House Dustin

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House Dustin of Barrowton
House Dustin.svg
Coat of arms Two rusted longaxes with black shafts crossed, a black crown between their points, on yellow
(Or, between two longaxes saltirewise rusted proper shafted sable a crown of the last)
Seat Barrow Hall[1]
Head Lady Barbrey Dustin[1]
Region The north[2]
Title Lord of Barrowton[1]
Overlords

House Dustin of Barrowton is a noble house from the north, one of the major families sworn to House Stark.[3] Their castle is Barrow Hall in Barrowton, a prominent town in the north. The current head of the house is Lady Barbrey Dustin, a Ryswell by birth.[1]

Their arms portray two rusted longaxes with black shafts crossed, a black crown between their points, on yellow.[4] The rusted crown on their arms derives from their claim of descent from the First King and the Barrow Kings that followed him.[2]

History

Origins

The Dustins claim descent from the First King of the First Men and the Barrow Kings of the barrowlands who ruled after him,[2] styling themselves as Kings of the First Men. When the last Barrow King submitted to House Stark of Winterfell at the end of the Thousand Years War, the King of Winter took his daughter for wife.[5] House Dustin's claims of shared blood and descent from the Barrow Kings is regarded as truth.[2]

House Dustin honors their descent from the Barrow Kings with the inclusion of a rusted crown in their sigil. With the fall of the last Barrow Kings, rule of the barrowlands fell to House Dustin, the family serving House Stark as loyal bannermen. A result of the shrewd stewardship of the Dustins, the settlement of Barrowton rose from a wide and empty plain and grew into a prosperous town.[2]

Targaryen dynasty

During his progresses across the realm, King Aegon I Targaryen held court at Barrowton twice during his reign.[6] Denys Snow, the Bastard of Barrowton, joined Prince Aegon the Uncrowned against his uncle King Maegor I Targaryen during the Battle Beneath the Gods Eye, though he perished in the conflict.[7]

When King Jaehaerys I and Queen Alysanne Targaryen visited Barrowton on their royal progress in the north, Lord Dustin showed them the Great Barrow of the First King and staged a small tourney in their honor, though it was a poor thing compared to southron tourneys. While at Barrowton, Queen Alysanne held a woman's court.[8]

House Dustin supported Rhaenys Targaryen in the Great Council of 101 AC at Harrenhal.[9][10] When the Dance of the Dragons broke out, while Lord Cregan Stark gathered the north's bannermen, Lord Roderick Dustin led two thousand northern soldiers, known as the Winter Wolves, to fight for Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen and her blacks.[9][11] Lord Dustin led his northmen in several victories against King Aegon II Targaryen's greens, most notably against the westermen in the Battle by the Lakeshore and in the Butcher's Ball, where Lord Dustin led the charge in the battle that claimed the life of Ser Criston Cole.[9] In the First Battle of Tumbleton, Lord Roderick led the remnants of his Winter Wolves against the Hightower host. In the ensuring clash, Dustin was mortally wounded by Ser Bryndon Hightower, but the Lord of Barrowton succeeded in slaying both Ser Bryndon and Lord Ormund Hightower before succumbing to his wounds.[9][11]

In 133 AC, the Winter Fever descended on Barrowton.[12] The following year, as winter proved cruel, Lord Dustin closed his gates as hundreds of starving villagers gathered beneath his walls.[13]

Recent history

House Dustin fought for the House Targaryen during the War of the Ninepenny Kings. Brandon Stark, heir to Lord Rickard Stark, was fostered at Barrowton by old Lord Dustin, though he spent most of his time in the Rills. Though Lord Rodrik Ryswell sought to wed his daughter Barbrey to Brandon, she would end up marrying Lord Willam Dustin, the son of the old Lord of Barrowton.[14]

During Robert's Rebellion six months later, Lord Willam followed his liege Lord Eddard Stark against King Aerys II Targaryen.[15][16] Lord Dustin was one of the six companions that fought alongside Lord Eddard at the tower of joy against the remaining members of the Mad King's Kingsguard, where he was slain.[15] His bones were buried beneath the red mountains of Dorne. While Lord Eddard returned Willam's stead, he did not return his bones. Taking it as a slight, Lady Dustin held a grudge on the Starks and grew bitter with her overlords.[17]

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

While dreaming of his companions at the Tower of Joy, Lord Eddard Stark remembers Lord Willam Dustin riding a great red stallion.[15]

When Robb Stark calls his banners to Winterfell, Lady Barbrey Dustin sends the fewest men she can.[17]

A Storm of Swords

Men in service to House Dustin perished during the Red Wedding.[14] Maester Aemon sends a raven to Barrowton in a plea for help from the Dustins to defend Castle Black from wildlings.[18]

A Dance with Dragons

House Dustin and Ryswell are among the first houses in the north to recognize House Bolton as their new Warden of the North, due to Lord Roose Bolton's marriage to Bethany Ryswell.[19] The Ryswells and Dustins surprise the ironborn on the Fever River, putting their longships to torch.[20] Ramsay Bolton and Hother Umber later ride south to join the Dustin and Ryswell forces, preparing an attack on Moat Cailin, held by the ironborn.[20] After a brief siege, the fort is taken, allowing Lord Bolton and his host to return north.[21]

Lady Barbrey Dustin hosts the Boltons at Barrowton, but forbids Ramsay Bolton from Barrow Hall as she blames him for the death of her nephew, Domeric Bolton. Instead, Ramsay stays at Goldgrass, the keep of Lady Dustin's vassal Harwood Stout.[1] After arriving at Winterfell, during the inquiries into the murder of Little Walder Frey, Lady Barbrey reminds Ser Aenys Frey that House Dustin lost men during the Red Wedding and that "the North remembers" the crimes committed by House Frey against them.[14]

House Dustin at the end of the third century

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

Household

Historical Members

Houses sworn to Barrowton

House Stout House Stout of Goldgrass.[22]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 32, Reek III.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 The World of Ice & Fire, The North.
  3. The World of Ice & Fire, The North: The Kings of Winter.
  4. The Citadel. Heraldry: the North
  5. The World of Ice & Fire, The North: The Kings of Winter.
  6. Fire & Blood, Three Heads Had the Dragon - Governance Under King Aegon I.
  7. 7.0 7.1 The Sons of the Dragon.
  8. Fire & Blood, Jaehaerys and Alysanne - Their Triumphs and Tragedies.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 The Princess and the Queen.
  10. Fire & Blood, Heirs of the Dragon - A Question of Succession.
  11. 11.0 11.1 Fire & Blood, The Dying of the Dragons, Rhaenyra Triumphant.
  12. Fire & Blood, Under the Regents - War and Peace and Cattle Shows.
  13. Fire & Blood, The Lysene Spring and the End of Regency.
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 46, A Ghost in Winterfell.
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 39, Eddard X.
  16. A Storm of Swords, Chapter 51, Catelyn VII.
  17. 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 41, The Turncloak.
  18. A Storm of Swords, Chapter 55, Jon VII.
  19. A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 17, Jon IV.
  20. 20.0 20.1 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 15, Davos II.
  21. A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 20, Reek II.
  22. A Feast for Crows, Appendix.