Northern mountain clans

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The northern mountain clans are groups of northmen who dwell in the mountains north of Winterfell and in their foothills along the shore of the Bay of Ice.

Description

The quarrelsome clans of the rugged northwest are a hardy people who, like other northmen, claim descent from the First Men and worship the old gods. There are roughly forty mountain clans, large and small, the most prominent of which are the First Flints, the Wulls, the Norreys, the Burleys, the Harclays, the Liddles, and the Knotts. They have inhabited the mountains north of the wolfswood for thousands of years.

The Wulls and Flints are currently the strongest of the clans. The Flints and Norreys live closest to the Gift, and are thus the most exposed to wildling raiders who cross the Gorge. Clan Norrey in particular is a noted friend of the Night's Watch. Living along the Bay of Ice, the Wulls and other clans have also clashed with the ironborn in the past. These threats and their own inter-clan feuds have instilled a fierce martial spirit in the mountain folk. In battle, clan champions fight with huge two-handed greatswords. The common men sling stones or wield staffs of mountain ash. Given their home terrain, it is unlikely that they have a strong cavalry tradition.

Although they do not consider themselves truly highborn, the chiefs of these clans are given the treatment of “lord” by their lieges, the Starks of Winterfell. Among themselves, the clansmen style their leaders as “The [clan name]”; i.e. the chieftain of Clan Liddle would be known as The Liddle. This practice extends to other usage; Lord Eddard Stark is called “The Ned” by the clans, and they remain fiercely loyal to his memory. This tradition seems to stem from the First Men, as it is also practiced by some noble houses among the ironborn.

Given their high latitude and sparse resources, the clans suffer population strain during winter years. The young are sent to the Starks’ winter town, and old men often announce that they are “going hunting.” Some are found the next spring; more are never seen again.

According to Roose Bolton, some of the mountain clans still continue the tradition of the First Night.[1]

Recent Events

A Storm of Swords

The clans send some men south to fight alongside King Robb Stark in the War of the Five Kings. Norreys and Burleys fight at the Ruby Ford. Arya Stark notes men of the mountain clans in the camps outside the Twins. Owen Norrey is slain at the Red Wedding. However, most of their strength remains in the mountains.

A Dance with Dragons

When Stannis Baratheon tries to curry favor with the northern lords by freeing their western strongholds from the ironborn, he begins by enlisting the aid of Old Torghen Flint and Hugo “Big Bucket” Wull. Stannis is the first king the clans have seen since Torrhen Stark knelt before Aegon the Conqueror, and by observing the courtesies suggested by Lord Commander Jon Snow of the Night’s Watch, Stannis is able to rally the mountain folk and liberate Deepwood Motte, earning the loyalty of House Glover and House Mormont. During the army’s snow-plagued march toward Bolton-occupied Winterfell, Stannis’s own southron knights struggle to survive, while the snowshoe-clad clansmen are able to soldier on with relative ease. As the outcome of the ensuing battle remains unknown, so does the current state of the clans.

References and Notes