House Whent

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House Whent of Harrenhal
House Whent.png
Coat of arms Or, nine bats displayed sable
Seat Harrenhal
Head Lady Shella Whent
Region The Riverlands
Title Lord of Harrenhal
Overlord House Tully

House Whent of Harrenhal is a noble house from the Riverlands. Their seat is the huge castle of Harrenhal, built three hundred years ago by Harren the Black.

They blazon their arms depict nine black bats displayed over a yellow field.[1][2] Their words do not appear in the books.

House Wode is sworn to Harrenhal.

History

The exact time and reason House Whent came to rule over Harrenhal are unknown. The first reference is from 281 AL, the Year of the False Spring, when Lord Whent hosted a tournament. The Whents are the seventh noble house to rule there, after Houses Hoare, Qoherys, Towers, Harroway, Strong and Lothston.

House Whent at the end of the third century

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

Previous members:

The apparent poor fertility of the Whent women is remarkable. Wynafrei and Sarya were both childless. Lady Shella Whent is the last of her line.[1] Only Minisa and her line proved fertile, although she died in childbirth.[3]


Lord
Whent
 
Unknown
wife
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Lord
Whent
 
Unknown
wife
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Shella
 
Walter
 
Oswell
 
Minisa
 
Hoster
Tully
 
Sarya
 
Walder
Frey
 
Amarei
Crakehall
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Four sons
 
Daughter
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
House Tully.svg
 
 
 
 
 
Wynafrei
 
Danwell
Frey
 
 


Household

  • Ser Willis Wode, a household knight.
  • {Weese}, the understeward of Harrenhal's Wailing Tower. Killed by Jaqen H'ghar at Arya Stark's behest
  • Harra, an old serving woman. Hanged under Roose Bolton's orders for inciting the servants of Lady Whent to serve the Lannisters.
  • Pia, called "Pretty Pia", a servant at the buttery known for her promiscuity. Currently serving in Jaime Lannister's host as a washerwoman.
  • Ben Blackthumb, an old blacksmith

References in the books

A Song of Ice and Fire

  • When thinking about her father's most important bannermen, Catelyn Tully reflects that Lady Whent is dwelling with her ghosts in the cavernous vaults of Harrenhal.
  • Ser Willis Wode, one of those who aided Catelyn in detaining Tyrion, was sworn to Lady Whent.
  • Ser Oswell Whent appears in Eddard's dream at the Tower of Joy, wearing the black bat of his house over his white-enameled helm. In the famous exchange before the fight, he delivers the sentences, "Woe to the Usurper if we had been", and "Ser Willem is a good man and true”.
  • When Tywin Lannister approached with his army, Lady Whent yielded Harrenhal and fled, lacking enough men to defend it.
  • The castle of Harrenhal is granted to Janos Slynt and taken away from him by the Hand, Tyrion Lannister.
  • Yoren states that Lady Whent has always been a friend of the Watch.
  • It is said that Lady Whent only used the lower thirds of two of the five towers of Harrenhal, and let the rest go to ruin.
  • Littlefinger is given the castle of Harrenhal and the title of Lord Paramount of the Trident for his services to King Joffrey I during the War of the Five Kings
  • The tourney organized by Lord Whent is remembered both in Meera's story about the Knight of the Laughing Tree and in Jaime's thoughts on his entrance to the Kingsguard. It is said that the daughter of the castle was the queen of love and beauty, and that her four brothers and her uncle Oswell rode to defend her. Eventually they were defeated and at the end Lyanna Stark was crowned by Rhaegar Targaryen.
  • Lady Shella is reported dead shortly after the war.
  • Ser Jorah Mormont defeated a Lord Whent at the Tourney at Lannisport.
  • House Whent is a fairly young house, Ben Blackthumb having smithed for the former lords of Harrenhal, the now extinct House Lothston.
  • Petyr Baelish uses the news of the death of Shella Whent and the extinction of House Whent as a warning of the fate of all those who claim Harrenhal.

Sworn Houses

32px House Wode

References and Notes

  1. 1.0 1.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 28, Catelyn V.
  2. The Citadel. Heraldry: Houses in the Riverlands
  3. A Clash of Kings, Chapter 33, Catelyn IV.