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Revision as of 23:02, 17 January 2010


wikia:c:concord

POV characters per book
Books:| A Game of Thrones | A Clash of Kings | A Storm of Swords | A Feast for Crows
Prologue: Will Maester Cressen Chett Pate
Catelyn Catelyn Catelyn Brienne
Daenerys Daenerys Daenerys Cersei
Sansa Sansa Sansa Alayne Stone
Jon Jon Jon The Reaver
Tyrion Tyrion Tyrion The Queenmaker
Arya Arya Arya Arya
Bran Bran Bran The Captain of the Guard
Eddard Davos Davos The Prophet
Theon Jaime Jaime
Samwell Samwell
Merret The Soiled Knight

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This is a description of the various religions found in George R. R. Martin's fantasy novel series, A Song of Ice and Fire.

There are numerous religions named in the series, but only a handful are expanded upon: those being the Old Gods, the Faith, the followers of Rh'llor, and the servants of He of Many Faces.

The old gods

The old gods were worshiped by the children of the forest, who populated Westeros in the Dawn Age before the arrival of men. Most of the great houses of the north, such as the Starks, still worship the old gods.[1] The names of the old gods are secret; according to Maester Luwin, they are "the gods of forest, stream and stone." Weirwoods, giant trees with white bark and dark red leaves, are sacred to the worshipers of the old gods.[2] The wise men of the children, known as greenseers, carved faces into wierwoods to keep watch over the forests.[3] The carved faces are stained red from dried sap.[4]

The First Men arrived from the east approximately twelve thousand years before the events of A Song of Ice and Fire. Their war with the children of the forest was ended by the forging of the Pact, a peace treaty that granted the coast-lands, high plains, meadows, mountains and bogs to men and left the deep woods to the children. The signing of the Pact ended the Dawn Age and began the Age of Heroes. The peace lasted four thousand years, and in time the First Men abandoned their gods and began to worship the old gods.[3]

The invasion of the Andals ended the worship of the old gods in the south. The Andals burned down the weirwood groves, slaughtered the children of the forest, and conquered the six southron kingdoms. They were unable to cross the Neck to conquer the north, and the First Men's rule endured there along with their faith in the old gods. The children of the forest fled north; according to Maester Luwin they are dead, but Yoren[5] and Osha believe they still exist north of the Wall.[3]

According to Osha the old gods have no power in the south, as the weirwoods there were all cut down,[6] but beyond the Wall they are the only gods.[7] Every great house keeps a godswood in its castle, a garden or forest with a heart tree at its centre. In the north, the godswood is a place of worship: every castle's godswood has a weirwood for a heart tree. Worshippers of the old gods pray[4] and take their marriage vows at godswoods before the heart tree.[8] For houses that worship the Seven, godswoods are places of leisure rather than worship.[4]

The Faith

The Faith of the Seven was brought to Westeros by the Andals. It holds tremendous power in the South, where it is embedded into the laws and customs of the land. Knighthood as well is based on the Faith and its religious mores. It maintains a small presence in the North, where the Old Gods still live in the minds of the people.

Priests of the Faith are called "septons" if men and "septas" if women. These are also used as titles. A High Septon oversees the organization, which trains and places septons and septas throughout the land. Brown brothers travel between the villages to keep the small-folk faithful, while begging brothers walk the city streets to maintain a presence there. "Silent sisters" tend the dead in the name of the Stranger, and help maintain the larger septs. They have a vow of silence.

According to legend, then Faith was born when the Seven appeared in the Hills of Andalos. The Faith worships seven gods: the Maid, the Mother, the Crone, the Father, the Warrior, the Smith and the Stranger. Septons, however, teach that they are not seven different gods, but seven faces of one god, similar to the concept of the Holy Trinity. The Maid represents innocence and virtue, and is prayed to usually by unwed maidens, mostly. The Mother represents motherhood and nurturing, and is prayed to by all women of childbearing capacity, and by those seeking divine compassion. The Crone represents wisdom, and is prayed to for guidance. The male representatives of this simple pantheon are geared towards the occupations of men. The Father is prayed to for vengeance and justice. The Warrior is the patron saint of footmen, knights and commanders all, and his divine influence on the field of battle is more often than not sought by those on both sides of the field. The Smith represents all the crafts and trials of men, whether farming, smiting, or construction; anything done by hand is usually done after a quick prayer to him. The Stranger represents the unknown, but especially death. Those who find themselves ostracized by society often find solace in praying to this entity, easily identifying with the divine 'outcast.'

The number seven is prominent in the Faith. It holds that there are seven hells and seven gods. In the naming of a child, seven oils are used to anoint the infant. The Great Sept of Baelor has seven crystal towers. They hold the custom of a trial of seven, wherein seven champions each for the accuser and the accused, fight to the death. They hold seven constellations in the sky as sacred. As punishment, one of the faithful would serve as a begging brother for seven years. Even grace is taught to have seven aspects.

The Faith has a great many moral teachings. It frowns on gambling, preaches against bastardy, and curses as criminal things like incest and kinslaying. Its central book of teachings is titled "The Seven-Pointed Star".

The Faith worships in Septs and Septries built or cobbled together throughout the land of Westeros. The Great Sept of Baelor, located in King's Landing, is the most-visited in the series, and home to the High Septon. It is lavishly decorated, with huge statues of each of the Seven, and it is girdled by seven towers. The Starry Sept, built from black marble, is located in Oldtown. It was the seat of the High Septon until Aegon the Conqueror. The Sailor's Sept, the Lord's Sept, the Seven Shrines are also located in Oldtown. Most castles have a Sept built in, and most villages have at least a septry. Representations of the Seven range from the beautiful statues of the Great Sept of Baelor to wooden panels in poor villages.

R'hllor, the Lord of Light

"The night is dark, and full of terrors."

-- a common refrain among the Red Priests

The Red Priests, as they are often called, worship R'hllor, the Lord of Light. These monotheistic doomsayers can be found everywhere in the Free Cities, and have a large, well-known temple on Lys. They preach that R'hllor is the Lord of Light, the Heart of Fire, the God of Flame and Shadow. They foretell that an ancient hero, Azor Ahai, Warrior of Light and Son of Fire, will be reborn. They teach that he will wield Lightbringer, a flaming sword, to combat an evil darkness that will fall on the world.

Common rituals include lighting a bonfire at sundown, to beseech R'hllor to bring the dawn.

Red Priests have claimed to see falsehoods in the words of others, visions of the future through flames, and to revive the dead.

Thoros of Myr is the most visible and renowned representative of R'hllor in Westeros.

The followers of R'hllor also believe in a Great Other, whose name may not be spoken. He is known as the Lord of Darkness, the Soul of Ice, the God of Night and Terror. They believe that only through the intervention of the Lord of Light, will the world be saved from this evil.

He of Many Faces

He of Many Faces and of None is worshiped in the Free Cities. In A Feast for Crows, the reader is guided through a temple in Braavos, called the House of Black and White. There one can read about its day-to-day operations, and a little about the history of this religion, which on its face runs counter to the other religions described in the series.

Other deities and religions

The Dothraki worship a horse god,[9] and believe that the moon goddess is wed to the sun.[10] The Mother of Mountains, a great purple mountain in the Dothraki Sea, is sacred to the Dothraki; only men may set foot there, and khals ascend it to sacrifice to their gods.[11] The Dothraki believe that stars are a herd of horses made of fire,[12] ridden by dead horselords.[13]

The Black Goat of Qohor is a god of death worshipped by the Qohorik of the Free City of Qohor. The Black Goat is the sigil of the sellsword company the Brave Companions, who are captained by the Qohorik Vargo Hoat.[14]

The Lion of Night is worshipped in Yi Ti.[15]

The Great Shepherd is worshipped by the Lhazareen, whom the Dothraki call the Lamb Men.[16]

The Moonsingers are a religious sect who led the first settlers fleeing the dragons of Valyria to Braavos. The Moonsingers have the greatest temple in Braavos.[17] They also have followers amongst the Jogos Nhai.[18]

The Father of Waters is a deity worshipped in Braavos. His house is rebuilt when he takes a bride.[19]

Notes

Template:Citations missing Template:Reflist

References

Template:Refbegin

  1. A Game of Thrones, 570
  2. A Game of Thrones, 522
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 A Game of Thrones, 737-739
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 A Game of Thrones, 23
  5. A Game of Thrones, 248
  6. A Game of Thrones, 577-578
  7. A Game of Thrones, 576
  8. A Clash of Kings, 384
  9. Martin, George R. R. (1998-11-18). "Gods of Westeros". The Citadel. http://www.westeros.org/Citadel/SSM/Entry/948/. Retrieved 2007-07-18. 
  10. A Game of Thrones, 235
  11. A Game of Thrones, 392
  12. A Game of Thrones, 491
  13. A Game of Thrones, 803
  14. A Storm of Swords 2, 47
  15. A Feast for Crows, 629
  16. A Game of Thrones, 759
  17. A Feast for Crows, 109
  18. A Game of Thrones, 672.
  19. A Feast for Crows, 110