Coming of the Andals

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Andal Invasion
Andals invade.png
The Andals invade the stormlands.
Art by Jordi Gonzales in The World of Ice and Fire

Location Westeros
Result Andals occupy all land south of the Neck.
First Men hold on to the North
Ending of the Pact
Disappearance of the children of the forest
Belligerents
AndalsFirst Men
crannogmen
children of the forest
Notable commanders
Argos Sevenstar
Ser Gerold Grafton
Ser Artys Arryn
Vorian Vypren
Armistead Vance
Erreg
Morgan Martell
King Theon Stark
King Yorwyck VI Royce
King Robar II Royce
King Tristifer IV Mudd
King Tristifer V Mudd

The Andal invasion was a migration of the Andals from Essos to Westeros. The time when this occurred is disputed; some sources indicate six thousand years ago,[1] the True History states it was four thousand years ago, and some maesters claim it was two thousand years ago.[2] The migration was often violent. Many of the petty kingdoms of the First Men were destroyed and the children of the forest were pushed back to the North. However, sometimes the takeover was more peaceful with intermarriage between Andals and First Men.

Invasion

The Andals were the first new invaders after the First Men had made their Pact with the children of the forest and lived in harmony with them for four thousand years. The Andals came from the hills of Andalos in Essos. They were tall and fair-haired warriors who carried steel weapons and the seven-pointed star of their gods painted on their bodies.[3][4] Their religion, the Faith of the Seven, teaches that the Seven promised Hugor of the Hill and his Andals kingdoms in a foreign land, which led to them sailing to Westeros. Maesters instead believe that the Andals traveled west under pressure from the expanding Freehold of Valyria. The Andals wielded iron in contrast to the bronze of the First Men, who worshipped the old gods. The First Men were gradually defeated in generational wars over hundreds of years.[5]

Vale

The Fingers in what is now the Vale of Arryn were where the Andals first landed to wrest from the First Men.[6] The First Men of the Vale were ruled by numerous petty kings, some of whom allied with the Andals instead of resisting them. The Shells and Brightstones were betrayed by Andal allies, and the Andal Corbrays claimed the Fingers. The Shetts of Gulltown allied with the Andal Graftons against the Royces, but their conflict ended with Gulltown controlled by the Andals.

King Yorwyck VI Royce and his heirs led much of the resistance of the First Men to the Andals. King Robar II Royce gained the support of the Redforts, Hunters, Belmores, Coldwaters, and Upcliffs. These united First Men were able to successively defeat several Andal warlords, including the Corbrays, Graftons, and the Hammer of the Hills. However, Robar's army was routed in the Battle of the Seven Stars, and control of the Vale was claimed by the Andals of House Arryn.[7] Those First Men who did not submit to the Arryns fled into the Mountains of the Moon and became the mountain clans.[5]

Riverlands

After conquering the Vale, the Andal warlords continued west through the Bloody Gate or sailed up the Trident into the riverlands, where they established their own small kingdoms. Tales from the era include the Fall of Maidenpool, the Widow's Ford, the White Wood, High Heart, and the Battle of Bitter River. The last of the First Men river kings, the Mudds, were brought down by an alliance of petty Andal kings. To avoid being slaughtered, many of the First Men houses submitted and intermarried with the Andals. After centuries of infighting between the Andal kings, House Justman was the first house to regain control over the riverlands.[8]

During their conquest the Andals burned out all the weirwood groves and slew the children of the forest when they found them,[4] believing them abominations, although True History states the children had already fled the riverlands before the Andals invaded.[8]

Stormlands

Andal Invasion.jpg

Shortly after the Andals began invading the Vale, they also began sailing to Blackwater Bay and the stormlands. The Andal Togarion Bar Emmon allied with the First Men of House Massey and established Andal control over Massey's Hook. The Storm Kings on House Durrandon won at least six battles against the Andals, including the defeat of the Holy Brotherhood of the Andals in the great Battle of Bronzegate, but the Andals continued to invade, conquering Tarth and Estermont. When the Andals threatened to conquer the rainwood, King Baldric the Cunning set some Andal warlords against each other. King Durran XXI allied with the children of the forest, and this Weirwood Alliance achieved victories over Andals at Black Bog, the Misty Wood, and the Howling Hill. King Cleoden I also allied with three Dornish kings to defeat the Andal Drox the Corpsemaker.[9]

The Durrandons and Andals came to an accord when the Andals failed in a seventh attempt to conquer the great castle of Storm's End. The Andals instead intermarried with the First Men storm lords; King Maldon IV and his son, Durran XXIV, married Andal maidens. The Andals swore to serve the Storm Kings, while King Ormund III converted to the Faith.[9]

Westerlands

The Andals began to invade the westerlands after they conquered the Vale and the riverlands. Tybolt Lannister, the King of the Rock, defeated the first Andal warlord, and the next few attacks were also successfully defended by House Lannister.[10]

As the Andals continued to march west, however, Kings Tyrion III and Gerold II arranged marriages between their bannermen and the most powerful of the warlords. The children of the Andals were brought to Casterly Rock to serve as wards but also hostages. After the death of King Gerold III, his daughter's husband, the Andal Ser Joffrey Lydden, took the Lannister name. Other houses formed by the intermarriages included Houses Brax, Drox, Jast, Kyndall, Lefford, Marbrand, Parren, Sarsfield, and Serrett. In contrast to most native kings, the support of the Andals allowed the Kings of the Rock to expand their power.[10]

The Reach

The Andals traveled to the Reach after the invasions of the Vale, the riverlands, and the stormlands, as they were prevented from sailing there by the fleets of House Hightower of Oldtown and Redwyne of the Arbor. In the meantime, the Gardener kings of Highgarden prepared the defense of the Kingdom of the Reach.[11]

When the disunited Andals eventually reached the realm of the Gardeners generations later, however, they were welcomed by the Three Sage Kings, Garth IX, Merle I, and Gwayne V. In order to integrate the newcomers, the Gardeners took Andal brides, accepted Andal knights into their service, granted lands to the most powerful Andal petty kings, and converted from worship of the old gods to the Faith. Later Andal warlords were then repelled by the alliance of the Gardeners and the earlier Andals. Families formed by the intermarriage of First Men and Andal nobles included Houses Cuy, Graceford, Leygood, Orme, Roxton, Uffering, and Varner.[11]

Iron Islands

As the Andals invaded and settled in the riverlands, westerlands, and the Reach, they began constructing new settlements and stout castles. These stronger defenses, combined with the Andals' sailing ability, weakened the grip of the ironborn on the Sunset Sea. The Andals then began to invade the Iron Islands, often with the support of rival ironborn lords.[12]

King Rognar II Greyiron was defeated by an alliance of Andals with Houses Orkwood, Drumm, Hoare, and Greyjoy. According to legend, Harras Hoare was chosen as king through the finger dance, but Archmaester Haereg states Harras became King of the Iron Islands by marrying the daughter of an Andal warlord. The Hoare dynasty were often denigrated by the ironborn, especially by the drowned men, for marrying and allying with Andals and tolerating the Faith.[12] The new religion never took hold in the Iron Islands, however, and most families of Andal origin eventually converted to the Drowned God.[5]

Dorne

The influence of the Andals was less in Dorne than in the other southern kingdoms of Westeros. Most Andals focused on the nearer lands on the narrow sea, rather than the Dornish sands. Some, such as the Ullers, Qorgyles, and Vaiths, adventured into more inhospitable regions of Dorne. The Allyrions, Jordaynes, and Santagars also established their own realms. The Martells defeated two First Men houses, the Wades and Shells, claiming territory near the mouth of the Greenblood.[13]

The North

The Andals attacked the eastern shores of the North much as they were the lands of the narrow sea, but they were aggressively met by the Kings of Winter, House Stark of Winterfell, and their First Men bannermen. The Hungry Wolf, King Theon Stark, was supported by House Bolton when the Andal warlord Argos Sevenstar was slain in the Battle of the Weeping Water. Theon then sailed east, raided Andalos, and displayed the heads of his Andal victims along the shore of the North.[14]

After the conquest of the Trident and the riverlands, the Andals began to attack the North from its south over land. However, every attack was thrown back by the crannogmen of the Neck or the strong fortifications of Moat Cailin; it is unknown how many Andal armies failed to capture the ancient ruins.[4][5] Eventually, the Andals relented and the North was allowed to remain in peace,[4] although over succeeding millennia Andal blood entered the North through dynastic marriages.

Consequences

The Andals were a conquering people, but they were greatly outnumbered by the First Men. In order to consolidate their control, the Andal warlords and kings often married the wives and daughters of the defeated First Men kings. Although most of the First Men eventually converted to the Faith of the Seven, godswoods with heart trees were retained in many castles to prevent religious wars.[5] An exception to the spread of the Faith is the Iron Islands, where the native worship of the Drowned God was adopted by the invading Andals.

The Andals introduced writing, as before that time the First Men only used runes for carving on stone. Everything since written about the Age of Heroes, the Dawn Age, and the Long Night originates from stories written down by septons. They also introduced weapons of iron, the use of horses in warfare, and the concept of chivalry.

One of the major, if largely forgotten, consequences of the invasions is the ending of the Pact;[4] the children of the forest abandoned Westeros and slowly disappeared over succeeding generations. During and following the Andal invasions, six Andal-controlled southron kingdoms of Westeros were consolidated: the realms of the King of Mountain and Vale, the King of the Rock, the King of the Reach, the King of the Iron Islands, the King of the Trident, and the Storm King. At this time Dorne was left as a confederation of bickering, feuding states of First Men and Andal origin, and the North remained under control of the First Men King in the North.[15]

See Also

References and Notes

  1. A Game of Thrones RPG and Resource Book, Guardians of Order
  2. A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 48, Jaime I.
  3. A Game of Thrones, Chapter 40, Catelyn VII.
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 66, Bran VII.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 The World of Ice & Fire, The Arrival of the Andals.
  6. A Storm of Swords, Chapter 68, Sansa VI.
  7. The World of Ice & Fire, The Vale.
  8. 8.0 8.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Riverlands.
  9. 9.0 9.1 The World of Ice & Fire, Andals in the Stormlands.
  10. 10.0 10.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Westerlands.
  11. 11.0 11.1 The World of Ice & Fire, Andals in the Reach.
  12. 12.0 12.1 The World of Ice & Fire, The Iron Kings.
  13. The World of Ice & Fire, The Andals Arrive.
  14. The World of Ice & Fire, The Kings of Winter.
  15. A Song of Ice and Fire Campaign Guide