House Bracken

"The red stallion was always a welcome sight at Riverrun. My father counts Jonos Bracken amongst his oldest and most loyal bannermen."

- Catelyn Stark

House Bracken is a vassal house that holds fealty to House Tully of Riverrun. Their lands are in the heart of the Riverlands, located along the banks of the Red Fork of the Trident. Their seat is known as Stone Hedge. The head of the house holds the title Lord of Stone Hedge. Their current lord is Jonos Bracken.

House Bracken's sigil is a red stallion on a golden shield with a brown field.

The Brackens hold an ancient grudge against their neighbors, the Blackwoods of Raventree Hall. The two houses, which hold the blood of the First Men in their veins and merged with the invading Andals rather than being completely conquered by them, competed for the throne of the Riverlands when it was an independent kingdom. The enmity and competition continues to this day and was increased when House Bracken converted to the Faith of the Seven.

Known members

 * Lord Jonos Bracken, the current head of the family.
 * Ser Willas Bracken, a knight of the house.

Household

 * {Kurleket}, a man-at-arms sworn to House Bracken. Killed by hill tribesmen while escorting Catelyn Stark through the Mountains of the Moon.

Historical members

 * Bethany Bracken, a mistress of King Aegon IV Targaryen

Season 1
At the Crossroads Inn, Catelyn Stark asks for the assistance of a man-at-arms of House Bracken in taking Tyrion Lannister prisoner. The man-at-arms, Kurleket, agrees to aid her. She tells him that her father counts Lord Jonos as one of his most loyal bannermen. The banner of House Bracken flies at the tourney of the Hand in King's Landing. Kurleket is killed in a clash with the hill tribes on the eastern edge of the Vale of Arryn. Tyrion uses his shield to batter to death one of the tribesmen attacking Catelyn Stark.

Lord Jonos Bracken himself joins the army of Robb Stark as it crosses the Riverlands, following the victory at the Whispering Wood. As Robb, the Northern lords and the Riverlords debate a course of action, Bracken suggests declaring for Renly Baratheon, to which Robb refuses as Renly is second in line to his older brother, Stannis Baratheon. After Greatjon Umber interrupts and suggests they crown Robb as the King in the North, Bracken joins the Northern lords and his fellow Riverlords in proclaiming Robb their King and seceding their lands from the authority of the Iron Throne.

Season 5
With the intended betrothal of Willas Bracken to Lollys Stokeworth, House Bracken has apparently surrendered to the Iron Throne in the aftermath of the Red Wedding.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, House Bracken is a loyal vassal of the Tullys. The enmity between Brackens and Blackwoods was radically exacerbated when Ser Otho Bracken slew Lord Quentyn Blackwood in a tourney accident roughly a century ago.

The sigil of House Bracken is slightly different in the books: like the TV series, it consists of a red stallion on gold, however, in the books the outside edge of the gold field also has a brown border - though it was briefly shown surmounting a brown escutcheon at the tournament in Season 1.

Members in the books:
 * Hendry Bracken, Lord Jonos's nephew.