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8.2. The Tyrells
  • The crown has borrowed money from the House (I: 163)
  • Lord Tyrell is Warden of the South (I: 687)
  • The Lords Tyrell style themselves as Defenders of the Marches and High Marshals of the Reach (I: 687)
  • Members of the Tyrell household such as men-at-arms and servants wear the golden rose of the house sewn on the right breast of their tunics or doublets (II: 248)
  • At least some Tyrell household guards wear gilded halfhelms and green cloaks eded in gold satin, with the golden rose of Highgarden sewn on their breasts (III: 65)
  • The Tyrells can command the largest army in the Seven Kingdoms, although the Lannisters have more wealth (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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8.2.1. Highgarden
  • There are fields of golden roses all about Highgarden (I: 34)
  • Highgarden has gardens with autumn flowers, and there are groves and fountains, shady courtyards, and marble colonnades. Singers and musicians are always kept at court (III: 71)
  • Singers are always kept at court, and pipers, fiddlers, and harpers as well (III: 71)
  • Pleasure boats sail along the Mander from Highgarden (III: 71)
Last revised April 21, 2007
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8.2.2. Ancestors and History
  • The Tyrells were stewards to the Kings of the Reach, whose realm included the plains of the southwest from the Dornish marches and Blackwater Rush to the shores of the Sunset Sea (I: 686)
  • Through the female line, the Tyrells claim descent from Garth Greenhand the gardener king of the First Men (I: 686)
  • Harlen Tyrell, steward to King Mern, surrendered Highgarden to Aegon after the death of the king (who was last of his line.) Aegon granted him the castle and dominion over the Reach (I: 686)
  • Leo Tyrell was Lord of Highgarden in (HK), a slender greybeard known as a peerless jouster. He was known as Leo Longthorn as well (THK: 490)
  • Highgarden has warred with the Dornishmen for a thousand years (II: 233)
  • Lord Luthor Tyrell was wed to Lady Olenna of House Redwyne, known as the Queen of Thorns. He died while hawking, riding off a cliff by accident as he looked to the sky (II: 65, 68)
  • Some houses of the Reach, especially the Florents, say that the Tyrell claim to Highgarden is dodgy. It appears the Florent claim was superior, as far as their blood ties to House Gardener went (III: 66, 947)
  • Garth Greenhand, the legendary king from the Age of Heroes through whom the Tyrells claim descent by the female line, had many children and so many houses in the Reach can claim descent from him (III: 67)
  • The Tyrells despise the Red Viper, Prince Oberyn, because of a tourney mishap which left Lord Mace's heir Willas crippled (III: 72, 433, 437)
  • Dorne and the Reach had fought border wars beyond count and made countless raids across mountains and marches even when at peace, leading to their great enmity, though it had waned somewhat since Dorne became a part of the Seven Kingdoms (III: 214)
  • Leo Longthorn is still remembered for his skill in tourney (III: 437)
  • After the Submission of Sunspear, the Young Dragon left the Lord of Highgarden to rule Dorne for him. He moved with his train from one keep to the next, chasing rebels and keeping the knees of the Dornishmen bent. It was his custom to turn the lords of the keeps he stayed in out of their chambers, to sleep in their place. One night, finding himself in a bed with a heavy velvet canopy, he pulled a sash near the pillows to summon a wench. When he did so, the canopy opened and a hundred red scorpions fell upon him. His death led to rebellion throughout Dorne, and in a fortnight all the Young Dragon had won was undone (III: 747)
  • In 211, reavers out of the Iron Islands were known to raid coastal villages of the Reach, and even the Arbor, under the auspices of Lord Dagon Greyjoy (TSS: 82, 83)
  • The great drought of 211 had left half the wells of the Reach dry and left all the rivers, even the Mander, running low (TSS: 83)
  • 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)
  • Gold coins of the Kingdom of the Reach featured hand of the Gardners on one side and the face of a king on the other. An example from before the Conquest is said to show Garth the Twelfth (IV: 110)
  • When news arrived in Oldtown of the landing of Aegon and his sisters, the High Septon fasted and prayed for seven days and nights under the dome of the Starry Sept in Oldtown. He then announced that the Faith would take not oppose the Targaryens, because the Crone had shown him that to do so would mean the destruction of Oldtown in dragonflame. Lord Hightower, a pious man, kept his forces at Oldtown and would later freely open his gates to Aegon when he came to be anointed by the High Septon (IV: 421)
  • In ancient days, the ironborn would sail their ships up the Mander as far as Bitterbridge, plundering and reaving with impunity. This changed when the Gardeners armed the fisherfolk of the Shield Islands some two thousand years ago (IV: 431)
  • The ironborn have not dared to raid the Reach since the days of Dagon Greyjoy (IV: 474)
  • It was rumored that Leo Longthorn was rumored to be ill at the time that Lord Butterwell was wed (TMK: 674)
  • Mace Tyrell had sizeable host during the War of the Usurper, but a part of that was with Rhaegar (SSM: 1)
Last revised February 21, 2013
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8.2.3. Bannerhouses
  • House Vyrwel (I: 687)
  • House Oakheart of Old Oak (I: 687. II: 715)
  • House Hightower (I: 687)
  • House Crane (I: 687)
  • House Rowan of Goldengrove (I: 687. II: 715)
  • House Mullendore, the lords of Uplands. They are vassals of the Hightowers. (I: 687. III: 752. IV: 716)
  • With all the power of Highgarden and Storm's End combined, about 90,000 soldiers and knights can be gotten (II: 258)
  • The Tyrells can muster 50,000 swords at the least (and perhaps more like 60,000+), and there is a suggestion that they can gather many more (II: 388)
  • House Norcross serves in the household of the Florents (II: 731. III: 221)
  • The Rowans, the Oakhearts, and many other houses claim descent from Garth Greenhand through the female line, among others (III: 67)
  • House Ambrose, ruled by a lord (III: 183, 963, 964. IV: 131)
  • House Norcross serves in the household of the Florents (III: 221)
  • House Cuy, the Lords of Sunflower Hall. They are vassals of the Hightowers (III: 351. IV: 716)
  • House Beesbury, the Lords of Honeyholt. They are vassals of the Hightowers (III: 351. IV: 716)
  • House Costayne, the Lords of the Three Towers. Their seat stands on the cliffs of the Whispering Sound, and they are vassals of the Hightowers (III: 357. IV: 672, 716)
  • House Bulwer, the lords of Blackcrown. They are vassals of the Hightowers (III: 65, 963. IV: 716)
  • House Merryweather, the lords of Longtable (III: 65, 963, 964)
  • House Graceford (III: 963)
  • Lord Rowan of Goldengrove is liege lord to Houses Osgrey and Webber (TSS: 92)
  • Lord Wyman Webber was the Red Widow's father. His cousin, Wendell, married Lord Rowan's sister, and they had a number of sons and daughters by 211 (TSS: 92, 105, 123)
  • House Leygood (TSS: 118. IV: 131)
  • Lord Rowan upheld Lord Wyman Webber's will, which required his daughter and heir Lady Rohanne to be wed by the second anniversary of his death or forfeit Coldmoat and its lands to his cousin, Wendell Webber (TSS: 123)
  • During Daemon Blackfyre's rebellion, House Hightower kept a foot in both camps, lending part of its strength to each side (TSS: 135)
  • Fireball was one of the champions who followed Daemon Blackfyre, but he was slain on the eve of battle. A famous knight of the Reach, Ser Quentyn Ball had been master-at-arms in the Red Keep and had been all but promised a place in the Kingsguard by Aegon IV, a promise Daeron the Good chose not to honor. This led Fireball to becoming one of the men who urged Blackfyre to his rebellion (TSS: 135. TMK: 666, 668-669. SSM: 1)
  • Ser Aubrey Ambrose was one of the great knights who followed Daemon Blackfyre (TSS: 137)
  • House Stackhouse, whose lord coveted the Horseshoe Hills in 211, which were controlled by House Webber (TSS: 149)
  • House Conklyn is mentioned, by way of a Ser Clifford Conklyn who had an old claim to Leafy Lake, held at that time by House Webber, in 211 (TSS: 149)
  • House Durwell, who were alleged to make their living by stealing cattle (TSS: 149)
  • At Old Oak, tapestries commemorate House Oakheart's long history fighting the Dornish: Lord Edgerran the Open-Handed with the heads of a hundred Dornishmen piled about him, the Three Leaves pierced by Dornish spears in the Prince's Pass as Alester sounded his horn with his dying breath, Ser Olyvar the Green Oak of the Kingsguard slain beside the Young Dragon, and more (IV: 185)
  • House Hunt (IV: 204)
  • Ser Jeffory Norcross, known as Neveryield, was a knight of the Kingsguard in the past. Famous in his day, but less well-known in later years (IV: 236)
  • The Daynes and Oakhearts have fought one another for several thousand years (IV: 302)
  • The Horn of Herrock, black and twisted and banded with gold, is an heirloom of Kayce (IV: 401)
  • House Serry. Its arms are a white rose on a red escutcheon within a white field surrounded by an embattled borded (IV: 427-428)
  • Nine-tenths of fighting men on ships from the Shield Islands wear no armor, for fear of drowning, and those who do rarely wear more than light shirts of sewn scales (IV: 427)
  • There are longships ready for fighting at sea on the Shield Islands. At least some of these have lower decks (IV: 428-429)
  • Though the Shield Islands men consider themselves sailors, they travel the seas with trepidation (IV: 429)
  • Old men on the Shield Islands keep watch from watchtowers. If they see ironmen reavers approaching, they light fires and soon enough all the islands are aware of the attack. Younger men put to see in longships to fend the reavers off, led by their lords. Commonly, they'll force the enemy into the Mander, trapping them there until they can be brought down (IV: 431)
  • The lords of the Shield Islands command Greenshield, Greyshield, Oakenshield, and Southshield (IV: 431)
  • The Shield Islands can field at least forty-five ships, and probably a good number more than that (IV: 434)
  • House Hewett of Oakenshield. Their seat is at Lord Hewett's Town. The castle sits on a hill above the harbor, and the town is twice the size of Lordsport on Pyke. The Hewett arms are an oak escutcheon studded with iron on a field of undulating blue and white (IV: 434, 436)
  • The Hewett castle is small but stout, with thick walls and studded oaken gates. Its towers have green roofs (IV: 436)
  • House Grimm of Greyshield, with their seat at Grimston (IV: 437)
  • The lords of the Four Shields are closely bound with many inter-marriages (IV: 439)
  • Even with the best part of the Reach's strength away, Highgarden can raise 10,000 men in a fortnight, and twice that in a moon's turn (IV: 476)
  • House Chester of Greenshield (IV: 474, 734)
  • Lord Alyn Cockshaw attended Lord Butterwell's tourney at Whitewalls, in the company of Lord Peake and a hedge knight named John the Fiddler, who was in fact Daemon Blackfyre, namesake of his father (TMK: 655, 657, 716)
  • House Peake of Starpike. They controlled three castles before the first Blackfyre Rebellion, but lost two of them for having supported Daemon Blackfyre (TMK: 657)
  • Lord Costayne attended Lord Butterwell's tourney at Whitewalls. His father fought for Daemon Blackfyre during his rebellion and was in the left battle of the Pretender's host at the Redgrass Field. Costayne was also wed to one of Lord Butterwell's daughters from his first marriage (TMK: 659, 667, 673)
  • Lord Vyrwel attended Lord Butterwell's tourney at Whitewalls in the reign of King Aerys I (TMK: 671)
  • The Old Ox, Ser Buford Bulwer, attended Lord Butterwell's tourney at Whitewalls in the reign of King Aerys I. Called a huge man, by Aerys's day he was very fat and past sixty, with a blind right eye, but it's claimed that he slew forty men at the Redgrass Field. This number is dubious, however (TMK: 671, 675)
  • Lord Risley attended Lord Butterwell's tourney at Whitewalls in the reign of King Aerys I. He was married to one of Lord Butterwell's daughters by his first wife (TMK: 673)
  • Ser Eden Risley's leg was crushed beneath his horse during Lord Butterwell's wedding tourney in the reign of Aerys I (TMK: 694)
  • Alyn Cockshaw drowned in a well after being thrown into it by Ser Duncan the Tall, following his attempt to do the same to Ser Duncan (TMK: 717)
  • Lord Peake was executed by beheading for his treason. His head was displayed with Tom Heddle's (TMK: 733)
  • The Tyrells have fewer warships of their own than the Lannisters, but with the ships of the Shield Islands and the Redwynes of the Arbor to call on, they have a significant force at sea (SSM: 1, 2)
  • The initial replacement for Lord Tywin as Hand as the elderly, amiable Lord Merryweather, famed for throwing lavish feasts and flattering the king shamelessly. When the rebellion began, he declared the rebels outlaws and sent commands to various minor lords to deliver them or their heads but he himself never stirred from King's Landing. His methods proved so ineffectual that he was exiled by the king and stripped of all his lands and wealth. Robert later restored the title of lord and the castle and the lands, but not most of the wealth. (SSM: 1, 2)
  • The Reach is the most populous region in the Seven Kingdoms, and consequently can field the largest army. (SSM: 1)
Last revised March 09, 2013
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8.2.3.1. The Fossoways
  • Ser Steffon Fossoway was a young and skillful knight in 209. He had as squire Raymun Fossoway, a cousin of the lesser branch (THK: 479, 480, 499)
  • The green apple Fossoways have their root in the conflict between Ser Steffon Fossoway and his cousin Ser Raymun Fossoway. To distinguish himself from his cousin, Ser Raymun changed his own red apple to a green (THK: 520)
Last revised February 28, 2007
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8.2.3.2. The Ashfords of Ashford
  • Half a mile from the outskirts of Ashford Meadow is a brook. One of its bends forms a deep pool (THK: 464)
  • Ashford Meadow is separated from Ashford town by the river Cockleswent, a vassal stream of the Mander. The meadow serves as a commons for the townsfolk (THK: 465, 471)
  • Ashford is a market town, prettier than most with thatched and whitewashed houses (THK: 471)
  • Ashford Castle is shaped like a triangle with round towers thirty feet high at each point and thick crenelated walls running between (THK: 471)
  • Back of the stable inside the yard is a turret built into an angle of the curtain wall. Steep stone steps lead up to the wallwalk (THK: 472)
  • Lord Ashford in (HK) had a thirteen-year-old daughter and two grown, knighted sons (THK: 480, 490)
Last revised February 28, 2007
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8.2.3.3. The Redwynes of the Arbor
  • The Redwynes use the emblem of a cluster of burgundy grapes on blue (I: 247)
  • The Arbor is said to make the finest of wines, from dry fruity reds to a rich golden vintage (I: 493. II: 423)
  • Lady Olenna of House Redwyne was almost made to marry a Targaryen prince, but put an end to that (III: 66)
  • There is a wine from the Arbor known as Arbor gold (III: 323)
  • The Redwyne fleet seems to number in the hundreds (III: 671)
  • In 211, the fierce drought damaged grape crops in the Arbor, as did pirating from ironborn reavers (TSS: 83)
  • The Redwyne fleet is the largest fleet in the Seven Kingdoms (IV: 235)
  • The Arbor has sufficient strength at sea to fight the full ironborn fleet of as many as 500 ships. Lord Redwyne owns no less than two hundred warships, and five times as many carracks, cogs, trading galleys, and other vessels (IV: 474, 476)
  • Runceford Redwyne was the grandfather to Paxter Redwyne (V: 22)
  • There are smaller islands around the Arbor (IV: 529)
  • Ryamsport, Vinetown, and Starfish Harbor are three ports in the Arbor (IV: 672)
  • Stonecrab Cay, the Isle of Pigs, the Mermaid’s Palace, the Horseshoe Rock, and Bastard’s Cradle are isles around the Arbor (IV: 674)
  • The only fleets comparable to the Greyjoy fleet in the Seven Kingdoms are the royal fleet and the Redwyne fleet based at the Arbor (SSM: 1)
Last revised March 15, 2013
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8.2.3.4. The Tarlys of Horn Hill
  • The Tarlys are an old family with rich lands and a strong keep (I: 225)
  • The Valyrian steel greatsword Heartsbane is famous, and has been handed down from father to son for nearly five hundred years (I: 225)
  • The Tarlys have existed as a family, or at least as lords of Horn Hill, for a thousand years.
  • Randyll Tarly has led Mace Tyrell's van for many years (II: 353. III: 211)
  • Heartsbane has been carried by the lords of Horn Hill for centuries (III: 201)
  • Lord Randyll lead the van against Robert Baratheon at Ashford, winning a victory (albeit an indecisive one) before Lord Tyrell and the main host had even arrived (III: 211)
  • Lord Randyll killed Lord Cafferen at Ashford Castle during Robert's War and sent his head to Aerys (III: 408, 884)
  • Game is plentiful at Horn Hill (III: 529)
  • Horn Hill, the seat of House Tarly, lies a hundred leagues northeast of Oldtown amidst thickly wooded foothills (IV: 81, 675)
  • There is a pond beneath Horn Hill (IV: 216)
Last revised July 18, 2009
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8.2.3.5. The Florents of Brightwater Keep
  • In about 206, Lord Florent was blind (THK: 477, 478)
  • The Florents can gather at best two thousand swords at best (II: 13)
  • The Florents of Brightwater Keep are very rich (II: 443)
  • House Norcross serves in the household of the Florents (II: 731. III: 221)
  • The Florents regularly dispute the Tyrell claim to Highgarden (III: 66)
  • The Florents claim descent from Garth Greenhand through the female line, among others. Their own blood claim is indeed superior to that of the Tyrells (III: 67, 947)
  • The Florents are counted among the greater lords of the Seven Kingdoms (III: 215)
  • Florents have had wives from House Osgrey in the past (TSS: 112)
Last revised February 28, 2007
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8.2.3.6. The Hightowers of Oldtown
  • Lord Hightower is styled as Voice of Oldtown, Lord of the High Tower, Lord of the Port, and Protector of the Citadel (I: 687. IV: 11, 715)
  • Ser Abelar Hightower was the first of the challengers in Ashford's tourney, challenging and losing to Prince Valarr. Their arms are a stepped white tower crowned with flame against smoke. (THK: 490, 492. IV: 673)
  • Oldtown woodharps are desirable (II: 127)
  • The Hightowers are an ancient family, among the oldest in the Seven Kingdoms, both very rich and very proud. They trace their descent to the First Men, and were once kings. They welcomed the Andals and later bent the knee to the Kings of the Reach, giving up their crowns but retaining their privileges. (II: 145. IV: 715)
  • The Hightowers were loyal to the Targaryens during the War of the Usurper (II: 145)
  • Oldtown has a Lord Commander for is City Watch (II: 728)
  • There is a motherhouse at Oldtown (III: 251)
  • House Costayne of Three Towers, vassals of the Hightowers. Their seat stands on the cliffs of the Whispering Sound (III: 357. IV: 672, 716)
  • Hightower is the tallest structure in the Seven Kingdoms and one of the oldest, a massive stepped tower with a great beacon at its top to show ships the way to port. It stands in the center of Oldtown, which grew around it (III: 461. SSM: 1)
  • Ser Otto Hightower was renowned for his learning, but he was a failure as Hand to his king (III: 604)
  • Lord Commander Runcel Hightower tried to bequeathe the Watch to his bastard son (III: 612)
  • Hightowers have had wives from House Osgrey in the past (TSS: 112)
  • During Daemon Blackfyre's rebellion, House Hightower kept a foot in both camps, lending part of its strength to each side (TSS: 135)
  • The Quill and Tankard is an inn and brothel frequented by every kind and class of patron that comes through Oldtown, especially novices and acolytes of the Citadel. It's 600 years old and has never closed its doors. It's set on a terraced island (lit by torches at early morning and night) on the Honeywine river. Many of the patrons will sit outside on its grass lawn to drink. The Hightower and its beacon can be seen downriver (IV: 1, 3, 4)
  • The Quill and Tankard is renowed for its very strong cider (IV: 3, 6)
  • The Quill and Tankard is large and made of timber. Its upper stories lean towards the south (IV: 4)
  • An old plank bridge connects the Quill and Tankard's island to the rest of Oldtown (IV: 7)
  • The Checkered Hazard is another inn of Oldtown (IV: 7)
  • There are small temples to foreign gods in Oldtown, primarily for the use of foreign sailors (IV: 8)
  • The Quill and Tankard is not far from the Citadel as the raven flies, but Oldtown is a veritable labyrinth of wynds, criss-crossing alleys, and crooked streets (IV: 11)
  • Oldtown's streets and roads are cobbled (IV: 11)
  • There are a number of septs in Oldtown: the Sailor's Sept by the harbor, the Lord's Sept, the Seven Shrines in gardens across the Honeywine from the Quill and Tankard, the Starry Sept which was the seat of the High Septon for a thousand years until the Targaryens came (IV: 12)
  • There is a modest, wharfside temple to R'hllor (IV: 12)
  • Oldtown is largely built of stone. Palaces, guildhalls, and manses are all of stone, the Starry Sept is made of black marble, and the towers and domes of the Citadel rise on both sides of the river with stone bridges crowded with buildings (IV: 12)
  • The Hightower is the tallest structure in the Seven Kingdoms and one of the oldest, a massive stepped tower with a great beacon at its top to show ships the way to port. It stands more-or-less in the center of Oldtown, on the bluffs of Battle Island at the mouth of Whispering Sound (IV: 12-13. SSM: 1)
  • Inhabitants of Oldtown can tell the time of day by where the shadow of the Hightower falls (IV: 13)
  • The old Thieves Market leads to Ragpicker's Wynd (IV: 14)
  • Lord Quenton Hightower and his young son were murdered by rioters some sixty or seventy years ago, following Lord Quenton's violently enforced quarantine of the city when the grey plague struck Oldtown. If it was not for his actions, the plague might have spread to through the Reach and beyond (IV: 120)
  • When news arrived in Oldtown of the landing of Aegon and his sisters, the High Septon fasted and prayed for seven days and nights under the dome of the Starry Sept in Oldtown. He then announced that the Faith would take not oppose the Targaryens, because the Crone had shown him that to do so would mean the destruction of Oldtown in dragonflame. Lord Hightower, a pious man, kept his forces at Oldtown and would later freely open his gates to Aegon when he came to be anointed by the High Septon (IV: 421)
  • The Hightowers can command three times the men of any other Tyrell bannermen, and even more if they sweep Oldtown for every serviceable conscript (IV: 675)
  • There is a river road leading from the docks of Oldtown, following the winding Honeywine through the heart of the city and on to the Citadel (IV: 676-677)
  • The Isle of Ravens is not far from the Seneschal's Court, linked by a weathered drawbridge on the east bank of the Honeywine. On it is the castle called the Ravenry, the oldest building at the Citadel. It's said that in the Age of Heroes, a pirate lord robbed ships as they came down the slow-moving river. An ancient weirwood fills it (IV: 680)
  • The Hightowers have generally preferred trade to battle, seldom playing a significant part in the wars of the Seven Kingdom despite their great power and immense wealth (IV: 715)
  • The Hightowers were instrumental in the founding of the Citadel (IV: 715)
  • The Hightowers are great patrons of learning and the Faith, and it's said that some have dabbled in alchemy, necromancy, and other sorcerous arts (IV: 715)
  • Bannermen of the Hightowers include Lord Costayne of theThree Towers, the Bulwers who are Lords of Blackcrown, Lord Mullendore of Uplands, Lord Beesbury of Honeyholt, and Lord Cuy of Sunflower Hall (IV: 716)
  • The Hightowers can be legitimately referred as being "from Hightower" (their castle) or "from Oldtown" (which sprung up around Hightower) (SSM: 1)
  • Oldtown is thousands of years old and was the largest city in the Seven Kingdoms prior to the advent of King's Landing (SSM: 1)
  • The Hightowers are one of the oldest families in the Seven Kingdoms (SSM: 1)
  • The Hightowers have only a few war galleys, but they control Oldtown which is home to numerous trading vessels (SSM: 1)
  • Oldtown is one of the five cities of Westeros, comparable to King's Landing in size, much larger than Lannisport and very much larger than either Gulltown or White Harbor (SSM: 1)
  • The Citadel is financed by the lords who pay for having their maesters, and from certain taxes that the Citadel collects at Oldtown (SSM: 1)
  • The second wife of King Viserys I was of House Hightower. She promptly gave him three healthy sons and a daughter, among which was Aegon II who would fight the Dance of Dragons with his elder half-sister Rhaenyra (SSM: 1)
Last revised August 07, 2009
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8.2.3.7. The Caswells of Bitterbridge
  • The roseroad crosses the Mander at Bitterbridge (II: 248)
  • The waters of the upper Mander are muddy, at least in the area of Bitterbridge (II: 248)
  • The castle at Bitterbridge is small, its battlements constructed of stone and timber (II: 249)
  • The Great Hall of the Caswell keep is great only by courtesy (II: 254)
  • From the great hall a low doorway can be taken to begin an ascent up a stair tower (II: 257)
  • The keep is scarcely tall enough to call a tower (II: 257)
  • Ser Cleyton Caswell, a pretty young man but easily cowed by the likes of Ser Lucas Inchfield, was among the suitors for the hand of Lady Rohanne Webber in 211 (TSS: 118, 123-124)
  • The Lord of Bitterbridge was Joffrey Caswell around the year 211 after Aegon's Landing (TMK: 663)
  • A hedge knight known as Ser Kyle, the Cat of Misty Moor, claimed to have been sworn to Lord Joffrey's father when he was younger (TMK: 663)
  • Armond Caswell, Lord of Bitterbridge, was among those who fought for King Daeron II against Daemon Blackfyre. In one battle, his banner-bearer was killed and he was allegedly saved by Ser Kyle, the Cat of Misty Moor (TMK: 665)
  • Lord Caswell is styled Defender of the Frods (TMK: 690)
Last revised March 09, 2013
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8.2.3.8. The Osgreys of Standfast
  • Standfast stands near to a village known as Dosk, and a village known as Little Dosk (TSS: 80, 82, 112)
  • A stream known as the Chequy Water can be found between Standfast and Dosk. A wooden bridge crosses it. An hour's ride upstream from this bridge reaches the edge of Wat's Wood, a small forest which is part of the Osgrey domain (TSS: 82, 83, 85)
  • By 211, the Osgreys were an impoverished house (TSS: 82)
  • In the year 211, the head of House Osgrey was Ser Eustace (TSS: 82)
  • In 211, a disreputable hedge knight known as Ser Bennis of the Brown Shield served in Standfast alongside Ser Duncan the Tall (TSS: 82)
  • Standfast is little more than three days' ride from the sea (TSS: 82-83)
  • Standfast has its own well (TSS: 83)
  • Ser Eustace had had disputes with Lady Webber in the years leading up to 211 (TSS: 85)
  • Control of the Chequy Water was granted to House Webber following the Blackfyre Rebellion (TSS: 86)
  • In 211, Osgreys martial strength was two hedge knights, a young squire, and no more than ten able-bodied smallfolk (TSS: 88, 95)
  • Standfast is called a castle only by courtesy, as it's a towerhouse. It has a commanding view for leagues around from the rocky hill it stands upon, and there is only a single, crooked path that leads up to it which can only be taken single-file (TSS: 88-89)
  • A partial collapse centuries ago led to rebuilding of Standfast, so that the north and west faces are dressed in newer stone and also feature turrets added during the reconstruction. The south and east sides feature stone grotesques so weathered by the elements over the centuries as to be indistinguishable lumps of rock (TSS: 88)
  • A small daub-and-wattle stable, half-hidden by purple moss, can be found at the foot of Standfast (TSS: 89)
  • The sole entrance into Standfast is a door of oak and iron twenty feet off the ground. Stone steps lead part way up to it, and wooden steps which can be swung up in times of danger complete the gap (TSS: 89)
  • Standfast's size is deceptive. While it is only four stories tall above ground, underground there is a complex of deep vaults and cellars (TSS: 89)
  • The upper two stories of Standfast feature windows and balconies, while the lower two have only arrow slits (TSS: 89)
  • All three of Ser Eustace Osgrey's sons died at the end of the Blackfyre Rebellion in 196, on the Redgrass Field. Edwyn and Harrold were knights, while Addam was a squire (TSS: 90)
  • The bedchambers of Standfast's master are on the fourth story while his solar is on the story beneath it (TSS: 90)
  • The master's bedchamber in Standfast is decorated with trophies of victories, some from centuries in the past (TSS: 90)
  • The Osgreys had once been lords rather than mere knights, but that was centuries in the past (TSS: 90)
  • Ser Wilbert Osgrey was known as the Little Lion, despite being a tall man, because he was the youngest of five brothers. In his day, the Gardeners ruled the Reach and often warred with the Kings of the Rock (TSS: 90)
  • When King Gyles the Third took his lances east to war against the Storm King, the King of the Rock seized the opportunity to attack the Reach. The Osgreys were Marshalls of the Northmarch in those days, so Ser Wilbert met the Lannister king, who was either Lancel the Fourth or the Fifth. Allegedly the two fought for half a day, until Ser Wilbert was nearly cut in half by Brightroar but not before he drove his dagger through a chink in the king's armor and killed him. The westermen abandoned the expedition and return to the Kingdom of the Rock (TSS: 91)
  • The stream called the Chequy Water has carried that name for a thousand years or more (TSS: 91-92)
  • Ser Eustace had a daughter named Alysanne who died during the Great Spring Sickness (TSS: 92, 118)
  • There was at least one other branch of the Osgreys in the time of King Daeron II, the Osgreys of Leafy Lake, but they had died out by 211 (TSS: 92)
  • Lord Rowan of Goldengrove is liege lord to House Osgrey (TSS: 92)
  • Three small, nameless villages fall within Standfast's dominion, the largest of which had a one-room sept with crude charcoal drawings of the Seven on its walls. Twice a year a real septon would come around to forgive sins in the Mother's name and peform rituals such as marriage ceremonies (TSS: 93, 96, 98)
  • Standfast's undercellar is where it's well and a large stone washtub can be found. The washtub doubles as a bathtub (TSS: 97-98)
  • Only three of Osgrey's smallfolk returned alive from the Blackfyre Rebellion (TSS: 104)
  • For a thousand years prior to the Conquest, the Osgreys had been Marshalls of the Northmarch. A dozen lesser lords did them fealty, as did a hundred landed knights. They had four castles under their control, the greatest of which was Coldmoat, and watchtowers on the hills to warn of enemies. Coldmoat was raised by Lord Perwyn Osgrey, known as Perwyn the Proud (TSS: 104-105)
  • Coldmoat was taken from Lord Osmond Osgrey following his speaking out against King Maegor's supression of the Poor Fellows and the Warrior's Sons (TSS: 105)
  • Addam Osgrey served as a page and then as a squire at Coldmoat, and a certain fondness grew between him and Lord Wyman's daughter. When his father proposed a marriage between them, however, the Lord of Coldmoat refused him (TSS: 105, 130)
  • Standfast lies east of Coldmoat. The shortest route between them is the west path, which is little used by 211 (TSS: 110)
  • Addam Osgrey was killed by a knight wearing the arms of House Smallwood, who took off his arm with an axe (TSS: 110)
  • The Osgreys once owned all the land for leagues around Standfast, from Nunny in the east to Cobble Cover. Among their holdings were Coldmoat, the Horseshoe Hills, the caves at Derring Downs, the villages of Dosk, Little Dosk, and Brandybottom, and both sides of Leafy Lake (TSS: 112)
  • Osgrey maids once wed Florents, Swanns, and Tarbecks, and even Hightowers and Blackwoods. (TSS: 112)
  • Wat's Wood once extended to Coldmoat, and before the Conquest aurochs and giant elk could be hunted there by the Osgreys and the kings of the Reach. It slowly dwindled in size, but even around 150 it extended to both sides of the Chequy Water. However, the Webbers took down the trees on their side so as to make pasturage (TSS: 112-113)
  • Great, brown tree cats were rare in Wat's Wood by 211 (TSS: 113)
  • The Chequy Water marks the border between the Webber lands and the Osgrey lands (TSS: 113-114)
  • Standfast is some half a dozen hours ride from Coldmoat (TSS: 114)
  • The Webbers have twenty times the smallfolk under their rule than the Osgreys have under theirs (TSS: 127)
  • The Osgreys lost control of the Chequy Water after the Blackfyre Rebellion, for following Daemon Blackfyre. It was given to the Webbers (TSS: 128, 130)
    • Daemon Blackfyre promised Coldmoat to Ser Eustace Osgrey (TSS: 129, 136)
  • Ser Eustace's wife threw herself from Standfast when her husband returned with the bones of her sons only to give their daughter Alysanne over as a hostage in King's Landing (TSS: 129)
  • If Ser Eustace Osgrey died without an heir, Standfast and all its rights and properties would revert to the crown (TSS: 130-131)
  • Alysanne Osgrey was 7 when was sent to King's Landing as a hostage following Blackfyre's Rebellion, and was 20 when she died as a silent sister (TSS: 136)
  • Wat's Wood was set ablaze in 211, during a dispute between Lady Rohanne and Ser Eustace Greyjoy of Standfast. Neither side claimed responsibility (TSS: 139, 145)
  • The conflict between the Osgreys and the Webbers was resolved following a trial by combat between their respective champions, Ser Duncan the Tall and Ser Lucas Inchfield. Ser Duncan proved the victor, and afterwards Ser Eustace and Lady Rohanne reconciled and wed one another (TSS: 153-155)
Last revised February 28, 2007
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8.2.3.9. The Webbers of Coldmoat
  • In 211, House Webber was ruled by the Red Widow, young Lady Rohanne (born around 186), who had a dark reputation and had conflicted with her neighbor, Ser Eustace Osgrey of Standfast, in the past (TSS: 85-86, 118)
  • Control of the Chequy Water was granted to House Webber following the Blackfyre Rebellion (TSS: 86)
  • House Webber had at least 20 knights in its service, as well as a number of squires, archers, and other troops, in 211 (TSS: 88)
  • The Red Widow was alleged by some to have poisoned three of her four husbands and to have had a hand in the early deaths of the five or six brothers she had had (TSS: 92, 107)
  • Lord Rowan of Goldengrove is liege lord to House Webber (TSS: 92)
  • Lord Wyman Webber was the Red Widow's father. His cousin, Wendell, married Lord Rowan's sister, and they had a number of sons and daughters by 211 (TSS: 92, 105, 123)
  • Coldmoat was once the seat of the Osgreys, and was raised by Lord Perwyn Osgrey, known as Perwyn the Proud (TSS: 104-105)
  • Lord Reynard ruled Coldmoat before Lord Wyman (TSS: 105)
  • Addam Osgrey served as a page and then as a squire at Coldmoat, and a certain fondness grew between him and Lord Wyman's daughter. When his father proposed a marriage between them, however, the Lord of Coldmoat refused him (TSS: 105, 130)
  • Ser Lucas Inchfield, a knight in the service of the Webbers, served as castellan for Lord Wyman and the Red Widow. He was called the Longinch, for his great height (TSS: 105-106)
  • The Red Widow had two children, a boy and a girl, who died in the cradle, but it was claimed that she had had no children at all, while others claimed that when she gave birth, a demon carried the babies off to the Lord of the Seven Hells, for which he'd repay her by teaching her his black arts (TSS: 107, 123)
  • Coldmoat lies west of Standfast. The shortest route between them is the west path which extends from Standfast, but it is little used by 211 (TSS: 110)
  • Wat's Wood once extended as far as Coldmoat, but dwindled over the centuries. The Webbers cleared it from their side of the Chequy Water so as to make pasturage (TSS: 112-113)
  • The Chequy Water marks the border between the Webber lands and the Osgrey lands (TSS: 113-114)
  • Coldmoat is some half a dozen hours ride from Standfast (TSS: 114)
  • Coldmoat is a modest castle, with crenellated outer walls thirty feet high and towers at each corner half again the height of Standfast (TSS: 114)
  • Coldmoat takes its name from the moat that encloses it (TSS: 115)
  • Coldmoat's main gate is arched, and bears the weathered sigil of the Osgreys who raised it (TSS: 115)
  • Coldmoat's entrance is protected by drawbridge, a spiked iron portcullis, and a murder hole (TSS: 115)
  • Coldmoat's moat is more than six feet deep (TSS: 115)
  • Coldmoat's outer ward contains a kennel, a smithy, and a seven-sided sept with leaded glass windows (TSS: 115)
  • Septon Sefton was Lady Rohanne's good-brother by way of her marriage to her third husband, Ser Simon Staunton, who choked to death on a chicken bone (TSS: 116, 120, 123)
  • The simple Lady Helicent was Lady Rohanne's good-sister by way of her brother, Ser Rolland Uffering, who was Lady Webber's fourth husband. He died during the Great Spring Sickness (TSS: 117-118, 122-124)
  • Lady Rohanne was 10 and her first husband, Lord Wyman's squire, was 12 years old when he died on the Redgrass Field (TSS: 118)
  • Besides Ser Lucas Inchfield, who was charged by Lord Wyman to protect Lady Rohanne from unworthy suitors and who has taken that to mean all of them, the Red Widow's suitors include the impoverished Ser Simon Leygood, the pretty but craven Ser Cleyton Caswell, and Ser Gerold Lannister (TSS: 123-124)
  • Lady Rohanne was 13 when she wed her second husband, who was 54 years old and died within months of the marriage before his next name day. She gave him a son 6 months after he was buried, but the child died within 3 days (TSS: 125)
  • The Webbers have twenty times the smallfolk under their rule than the Osgreys have under theirs (TSS: 127)
  • Coldmoat's lands sustain crops of wheat, barley, and corn, as well as a half dozen orchards containing apples, apricots, and three types of pears. Besides that, the lands can support five hundred sheep and a number of other livestock, including cattle and fine horses (TSS: 127)
  • House Webber controlled the Horseshoe Hills in 211 (TSS: 128, 149)
  • House Webber were granted control over the Chequy Water after the Blackfyre Rebellion, from the Horseshoe Hills in which it rises to the Leafy Lake (TSS: 128-130)
  • House Webber was also granted the right to hunt all the red deer, rabbits, and boar in Wat's Wood, as well as to take twenty trees a year from it. These rights would revert to the crown if Ser Eustace Osgrey died without an heir, as would Standfast itself (TSS: 130-131)
  • Wat's Wood was set ablaze in 211, during a dispute between Lady Rohanne and Ser Eustace Greyjoy of Standfast. Neither side claimed responsibility (TSS: 139, 145)
  • The mill on Coldmoat's lands was six leagues to the west of the castle (TSS: 140)
  • Lord Stackhouse coveted the Horseshoe Hills (TSS: 149)
  • In 211, Ser Clifford Conklyn had an old claim to Leafy Lake (TSS: 149)
  • The Durwells allegedly plagued the Webber lands by stealing cattle (TSS: 149)
  • The conflict between the Osgreys and the Webbers was resolved following a trial by combat between their respective champions, Ser Duncan the Tall and Ser Lucas Inchfield. Ser Duncan proved the victor, and afterwards Ser Eustace and Lady Rohanne reconciled and wed one another (TSS: 153-155)
Last revised February 28, 2007
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