Bowen Marsh

"You knelt as boys; rise now, as men of the Night's Watch"

- Bowen to Sam and Jon

Bowen Marsh is a recurring character in the first. He is played by guest star Brian Fortune and debuts in "You Win or You Die". Bowen Marsh is the First Steward of the Night's Watch.

Background
Bowen Marsh is the First Steward of the Night's Watch, based at Castle Black. He is in charge of the day-to-day running of the Night's Watch, dealing with issues of supplies, funding, logistics and communications.

Season 1
Bowen Marsh accompanies Jon Snow and Samwell Tarly into the Haunted Forest to witness them saying their oaths of loyalty to the Watch in front of a heart tree. He is among the first to congratulate them on entering the Watch, and is also present when Ghost returns with a corpse's hand in his mouth. The party discover the corpses of Othor and Jafer Flowers and return them to Castle Black. He confirms Sam's discovery that the corpses do not smell, which is odd since they appear to have been dead for weeks.

Behind the scenes
HBO announced Fortune as playing "Night's Watch Officer", but according to the actor and other sources this is the same role as Bowen Marsh in the books.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Marsh, nicknamed "the Old Pomegranate," is an important and senior figure in the Watch, reporting directly to Lord Commander Jeor Mormont and is just below him in the command hierarchy of the Watch. When Mormont and the rest of the Night's Watch ride out to investigate the wildling menace in the so-called "Great Ranging", he remains in command at Castle Black. Bowen Marsh hails from House Marsh, a noble house from the Neck sworn to House Reed.