House Stark



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

Their rule in the North seemingly ended after the events of the Red Wedding when House Frey and House Bolton betrayed them, and Roose Bolton personally killed King Robb Stark. Both the North and Winterfell was taken over by the Boltons but their hold was jeopardized when Sansa Stark escaped their clutches after learning that her brothers Bran and Rickon Stark were still alive. The Starks were restored to their former stature after the Second Battle of Winterfell.

House Stark's sigil is a grey direwolf on a white field, sometimes white and pale green. They are one of the few noble Houses whose family words are not a boast or threat. Instead, the House Stark family motto is a warning, one that no matter the circumstances will always be relevant:"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 the Targaryens' vast host and dragons, believing that fighting was futile. He was made Lord Paramount of the North and served the Targaryens as Warden of the North. Thereafter, Torrhen was known as "the king who knelt".

Season 1
Lord Eddard Stark was executed for treason. His son and heir Robb Stark was declared the King in the North by his bannermen (the first in 300 years) and fought to secede from the Seven Kingdoms in what would become the War of the Five Kings.

Season 2
Robb Stark continues his campaign against the Lannisters, winning a trio of victories in the Riverlands and a further three victories in the Westerlands at Oxcross, The Yellow Fork and The Crag.

Season 3
Although Robb continues to win every battle that he fights, House Baratheon of King's Landing secures an alliance with House Tyrell that effectively leads to victory over Stannis Baratheon at the Battle of the Blackwater. As Robb continues to march further in the Westerlands, many of his bannermen, such as Rickard Karstark who lost two of his sons, begin to lose faith in King Robb and are aware that he broke his vow to marry one of the daughters of Lord Walder Frey when he married Talisa Maegyr. Robb and his host arrive at Harrenhal to discover that Ser Gregor Clegane has put the 200 northern prisoners to the sword and left Harrenhal without a fight. News arrives to King Robb at Harrenhal that his grandfather Hoster Tully has died, and Robb leaves Roose Bolton and his men in charge of Harrenhal and goes to Riverrun to attend the funeral.

At Riverrun Robb chides his uncle Lord Edmure Tully for attacking Ser Gregor Clegane at the Stone Mill, forcing Gregor's host to retreat to Casterly Rock and losing more than 200 men in the battle. Later Lord Rickard Karstark murders the two Lannister captives, Willem and Martyn Lannister, which causes Robb to execute Lord Rickard, making the Karstarks abandon King Robb. With his host diminished due to the Karstarks' abandonment, Robb opts to have the support of House Frey but finds it difficult because of his broken vow. However, the Freys agree to support Robb if his uncle Edmure marries Roslin Frey. Robb and Edmure agree to the terms of the Freys and prepare to head to the Twins for the wedding.

Robb and all of his bannermen arrive at the Twins where Lord Walder Frey begins preparations for the wedding. All the northern lords of Robb's host attend the wedding while the northern army camps outside during the feast. After Edmure and Roslin are taken away for the bedding, the Freys and Boltons betray King Robb and massacre them in an event known as the Red Wedding, secretly orchestrated by Tywin Lannister. King Robb, Queen Talisa, Catelyn, as well as Robb's direwolf Greywind and the northern lords and most of the northern army are murdered. In the aftermath of the Red Wedding the Freys sew Greywind's head to King Robb's body as a final insult to the King in the North. House Stark is stripped of its lordship in the North and is given to House Bolton, making Roose Bolton Warden of the North for his contribution to Robb's death.

Season 4
Bolton has his whole army trapped south of the Neck, since the ironborn captured Moat Cailin, and cannot properly rule the North. His son Ramsay takes back the Moat and the Boltons ride to Winterfell in order to rule the North from there, as it is the ancient stronghold of House Stark and the capital of the North.

Tywin Lannister's eventual plan was to return the North to the Starks under Lannister control through his possible grandson by Tyrion Lannister and Sansa Stark, but the two of them ran away as a result of King Joffrey's assassination and Tywin himself was killed before his plan could come into fruition.

Season 5
Petyr Baelish secretly returns Sansa to Winterfell in the hopes of wedding her to Ramsay Bolton. The Boltons are eager to cement their control over the North, particularly since they are now living in a Westeros without the certainty of Tywin Lannister. Littlefinger tells Sansa that she is perfectly situated: Stannis Baratheon is likely to liberate Winterfell soon, and will likely declare her Wardeness of the North. Even if he doesn't, Sansa will be perfectly placed to retake Winterfell from within House Bolton. Although Sansa doesn't quite realize it, there are many in the North who are already taking heart from the fact that there is again a Stark in Winterfell.

Although Sansa's attempt to contact her supporters (and unknown to her, Brienne of Tarth) ends in failure and the brutal death of a Winterfell servant, Sansa herself begins to have hope for her House after she forces a distressed Reek to admit that he killed two farm boys and not Bran and Rickon. She later flees Winterfell with Theon Greyjoy during the Battle of Winterfell.

Jon Snow, Lord Commander of the Night's Watch at the time, is betrayed by his men and stabbed to death by Alliser Thorne, Olly, and several other Black Brothers.

Season 6
Sansa flees from Winterfell with Theon at her side; they ford a wide river at great risk and take shelter in an attempt to conceal themselves from Ramsay Bolton's hounds. They are caught despite Theon's attempt to ward them off by revealing himself. However, they are saved by Brienne and a now-trained Pod, who eliminate Ramsay's hunters. With the threat neutralized, Brienne again offers herself to serve Sansa in order to keep the oath she made to her mother. Unlike before, Sansa accepts, and the two recite the oath of service, with assistance from Pod. Brienne advises Sansa to seek refuge with her half-brother, Jon, at Castle Black. Theon opts to leave Sansa's side - with her blessing - to return home to Pyke, knowing that he could never make amends for his grave misdeeds against his former adoptive family.

Smalljon Umber trades Rickon Stark and Osha over to Ramsay Bolton, the new Warden of the North, in order to secure an alliance with House Bolton against the Free Folk.

Meanwhile, Bran Stark experiences a vision of his family while training with the Three-eyed raven. He witnesses several of his family members including his father Ned, uncle Benjen, and his aunt Lyanna Stark.

At Castle Black, the Red Priestess Melisandre resurrects Jon Snow from the dead. Jon decides to leave the Night's Watch on the grounds that his watch has ended through his death. Sansa, accompanied by Brienne and Podrick, reunite with Jon. After receiving a letter from Ramsay stating he has Rickon and demanding the return of Sansa, Jon, at Sansa's urging, resolves to lead an army of Free Folk and remaining loyal houses against the Boltons and reclaim Winterfell.

They are rebuffed by House Glover and receive no response from Houses Cerwyn and Manderly. They recruit a few hundred soldiers from Houses Mormont, Hornwood, and Mazin. Jon resolves to march on Winterfell with this limited force, ignoring Sansa's argument that they must raise more men to their cause. Sansa sends a further raven to an unknown party, likely Littlefinger.

During the Second Battle of Winterfell, Jon Snow attacks Winterfell with 2,405 men. Rickon Stark gets killed by Ramsay Bolton and the battle starts. Just before Jon loses all his men, the Knights of the Vale arrive to join the battle with Petyr Baelish. Jon Snow reclaims Winterfell with Sansa Stark, shortly after savagely beating Ramsay. Sansa visits the dog kennels, and kills a bloodied Ramsay Bolton with his own dogs.

Members

 * Lord {Rickard Stark}, the previous Warden of the North and Lord of Winterfell, burned alive on the orders of Mad King Aerys.
 * Lord {Brandon Stark}, his eldest son, once betrothed to Catelyn Tully, killed on the orders of the Mad King, alongside his father.
 * Lord {Eddard Stark}, his second son, called "Ned", the former head of the family. Lord Paramount of the North, Warden of the North, Lord of Winterfell, and Hand of the King to Robert I. Executed under a false charge of treason by Joffrey Baratheon.
 * Lady {Catelyn}, his wife of House Tully. Murdered by "Black Walder" Frey during the Red Wedding
 * King {Robb Stark}, called "the Young Wolf" and "the King Who Lost the North", Lord of Winterfell and King in the North. Eldest son of Eddard and Catelyn. Betrayed and murdered by Roose Bolton during the Red Wedding.
 * Robb's wife, Queen {Talisa}, of the Free City of Volantis. Stabbed by Lothar Frey during the Red Wedding.
 * Their {unborn child}, killed when Lothar Frey stabs Talisa.
 * Sansa Stark, their eldest daughter, former wife of both the fugitive Tyrion Lannister and the former Warden of the North Ramsay Bolton. Believed to be the last of the Starks and serves as Lady of Winterfell following Ramsay's death and the Stark victory at the Second Battle of Winterfell.
 * Arya Stark, their youngest daughter. Currently in Braavos. After leaving the Faceless Men she aims to return home to Westeros. Publicly believed dead.
 * Bran Stark, their second son, lawful Lord of Winterfell. A paraplegic, now beyond the Wall accompanied by Meera. Publicly believed dead.
 * {Rickon Stark}, their youngest son, heir to Winterfell. Killed by Ramsay Bolton during the Second Battle of Winterfell.
 * Jon Snow, Eddard's bastard son by an unknown mother, Volunteered to join the Night's Watch, and later elected as the new Lord Commander of the entire order. Stabbed to death by his Black Brothers, later resurrected by Melisandre. Currently believed to be the last son of the true Warden of the North serving House Stark once again by leading a Free Folk army to take back Winterfell.
 * {Lyanna Stark}, his only daughter, once betrothed to {Robert Baratheon}, said to be abducted by Rhaegar Targaryen, died during Robert's Rebellion.
 * Benjen Stark, his youngest son, First Ranger of the Night's Watch, currently aiding his nephew Bran Stark and Meera Reed, north of the Wall.

Ancestors

 * Brandon Stark, called "The Builder", legendary founder of House Stark, built Winterfell and erected the Wall, established the Night's Watch, rumored first King in the North.
 * King Brandon Stark, King in the North, called "The Breaker", who united with the King-Beyond-the-Wall Joramun to defeat the Night's King and Queen and free the Night's Watch.
 * King Rodrik Stark, King in the North, who wrestled the Ironborn for the control of Bear Island and gave it to House Mormont.
 * Lord Karlon Stark, founder of House Karstark after putting down a rebellion of House Bolton of The Dreadfort.
 * King Torrhen Stark, called "The King Who Knelt", the last King in the North, who bent the knee to House Targaryen.
 * Lord Cregan Stark, Warden of the North and Lord of Winterfell, who fought Prince Aemon the Dragonknight.
 * Osric Stark, chosen as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch at the age of 10.

Household and retainers

 * Maester {Luwin}, counselor, healer, and tutor. Injured by Dagmer Cleftjaw prior to the Sack of Winterfell and mercy-killed by Osha shortly after.
 * 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. Betrayed in turn by his men and delivered to Ramsay Snow, who tortured him to submission and renamed him "Reek". He has fled Winterfell with Lady Sansa and is currently with his sister, Yara Greyjoy, in Meereen.
 * {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 of Winterfell. 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 in King's Landing.
 * {Nan}, called "Old Nan", a former wet nurse turned storyteller and a great-grandmother to Hodor. Perished of old age.
 * {Hodor}, a simple-minded stable boy, went with Bran beyond the Wall. Died protecting Bran and Meera Reed from wights.
 * {Osha}, a captive wildling spearwife made kitchen wench, was a captive of Ramsay Bolton when handed over by Smalljon Umber, however mortally wounded and murdered by Ramsay.
 * Farlen, the kennelmaster at Winterfell. Possibly killed during the Sack of Winterfell.
 * Palla, his daughter. Possibly killed during the Sack of Winterfell.
 * Mikken, a smith. Possibly killed during the Sack of Winterfell.
 * {Shae}, a former whore and Lady Sansa's handmaiden and confidante until Sansa's flight from King's Landing. Killed by her ex-lover Tyrion Lannister.
 * {Jojen Reed}, son of Howland Reed, Lord of Greywater Watch, and ruler of the Crannogmen. Escorted Lord Bran beyond the Wall. Mortally wounded by a wight and then mercy-killed by Meera.
 * Meera Reed, daughter of Howland Reed, Lord of Greywater Watch, and ruler of the Crannogmen. Escorting Lord Bran beyond the Wall.
 * Lady Brienne of Tarth, daughter of Lord Selwyn of Tarth. formerly the sworn sword of Lady Catelyn, currently Lady Sansa's sworn sword and advisor.
 * Podrick Payne, Brienne's squire, also aiding Lady Sansa Stark.
 * Ser Davos Seaworth, head of House Seaworth, following Jon Snow and Sansa Stark in their misson to take back Winterfell.
 * Lady Melisandre, former advisor to Stannis Baratheon, now follower of Jon Snow in the belief that he is The Prince That Was Promised.

Vassal Houses

 * House Bolton of The Dreadfort, the usurped Lords Paramount of The North until their disposal, now extinct.
 * House Whitehill of Highpoint - sworn to House Bolton.
 * House Cerwyn of Castle Cerwyn.
 * House Dustin of Barrowton.
 * House Glover of Deepwood Motte.
 * House Forrester of Ironrath - sworn to House Glover.
 * House Hornwood of Hornwood.
 * House Manderly of White Harbor
 * House Mormont of Bear Island.
 * House Reed of Greywater Watch.
 * House Marsh - sworn to House Reed.
 * House Ryswell of The Rills.
 * House Glenmore of Rillwater Crossing - sworn to House Ryswell.
 * House Tallhart of Torrhen's Square.
 * House Mazin

Minor Vassal Houses


 * House Cassel
 * House Mollen
 * House Poole

Vassals and allies
The Lords of the North The Riverlords
 * Lord {Roose Bolton}, Lord of the Dreadfort. Betrayer of House Stark, former Lord Paramount and Warden of the North, killed by his son Ramsay Bolton.
 * Lord {Greatjon Umber}, called "The Greatjon", Lord of Last Hearth.
 * Galbart Glover, Master of Deepwood Motte.
 * Lord {Gregor Forrester}, Lord of Ironrath. Murdered by Frey soldiers during The Red Wedding.
 * Lady {Maege Mormont}, Lady of Bear Island, now deceased.
 * Lady Lyanna Mormont, her daughter and Lady of Bear Island.
 * Lord {Rickard Karstark}, Lord of Karhold. Executed by King Robb Stark for treason and merciless killing of two Lannister hostages.
 * {Torrhen} and {Harrion Karstark}, his sons. Killed by Jaime Lannister during the War of the Five Kings.
 * Lady Barbrey Dustin, Lady of Barrowton.
 * Lord Howland Reed, Lord of Greywater Watch.
 * Lord {Hoster Tully}, Lord of Riverrun and Lord Paramount of the Trident, now deceased.
 * Lord Edmure Tully, his only son and heir, Lord of Riverrun, currently prisoner of war.
 * Ser {Brynden Tully}, called "the Blackfish", his brother. Killed during the Second Siege of Riverrun.
 * Lord Walder Frey, called "the Late Lord Frey", Lord of the Crossing. Betrayer of House Stark, now rewarded with the lordship of Riverrun.
 * Lord Jonos Bracken, Lord of Stone Hedge.
 * Lord Jason Mallister, Lord of Seagard.
 * Ser {Jaremy Mallister}, executed along the prisoners at Harrenhal.

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 army of the Westerlands is not the full strength of the North, only what could be assembled at relatively short notice.

By the time of the Battle of the Yellow Fork, however, the Stark force is allied with House Tully and their vassals, including House Frey, so it is estimated that their force is even or greater than the Lannister force, which would place it at around 30,000-35,000 soldiers at least in the Westerlands/Riverlands, with at least 1,000 further soldiers left to guard The North.

The average Stark soldier wears a brown or dark blue coat with green or grey sleeves protected by chainmail underneath, grey or brown leather boots, a grey steel or iron helmet and a grey shield emblazoned with the Stark Direwolf, presumably steel or iron. Warriors in the Northern heavy cavalry or heavy infantry wear relatively cheap brigantine armor, with many choosing to wear mail underneath as well, as compared with the expensive plate armor of the well equipped Lannister troops.

During the Red Wedding, almost the entire army sworn to House Stark present at the Twins is annihilated, with anyone who managed to escape the massacre being hunted by House Frey. While Houses Bolton and Karstark remain mostly unscathed and possess the largest armies in the North, the only possibility of military support to the scattered heirs of House Stark comes from the remaining garrison and levies of other northern houses, provided they do not bend the knee to the new Warden of the North, Roose Bolton.

During the Conflict Beyond the Wall Jon Snow establishes an alliance between the Night's Watch and at least 2000 Free Folk. With his temporary death freeing him from his vows, and the Wildlings still loyal to him, the Wildlings are now unofficial Stark soldiers. Jon and Sansa are able to convince some of the smaller houses to unite around them, giving them 2,405 men. During the Second Battle of Winterfell, the Starks and their limited allied forces came close to total destruction; they were saved by the intervention of a sizable force from The Vale. It is unknown how many Stark loyalists survived, but they likely number no more than 400.

In the books
In the A 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 (called "White Walkers" in the TV series). 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 Eddard Stark's children take after their mother Catelyn's looks, possessing the auburn hair and blue eyes distinctive of House Tully. The one exception among Catelyn's children is Arya, who possesses the dark hair and stern long face typical of the Starks. While this has resulted in Arya being mockingly called "Horseface", Ned assures her that she bears a striking resemblance to his beautiful deceased sister Lyanna when she was a girl. Jon Snow, as a bastard and not Catelyn's son, does not possess Tully blood. While Ned has never revealed the exact circumstances of Jon's birth, all agree that he bears such a striking resemblance to Ned that he is obviously his blood relative. Indeed, as a little girl Arya once feared that she might be a bastard because she and Jon share the same dark physical features (distinctive of House Stark), though Jon assured her that she was not.

In the novels, the Stark banner is a whole direwolf. In the TV series, the Stark banner most often used is just a direwolf's head, though the alternate version showing the whole direwolf is also seen (i.e. on banners during the Tourney of the Hand, tapestries at Winterfell, and Ned Stark's wax seal on the letter he sends to Stannis Baratheon). Further, the sigil in the books is just a grey direwolf on a white field. This is used in the TV series, but it also frequently uses a subtle variant which has the grey direwolf on a white field, surmounting a small green escutcheon at the bottom.

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 Locke
 * House Moss
 * House Overton
 * 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