"Harrenhal" is part of the Complete Guide to Westeros, a special feature in the Blu-Ray of Season 2 of Game of Thrones. It is narrated by Michelle Fairley as lady Catelyn Stark.
Summary
On the shores of the Gods Eye due north of the Isle of Faces rises a monument of arrogance and cruelty: Harrenhal. For a people who prided themselves on their ships, the Ironborn of old seized any chance to leave them, and carved out a vast kingdom from the peaceful river lords. Their empire reached it's zenith under King Harren Hoare, called "The Black" by those he terrorized; and his own men, though they meant it proudly.
King Harren enslaved the Riverlands to raise the mightiest fortress Westeros had ever seen, with walls so vast that winters would come and go and beseiging armies grow old and grey before the castle fell. Five towers he ordered, reaching into the heavens like grasping fingers; a monstrosity which he forced the people of the Riverlands to build for their own subjugation.
But the day the slaves lay down the last stone, Aegon I Targaryen and his sisters Visenya and Rhaenys rode south. When they arrived with their small army, Harren laughed and shut the gates. Harrenhal was given an easy first test; it failed. Harrenhal could have survived all the armies of Westeros combined, but Harren learned that the tallest and thickest walls meant little to Dragons. With Harren and his sons dead, Harrenhal quickly surrendered to Aegon. House Tully then raised the River lords in rebellion against the Iron Islands, and with aegon they flushed the Ironborn to the sea.
Rather than tear it down, Aegon claimed Harrenhal as a prize and gave it to one of his commanders, whose line then withered to extinction as would every family to hold it thereafter.
When many speak of Harrenhal, their voices drop to whispers. They speak of Mad Lady Lothston, who was said to send a giant bat to send children for her crock pots and to bathe in blood and serve feasts of human flesh. They also mention the ghosts of Black harren and his sons who still walk the castle at night, all aflame. Another tale tells of servants who went to bed at full healt and were found in the morning burnt to ash. These are usually dismissed as stories to frighten wayward children and excite young girls.
Harrenhal is a prize; a nigh impregnable castle with enough land an income to make a man one of the greatest lords of Westeros in a single stroke. However, the castle is believed to consume it's tenants and wipe out entire families.
Appearances
Characters
- King Harren Hoare
- King Aegon I Targaryen
- Queen Visenya Targaryen
- Queen Rhaenys Targaryen
- Balerion
- Vhagar
- Meraxes
- Mad Lady Danelle Lothston