House Arryn

"The Arryns are direct descendants of Andal invaders... who sailed across the Narrow Sea and came ashore at the Fingers."

- Catelyn Stark

House Arryn is one of the Great Houses of Westeros. It has ruled over the Vale of Arryn for millennia, originally as the Kings of Mountain and Vale and more recently as Lords Paramount of the Vale and Wardens of the East under the Targaryen kings and King Robert Baratheon. The nominal head of House Arryn is Robin Arryn, the Lord of the Eyrie, with his mother Lady Lysa acting as Lady Regent until he reaches the age of majority.

Their lands are in the central-eastern region of the continent. Their seat is the Eyrie, ancestral seat of the Mountain Kings. House Arryn's sigil is a white crescent moon and falcon on a blue field. Their motto is "As High As Honor".

At the start of the series, Lord Jon Arryn was killed in suspicious circumstances. His widow Lysa blamed House Lannister and sought refuge in the Eyrie. Despite her enmity towards the Lannisters, she has remained neutral in the War of the Five Kings and aims to use the forces of the Vale to defend Robin and the Eyrie if necessary.

Background
According to legend, the house was founded by Ser Artys Arryn, the Winged Knight. He is said to have flown atop a giant falcon, landing on the topmost mountain of the Vale, and defeated the Griffin King, the last of the First Men Mountain Kings. Afterward, he took the Eyrie and became the first King of Mountain and Vale. His descendants continued to rule the Vale as Kings until the Targaryen conquest, and then as Lords Paramount of the Vale and Wardens of the East in the name of the Iron Throne. The Eyrie is considered impregnable and defends House Arryn from the violent Hill tribes of the Mountains of the Moon.

Jon Arryn is the most recent head of House Arryn, Lord of the Eyrie, Warden of the East and Defender of the Vale. He was a respected nobleman and both Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon fostered with him. The Mad King condoned the kidnap of Eddard's sister and Robert's betrothed Lyanna Stark. The Mad King had Eddard's father and brother killed for protesting against the kidnapping. When he then demanded that Eddard be turned over to the King's justice. Lord Arryn rebelled, calling his banners to war. House Stark and House Baratheon followed suit. The rebels forged an alliance with House Tully through marriage, with Eddard married to Catelyn Tully and the then-elderly Jon to the young Lady Lysa Tully.

After the rebel victory in the war, Robert became King and appointed Jon as his Hand. Jon served the realm well for many years as Hand of the King. He died immediately prior to the events of the series, sparking King Robert's search for a replacement. Jon is survived by his wife Lysa and their six-year-old son, Robin. Jon was investigating the legitimacy of the children of Queen Cersei Lannister when he died. He found that they were not Robert's offspring by comparing their appearance to Robert's bastards based on the genetic preponderence for dark hair in House Baratheon.

Season 1
Lysa Arryn writes to her sister Catelyn Stark claiming that House Lannister were behind Jon's death. Lysa flees King's Landing with her son seeking the refuge of the Eyrie. When Catelyn receives the letter Robert Baratheon is visiting Winterfell, the seat of House Stark. He is there to ask Eddard to replace Jon as Hand of the King. Eddard accepts and begins an investigation into Jon's death. He learns that Jon may have been poisoned. Eddard uncovers Jon's findings about Queen Cersei Lannister' infidelity and Robert's lack of a trueborn heir. Robert still mistakenly believes that Joffrey Baratheon is his son.

Catelyn's son Brandon Stark survives two assassination attempts. Catelyn blames Tyrion Lannister and has him arrested. She brings him to the Eyrie to Lysa's chagrin. Lysa is attempting to isolate Robin from the rest of the Kingdom and use her role as regent to have the Vale Lords protect him. She is still breast-feeding him despite his age and her doting has spoiled him. Tyrion tricks Lysa into granting him a public hearing by claiming that he plans to confess. He instead demands and wins a trial by combat and is set free.

King Robert dies following a hunting injury. Eddard is arrested for treason when he challenges Joffrey's claim to the throne. Lysa withholds this news from Catelyn initially. Catelyn implores Lysa to lend her armies to march on King's Landing along with the forces of House Stark. Lysa refuses to participate and Catelyn leaves the Eyrie.

Season 2
House Arryn remains neutral in the War of the Five Kings, with Lady Lysa continuing to withhold her armies from leaving the Vale to aid House Stark and House Tully.

Members

 * Lord {Jon Arryn}, the former head of the family, Lord of the Eyrie, Lord Paramount of the Vale, Warden of the East, and Hand of the King to Robert I. Poisoned with the Tears of Lys under mysterious circumstances.
 * His widow, {Lady Lysa}, of House Tully. Currently the Lady Regent of the Eyrie and Lady Regent of the Vale until her son comes of age.
 * Lord Jon's only surviving child and heir, Robin Arryn, the Lord of the Eyrie, Lord Paramount of the Vale and Warden of the East.

Vassal Houses

 * House Royce of Runestone.
 * House Waynwood
 * House Lynderly
 * House Hunter of Longbow Hall
 * House Egen
 * House Baelish

Household

 * Ser {Vardis Egen}, the Eyrie's Captain of the Guard. Killed by the sellsword Bronn during a trial by combat.
 * Mord, a gaoler and turnkey overseeing the Eyrie's sky cells.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, House Arryn is the oldest and purest line of Andal nobility. According to tradition, the Andals landed on the Fingers, an area of peninsulas, hills and rivers on Westeros's eastern coast, six thousand years ago and helped conquer the Vale. Ser Artys Arryn's duel with the Griffin King is said to have taken place on the shoulder of the Giant's Lance where the Arryns later built the Eyrie.

During the Targaryen conquest, the Arryns planned to make a stand at the Bloody Gate, the only pass into the Vale, and gathered their armies there while the King of the Vale (also a young boy at this time) and his mother, the regent, took refuge in the Eyrie. Rather than risking a bloody battle, Visenya Targaryen simply flew her dragon Vhagar to the Vale and landed in the courtyard while the young king was at play. The king agreed to swear fealty to Aegon the Conqueror if Visenya allowed him to ride on Vhagar. She agreed, the bargain was upheld and the Arryns and their vassals became loyal subjects of the Targaryens.

During the summer they rule over the Vale from the Eyrie, but during the winter they descend to the Gates of the Moon, a castle at the foot of the mountain. The Gates of the Moon have not appeared in the television adaptation.

Jon Arryn and Lysa Tully's son is called "Robert" not "Robin" in the books. This change was made to prevent confusion with Robert Baratheon or Robb Stark. George R.R. Martin approved this change, noting that Robert Arryn's nickname in the books, "Sweetrobin", remains intact.

In the books, the Heraldry of House Arryn is specifically sky blue, but in the TV series it is simply blue (azure), like House Tully's heraldry.

The members of the House Arryn in the books are:
 * Lord Jon Arryn, the former head of the family, now deceased.
 * His first wife, Lady Jeyne Arryn, who died in childbirth. Their daughter was stillborn.
 * His second wife, Lady Rowena Arryn, who died of a chill.
 * His third and current wife, Lady Lysa, of House Tully. Currently the ruling lady of the Vale until her son comes of age.
 * Lord Jon's only surviving child and heir, Robert Arryn, the Lord of the Vale.
 * Lord Jon's younger sister, Lady Alys, married into House Waynwood.
 * Alys's eldest son, Ser Denys Arryn, killed during Robert's Rebellion.
 * Alys's grandson by her daughter, Harrold Hardyng.
 * Lord Jon's youngest and deceased brother, Ser Ronnel Arryn.
 * Ser Ronnel's son, Ser Elbert Arryn, formerly Lord Jon's heir, slain at the order of the Mad King before the rebellion.

The following sworn houses have yet to appear in the series:
 * House Corbray of Heart's Home
 * House Redfort of Redfort