Wiki of Westeros

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Wiki of Westeros

"We're farther north than any of you fuckers."
Smalljon Umber to Ramsay Bolton and Harald Karstark[src]

House Umber[1] of Last Hearth is an extinct[2] vassal house that held fealty to House Stark of Winterfell. Their lands were in the far north of the Stark territories, just south of the Wall and the lands held by the Night's Watch. Following the fall of Last Hearth, an early event of the Great War, House Umber is extinct in the male line. It is unknown whether any female members of the house survived the conflict.

House Umber's sigil is four chains linked by a central ring on a dark red field. Their motto is not known at present.

History

Game of Thrones: Season 1

House Umber rallies behind House Stark in the War of the Five Kings, with Greatjon Umber being the first to suggest crowning Robb Stark King in the North and knelt before him.[3]

Game of Thrones: Season 3

Bran Stark sends his brother Rickon, Osha, and Shaggydog to seek shelter at the Last Hearth because the Umbers are loyal bannermen of the Starks.[4]

Game of Thrones: Season 6

Although refusing to pledge fealty to House Bolton, Smalljon Umber asks Ramsay Bolton to join forces with him to fight the Free Folk that have been let into the realm by Jon Snow, who pose a threat to the Umbers given Last Hearth's proximity to the Wall. To seal their alliance, Smalljon hands over Rickon and Osha as captives he had betrayed to Ramsay and presents the head of Shaggydog as proof of his master's identity. Smalljon also claims that his father Greatjon is dead.[5]

When news of Smalljon's betrayal reaches Jon and Sansa at Castle Black, the latter declares that the Umbers "can hang."[6]

Melessa Tarly tells Gilly that she and Randyll Tarly met a Lord Umber (presumably the Greatjon) who taught his daughters how to hunt.[7]

Smalljon is killed by Tormund during the Battle of the Bastards.[8]

Game of Thrones: Season 7

Ned Umber, Smalljon's young son, became the Lord of Last Hearth after the Smalljon's death during the Battle of the Bastards. Ned is present during a meeting of the Northern Lords at Winterfell where his father's actions are discussed and what the consequences should be. Lord Yohn Royce and Lady Sansa Stark voice their opinions that the Umbers and the similarly treacherous House Karstark should be punished, tearing down their castles or gifting them to more loyal families, but King Jon Snow refuses to punish the new generations for their fathers' crimes. Ned is called forwards alongside Alys Karstark and reaffirms his house's loyalty to House Stark, allowing him to keep his title and home.[9]

Game of Thrones: Season 8

Ned Umber and his household are slaughtered by the Night King, the White Walkers, and the army of the dead at Last Hearth. Ned's body is left behind in Last Hearth as a message, while those who were slaughtered were nowhere to be found, likely having been reanimated as wights.[10]

Beric Dondarrion deduces the deaths of all members of House Umber. Though nearly impossible to confirm this, Tormund states that anyone who is currently north of Winterfell is most likely dead, supporting Beric's assumption.[2]

Past members

Family tree

Famtree-GreatjonUmber
Greatjon
Umber

Deceased
 
House-Umber-Square
Lady
Umber
Deceased
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Famtree-Smalljon
Smalljon
Umber

Deceased
 
House-Umber-Square
Lady
Umber
Deceased
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Famtree-NedUmber
Ned
Umber

Deceased
 
 

In the books

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the Umbers are staunch supporters of the Starks, but truly respect strength alone, and were once petty kings. The Umbers are strong, formidable warriors who enjoy life to the full, although some of the family members are less reputable, with some Umber lords said to still practice the banned tradition of First Night. Their lands are close to the Wall and they are bitterly opposed to the wildlings, as sometimes small wildling bands who evade the Watch raid their lands.

The Umbers are the northernmost noble House in Westeros, and may be named after the real English county of Northumberland or the medieval Anglian kingdom of Northumbria.

House Umber's heraldry in the books is different to the TV show. In the books, the sigil is a roaring giant in chains, but in the TV show it is just the chains. Coincidentally, this makes House Umber's sigil in the TV series greatly resemble that of House Roxton in the novels: Four golden chains linked by a central ring on sky blue. There isn't much chance of overlap in the TV narrative, however: the Umbers appear very prominently in both the books and novels, while House Roxton (a family from the Reach) hasn't been established in the TV show at all, and has barely even been mentioned in the main novels. The only appearance that House Roxton actually made was in a listing of heraldry designs released by Martin (though characters from House Roxton appear in some of the prequel novellas).

When Greatjon joined Robb's army, he took most of the Umber troops, leaving behind the green boys and the old. Following the Red Wedding, in which the Greatjon is taken captive and the Smalljon (who has always been loyal to the Starks) is killed, Mors Umber and the green boys join Stannis in his campaign against the Boltons, while Hother Umber and the greybeards reluctantly join the Boltons because Greatjon is held captive by the Freys. Hother is by no means loyal to the Boltons and the Lannisters, on the contrary: he is anxious to settle the score with those who are responsible for his great-nephew's death, and restrains himself only because he fears for his nephew's life.

Known members

  • Lord Greatjon Umber, the current head of the family. Grandson of Hoarfrost Umber, by Hoarfrost's eldest son. Taken captive by the Freys in the Red Wedding.
    • {Smalljon Umber}, the Greatjon's son and heir. Slain by the Boltons at the Red Wedding.
    • Several unnamed children (at least one son and two daughters).
  • Mors "Crowfood" Umber, the Greatjon's uncle, younger son of Hoarfrost Umber. He declares for Stannis Baratheon to oppose the Boltons.
    • Crowfood's only daughter. She was carried off by wildling raiders 30 years earlier.
  • Hother "Whoresbane" Umber, the Greatjon's uncle, youngest son of Hoarfrost Umber. He swears fealty to the Lannisters out of fear for his nephew's life.

Gallery

References

Notes

  1. In "Winter Is Coming," which takes place in 298 AC, Sansa Stark tells Cersei Lannister that she is 13 years old and Bran Stark tells Jaime Lannister that he is 10 years old. Arya Stark was born between Sansa and Bran, making her either 11 or 12 in Season 1. The rest of the Stark children have been aged up by 2 years from their book ages, so it can be assumed that she is 11 in Season 1. Arya is 18 in Season 8 according to HBO, which means at least 7 years occur in the span of the series; therefore, each season of Game of Thrones must roughly correspond to a year in-universe, placing the events of Season 8 in 305 AC.

External links


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