House Mormont

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House Mormont of Bear Island
House Mormont.PNG
Here We Stand
Coat of arms A black bear in a green wood
(wood vert, a bear sable)
Seat Mormont Keep
Head Maege Mormont
Region North
Title Lord of Bear Island
Heir Alysane Mormont
Overlords
Ancestral weapon Longclaw (formerly; now gifted to Jon Snow)

House Mormont of Bear Island is an old, proud, and honorable house of the north,[1] one of the principal families sworn to House Stark.[2] Their seat is at Bear Island, located in the Bay of Ice far to the north-west of Winterfell. Their blazon is a black bear over a green wood[3][4] and their motto is "Here We Stand".[5]

House Mormont is one of the few houses to have an ancestral weapon of Valyrian steel: a bastard sword called Longclaw. However, due to Bear Island's lack of valuable resources, the Mormonts are a rather poor house. Their hall is made of huge logs, surrounded by an earthen palisade. On the gate is a carving of a woman in a bearskin with a child in one arm suckling at her breast and a battleaxe in the other. Like the other women of Bear Island, the women of House Mormont learn how to defend themselves from ironmen and wildlings.

History

Legend has it that King in the North Rodrik Stark won Bear Island in a wrestling match (presumably from the ironborn king who controlled it at the time) and gave it to the Mormonts.[6]

Lord Jeor Mormont arranged a marriage for his son, Jorah, to a girl from House Glover when Jorah was still relatively young. While the marriage lasted ten years, the couple had no children. Jorah's wife eventually died after not being able to recover from her third childbirth. By the time she died, Lord Jeor had joined the Night's Watch,[7] where he rose quickly through the ranks[8] and was elected Lord Commander in 288 AC.[8] It is likely that Jeor had joined the Night's Watch prior to Robert's Rebellion.[N 1]

When Lord Eddard Stark called his banners to fight in Robert's Rebellion (282 AC-283 AC), Jorah joined the rebels, and fought in the Battle of the Trident in 283 AC.[9] In 289 AC, during the Greyjoy Rebellion, Jorah fought as well, and earned fame both in the war and the subsequent tourney at Lannisport, held to celebrate the victory over the Iron Islands. Jorah met Lynesse Hightower at the tourney, and fell in love with her. After winning the jousting, he crowned Lynesse his queen of love and beauty, and asked her father, Lord Leyton Hightower, for her hand in marriage, which he granted. However, life on Bear Island differed significantly from life at Oldtown, and Jorah spend all of his money to keep her happy. Finally, in 293 AC, after trying to sell poachers to a Tyroshi slaver to increase his income,[1][7] Jorah fled from the north to the Free Cities with his wife upon learning that Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell was coming to Bear Island to pass on the king's judgement.[7] In the Free Cities, Jorah and Lynesse lived in exile in Lys, and Jorah became a sellsword after they ran out of money in half a year. However, while he was away, Lynesse became the concubine of a merchant prince, and Jorah was exiled from Lys as well.

Jorah's aunt and Jeor's sister, Maege, inherited Bear Island after Jorah's fled the Seven Kingdoms. Her heir is her eldest daughter, Dacey, a tall, lanky warrior-woman.[10]

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

Lady Maege Mormont answers Robb Stark's call to arms and she, her heir Dacey, and their bannermen follow him south against the Lannisters.[3] Maege acts as part of Robb's war councils and Dacey rides with his battle companions and guards, being the only woman of the group.[10] Both Mormont women are present when Robb is named King in the North at Riverrun.[11]

Jeor Mormont is Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, and is introduced when Tyrion Lannister and Jon Snow arrive at the Wall.[12] Later he chooses Jon as his steward and acts as a mentor to young Jon.[13] Jeor gives Longclaw to Jon in gratitude for the youth having saved the Lord Commander's life from wights.[14]

The exiled Ser Jorah Mormont attends Magister Illyrio Mopatis's party in Pentos, where he gets to know Prince Viserys Targaryen and Daenerys Targaryen.[15] Jorah becomes an advisor to Daenerys and the first of her Queensguard.[16]

A Clash of Kings

Lady Maege and Dacey accompany Robb into the westerlands. After the Battle of Oxcross, Maege captures thousands of livestock and drives them back to the riverlands.[17]

Jeor leads the Night's Watch in the great ranging beyond the Wall.[18]

A Storm of Swords

In preparation for King Robb's plan to recover Moat Cailin from the ironborn, Maege is sent by Robb on a Mallister longship to the Neck to contact the crannogmen.[19] Dacey is killed during the Red Wedding.[20]

After having survived the fight at the Fist, Jeor is slain by Ollo Lophand during the mutiny at Craster's Keep.[21] Maester Aemon sends a raven to Bear Island in a plea for help to defend Castle Black from wildlings.[22]

Jorah is exiled from Meereen by Queen Daenerys when she discovers that he had been spying on her for Varys.[23]

A Feast for Crows

Alysane is the new heir of House Mormont after the death of her elder sister, Dacey, at the Red Wedding.[24]

A Dance with Dragons

When Stannis Baratheon demands the fealty of the northern lords, young Lyanna Mormont sends Bear Island's denial.[25]

Alysane Mormont and men-at-arms of House Mormont launch an attack on the ironmen longships off the strand of Deepwood Motte, managing to take them unawares by hiding fighters inside a gaggle of fishing sloops. She burns and captures all ships, securing several ironborn captains, knights, warriors, and other nobility for ransom.[26]

After Stannis retakes Deepwood and restores it to House Glover, Alysane joins his army when it marches on Winterfell.[27] She becomes one of the guards of Asha Greyjoy during Stannis's march on Winterfell, which is held by House Bolton.[28]

Lyra and Jorelle Mormont are with their mother Maege,[27] whose location is unknown.

Jorah takes Tyrion captive in Selhorys[29] and travels with him to Slaver's Bay, where he hopes to present Tyrion to Daenerys in Meereen.[30]

House Mormont at the end of the third century

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

Lord
Mormont
 
Unknown
wife
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Lord
Mormont
 
Unknown
wife
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Jeor
 
Unknown
wife
 
 
 
Maege
 
Unknown
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Unknown
Glover
 
Jorah
 
Lynesse
Hightower
 
Dacey
 
Alysane
 
Unknown
 
Lyra
 
Jorelle
 
Lyanna
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Daughter
[Note 1]
 
Son
[Note 1]
 
Notes:
  1. 1.0 1.1 It is currently unknown whether Alysane's children are trueborn, or bastard-born.

Notes

  1. Jeor states that he has been in the Nigth's Watch longer than Alliser Thorne, who joined the Night's Watch at the conclusion of Robert's Rebellion (A Game of Thrones, Tyrion III), implying that Jeor had joined prior to the war's start. While Jeor states that he had been Lord Commander at the time Alliser joined, more recent sources, both canon (A Storm of Swords, Jon I & Jon VIII) and semi-canon (George R.R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire) contradict this statement, making at least the fact that he was Lord Commander at the time invalid. It is still likely, however, that Jeor had already joined the Night's Watch at the time.

References