, but is actually beyond the Wall at the cave of the three-eyed crow. His direwolf is named Summer.
    • Rickon Stark, Eddard and Catelyn's youngest child, only three years old when the series begins. He is also believed dead at the hands of Theon, though actually Rickon is in Skagos with Osha. His direwolf is Shaggydog.
    • Jon Snow, Eddard's bastard son by an unspecified mother. Jon was raised at Winterfell alongside his Stark half-siblings. Having joined the Night's Watch, he has risen to the rank of Lord Commander. His direwolf is Ghost. Ambushed and stabbed by his own men.
• Benjen Stark, the youngest son of Lord Rickard and Lady Lyarra, the last surviving sibling of Ned. He is First Ranger of the Night's Watch and brings Jon Snow to the Wall when he wants to join the order. Benjen is missing in the lands beyond the Wall.

Household

• Theon Greyjoy, dubbed "Theon Turncloak" by northmen, Lord Eddard's ward and hostage. Fought with Robb Stark in the War of the Five Kings, betrayed him for his own House, House Greyjoy, seized Winterfell and proclaimed himself Prince of Winterfell until betrayed by Ramsay Bolton. Imprisoned, tortured and renamed "Reek". Fled with Jeyne Poole. Now a prisoner of Stannis Baratheon.
• Brienne, the Maid of Tarth, sworn sword to Lady Catelyn. Sent to rescue Sansa and Arya, and keeping to that quest even after Catelyn's death and the seeming destruction of House Stark.
• Walder Frey, called "Big Walder", a ward of Lady Catelyn, eight years of age. Now a squire of Ramsay Bolton.
• {Walder Frey}, called "Little Walder", a ward of Lady Catelyn, eight years of age. Made a squire of Ramsay Bolton. Killed at Winterfell.
• Maester {Luwin}, counselor, healer and tutor. Perished to wounds sustained during the sack of Winterfell.
• {Vayon Poole}, steward of Winterfell. Killed during the purge of the Stark household in the Red Keep.
  • Jeyne Poole, his daughter. Forced to impersonate Arya Stark and marry Ramsay Bolton. Escaped Winterfell with Theon Greyjoy. Now in custody of Stannis Baratheon.
• Ser {Rodrik Cassel}, master-at-arms and castellan of Winterfell. Killed by Ramsay Snow during the battle at Winterfell.
  • Beth Cassel, his daughter. Imprisoned at the Dreadfort.
• {Jory Cassel}, captain of Lord Eddard's guards. Killed by Ser Jaime Lannister's men.
  • {Alyn}, guardsman, founding member of the brotherhood without banners. Now dead.
  • {Tomard}, guardsman. Called Fat Tom. Killed by gold cloaks during the arrest of Ned Stark.
    • TomToo, his son. Fate unknown.
  • {Wyl} and {Heward}, guardsmen. Killed by Jaime Lannister's men.
  • {Desmond}, guardsman. Killed during the arrest of Ned Stark.
  • {Cayn}, guardsman. Killed by Sandor Clegane during the arrest of Ned Stark.
    • Calon, his son. Fate unknown.
  • {Porther}, guardsman. Killed during the purge of the Stark household in the Red Keep.
  • {Varly}, guardsman. Killed by Janos Slynt during the arrest of Ned Stark.
• Hallis Mollen, Jory's successor as captain of guards. Fate unknown since being sent escorting Lord Eddard's bones to Winterfell.
  • Quent, Jacks and Shadd, guardsmen. Fate unknown since being sent escorting Lord Eddard's bones to Winterfell.
  • {Alebelly}, a guardsman. Killed during the capture of Winterfell.
  • {Hayhead}, {Skittrick}, {Wayn}, guardsmen. Fate unknown. Likely killed during the sack of Winterfell.
  • {Poxy Tym}, a guardsman. Killed during the sack of Winterfell.
• {Hullen}, master of horse. Killed during the purge of the Stark household in the Red Keep.
  • Harwin, his son, a guardsman. Founding member of the brotherhood without banners. Currently with Lady Stoneheart's band.
  • {Joseth}, Hullen's successor as master of horse. Fate unknown. Likely killed during the sack of Winterfell.
    • Bandy and Shyra, his twin daughters, now imprisoned at the Dreadfort.
• Septa {Mordane}, tutor to Lord Eddard's daughters. Killed during the purge of the Stark household in the Red Keep.
• Septon {Chayle}, keeper of Winterfell's sept and library. Drowned as a sacrifice to the Drowned God during the capture of Winterfell.
• {Mikken}, blacksmith and armorer. Killed by Stygg during the capture of Winterfell.
• {Farlen}, kennelmaster of Winterfell. Killed by Theon Greyjoy.
  • Palla, his daughter, a kennelgirl. Imprisoned at the Dreadfort.
• Nan, known as "Old Nan", storyteller and once a wet-nurse. Imprisoned at the Dreadfort, possibly dead.
  • Walder, known as "Hodor", a simpleminded stableboy. Now with Bran Stark beyond the Wall.
• {Gage}, the cook. Fate unknown. Likely killed during the sack of Winterfell.
  • Turnip, his child. Imprisoned at the Dreadfort.
  • Osha, of the free folk, imprisoned and serving as kitchen drudge. Now with Rickon Stark at Skagos.
• {Syrio Forel}, Arya's fencing instructor and former First Sword of Braavos. Presumed killed in King's Landing by Ser Meryn Trant during the purge of the Stark household in the Red Keep.

Historical Members

No precise lineage of House Stark is known before approximately 100 AC, but the individuals listed below are supposed to be in rough chronological order.

Kings of Winter/Kings in the North

The following is a possible chronology of known Kings in the North; no precise lineage is known and some published information may be contradictory.

Antiquity

• Brandon the Builder, founder of House Stark and the first King of Winter. According to legend the builder of Winterfell, the Wall, Storm's End, and the Hightower.
  • Brandon Stark, his son. According to some he was the one who was commissioned to build the Hightower by King Uthor of the High Tower instead of his father.
• Brandon Stark, also known as Brandon the Breaker, who allied with Joramun to defeat the Night's King.

Wolf's Den

• Jon Stark, who built the Wolf's Den after driving raiders—possibly Ibbenese, Valyrians, or early Andals—away from the White Knife.
  • Rickard Stark, also known as the Laughing Wolf, son of Jon, who defeated the Marsh King and extended the Stark kingdom to include the Neck.
• Theon Stark, also known as the Hungry Wolf, who defeated the greatest Andal invader, Argos Sevenstar, conquered the Three Sisters, and attacked the Fingers, possibly beginning the War Across the Water.
• Edrick Stark, also known as Edrick Snowbeard, who ruled for near a century but lost the Wolf's Den to slavers from the Stepstones.
  • Brandon Stark, also known as Ice Eyes, Edrick's great-grandson, who recovered the Wolf's Den from slavers.

Centuries before the Conquest

• Brandon Stark, also known as Brandon the Shipwright, who loved to sail and built up a mighty northern fleet.
  • Brandon Stark, also known as Brandon the Burner, who burned shipyards after the disappearance of his father, Brandon the Shipwright, on the Sunset Sea. The north has since had no strength at sea for centuries.
• Karlon Stark, a younger son of a King of Winter, who would become the founder of House Karstark.
• Harlon Stark, who centuries ago starved out the Dreadfort in a siege lasting two years.
• Torrhen Stark, also known as the King Who Knelt, who bent the knee to Aegon the Conqueror, making the north part of the Seven Kingdoms subject to the Iron Throne.

Uncertain era

• Dorren Stark, who reigned when Redwyn fought giants and traded with children of the forest.
• Brandon IX Stark, who destroyed the ships of the Skagosi.
• Rodrik Stark, who won Bear Island from the ironborn and awarded it to House Mormont. This occurred after the death of the Old Kraken, Loron Greyjoy, a High King of the Iron Islands chosen in a kingsmoot. Rodrik's sons and grandsons battled the ironborn over Cape Kraken.
• Benjen Stark, also known as Benjen the Bitter.
• Benjen Stark, also known as Benjen the Sweet.
• Eyron Stark
• Edderion Stark, also known as Edderion the Bridegroom.
• Walton Stark, also known as Walton the Moon King.
• Brandon Stark, also known as Brandon the Bad.
• Jonos Stark
• Jorah Stark
• Edwyn Stark, also known as Edwyn the Spring King.

Possible members

• Brandon Stark, also known as Brandon the Daughterless.
  • "The rose of Winterfell," his daughter.
    • Lord Stark, her son by Bael the Bard.

Brandon the Daughterless, his daughter, and his grandson are mentioned in the wildling legend of Bael the Bard. However, the old chronicles of Winterfell say nothing of Bael, and his entire existence, and thus that of the Starks mentioned in the story, is doubted by some, like Maester Yandel. Jon Snow, upon hearing the story from Ygritte, thinks Bael to be a liar and calls the story false, having never heard of it before.

Crypts

Traveling in the crypt of Winterfell in Chapter 66 of A Game of Thrones, Bran Stark sees the statues of Kings Jon, Rickard, Theon, Brandon the Shipwright, Brandon the Burner, Rodrik, and Torrhen. It is unconfirmed if this is a chronological listing.

While leaving the crypt in Chapter 69 of A Clash of Kings, Bran sees the statues of Kings Torrhen, Edwyn, Theon, Brandon the Burner, Brandon the Shipwright, Jorah, Jonos, Brandon the Bad, Walton, Edderion, Eyron, Benjen the Sweet, Benjen the Bitter, and Edrick. It is unconfirmed if this is a reverse chronological listing.

In Chapter 41 of A Dance with Dragons, Theon Greyjoy recalls the names of some statues in the crypt, mentioning Kings Edrick, Brandon the Shipwright, and Theon.

Lords Commander of the Night's Watch

• The Night's King, the thirteenth Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Although his name has been forgotten, some say he was the brother of the King in the North.
• The four youngest Lords Commander, including Osric Stark

Wardens of the North

• Lord Torrhen Stark, the King Who Knelt.
  • Torrhen's sons.
  • Torrhen's daughter, who married Ronnel Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie.
  • Brandon Snow, Torrhen's bastard brother.
  • Lord Brandon Stark, called Brandon the Boisterous, Torrhen's successor.
• Lord Roderick Stark, he was succeeded by Brandon the Boastful.
• Lord Brandon Stark, called Brandon the Boastful. He attended the Golden Wedding.
  • Lord Walton Stark, Brandon's elder son. Killed by giants.
  • Lord Alaric Stark, Brandon's younger son. Married a Mormont from Bear Island and hosted Jaehaerys I Targaryen and Alysanne Targaryen at Winterfell.
    • Their two sons.
    • Alarra Stark, Alaric's daughter.
    • Lord Edric Stark, Alaric's grandson.
• Lord Ellard Stark, supported Laenor Velaryon's claim at the Great Council of 101 AC.
• Lord Benjen Stark, married to Lady Lysa Locke.
  • Lord Rickon Stark, married to Lady Gilliane Glover.
    • Lord Cregan Stark, known as the Old Man of the North.
    • A younger son.
    • Sara Snow (according to Mushroom)
  • Bennard Stark, married to Margaret Karstark.
    • Benjen Stark.
    • Brandon Stark.
    • Elric Stark.

Descendants of Cregan

• Lord Cregan Stark.
• Lady Arra Norrey, Cregan's first wife.
  • Rickon Stark, married to Jeyne Manderly.
    • Sansa Stark, married to Lord Jonnel Stark.
    • Serena Stark, married first to Lord Jon Umber and then her half-uncle Edric Stark.
• Lady Alysanne Blackwood, also known as Black Aly, Cregan's second wife.
  • Sarra Stark.
  • Alys Stark.
  • Raya Stark.
  • Myriah Stark.
• Lady Lynara Stark, Cregan's third wife.
  • Lord Jonnel Stark, known as One-Eye, married first to his half-niece Lady Sansa Stark and second to Lady Robyn Ryswell.
  • Edric Stark, married to Serena Stark.
    • Cregard Stark and Torrhen Stark, twin sons.
    • Arrana Stark, married to Lord Osric Umber.
    • Argelle Stark, married to Lord Robard Cerwyn.
  • Lyanna Stark.
  • Lord Barthogan Stark, known as Barth Blacksword.
  • Lord Brandon Stark, married to Lady Alys Karstark.
    • Lord Rodwell Stark, married to Lady Myriame Manderly.
    • Lord Beron Stark, married to Lady Lorra Royce.
    • Arsa Stark.
    • Lonnel Snow, known as Lonny, bastard son by Wylla Fenn.

Descendants of Beron

• Lord Beron Stark, married to Lady Lorra Royce.
  • Lord Donnor Stark, Beron's first child and first son.
  • Lord Willam Stark, Beron's second child and second son.
    • Lady Lyanne Glover, Willam's first wife.
      • Brandon Stark, Willam's son.
    • Lady Melantha Blackwood, Willam's second wife.
      • Lord Edwyle Stark, married to Lady Marna Locke.
        • Lord Rickard Stark, married to Lady Lyarra Stark.
      • Jocelyn Stark, married to Benedict Royce.
  • Artos Stark, Beron's third child and third son. Known as the Implacable, married to Lysara Karstark.
    • Brandon Stark, twin to Benjen.
      • Issue.
    • Benjen Stark, twin to Brandon.
      • Issue.
  • Berena Stark, Beron's fourth child and first daughter.
  • Alysanne Stark, Beron's fifth child and second daughter.
  • Errold Stark, Beron's sixth child and fourth son.
  • Rodrik Stark, Beron's seventh child and fifth son. Known as the Wandering Wolf, married to Arya Flint.
    • Branda Stark, married to Ser Harrold Rogers.
    • Lyarra Stark, married to Lord Rickard Stark.

Descendants of Rickard

• Lord Rickard Stark. Executed by King Aerys II Targaryen before the onset of Robert's Rebellion.
• Lady Lyarra Stark.
  • Brandon Stark, first born son of Lord Rickard and Lady Lyarra Stark. Executed by King Aerys II Targaryen before the onset of Robert's Rebellion.
  • Lord Eddard Stark, second son of Rickard and Lyarra.
  • Lyanna Stark, the only daughter of Rickard and Lyarra, and their third child. Died shortly after the end of Robert's Rebellion.
  • Benjen Stark, third son of Rickard and Lyarra, and their fourth child.

Family tree

The following is House Stark's genealogy over the last three centuries. Currently unknown are:

• The relation between King/Lord Torrhen Stark and his successor Lord Brandon "the Boisterous" Stark.
• The relations between Lords Brandon "the Boisterous" Stark, Roderick and Brandon "the Boastful" Stark.
• The relations between Lords Edric, Ellard and Benjen Stark.

Brandon Snow

Torrhen

Unknown wife

Ronnel Arryn

Daughter

Sons

Brandon the Boisterous

Unknown wife

Roderick

Brandon the Boastful

Unknown wife

Son(s)

Younger son

Walton

Alaric

Lady Mormont

Two sons

Alarra

Edric

Ellard

Benjen

Lysa Locke

Unknown woman

Rickon

Gilliane Glover

Bennard

Margaret Karstark

Younger son

Benjen

Brandon

Elric

Sara Snow

Alysanne Blackwood

Arra Norrey

Cregan

Lynara Stark

Sarra

Alys

Raya

Myriah

Rickon

Jeyne Manderly

Robyn Ryswell

Jonnel

Lyanna

Barthogan

Alys Karstark

Brandon

Wylla Fenn

Sansa

Lonnel Snow

Jon Umber

Serena

Edric

Cregard

Torrhen

Arrana

Osric Umber

Argelle

Robard Cerwyn

Myriame Manderly

Rodwell

Beron

Lorra Royce

Arsa

Donnor

Lyanne Glover

Willam

Melantha Blackwood

Berena

Artos

Lysara Karstark

Alysanne

Errold

Rodrik

Arya Flint

Brandon

Jocelyn

Benedict Royce

Edwyle

Marna Locke

Brandon

Benjen

Harrold Rogers

Branda

Issue

Issue

Issue

Rickard

Lyarra

Brandon

Catelyn Tully

Eddard

Unknown woman

Lyanna

Benjen

Jeyne Westerling

Robb

Sansa

Tyrion Lannister

Arya

Brandon

Rickon

Jon Snow

Notes:

Sworn Houses

• House Reed of Greywater Watch. Meera and Jojen Reed are with Bran, Summer and Hodor beyond the Wall.
• House Glover of Deepwood Motte. Allied with Stannis Baratheon against House Bolton.
• House Mormont of Bear Island. Allied with Stannis Baratheon against House Bolton.
• House Umber of Last Hearth. Allied with Stannis Baratheon against House Bolton.
• House Manderly of White Harbor. Wyman Manderly has sent Davos Seaworth to find his liege lord in Skagos.
• House Flint of the northern mountain clans. Allied with Stannis Baratheon against House Bolton.
• House Wull of the northern mountain clans. Allied with Stannis Baratheon against House Bolton.
• House Norrey of the northern mountain clans. Allied with Stannis Baratheon against House Bolton.
• House Liddle of the northern mountain clans. Allied with Stannis Baratheon against House Bolton.
• House Tully of Riverrun. Swears allegiance when Robb is named King in the North and of the Trident. Now stripped of lands and titles by the Iron Throne.
• House Westerling of the Crag. Joins Robb's cause after he marries Jeyne Westerling. Now accepted back into the king's peace.

Quotes

The winters are hard, but the Starks will endure. We always have.

—Eddard Stark to Robert Baratheon

I should have thought that heat ill suits you Starks. Here in the south, they say you are all made of ice, and melt when you ride below the Neck.

—Petyr Baelish to Eddard Stark

Tyrion: You Starks are hard to kill.
Robb: You Lannisters had best remember that.

—Robb Stark to Tyrion Lannister

As the Starks are wont to remind us, winter is coming.

—Roose Bolton to one of his men

Liddle: When there was a Stark in Winterfell, a maiden girl could walk down the kingsroad in her name-day gown and still go unmolested, and travelers could find fire, bread, and salt at many an inn and holdfast. But the nights are colder now, and doors are closed ... It was different when there was a Stark in Winterfell. But the old wolf's dead and young one's gone south to play the game of thrones, and all that's left us is the ghosts.
Jojen: The wolves will come again.

—a Liddle and Jojen Reed

Bear Island knows no king but the King in the North, whose name is STARK.

—Lyanna Mormont to Stannis Baratheon

Maester Theomore, tell them! A thousand years before the Conquest, a promise was made, and oaths were sworn in the Wolf's Den before the old gods and the new. When we were sore beset and friendless, hounded from our homes and in peril of our lives, the wolves took us in and nourished us and protected us against our enemies. The city is built upon the land they gave us. In return we swore that we should always be their men. Stark men!

—Wylla Manderly to the Merman's Court

Behind the Scenes

The Starks may have been inspired by the House of York.

According to David J. Peterson, the official language creator for the television adaptations of Martin's works, the High Valyrian translation for the Starks's words "Winter Is Coming" is "Sōnar amāzis".