- "I grew up in the shadow of her father's castle."
- ―Ros describes life in the winter town.
The winter town[1] is a settlement in the North, located just outside of Winterfell itself.
During the years-long winters which hit the region, the smallfolk of the North came to huddle in settlements outside the walls of Winterfell for protection. Over time they built these up into permanent structures and over the centuries it grew into a more established town, though its population still swells during winter and declines during spring and summer.[2]
History[]
Game of Thrones: Season 1[]
Tyrion sneaks off from the main royal caravan of King Robert Baratheon, which was headed to Winterfell itself, to visit the local brothel in the winter town, where he has sex with the prostitute named Ros. Jaime arrives to fetch him back to Winterfell.[3]
Game of Thrones: Season 2[]
Bran gives two orphans of the winter town, Jack and Billy, to a shepherd asking for assistance in defending his flock from wolves.[4]
Game of Thrones: Season 3[]
Ros explains to Shae that she grew up in the winter town just outside of Winterfell itself.[5]
Game of Thrones: Season 5[]
Brienne and Podrick Payne take a room at an inn at the winter town as she begins to plan for a way to extract Sansa from Winterfell, which is occupied by House Bolton.[6]
Game of Thrones: Season 8[]
A young boy rushes through the winter town find a vantage point to watch Jon, Daenerys and her army march to Winterfell.[7]
In the books[]
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the winter town is formed by rows of small and neat houses built of log and undressed stone. Located at Winterfell's main gatehouse, the market square has wooden stalls for produce and goods and a well at its center. The local alehouse is the Smoking Log. The Kingsroad lies past the sprawl of castle and town, while the Wolfswood is two miles away. Hunting parties from Winterfell can avoid the winter town by taking the Hunter's Gate instead of the main gate.
Its streets are muddy during summer, when four fifths of the homes are left empty. During wintertime, however, the winter town becomes filled with northmen from throughout the region, such as clansmen from the northern mountains. Some townsfolk claim that Winterfell is warmed by a dragon which sleeps below the castle - really the castle was built over a series of natural hot springs.
The World of Ice & Fire specifies that - other than White Harbor, the only city in the North and a small one at that - the winter town is one of only two settlements in all of the North which are big enough to be called actual "market-towns". The other town is Barrowton to the southwest.
In the novels, the winter town is burned by the men of House Bolton when they betray the Northmen led by Ser Rodrik Cassel during the attempt to liberate Winterfell from the House Greyjoy occupation led by Theon, as part of the Sack of Winterfell. Despite the approach of winter, the Boltons have made no attempt to rebuild it for other refugees, and the ruins of the winter town become buried under heavy snows.
References[]
- ↑ Game of Thrones: Season 7, Episode 4: "The Spoils of War" (2017).
- ↑ "Winterfell"
- ↑ "Winter Is Coming"
- ↑ "The Ghost of Harrenhal"
- ↑ "Valar Dohaeris"
- ↑ "Kill the Boy"
- ↑ "Winterfell"
External links[]
Regional capital | |
Settlements |
Barrowton · Castle Cerwyn · Crofters Village · Deepwood Motte · Dormand Hall · Dreadfort · Flint's Finger · Greywater Watch · Hornwood · Karhold · Last Hearth · Moat Cailin · Mormont Keep · Oldcastle · Ramsgate · Torrhen's Square · Tumbledown Tower · White Harbor · Widow's Watch · Winter town |
Regions |
Barrowlands · Cape Kraken · Neck · Rills · Sea Dragon Point · Stony Shore |
Coastal areas |
Bay of Ice · Bay of Seals · Bite · Blazewater Bay · Ironman's Bay · Saltspear |
Islands |
Bear Island · Skagos · Skane |
Rivers and lakes |
Broken Branch · Crofters Pond · Last River · Long Lake · Weeping Water · White Knife · Wolf's Water |
Roads | |
Geographic features |