The Ancient Order of Sword and Star
Dec 31, 2017 15:14:46 GMT
voice, sagenadia, and 2 more like this
Post by lynn on Dec 31, 2017 15:14:46 GMT
I came across this interesting quote about this sacred order:
On the surface this is about restoring the Faith Militant which has a history going back 300 years. However, the High Sparrow talks of the rebirth of this order from a more ancient order of the Warrior and the Shining Sword.
Cersei goes on to describe some of the stories about the ancient order, that don't quite seem to fit with the current understanding of the Faith Militant:
Among their company are sorcerers, dragonslayers, demonhunters. In addition, the warriors arm themselves with swords with star shaped crystals in their long swords. I question whether these swords are styled after the sword of the morning:
The bright white star blazing like a diamond and the swords with the inset crystals brings to mind the sigil of House Dayne; essentially a sword and star.
The Dawn Sword is said to be made from the heart of a 'fallen star' and this has many interpretations; but I wonder if in it's simplest form, the sword carries a diamond in it's pommel; the 'fallen star' of the constellation.
We've seen something of the power of crystals in the story; specifically Mel's ruby. So can there be some magic imbued in a diamond; something that extends to the sword as a whole? This could explain why the sword is alive with light.
For comparison:
The seven sided crystal is an object of veneration; but what is the origin of it's use? The crystal reflects and refracts light into it's parts.
A Game of Thrones - Jon III
The Wall is another crystal, alive with light.
Is the sword alive with the light of a crystal or diamond in it's pommel.
In this description; we have a sorcerer using her ruby to create a sword alive with light. What I find fascinating is that the Wall itself is alive with light, waves of color dancing across the ice.
The Wall itself is full of power which Melisandre says Jon can use if he chooses. Is she also drawing from the power of the Wall at this point to put on her display which nearly puts and end to her? She says the Wall is one of the hinges of the world; not only a doorway to connected places; but a hinge also connects objects to each other.
The description of the warrior shield is also interesting. A shining sword on a black field, something reflected in the oath of the Night's Watch.... "I am the sword that burns against the night, the shield that protects the realms of men." So another connection between the dawn sword, the Watch and the 'ancient order'.
The fact that Melisandre, a sorceress has shown up at the Wall is also curious since the ancient order included sorcerers, demonslayers and dragonkillers. This may be why Mel claims that the Wall is as much her place as it is Jon's place... she has some knowledge of this ancient order.
So when we come the mysterious words of House Dayne and the reason they weren't included in the WoIaF (too spoilery); it occurs to me that the words might come from the mysterious High Sparrow; in the process of remaking the Faith Militant:
So can we learn something more from the High Sparrow about who might be worthy to claim the Dawn Sword or who might lead the Faith Militant to war against the 'minions of the night'?
I'm also curious about the High Sparrow's gesture - making a steeple of his hands and looking towards heaven.
The words of House Arryn: As High as Honor.
A Feast for Crows - Cersei VI
"—could be undone." She let that hang there, waiting for the High Sparrow to rise to the bait.
He did not disappoint her. "The Faith Militant reborn . . . that would be the answer to three hundred years of prayer, Your Grace. The Warrior would lift his shining sword again and cleanse this sinful realm of all its evil. If His Grace were to allow me to restore the ancient blessed orders of the Sword and Star, every godly man in the Seven Kingdoms would know him to be our true and rightful lord."
"—could be undone." She let that hang there, waiting for the High Sparrow to rise to the bait.
He did not disappoint her. "The Faith Militant reborn . . . that would be the answer to three hundred years of prayer, Your Grace. The Warrior would lift his shining sword again and cleanse this sinful realm of all its evil. If His Grace were to allow me to restore the ancient blessed orders of the Sword and Star, every godly man in the Seven Kingdoms would know him to be our true and rightful lord."
Cersei goes on to describe some of the stories about the ancient order, that don't quite seem to fit with the current understanding of the Faith Militant:
A Feast for Crows - Cersei VI
Lady Merryweather shared the queen's delight, though she had never heard of the Warrior's Sons or the Poor Fellows. "They date from before Aegon's Conquest," Cersei explained to her. "The Warrior's Sons were an order of knights who gave up their lands and gold and swore their swords to His High Holiness. The Poor Fellows . . . they were humbler, though far more numerous. Begging brothers of a sort, though they carried axes instead of bowls. They wandered the roads, escorting travelers from sept to sept and town to town. Their badge was the seven-pointed star, red on white, so the smallfolk named them Stars. The Warrior's Sons wore rainbow cloaks and inlaid silver armor over hair shirts, and bore star-shaped crystals in the pommels of their longswords. They were the Swords. Holy men, ascetics, fanatics, sorcerers, dragonslayers, demonhunters . . . there were many tales about them. But all agree that they were implacable in their hatred for all enemies of the Holy Faith."
Lady Merryweather shared the queen's delight, though she had never heard of the Warrior's Sons or the Poor Fellows. "They date from before Aegon's Conquest," Cersei explained to her. "The Warrior's Sons were an order of knights who gave up their lands and gold and swore their swords to His High Holiness. The Poor Fellows . . . they were humbler, though far more numerous. Begging brothers of a sort, though they carried axes instead of bowls. They wandered the roads, escorting travelers from sept to sept and town to town. Their badge was the seven-pointed star, red on white, so the smallfolk named them Stars. The Warrior's Sons wore rainbow cloaks and inlaid silver armor over hair shirts, and bore star-shaped crystals in the pommels of their longswords. They were the Swords. Holy men, ascetics, fanatics, sorcerers, dragonslayers, demonhunters . . . there were many tales about them. But all agree that they were implacable in their hatred for all enemies of the Holy Faith."
A Storm of Swords - Jon IV
Ghost was gone when the wildings led their horses from the cave. Did he understand about Castle Black? Jon took a breath of the crisp morning air and allowed himself to hope. The eastern sky was pink near the horizon and pale grey higher up. The Sword of the Morning still hung in the south, the bright white star in its hilt blazing like a diamond in the dawn, but the blacks and greys of the darkling forest were turning once again to greens and golds, reds and russets. And above the soldier pines and oaks and ash and sentinels stood the Wall, the ice pale and glimmering beneath the dust and dirt that pocked its surface.
Ghost was gone when the wildings led their horses from the cave. Did he understand about Castle Black? Jon took a breath of the crisp morning air and allowed himself to hope. The eastern sky was pink near the horizon and pale grey higher up. The Sword of the Morning still hung in the south, the bright white star in its hilt blazing like a diamond in the dawn, but the blacks and greys of the darkling forest were turning once again to greens and golds, reds and russets. And above the soldier pines and oaks and ash and sentinels stood the Wall, the ice pale and glimmering beneath the dust and dirt that pocked its surface.
The Dawn Sword is said to be made from the heart of a 'fallen star' and this has many interpretations; but I wonder if in it's simplest form, the sword carries a diamond in it's pommel; the 'fallen star' of the constellation.
We've seen something of the power of crystals in the story; specifically Mel's ruby. So can there be some magic imbued in a diamond; something that extends to the sword as a whole? This could explain why the sword is alive with light.
For comparison:
A Game of Thrones - Catelyn I
Catelyn had been anointed with the seven oils and named in the rainbow of light that filled the sept of Riverrun. She was of the Faith, like her father and grandfather and his father before him. Her gods had names, and their faces were as familiar as the faces of her parents. Worship was a septon with a censer, the smell of incense, a seven-sided crystal alive with light, voices raised in song. The Tullys kept a godswood, as all the great houses did, but it was only a place to walk or read or lie in the sun. Worship was for the sept.
Catelyn had been anointed with the seven oils and named in the rainbow of light that filled the sept of Riverrun. She was of the Faith, like her father and grandfather and his father before him. Her gods had names, and their faces were as familiar as the faces of her parents. Worship was a septon with a censer, the smell of incense, a seven-sided crystal alive with light, voices raised in song. The Tullys kept a godswood, as all the great houses did, but it was only a place to walk or read or lie in the sun. Worship was for the sept.
A Game of Thrones - Jon III
"Best you start thinking," Noye warned him. "That, or sleep with a dagger by your bed. Now go."
By the time Jon left the armory, it was almost midday. The sun had broken through the clouds. He turned his back on it and lifted his eyes to the Wall, blazing blue and crystalline in the sunlight. Even after all these weeks, the sight of it still gave him the shivers. Centuries of windblown dirt had pocked and scoured it, covering it like a film, and it often seemed a pale grey, the color of an overcast sky … but when the sun caught it fair on a bright day, it shone, alive with light, a colossal blue-white cliff that filled up half the sky.
By the time Jon left the armory, it was almost midday. The sun had broken through the clouds. He turned his back on it and lifted his eyes to the Wall, blazing blue and crystalline in the sunlight. Even after all these weeks, the sight of it still gave him the shivers. Centuries of windblown dirt had pocked and scoured it, covering it like a film, and it often seemed a pale grey, the color of an overcast sky … but when the sun caught it fair on a bright day, it shone, alive with light, a colossal blue-white cliff that filled up half the sky.
A Game of Thrones - Eddard X
Ned's wraiths moved up beside him, with shadow swords in hand. They were seven against three.
"And now it begins," said Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning. He unsheathed Dawn and held it with both hands. The blade was pale as milkglass, alive with light.
Ned's wraiths moved up beside him, with shadow swords in hand. They were seven against three.
"And now it begins," said Ser Arthur Dayne, the Sword of the Morning. He unsheathed Dawn and held it with both hands. The blade was pale as milkglass, alive with light.
A Dance with Dragons - Jon III
Stannis Baratheon drew Lightbringer.
The sword glowed red and yellow and orange, alive with light. Jon had seen the show before … but not like this, never before like this. Lightbringer was the sun made steel. When Stannis raised the blade above his head, men had to turn their heads or cover their eyes. Horses shied, and one threw his rider. The blaze in the fire pit seemed to shrink before this storm of light, like a small dog cowering before a larger one. The Wall itself turned red and pink and orange, as waves of color danced across the ice. Is this the power of king's blood?
Stannis Baratheon drew Lightbringer.
The sword glowed red and yellow and orange, alive with light. Jon had seen the show before … but not like this, never before like this. Lightbringer was the sun made steel. When Stannis raised the blade above his head, men had to turn their heads or cover their eyes. Horses shied, and one threw his rider. The blaze in the fire pit seemed to shrink before this storm of light, like a small dog cowering before a larger one. The Wall itself turned red and pink and orange, as waves of color danced across the ice. Is this the power of king's blood?
In this description; we have a sorcerer using her ruby to create a sword alive with light. What I find fascinating is that the Wall itself is alive with light, waves of color dancing across the ice.
The Wall itself is full of power which Melisandre says Jon can use if he chooses. Is she also drawing from the power of the Wall at this point to put on her display which nearly puts and end to her? She says the Wall is one of the hinges of the world; not only a doorway to connected places; but a hinge also connects objects to each other.
The description of the warrior shield is also interesting. A shining sword on a black field, something reflected in the oath of the Night's Watch.... "I am the sword that burns against the night, the shield that protects the realms of men." So another connection between the dawn sword, the Watch and the 'ancient order'.
The fact that Melisandre, a sorceress has shown up at the Wall is also curious since the ancient order included sorcerers, demonslayers and dragonkillers. This may be why Mel claims that the Wall is as much her place as it is Jon's place... she has some knowledge of this ancient order.
So when we come the mysterious words of House Dayne and the reason they weren't included in the WoIaF (too spoilery); it occurs to me that the words might come from the mysterious High Sparrow; in the process of remaking the Faith Militant:
A Feast for Crows - Cersei VI
"Seven save His Grace. Long may he reign." The High Septon made a steeple of his hands and raised his eyes to heaven. "Let the wicked tremble!"
"Seven save His Grace. Long may he reign." The High Septon made a steeple of his hands and raised his eyes to heaven. "Let the wicked tremble!"
So can we learn something more from the High Sparrow about who might be worthy to claim the Dawn Sword or who might lead the Faith Militant to war against the 'minions of the night'?
I'm also curious about the High Sparrow's gesture - making a steeple of his hands and looking towards heaven.
The Eyrie is the smallest of the great castles, consisting only of a cluster of seven slim, white towers bunched tightly together. They can hold up to five hundred men.[2] The castle is made of fine white stone.[3] The towers encircle a garden, which had been meant as a godswood, but no weirwood heart tree would take root in the stony soil.[4] The garden, which is overlooked by Lady Lysa Arryn's apartments, instead contains grass, shrubbery, and statuary.[5]