3.2.3.8. The Reeds of Greywater Watch and the Crannogmen
- Crannogmen of the Neck are seen disdainfully by some, called frogeaters, mudmen, and bog devils (II: 240. IV: 169)
- The crannogmen are seen as thieves and cravens (II: 240)
- Crannogmen use nets, bronze knives, frog spears, and round leather shields (II: 241)
- It has been hundreds and thousands of years since the crannogmen swore their oaths of fealty to the Starks (II: 241)
- The fealty oath of the Reeds to the Starks of Winterfell: "To Winterfell we pledge the faith of Greywater. Hearth and heart and harvest we yield up to you, my lord. Our swords and spears and arrows are yours to command. Grant mercy to our weak, help to our helpless, and justice to all, and we shall never fail you." This is spoken together by two people (such as children of Lord Reed) and then one speaks, "I swear it by earth and water," while the other says after "I swear it by bronze and iron." Finally, they finish together with "We swear it by ice and fire" (II: 241)
- When visiting important personages, crannogmen bring gifts of fish and frog and fowl (II: 241)
- The crannogmen dwell among the bogs of the Neck and seldom leave their lands (II: 241, 242)
- The crannogmen are a poor people, fishers and frog-hunters who live in homes made of thatch and woven reeds which are set on floating islands deep in the swamps (II: 242)
- It is said that the crannogmen are cowardly and fight with poisoned weapons, preferring to hide from foes rather than give open battle (II: 242. IV: 169)
- Howland Reed had been one of Eddard Stark's staunchest companions during the war against the Targaryens (II: 242)
- The crannogmen eat frogs, fish, lizard-lions, and all manner of fowl (II: 242)
- Women are known to fight amongst the crannogmen using nets and spears (II: 319)
- There are no knights at Greywater Watch, nor master-at-arms or maesters (II: 319)
- Ravens can't find Greywater Watch because it moves (II: 319)
- The crannogmen say a person has the greensight if they dream prophetic dreams which always come true (moss-green eyes may come with it) (II: 320)
- A greenseer sometimes dreams as other people, but the green dreams are different (II: 320)
- A greenseers dream takes the form of metaphor; for instance, a winged creature bound with grey stone chains to the earth might represent a person who has that creature as an emblem who is chained by preconceptions from achieving his full potential (II: 320)
- There are foolish stories which say that the crannogmen have a boggy smell like frogs and trees and scummy water. Moss grows under their arms instead of hair, and they can live with nothing to eat but mud and breathe swampwater (II: 534)
- Histories say the crannogmen grew close to the children of the forest when the greenseers tried to bring the waters down upon the Neck (II: 534-535)
- All crannogmen are small (III: 104)
- The hunters of the crannogmen are said to be able to breathe mud and fly through trees (III: 107, 108)
- There are no knights in the Neck, though it's said that there are many dead ones under it in the bogs (III: 278)
- Andals and ironmen, Freys and other fools, all have set out to conquer Greywater. Not one of them could find it (III: 278)
- The Reed children tell a tale from their father, who figures large in it, about the Knight of the Laughing Tree who appeared at the great tournament at Harrenhal in the year of the false spring. Lyanna Stark and her siblings figure largely (III: 279)
- The crannogmen say they have magics that allow them to breathe mud and run on leaves, on change earth to water and water to earth with no more than a word. They can talk to trees, weave words, and make castles appear and disappear as well, or so they say (III: 279)
- The crannogmen use little skin boats that are light enough to carry with ease (III: 279, 280)
- The crannogmen rarely ride horses, and their hands are made for oars rather than lances (III: 282)
- There are ways through the Neck that are not on any map, known only to the crannogmen, such as narrow trails between the bogs and wet roads through the reeds that only boats can follow (III: 526)
- The old tongue of the First Men does not seem to be known in the Neck (III: 626)
- A scratch from a crannogman arrow is said to be enough to leave a man in agony with bloody bowels, screaming as blood and watery feces runs down his legs until he dies (IV: 257)
- Howland Reed fought with the northern host throughout Robert's rebellion (SSM: 1)
Last revised August 05, 2009
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