Post by DarkSister1001 on Sept 17, 2016 19:21:01 GMT
Ironwood, a tree indigenous to the north, is mentioned only a total of ten times in the series; almost all in the initial book, A Game of Thrones. In precisely half of these instances the ironwood has been altered or formed into an object; in the other half they are in the forests of notable locations, the wolfswood near Deepwood Motte, the Haunted Forest near the Wall, around Craster’s Keep and in the godswood of Winterfell around the heart tree. The presence of ironwood objects symbolizes protection.
I'd like to point out the there are real world Ironwood Trees.
The wood of the Ironwood is one of the hardest and heaviest woods in the world (Búrquez 1999). It is remarkably resistant to rotting, perhaps because its heartwood is rich in toxic chemicals that make it essentially non-biodegradable (Dimmitt 2000a). Ironwood trunks can persist for up to 1600 years (Dimmitt 2000a).
The ecological importance of the ironwood tree comes largely through the roles it plays for over 500 other species in the Sonoran Desert (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum 2000). Ironwood trees function as a habitat-modifying keystone species, that is, a species that exhibits strong influences on the distribution and abundance of associated species (Mills et al. 1993). A chain of influences generated by ironwoods on associated understory plants affects their dispersal, germination, establishment, and rates of growth as well as reproduction. These ecological dynamics are termed “nurse plant ecology.” - Desert Museum
The ecological importance of the ironwood tree comes largely through the roles it plays for over 500 other species in the Sonoran Desert (Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum 2000). Ironwood trees function as a habitat-modifying keystone species, that is, a species that exhibits strong influences on the distribution and abundance of associated species (Mills et al. 1993). A chain of influences generated by ironwoods on associated understory plants affects their dispersal, germination, establishment, and rates of growth as well as reproduction. These ecological dynamics are termed “nurse plant ecology.” - Desert Museum
Ned executes Gared on an Ironwood stump.
“In truth, the man was an oathbreaker, a deserter from the Night’s Watch. No man is more dangerous. The deserter knows his life is forfeit if he is taken, so he will not flinch from any crime, no matter how vile.” - AGoT, Bran I
Ned explains to Bran that the execution was done to protect the realm from the criminal. Going deeper,
“…why I must do it… our way is the older way. The blood of the First Men still flows in the veins of the Starks, and we hold to the belief that the man who passes the sentence should swing the sword. If you would take a man’s like, you owe it to him to look into his eyes and hear his final words. And if you cannot bear to do that, then perhaps the man does not deserve to die.”
In executing the man himself and teaching his sons about it Ned is protecting their way, the old way.
In the same chapter ironwood is mentioned again. On the riverbank, north of the bridge they found the dead direwolf and her litter of pups. After convincing Ned to allow them to keep the pups they start back to Winterfell with five little fur balls.
“…Bran could hear the wind in the trees, the clatter of their hooves on the ironwood planks…”
Then Jon finds the sixth, Ghost. The direwolves protect the Stark children. The earliest and most prominent protection is from Summer (before he is named). Summer attacks the catspaw hired to kill Bran while in the coma. Other examples are Nymeria attacking Joffrey, Grey Wind biting off the fingers of Greatjon Umber when he intimidates Robb, Summer, Grey Wind and Shaggy Dog cornering Tyrion after he’s suspected of the assassination attempt on Bran and Ghost discovering dragonglass that Sam uses to slay the Other. Even Catelyn, an outsider to the North and a Stark by marriage alone recognizes their importance to the protection of the Stark children and their powerful intuition. She tells Robb:
“Any man Grey Wind mislikes is a man I do not want close to you. These wolves are more than wolves, Robb. You must know that. I think perhaps the gods sent them to us. Your father’s gods, the old gods of the north” (Catelyn ASoS, Chapter 14).
In preparation to leave for King’s Landing “Arya was in her room, packing a polished ironwood chest that was bigger than she was.” She had already nonchalantly thrown her belongings into the chest and now Septa Mordane was making her repack neatly. Jon comes in to say his final goodbye before leaving for the Wall. When Arya explains why she must repack he tells Arya,
“It’s just as well. I have something for you to take with you, and it has to be packed very carefully”.
He gives her Needle, the bravos blade he had made for her. She protected it in her journey South in the ironwood chest, protected it from discovery and Needle has protected her. Her “water dancing” training has aided her in her flight from King’s Landing and her resulting journeys. Needle has been her connection to the North, Jon and Winterfell, even when it wasn’t with her. Ironically, she uses Needle to bring the king’s justice to another deserter from the Night’s Watch.
As she crossed in back of the wagon, a fallen chest caught her eye. It must have been knocked down in the fight or dropped as it was being loaded. The wood had split, the lid opening to spill the chest's contents across the ground. Arya recognized silks and satins and velvets she never wore. She might need warm clothes on the kingsroad, though … and besides …
Arya knelt in the dirt among the scattered clothes. She found a heavy woolen cloak, a velvet skirt and a silk tunic and some smallclothes, a dress her mother had embroidered for her, a silver baby bracelet she might sell. Shoving the broken lid out of the way, she groped inside the chest for Needle. She had hidden it way down at the bottom, under everything, but her stuff had all been jumbled around when the chest was dropped. For a moment Arya was afraid someone had found the sword and stolen it. Then her fingers felt the hardness of metal under a satin gown.
Arya knelt in the dirt among the scattered clothes. She found a heavy woolen cloak, a velvet skirt and a silk tunic and some smallclothes, a dress her mother had embroidered for her, a silver baby bracelet she might sell. Shoving the broken lid out of the way, she groped inside the chest for Needle. She had hidden it way down at the bottom, under everything, but her stuff had all been jumbled around when the chest was dropped. For a moment Arya was afraid someone had found the sword and stolen it. Then her fingers felt the hardness of metal under a satin gown.
The Ironwood chest kept her secret safe and she was able to use Needle to protect herself.
The next ironwood object is in Chapter 62 of A Game of Thrones. Tyrion is reunited with Tywin and his host in the Riverlands just before the Battle of the Green Fork. Tyrion has the Vale clansmen with him and has promised to outfit them all with weapons and armor. Leo Lefford has charge of the Lannister supplies and equipped Tyrion and the clansmen with weapons and armor. Before the battle the next morning Shae and Pod help Tyrion don his armor.
“Pod handed him his shield, a massive slab of ironwood banded with steel”.
A shield by definition is protection. For the battle Tywin gave Tyrion and his clansmen over to the left vanguard under the direction of Gregor Clegane. Tyrion suspects that Tywin was setting up a situation that would likely end in the death of Tyrion. When confronted by this Tywin shrugs off the accusation and said he positioned them there with the intent of baiting the enemy with the undisciplined clansmen.
And finally, the last object ironwood object is the door to the Winterfell crypts. The door is only described once and from the inside. In chapter 69 of A Game of Thrones Bran, Hodor, Jojen, Meera, Osha, Rickon, Summer and Shaggy Dog reemerge after hiding in the crypts following the “deaths” of Bran and Rickon at the hands of Theon and “Reek”.
The door to the crypts was made of ironwood. It was old and heavy and lay at a slant to the ground. Only one person could approach it at a time.
The crypts of Winterfell are a sacred place. Their concealment in the crypts behind that old, heavy door protected them until they were able to escape Winterfell safely. There may be more those doors are protecting but that will have to wait for another book(s).
Substituting “y” for “i” is common in the series. Blackfyre, Blacktyde, Redwyne & Pyke are a few of the most common, but there are many others. Basing the pronunciation on this spelling pattern, the audiobooks and the general consensus of the forums means that Yronwood is pronounced “Ironwood”. According to the Citadel, the words of House Yronwood are “We Guard the Way”. House Yronwood guarding the way through the Boneway Pass in the Red Mountains of Dorne and protecting Quentyn on his journey reinforces that the occurrence of ironwood/Yronwood in the series symbolizes protection. There's speculation that House Yronwood may be protecting information about House Dayne, but we'll need more books to confirm.
