Lord of Bones

"He's not yours to kill... crow!"

- The Lord of Bones to Qhorin Halfhand, on Jon Snow

The Lord of Bones is a character in the second season. He is played by Edward Dogliani. The Lord of Bones is a notorious leader of a warband among the Free Folk and a fearsome raider.

Background
The Lord of Bones is a notorious wildling warrior leader. He is known for wearing a giant's skull instead of a helmet and armor made of bones, which he wears to intimidate his enemies. The noise made by the shirt when he moves gives him his nickname. His real name is not known.

Season 2
Ygritte takes Jon Snow to the rest of the warparty and introduces him to the Lord of Bones and as "a present". The wildling commander is dismissive of Ygritte's arguments to keep him alive, as he already has Qhorin Halfhand as prisoner. He relents, however, after Ygritte's insistence and the reminder that Mance Rayder would want to decide for himself whether the bastard son of Ned Stark lives or dies. However, he threatens Ygritte to castrate Jon should he try to escape. As the warband and their prisoners march to Mance Rayder's camp in Skirling Pass, Qhorin attacks Jon, blaming him for the deaths of Stonesnake, Borba and Harker. The Lord of Bones warns the Halfhand not to strike his captive again.

When Halfhand attacks Jon once again, as part of his plan to have Jon infiltrate Mance Rayder's host, the Lord of Bones orders his men to let the two fight. After Jon kills Qhorin, the Lord of Bones cuts the ropes binding his hands together and orders his men to burn the Halfhand's corpse.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Lord of Bones is one of a number of formerly fiercely independent wildling warrior leaders who has been recruited by Mance Rayder, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, to join his forces. He is a fierce enemy of the Night's Watch. Though he refers to himself as the Lord of Bones, the Night's Watch dubbed him "Rattleshirt" as a mockery of the rattle sound produced by his armor. His true name is unknown.