House Stark



House Stark is one of the Great Houses of Westeros, ruling over the vast region known as the North from their seat in Winterfell. The head of the house is the Lord of Winterfell. It is by far the oldest, claiming a line of descent stretching back over eight thousand years. Before the Targaryen conquest, the leaders of House Stark ruled over the region as the Kings in the North.

House Stark's sigil is a direwolf on a white field, sometimes white and green. Their family motto is "Winter is Coming".

Background
Before the Targaryen conquest, the leaders of House Stark ruled over the region as the Kings in the North. King Torrhen Stark was on the throne at the time of the Targaryen conquest and marched his army south to face them. He surrendered when he saw their vast host and dragons, believing that fighting was futile. He was made Lord Paramount of the North and served them as Warden of the North.

Season 1
Lord Eddard Stark was executed for treason. His son and heir Robb Stark declared himself King in the North and fought to secede from the Seven Kingdoms in what would become the War of the Five Kings.

Members

 * Lord {Eddard Stark}, called 'Ned', the former head of the family, executed under charge of treason.
 * His wife, Lady Catelyn, of House Tully.
 * Lord Robb Stark, called the 'Young Wolf', the head of the family. Eldest son of Eddard and Catelyn. Now the "King in the North", fighting for Northern independence in the Westerlands.
 * Their eldest daughter, Sansa Stark, now Princess, a hostage of Queen Cersei Lannister at the Red Keep.
 * Their youngest daughter, Arya Stark, also Princess, missing in the Riverlands and serving as cupbearer to Tywin Lannister in Harrenhal under a false identity.
 * Their second son, Bran Stark, now Prince and Robb's heir, a crippled boy, now fugitive.
 * Their youngest son, Rickon Stark, also Prince, now fugitive.
 * Eddard's bastard son by an unknown mother, Jon Snow, a steward of the Night's Watch.
 * Eddard's younger brother, Benjen Stark, First Ranger of the Night's Watch, missing in action.

Vassal Houses

 * House Bolton of the Dreadfort.
 * House Cerwyn of Castle Cerwyn.
 * House Flint of Widow's Watch.
 * House Glover of Deepwood Motte.
 * House Hornwood of Hornwood.
 * House Karstark of Karhold.
 * House Locke of Oldcastle.
 * House Manderly of White Harbour
 * House Mormont of Bear Island.
 * House Reed of Greywater Watch.
 * House Tallhart of Torrhen's Square.
 * House Umber of the Last Hearth.
 * House Cassel

Household

 * Maester Luwin, counselor, healer and tutor.
 * Theon Greyjoy, ward and hostage of Lord Eddard. Betrayed House Stark to his father Balon and took over Winterfell in the name of House Greyjoy.
 * {Vayon Poole}, steward of Winterfell. Executed during the purge of the Stark household.
 * Jeyne Poole, his daughter. Whereabouts unknown.
 * Ser {Rodrik Cassel}, master-at-arms. Executed by Theon Greyjoy.
 * {Jory Cassel}, his nephew and Lord Stark's captain of the guards. Killed by Ser Jaime Lannister
 * Septa {Mordane}, tutor of Sansa and Arya. Executed during the purge of the Stark household.
 * {Nan}, called 'Old Nan', a former wetnurse turned storyteller. Perished of old age.
 * Hodor, a simpleminded stableboy.
 * Osha, a captive wildling spearwife made kitchen wench, now a loyal protector Princes Bran and Rickon.
 * Farlen, the kennelmaster at Winterfell
 * Mikken, a smith.

Vassals and allies

 * Greatjon Umber, called 'The Greatjon', Lord of Last Hearth
 * Galbart Glover, Master of Deepwood Motte
 * Maege Mormont, Lady of Bear Island
 * Rickard Karstark, Lord of Karhold
 * Roose Bolton, Lord of the Dreadfort

Military strength
Due to the North's vast size, gathering the full military strength of the Starks and their vassals is a difficult process, requiring months of travel time and the ability to supply and feed the host even before it sets out.

For this reason, the 18,000 men Robb Stark takes south to confront the Lannisters is not the full strength of the North, only what could be assembled at relatively short notice. Regardless, the men of the North are skilled warriors who are accustomed to being outnumbered.

In the books
In the Song of Ice and Fire novels, House Stark was founded by Brandon the Builder, a semi-mythical figure who is credited with building the Wall and Winterfell, founding the Night's Watch and ensuring the survival of the people of Westeros after the mythical Long Night and the War for the Dawn against the enigmatic Others. The family has survived for over 8,000 years and was the independent royal house of the vast territories of the North until King Aegon the Conqueror overran the southern half of the continent. By the time the King in the North, Torrhen Stark, had gathered together his widely scattered bannermen, Aegon had already conquered most of the South. Particularly, Aegon had already used his dragons to inflict a crushing defeat on both the Westerlands and the Reach at the Field of Fire. Torrhen Stark finally advanced south to the Riverlands with the amassed armies of the North to a confrontation with Aegon, but upon seeing Aegon's vast numerical superiority and his dragons realized he had no hope of victory, and chose to bend the knee in submission.

The civil war known as Robert's Rebellion began when Lyanna Stark was kidnapped by Prince Rhaegar Targaryen. Lord Rickard Stark and his son and heir Brandon both demanded her return from King Aerys II Targaryen and were executed by the Mad King for their presumption. Eddard Stark, now the head of the family, called the banners of the North to war, supported by House Baratheon, House Tully and House Arryn. It was decided that Robert Baratheon would claim the throne due to his strong claim as the grand-nephew of a previous Targaryen king. During the civil war Stark troops were instrumental in several engagements, including the Battle of the Bells and the Battle of the Trident, and it was Eddard Stark's forces which reached King's Landing just after the Lannisters had sacked it, ensuring the city was turned over to Robert's army when it arrived. The Starks also proved instrumental in the later Greyjoy Rebellion, lending troops used by Robert to storm the castle of Pyke and crush the uprising.

In the novels, all of Lord Stark's children have auburn hair, with the exception of Arya, who is said to resemble her aunt, Lyanna, and Jon, who is a bastard and therefore does not have the Tully genes.

Many houses sworn to House Stark in the books have yet to appear in the series:

Lesser Houses
 * House Condon
 * House Fenn
 * House Flint of Flint's Finger
 * House Ironsmith
 * House Lake
 * House Lightfoot
 * House Marsh
 * House Mollen
 * House Moss
 * House Overton
 * House Poole
 * House Reed
 * House Slate
 * House Stout
 * House Waterman
 * House Wells
 * House Woolfield

Mountain Clans
 * Burley
 * Flint of the Mountains
 * Harclay
 * Nott
 * Liddle
 * Norrey
 * Wull

Skagos Clans
 * Crowl
 * Magnar
 * Stane