Given the provenance of the name Brandon to the Starks, is there any explanation as to why Ned and Catelyn named their eldest Robb, which doesn't appear to have any significance, and only their second son Brandon? Do we know Eddard chose/gave his approval to naming his eldest 'Robb', or could that have been Catelyn's unilateral decision, and why?
They are named accordingly to their importance in the overall story ^^
Yes, and maestercambodia, wasn't Robb was named after Robert Baratheon?
"I can see it. You have more of the north in you than your brothers."
If only we knew the Old Tongue word for Winter... mayhaps it's "Stark."
Names such as Brandon the Builder, Garth Greenhand, Lann the Clever, and Durran Godsgrief are names to conjure with, but it is likely that their legends hold less truth than fancy.
a passing thought re these 4 names mentioned in the same sentence:
the Lannisters descend from Lann the Clever the Durrandons descended from Durran Godsgrief the Gardeners of the Reach descended from Garth the Gardener perhaps the 'Starks' actually descend from Brandon (first-of-his-name) and hence carry the name each generation. And the Wif confirms this by telling us that Brandon of the Bloody Blade is an ancestor of BtB.
I have little knowledge of Norse mythology but have read in the threadnet that much of the North events & characters have some Norse influence; so what about this one (extracted from wikipedia):
Starkad (Old Norse: Starkaðr or Störkuðr; Latin: Starcaterus; in the Late Middle Ages also Starkodder; modern Danish: Stærkodder) was a legendary hero in Norse mythology.
Starkad appears in numerous accounts, and the stories of his adventures relate to different Scandinavian traditions. He is most fully treated in Gesta Danorum but he also appears in Icelandic sources. He is portrayed as a great warrior who performed many heroic deeds but also many crimes. (There is lots more about him further on the page which i have not deciphered)
hmmm, shades of Brandon of the Bloody Blade and Brandon the Builder? his descendants changed their name? were given a name by the vanquished northmen?
"Arya did not dare take a bath, even though she smelled as bad as Yoren by now, all sour and stinky. Some of the creatures living in her clothes had come all the way from Flea Bottom with her; it didn’t seem right to drown them."
Just for reference, the known words in the Old Tongue are:
Magnar - Lord Skagos - Stone Sygerrik - Deceiver
and (less a word):
Woh dak nag gram - Little Squirrel People (to associate the CotF with squirrels one would imagine they were often found in extremely close proximity to trees, unsurprisingly )
Apropos of nothing, "Lord Stone Deceiver" would be a badass WoW handle
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