This stronghold was often granted to sons and grandsons of the King in the North one such branch, the Greystarks, was extinguished after allying with the Boltons against the Starks. Meanwhile, King Jon Stark drove raiders from the White Knife, and the Wolf's Den was built at its mouth. Their primary antagonists, the Red Kings from House Bolton of the Dreadfort, swore fealty some thousand years ago, ending their flaying ways. For several millennia, the Starks were not the uncontested Kings in the North. The ancient Starks gradually defeated rival kings, such as the Barrow Kings to their south and the Red Kings to their east. The Night's King is said to have been defeated by Brandon the Breaker and Joramun. The Night's King, the attainted thirteenth Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, has been suggested to have been a Stark, among other possibilities.
The Starks were Kings of Winter in the north for eight thousand years since the Age of Heroes, possibly beginning with Bran the Builder. Bran the Builder is said to have raised Winterfell, the seat of the Starks, and the Wall, and other legends connect him with Storm's End and the Hightower. House Stark was founded by Brandon the Builder, a legendary figure who lived during the Age of Heroes. The Starks are an ancient house of First Men descent. Stark cavalry, Tomasz Jedruszek © Fantasy Flight Games When the head of the house is away, the Stark remaining in the castle to rule the north is referred to as "the Stark in Winterfell". The Starks hold the belief that there must always be a Stark in Winterfell. The four youngest men to have served as Lord Commander, including Osric Stark, were brothers, sons, or bastards of Kings in the North. The Starks have traditionally been friends of the Night's Watch. Following the marriage of Eddard to Lady Catelyn Tully, a follower of the Faith of the Seven, a small sept was constructed at Winterfell. House Stark traditionally follows the old gods. The statues of the kings and lords have stone wolves by their feet and have swords placed upon their lap, which are said to keep the spirits of the dead at rest, locked within their tombs. Exceptions include Brandon and Lyanna Stark, who were given statues by their brother, Lord Eddard Stark, and Artos Stark. The Kings of Winter and Lords of Winterfell are given a statue of their likeness, sitting by their tomb, whereas other family members normally do not get one. House Stark traditionally buries deceased members of their family in the crypts below Winterfell. The latter occurs most frequently when the children sleep, although they are able to do it at will when awake, once they are more practiced. In the current generation of Starks, several members (e.g., Arya and Bran Stark and Jon Snow) have the ability to enter the minds of their direwolf pets as wargs, giving them the ability to experience the senses of their direwolves and to see through their eyes. Some are known for melancholy and iciness, while others have a wildness sometimes called " wolf blood". The Starks have a reputation for long faces, brown hair, and grey eyes. 5.2 Lords Commander of the Night's Watch.
Several of the POV characters of A Song of Ice and Fire are members of House Stark.Īside from the Karstarks of Karhold, the Starks of Winterfell may have other, distant relatives in the north. Their words are " Winter Is Coming", one of only a few house mottoes to be a warning rather than a boast. Their sigil is a grey direwolf racing across a field of white. Their seat, Winterfell, is an ancient castle renowned for its strength. In days of old they ruled as Kings of Winter, but since Aegon's Conquest they have been Wardens of the North and ruled as Lords of Winterfell.
House Stark of Winterfell is one of the Great Houses of Westeros and the principal noble house of the north.