Post by specterace on Nov 25, 2016 0:56:55 GMT
I would keep in mind that we know that Ned thought the northerners at least did something noble as Barbrey mentions in ADWD that when Ned came to Barrowton after the war to inform her that William had died, he specifically told her that he had died honourably.
Ned could of course be playing the part of the sympathizing lord trying to console the grieving widow (and we definitely know that Ned and William were good friends as Cat remembers William at their wedding), but I doubt it.
Well, I wasn't trying to imply that the events that Ned took part in at the Tower of Joy were malicious. But rather, that Ned discovered something that happened there that inspired him to tear down that tower to make it into 8 cairns. Which, personally, I think better fits Ned wanting to banish the memory of something associated with that tower as opposed to just feeling penance for something and using what was available. For the latter, he could have brought Arthur's body to Starfall instead, and taken the bodies of his men north. But the former almost implies that Ned wanted to erase that tower and everything about it from memory and replace it with something more worthy of remembrance (which ties in with creating 8 cairns for fallen men). Hence why I think Ned had feelings towards that tower that were more... resentful, if you will, than grief or regret.
Ned is perfectly willing to praise a man for doing their duty. Not doing their duty however will cause him to turn on that man. And so if the Kingsguard had oaths they couldn't disobey, then Ned wouldn't hold it against them no matter what they did.
Anybody having sex with Lyanna other than Robert is doing to dishonour the north. The person not being Rhaegar doesn't change that.
Exactly. (Though I'm sure Ned and the Starks might not appreciate Robert fucking Lyanna before actually marrying her. But then again, if they only found out after the wedding that those two preempted their wedding night, they'd probably be cool with it lol)
Jon Arryn also happened to be the only one actually able to call his banners though. Rickard was in the Riverlands, Ned the Vale, and Robert the Vale. None of them can call their banners besides Jon. Jon is the first to call his banners because he actually could. There might be something more nefarious too, but the physical location of these people also definitely matter.
Not to mention Rickard marched on King's Landing with 200 of his best swords when he answered Aerys' call, so it's not exactly like he simply did nothing. He showed up with a small elite group of his best men.
Indeed. The books and lore seem to be pretty consistent as to where a Lord actually has to be to call his banners (or attempt to call his banners). Ned had to escape from the Vale to Winterfell (and not, say, White Harbor, the first Northern town he arrived at) to call his banners (it's why he wasn't at Gulltown). Robert had to escape from the Vale and get to Storm's End to try and call his (which is why Gulltown was fought to begin with). Stannis had to get to Dragonstone to call his. Renly had to get out of King's Landing and get to Storm's End to call (what he claimed were) his. More to the point, Stannis had to actually go to and stay at Storm's End to claim those Stormlands bannermen that were Renly's before his murder. Robb, not Ned, is the only Stark capable of calling the North's banners once Ned gets imprisoned, because he's actually at Winterfell. Tywin Lannister called his at Casterly Rock. Same with Balon Greyjoy at Pyke.
The common thread? You have to be at your region's seat of power to actually call your banners. You can't just call them from wherever, not even if you're in your home region itself (the only exception might be if your seat of power got taken and you're calling them from a temporary seat at the time).
Maybe Jon Arryn had greater ambitions than we see in the book (I certainly find his willingness to get as deeply into bed with Tywin and the Lannisters as he did to be very suspicious, myself). But when the Rebellion started, Jon was the only one who called his banners because he was the only one who actually could.
And the fact that Ned and Robert didn't follow on Brandon's heels to KL to demand that Rhaegar answer for Lyanna's abduction also has a good probable explanation: They were in the Vale, in the house of Jon Arryn. Jon likely held them back, though it was likely hard to do so with Robert given that Robert says that he swore to kill Rhaegar with his own hands when he heard what Rhaegar did to Lyanna. So Robert was willing to go out and kill Rhaegar (and thus, invite war) not because Robert's life was in danger or because his pride was hurt, but because of Lyanna. But Jon Arryn (a man Robert respected like none other) likely told him it was suicidal to do so, and to wait for more information/support. Unfortunately, no one was there to hold Brandon back, so off he went.
I don't think you'll ever be able to find it either as I have no idea what piece you're talking about lol. Pretty sure I've just made comments in threads over the years about various topics related to it, but never a full on piece about what happened.
Personally, my favorite essay/long comment of Mark's is when he systematically demolished Barristan's "Prince Rhaegar loved his Lady Lyanna, and thousands died for it" quote. Mark pretty much exposed Barristan's whole train of thought (where Barristan remembers other supposed "love doomed Westeros" situations) as a pack of lies and misremembrances, and then raised the following very valid question:
"What's the probability that among all those historical claims that Barristan got totally wrong, that the one he made about Rhaegar and Lyanna was the only one he actually got RIGHT?