King in the North
King in the North and King of Winter are ancient titles held for thousands of years by House Stark of Winterfell.[1][2][3] They were the last kingdom of the First Men and continued to rule the North after the Andals invaded and took over the southern kingdoms.
Contents
History
House Stark traces their descent from Bran the Builder who is said to have lived in the Age of Heroes. The last King in the North was Torrhen Stark, who bent the knee to Aegon the Conqueror during the War of Conquest, thus making the North part of the Seven Kingdoms controlled by the Iron Throne.
Recent Events
A Game of Thrones
The title is revived during the War of the Five Kings by Robb Stark, who breaks away from the Iron Throne after the murder of his father, Lord Eddard Stark. Rejecting House Baratheon of King's Landing, the northern and river lords assembled at Riverrun declare Robb to be the King in the North.[2]
A Clash of Kings
After Balon Greyjoy conquers several portions of the North, he styles himself "King of the Isles and the North" by right of conquest, disputing the Stark claim.
A Storm of Swords
Because he is childless and his younger brothers, Bran and Rickon, are believed dead, King Robb worries that Tyrion Lannister will claim Winterfell through his marriage to Sansa Stark. Robb decides to legitimize his bastard half-brother, Jon Snow, and names him as heir in his will.[4][5] Before Jon can be informed of Robb's decision, however, the king is murdered at the Twins during the Red Wedding.[6] One of Robb's betrayers, Lord Roose Bolton, is named Warden of the North by the Iron Throne.
A Feast for Crows
King Balon's brother and successor, Euron Crow's Eye, continues to style himself King of the Isles and the North, although he redirects the ironborn offensives to the Reach.
A Dance with Dragons
Jon Snow, who does not know he was Robb's chosen successor, is attacked and possibly slain by fellow members of the Night's Watch at Castle Black.[7]
Crown
The crown of the King in the North was shaped as an open circlet of hammered bronze incised with runes of the First Men, surmounted by nine black iron spikes in the shape of longswords.[8]
Bronze and iron are stronger than gold and silver. The old Kings of Winter wore such a sword-crown.[9]
- King Robb Stark
Known Kings in the North
No precise lineage of Kings in the North is known, but the individuals listed below are supposed to be in rough chronological order.
- Bran the Builder, founder of house Stark and the first King in the North, builder of Winterfell, Storm's End castles and the Wall.
- King Theon the Hungry Wolf
- King Brandon the Shipwright, loved sailing and built up a mighty Northern fleet.
- King Brandon the Burner, son of Brandon the Shipwright, burned the entire Northern fleet after the disappearance of his father on the Sunset Sea.
- King Jonnel Stark
- King Dorren Stark
- King Jon Stark, built the castle of White Harbor after driving away sea raiders.
- King Rickard Stark, son of Jon, defeated the Marsh King extending their kingdom to include the Neck.
- King Rodrik Stark, son of Rickard, won Bear Island from the ironborn in a wrestling match and awarded it to House Mormont.
- King Edrick Stark
- King Brandon the Ice Eyes, great-grandson of Edrick
- King Benjen the Bitter
- King Benjen the Sweet
- King Eyron Stark
- King Edderion the Bridegroom
- King Walton the Moonking
- King Brandon the Bad
- King Jorah Stark
- King Jonos Stark
- King Edwyn the Spring King
- King Harlon Stark[10]
- Torrhen the King Who Knelt, who bent the knee to Aegon the Conqueror, making the North part of the Seven Kingdoms.
- Robb the Young Wolf, the last King in the North and the first after Aegon's Conquest, who never lost a battle and died at the events of the Red Wedding. He was also King of the Trident.
Line of succession
The following is a hypothetical line of succession to the title and position King in the North following on from King Robb Stark. It could also be taken as a hypothetical line of succession to the Lord of Winterfell.
- Prince Jon (Snow) Stark, secretly legitimised as a Stark and declared heir by decree of King Robb.[4][5] Jon may be dead after being attacked by his own men of the Night's Watch, where he served as Lord Commander.
- Prince Bran Stark, second in line. Currently beyond the Wall and believed dead.
- Prince Rickon Stark, third in line. Currently on Skagos, also believed dead.
- Princess Sansa Stark, fourth in line. Currently in hiding as "Alayne Stone" in the Vale, accused in the regicide of Joffrey Baratheon.
- Princess Arya Stark, fifth in line. Missing and presumed dead. (In actuality currently in Braavos as an apprentice of the Faceless Men.)
The positions as ordered assume the following:
- the Kingdom of the North remains an extant kingdom distinct from the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros;
- King Robb is without issue, his Queen Jeyne Westerling having been unable to conceive an heir;
- Jon Snow's legitimisation by King Robb is considered legal and accepted by his bannermen;
- Jon Snow's legitimisation is unconditional and independent of the survival of any of the legitimate offspring of Lord Eddard Stark;
- the Starks practice male-preference cognatic primogeniture, that is not excluding female heirs from the succession, but placing female heirs behind male heirs regardless of birth order; and
- Sansa Stark was not removed from the line of succession by King Robb's decree following her marriage to Tyrion Lannister.
References and Notes
- ↑ A Game of Thrones, Chapter 2, Catelyn I.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 A Game of Thrones, Chapter 71, Catelyn XI.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 69, Bran VII.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 45, Catelyn V.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 George R. R. Martin's A World of Ice and Fire, "Robb Stark" entry.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 51, Catelyn VII.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 69, Jon XIII.
- ↑ A Clash of Kings, Chapter 7, Catelyn I.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 49, Catelyn VI.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 17, Jon IV.