7.2. The Lannisters
- The Lord of Casterly Rock is also Warden of the West (I: 95)
- Three million crowns is owed to the house by King Robert (I: 163)
- Lannister house guards wear steel helms with golden lions on the crests (I: 320)
- The Lannister lord styles himself Shield of Lannisport (I: 513)
- The Lannisters are the wealthiest of the Great Houses, although the Tyrells can command more men (I: 680. SSM: 1)
- The role of the wardens are to defend their assigned regions from invaders, and are in theory the supreme generals of their area so as to avoid disunity (SSM: 1)
Last revised August 05, 2009
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7.2.1. Casterly Rock
- There are many references to the bowels and cells of Casterly Rock, probably stemming from the fact that the land under the castle is tunnelled (I: 104, etc.)
- Casterly Rock is allegedly named for the family that ruled it in the Age of Heroes, the Casterlys, who no longer exist (I: 231. TSS: 128)
- Casterly Rock sits on rich gold mines (I: 680)
- Casterly Rock has never fallen (II: 136)
- There are watery caverns deep below Casterly Rock (III: 505)
- The Golden Gallery (III: 670)
- The Lion's Mouth (III: 670)
- The Hall of Heroes, where boys might play, is where Lannisters and their close kin who have died valiant might be interred. From below thunder could be heard, where the sea comes in (III: 670. IV: 497)
- Casterly Rock is literally a rock, a castle carved out of a great stone hill, its defenses enhanced with walls and other structures (SSM: 1, 2)
Last revised July 29, 2009
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7.2.2. Lannisport
- The Lannister lord styles himself Shield of Lannisport (I: 513)
- The watchmen of the city are members of the City Watch (THK: 458)
- There are skilled goldsmiths in the city (II: 93)
- Lannisport teems with distant kins to the Lannisters: Lannys, Lannetts, Lantells, and other lesser Lannisters. Many of them have the yellow hair (IV: 305)
- During the first Blackfyre Rebellion, Lord Lefford was killed in battle outside the gates of Lannisport by Ser Quentyn Ball, who fought for the black dragon (TMK: 669)
- The city is much smaller than King's Landing or Oldtown, but is in turn much larger than Gulltown or White Harbor (SSM: 1)
- Lannisport's City Watch is known to be very well-trained, compared to that of King's Landing or Oldtown (SSM: 1)
Last revised February 20, 2013
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7.2.3. Ancestors and History
- King Loren of the Rock opposed the Targaryen conquest with King Mern of the Reach. He was able to escape the Field of Fire and pledge his fealty. He begot a son, who continued his line of the Lannisters (I: 103)
- Tywin Lannister was the Hand of the King for twenty years. Aerys came to the throne young and wanted a young court, and had known Tywin from youth (I: 103. SSM: 1)
- The Lannisters trace their descent through the female line back to Lann the Clever, a trickster from the Age of Heroes who allegedly tricked the Casterlys out of Casterly Rock (I: 231, 680)
- Ninety years before the events of the books, Tya Lannister and Gowen Baratheon (third son of the reigning Lord of Storm's End) were married and produced only one child, a son who died in infancy (I: 406)
- Thirty years prior to the above, a male Lannister took a Baratheon woman to wife, producing three daughters and a son (I: 406)
- The Lannisters are descended from Andal adventurers who carved out a kingdom in the western hills and valleys (I: 680)
- Many years before (HK-16 years), Ser Damon Lannister was a noted knight. By the time of (HK) he was Lord of Casterly Rock and was called the Gray Lion (THK: 485)
- Damon Lannister's heir was Tybolt Lannister, who in HK was also a knight of note (THK: 491, 493)
- Tywin Lannister was the last Hand of King Aerys' who left his office alive, unharmed, and still with all his lands and wealth intact (II: 41)
- It is common knowledge in Casterly Rock that Gregor Clegane killed Elia Targaryen and her young son, and it is said that he raped the princess with the blood and viscera of her child on his hands, all on Lord Tywin's orders (II: 203)
- Doran Martell's hatred for House Lannister is well known (II: 203)
- Jaime Lannister was the youngest knight to ever wear the white cloak of the Kingsguard at the age of 15 (II: 581. SSM: 1)
- While Hand, Lord Tywin had had hopes to make a royal marriage between his daughter Cersei and one of the Targaryen princes, either Prince Viserys when he matured or Prince Rhaegar should his wife have died in childbed. He kept her with him at court to further this end (III: 128)
- Jaime Lannister served four years as squire to Lord Sumner Crakehall before winning his spurs against the Kingswood Brotherhood at 15 years of age. He was knighted by Ser Arthur Dayne himself for valor on the field, after saving Lord Sumner's life from Big Belly Ben and holding his own against the Smiling Knight (III: 128, 129, 130, 753)
- Lord Tywin considered marrying his heir Jaime to Lysa Tully of Riverrun (III: 128)
- Cersei Lannister seems to have had much to do with the chosing of her brother Jaime for the Kingsguard (III: 128)
- Ser Jaime was chosen to the Kingsguard only a little over a month after the death of old Ser Harlan Grandison, who passed away in his sleep (III: 128)
- Ser Ilyn Payne had been captain of Lord Tywin's guard while he was Hand. He once boasted that it was the Hand who truly ruled the realm, and Aerys ripped his tongue out for it (III: 128)
- Lord Tywin was furious that he had lost his heir to the Kingsguard. He gave up the Handship on a thin pretext and returned to Casterly Rock, taking Cersei with him (III: 129)
- Jaime Lannister had won a tourney melee at 13 while still a squire (III: 129)
- Casterly Rock had not suffered betrayals gentle since Tywin Lannister was old enough to go to war (III: 159)
- The Kings of the Rock sometimes wed Westerlings before the Conquest (III: 162)
- The Reynes and Castamere and the ancient Tarbecks of Tarbeck Hall were entirely extinguished by Lord Tywin when he was still half a boy and only his father's heir (III: 223. SSM: 1, 2)
- When Lord Farman of Faircastle on Fair Isle grew truculent, Lord Tywin sent an envoy with a lute to play "The Rains of Castamere". Lord Farman ceased to give further trouble (III: 223. TSS: 121)
- The Lannisters no longer own any weapons of Valyrian steel, but the old Kings of the Rock had owned one. The greatsword Brightroar had been lost when King Tommen II carried it back to Valyria on some fool's quest and never returned (III: 359)
- Gerion Lannister, the youngest and most reckless of Lord Tywin's siblings, had gone seeking after Brightroar some eight years past and never returned (III: 359)
- At least three times has Lord Tywin offered to buy a Valyrian steel longsword from impoverished lesser houses, but his advances had always been firmly rebuffed (III: 359)
- No Lannister has ever drowned in his bath, or so it's said (III: 417)
- The ruling Princess of Dorne, her daughter Princess Elia, and her son Prince Oberyn visited Casterly Rock many years ago, when Tyrion Lannister was a newborn. It was some 25 years ago, when Elia was fifteen or sixteen. Oberyn was a year younger than she was. Cersei and Jaime were 8 or 9 at the time (III: 433)
- Casterly Rock was deep in mourning after the death in childbed of Lady Joanna, Lord Tywin's wife. It was said by his brothers that Lord Tywin greatly loved her and was a different man before she died, and others say that Lady Joanna ruled Lord Tywin as he ruled the Seven Kingdoms as Aerys's Hand (III: 433)
- When Tyrion Lannister was born, rumor of him went far and wide. In Oldtown they spoke of the monster that had been born to the Hand, and what such an omen might foretell for the realm (III: 434)
- Some said that Lord Tywin had made himself greater than King Aerys, but that only a god could stand higher than a king, and so his malformed dwarf son was his curse and punishment for his pride and arrogance (III: 434)
- The newborn Tyrion was reported to have a stiff curly tail like a swine's. His head was supposed to be huge, half again the size of his body, and he was covered with thick black hair and a beard besides, an evil eye, and lion's claws. His teeth were said to be so long that he could not close his mouth, and between his legs were a girl's privates as well as a boy's (III: 434)
- The first time Thoros of Myr rode into a melee, when Robert was still a new king, Ser Kevan Lannister's horse reared and threw him when confronted with the priest's flaming sword (III: 490)
- Lord Tywin's father was a gentle and amiable man, but so weak his bannermen mocked him, other lords borrowed his gold and never troubled to repay it, court wits japed of toothless lions, and even his own mistress stole from him the jewels of his wife (III: 745. SSM: 1)
- Lord Tywin became Hand when he was no more than 20 years of age (III: 745)
- Lady Joanna was a companion to Princess Rhaella in her youth, along with the future ruling Princess of Dorne who was her friend (III: 795)
- It seems the ruling Princess of Dorne planned to wed Princess Elia or Prince Oberyn to one of Lord Tywin's children, or both of them to his twins. However, after his wife's death he was unreceptive and offered the newborn Tyrion, which was seen as an insult (III: 795, 796)
- When King Gyles the Third, of House Gardener, ruled the Reach, he led his army east to fight the Storm King, only to have King Lancel the Fourth or the Fifth of the Rock attack him. He was met by Ser Wilbert Osgrey, whose House held the office of Marshalls of the Northmarch. Allegedly the two fought for half a day, until Ser Wilbert was nearly cut in half by Brightroar but was yet able to kill King Lancel with his dagger. The westermen gave up their expedition (TSS: 91)
- In 211, Ironborn reavers had carried off half the wealth of Fair Isle and some hundred women, and had probably raided elsewhere on the westerlands coast (TSS: 121)
- Ser Gerold Lannister, brother to Lord Tybolt of Casterly Rock, was a desultory suitor for the hand of Lady Rohanne Webber in 211. However, as an advisor to his brother it was unlikely he'd forego the Rock for a small lordship in the Reach (TSS: 123-124)
- By 211, Lord Damon, the Grey Lion, was dead and his eldest son Tybolt was Lord of Casterly Rock (TSS: 124)
- Lord Tytos died while his son Tywin was in King’s Landing, serving as Hand to King Aerys. It is said he was very fat and that his heart burst as he climbed the steps of Casterly Rock to see his mistress (IV: 50)
- When Lord Tywin returned to Casterly Rock following his father’s death, he found Tytos’s mistress wearing the jewels and a gown of Tytos’s late wife. Tywin had stripped them from her, and all her other belongings, and had her paraded naked through Lannisport for a fortnight so that she could confess to her being a thief and a harlot (IV: 52)
- Lord Tytos was generous to his children in his will (IV: 114)
- Lannisport teems with distant kins to the Lannisters: Lannys, Lannetts, Lantells, and other lesser Lannisters. Many of them have the yellow hair (IV: 305)
- Tyrion was a name of Lannister kings (IV: 358)
- While Hand, Tywin Lannister planned to wed his daughter to Prince Rhaegar, and promised her this when she was six. When Rhaegar was a new-made knight, he visited the west with King Aerys. Lord Tywin hosted a grand tourney, which Rhaegar won, and it was at the feast afterwards where the betrothal was to be announced. King Aerys rejected the proposal, however, saying that kings do not wed their sons to their servants (IV: 360-361)
- Lord Tytos wed his only daughter, Genna, to Emmon Frey. He was 14 years of age, and she was half that. He agreed to wed her for no better reason than to please Lord Walder Frey, because he was weak and eager to please. When it was announced, Lady Tarbeck laughed, the Red Lion of Castamere stalked angrily out of the hall, and only Tywin -- a boy of ten -- dared to speak out against it (IV: 498, 502)
- Tywin Lannister smiled to see Tarbeck Hall come crashing down on Lady Tarbeck (IV: 500)
- The reaving of the ironborn under Lord Dagon led the Lannisters to begin to build ships for an attack against the Iron Islands (TMK: 664)
- Quentyn Ball defeated Lord Damon Lannister, the Grey Lion, and forced him to flee to Casterly Rock during the Blackfyre Rebellion (TMK: 669)
- The Grey Lion, Lord Damon Lannister, was once defeated in the lists by Black Tom Heddle (TMK: 675)
- Tywin Lannister replaced the fleet he lost at the hands of the Greyjoy's during their rebellion, to the number of 20 or 30 vessels. As with all of the Great Houses save the Greyjoys, the Lannisters depend on their bannermen to fill out their fleet (SSM: 1)
- Lady Joanna was younger than the Princess of Dorne who was her friend, but she was not significantly older than her husband Tywin (SSM: 1)
Last revised February 22, 2013
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7.2.4. Bannerhouses
- House Payne (I: 393)
- Tywin Lannister commands an army of 20,000 men, said to be even larger than that of his son Jaime (I: 507)
- House Brax of Hornvale (I: 509, 571. III: 432)
- House Prester. Their sigil is a bull or ox (I: 509. IV: 662)
- House Crakehall of Crakehall (I: 509. III: 795)
- House Marbrand of Ashemark (I: 509, 571. II: 380)
- House Lydden of the Deep Den (I: 509. II: 726)
- House Swyft, whose sigil is a chicken or rooster (I: 571. IV: 645)
- Jaime Lannister has a host of 14,000-15,000, 2,000 to 3,000 of these being horsed (I: 582)
- House Banefort of Banefort (I: 681. III: 956)
- House Serret (I: 681)
- House Broom (I: 681)
- House Westerling of the Crag (I: 681. II: 478)
- House Lorch, landed knights (II: 163. IV: 720)
- Including the 35,000 men the Lannisters could gather for war, another host can be raised at need, one of good size; but made up of sellswords, freeriders, and men both young and old (II: 89)
- House Stackspear (II: 336)
- House Vikary, landed knights (II: 360. IV: 721)
- House Jast (II: 360)
- Ser Ilyn Payne had been captain of Lord Tywin's guard while he was Hand. He once boasted that it was the Hand who truly ruled the realm, and Aerys ripped his tongue out for it (III: 128)
- Jaime Lannister served four years as squire to Lord Sumner Crakehall before winning his spurs against the Kingswood Brotherhood at 15 years of age (III: 128)
- Lord Roland Crakehall, Ser Elys Westerling, and others of Lord Tywin's knights burst into the throne room in time to see Ser Jaime's kingslaying (III: 130)
- The Westerlings are a lesser house, but of an ancient line descended from the First Men. The Kings of the Rock sometimes wed Westerlings before the Conquest, and King Maegor was wed to a Jeyne Westerling 300 years ago. Their castle the Crag is more a ruin than a stronghold as it juts above the sea and their wealth dried up when their mines had failed years before, causing them to sell or lose their best lands (III: 157, 159, 160, 162, 223)
- House Spicer is descended from a lowborn trader in saffron and pepper, and his lady wife was a frightening old crone from the east that was rumored to be a priestess and was called maegi. Half of Lannisport went to her for cures and love potions (III: 159)
- The Reynes and Castamere and the ancient Tarbecks of Tarbeck Hall were entirely extinguished by Lord Tywin when he was still half a boy (III: 223)
- When Lord Farman of Faircastle grew truculent, Lord Tywin sent an envoy with a lute to play "The Rains of Castamere". Lord Farman ceased to give further trouble (III: 223)
- The shattered castles of Castamere and Tarbeck Hall still stand as a testimony to Lord Tywin's wrath (III: 223)
- Lord Tywin's father, Lord Tytos, had once imprisoned an unruly bannerman, Lord Tarbeck. Lady Tarbeck responded by capturing three Lannisters, including young Stafford Lannister whose sister was betrothed to cousin Tywin. She had written to Casterly Rock, demanding her lord and love be returned or her three hostages would answer for whatever harm befell him. Young Tywin suggested his father send back Lord Tarbeck in three pieces, but Lord Tytos was a gentler sort of lion, so Lady Tarbeck won a few more years for her lord (III: 504)
- The Crakehalls have always been a big-boned family, and strong (III: 561)
- House Estren of Wyndhall (III: 956)
- House Plumm (III: 956)
- House Greenfield, landed knights (III: 956. IV: 721)
- House Kenning of Kayce (III: 956)
- Tarbecks have had wives from House Osgrey in the past (TSS: 112)
- Ironborn reavers carried off half the wealth and some hundred women of Fair Isle in 211, leaving Lord Farman to restore his defenses (TSS: 121)
- During Daemon Blackfyre's rebellion, House Tarbeck kept a foot in both camps, lending part of its strength to each side (TSS: 135)
- Robb Reyne was one of the great warriors who followed Daemon Blackfyre (TSS: 137)
- Ossifer Plumm allegedly fathered a child after he died (IV: 174)
- House Moreland, ruled by a lord (IV: 226, IV: 720)
- House Bettley (IV: 230, 693)
- House Hetherspoon, landed knights (IV: 356, 721)
- House Yew, landed knights (IV: 491, 721)
- House Ruttiger, landed knights (IV: 491, 721)
- The Farmans have bannermen (IV: 539)
- Lord Viserys Plumm was head of House Plumm in the reign of Aerys I. He had an alleged cousin, Ser Maynard, from a poorer branch of the family (TMK: 661)
- During the first Blackfyre Rebellion, Lord Lefford was killed in battle outside the gates of Lannisport by Ser Quentyn Ball, who fought for the black dragon (TMK: 669)
- The Golden Tooth is a small castle (SSM: 1)
- The Lannister infantry is known for being particularly disciplined (SSM: 1)
- The westerlands are the second strongest region in terms of military strength on land, and they have significant strength at sea behind the Reach and the Iron Islands (SSM: 1)
Last revised February 20, 2013
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7.2.4.1. The Cleganes
- Gregor Clegane is five years older than his brother Sandor (I: 254)
- At the age of 11 or 12, Gregor Clegane was nearly six feet tall and muscled like an ox. He was serving as a squire. When his younger brother stole a toy of his, he picked him up and held his face in a flaming brazier, disfiguring it permanently. It took three men to pull Gregor off of his young sibling, but Gregor's father publicly said that Sandor's bedding had simply caught on fire (I: 254)
- Gregor Clegane was knighted four years afterwards, receiving the accolade from Rhaegar Targaryen himself (I: 254)
- Gregor Clegane was a new-made knight of seventeen years at the sack of King's Landing. Some say it was Clegane who dashed Aegon Targaryen against a wall, and it was whispered afterwards that he raped the princess Elia before putting her to the sword (I: 263)
- Gregor Clegane was one knight amongst thousands when Greyjoy's Rebellion was put down (I: 263)
- Dark rumors swirl around Clegane. Two of his wives had died mysteriously, the keep is so grim that the dogs fear to enter the hall, and servants disappear unaccountably (I: 263)
- Clegane's sister died young under strange circumstances, the fire that had disfigured his brother Sandor was seen as strange, and a hunting 'accident' took the life of Gregor Clegane's father. When he inherited the estate, his brother Sandor left immediately never to return, taking service with the Lannisters (I: 263)
- The banner of the Cleganes is three black dogs on a yellow field (I: 572)
- It is common knowledge in Casterly Rock that Gregor Clegane killed Elia Targaryen and her young son, and it is said that he raped the princess with the blood and viscera of her child on his hands (II: 203)
- Sandor Clegane's grandfather was the founder of the house. He served as kennelmaster in Casterly Rock. One autumn the Lord Tytos was nearly killed by a lioness, but Clegane came up with his hounds and saved him. Three dogs died, and Sandor's grandfather lost his leg. In gratitude, Tytos Lannister gave him a towerhouse and lands and took his son to squire (II: 211)
- The Clegane arms were chosen to memorialize the incident that raised up the family's fortunes. The three dogs on the yellow field recall the three hounds that died on the autumn grass (II: 211)
- Sandor Clegane was in Lord Tywin's host during the Sack of King's Landing (SSM: 1)
- The Clegane lands are southeast of Lannisport (SSM: 1)
Last revised August 09, 2009
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