Post by stdaga on Jun 10, 2020 13:25:21 GMT
Maybe this is what Ned meant when he said Brandon was born to be Hand and a father to queens. He was to be Robert's Hand and his daughter with Cat would marry Lyanna's son. Basically i feel Rhaegar is much misunderstood And i try to make sense of the entire rebellion because we don't have the whole story. What do you think ? Am I not focusing enough on prophecy or is politics a more realistic cause for war?
The more I think about this, the less it feels correct. Why would Brandon be set up to be Robert's hand? They have no connection to each other. It's Ned and Robert who were raised together, close as brothers. It makes more sense that it was always supposed to be Ned to have a loyal bond with Robert. But it also doesn't make sense to have a youthful hand with a youthful king. I would imagine if Robert was always meant to be placed on the throne, then an older, more seasoned hand makes sense. Tywin, Rickard, or Jon Arryn feel more likely to me. And I expect Tywin most of all, since he was once hand, probably enjoyed the power of it, and would want to be hand again.
If the plan was to place Robert on the throne, and he was married to Lyanna, then her children would one day be heirs, linking the Stark's to the throne. So, I don't see the need for Brandon's child to marry Lyanna's child in this scenario. And politically it seems to give too much to the Stark's and not enough to the other houses that schemed to put Robert on the throne.
That brought a bitter twist to Ned's mouth. "Brandon. Yes. Brandon would know what to do. He always did. It was all meant for Brandon. You, Winterfell, everything. He was born to be a King's Hand and a father to queens. I never asked for this cup to pass to me." AGOT-Catelyn II
It is an interesting line by Ned though, I can't deny. Perhaps Ned is merely highlighting the "great honors" that Catelyn is so happy about for him, and pointing out, not that Brandon specifically was destined for these roles, but that Brandon as the eldest was more likely to get all the "great honors" that would fall to the Lord of Winterfell. So far, I don't see much in Brandon's background that highlights that he was being groomed to be the Hand of a King. Although Rickard might have wanted this for him, and Barbrey does give us some idea that she thinks Rickard Stark had great ambitions.