Merrett Frey

Merrett Frey
Alias	Merrett Muttonhead
Allegiance	House Frey
Culture	Rivermen
Born	In 262 AC
Died	In 300 AC (aged 37), near Oldstones
Father	Lord Walder Frey
Mother	Lady Amarei Crakehall
Spouse	Mariya Darry
Issue	Amerei Frey Walda Frey Marissa Frey Walder Frey Stillborn daughter Daughter who died in infancy
Books	A Game of Thrones (appears) A Clash of Kings (mentioned) A Storm of Swords (POV) A Feast for Crows (mentioned) A Dance with Dragons (mentioned)

Merrett Frey is a member of House Frey and a POV character in the epilogue of A Storm of Swords. Merrett is the ninth son of Lord Walder Frey and the fourth son born of Walder's marriage to Amarei Crakehall.

Appearance and Character

See also: Images of Merrett Frey

Merrett is a big, broad man of middle height. In his youth, he was almost as robust as his older brother Hosteen, the strongest son of Lord Walder Frey, but in later years Merrett became "soft and fleshy."

Ser Jaime Lannister remembers Merrett as slow, clumsy and stupid in his youth, with strength being his only positive quality.

History

Merrett served with his mother Amarei's relative, Lord Sumner Crakehall, as a page and later a squire. Like many Crakehall descendants, he was known for his strength and robustness. During this time, he knew Jaime Lannister, also a squire at Crakehall Castle, although the two were not close because of Merrett's habit of bullying others, which was not to Jaime's liking. Jaime is implied to have turned the tables on Merrett when the Frey boy tried to bully him.

The downfall in Merrett's life began with the expedition against the Kingswood Brotherhood. First he caught a pox from a camp follower, and later he was captured by Wenda the White Fawn and was branded on his arse with her mark, the fawn. He was freed after Lord Sumner paid a ransom, but was unable to sit for a fortnight and became the target of cruel jokes by the other squires. In his next fight, Merrett was hit with a mace that broke his helm, leaving him insensible for a fortnight. As a result, he suffered immense pain whenever he was hit in the head, and generally suffered extreme headaches for which he drank excessively to numb the pain. He was sent back to the Twins by Sumner and never knighted because of his injuries. His father, Lord Walder Frey, began mocking him as Merrett Muttonhead.

Merrett married Mariya Darry around 282 AC, considered an excellent match at the time. However, soon after the wedding, House Darry lost most of their influence and power due to Robert's Rebellion, in which they declared for Aerys II Targaryen. Merrett fathered five daughters before the marriage produced a son, Little Walder Frey. One daughter died when she was still a child, one was stillborn and two other daughters shame their parents with promiscuity (Gatehouse Ami) and gluttony (Fat Walda), respectively.

Consigned to a useless existence without knighthood, troubled by persistent headaches, despised by his father and considering his wife a shrew and his children worthless, Merrett has gained the dubious distinction of being the biggest drunk in the Twins.

Recent Events

A Game of Thrones

Merrett is among the many Freys present at the Twins when Catelyn Stark comes to treat with Lord Walder Frey on behalf of Robb Stark.

A Clash of Kings

Merrett's daughter Walda marries Lord Roose Bolton at the Twins.

A Storm of Swords

While at Harrenhal, Roose informs Ser Jaime Lannister that Lord Walder had offered the choice of a daughter or a granddaughter with her weight in silver as dowry; Roose chose "Fat Walda" because of her size. Merrett thinks this will gain him favor because of the importance of the alliance with House Bolton, but is disappointed when Walder says he is not going to thank his son for fathering a daughter who made him pay a larger dowry than necessary because of her gluttony.

During the planning of the Red Wedding, Merrett is humiliated when Lothar Frey assigns him to get Lord Greatjon Umber too drunk to fight. Merrett passes out during the feast, but the Greatjon is sober enough to kill two men, break another's arm, and take part of Ser Leslyn Haigh's ear off before being subdued.

After the Red Wedding, the brotherhood without banners of Beric Dondarrion kidnaps Petyr Frey. Merrett volunteers to deliver the ransom for his great-nephew, hoping to gain favor within House Frey as he has no prospect of maintaining an existence on his own. Walder laughs at the suggestion of Merrett dealing with outlaws, but eventually gives his consent.

Upon his arrival at Oldstones, Merrett finds Petyr hanged for his involvement in the Red Wedding, and the brotherhood prepare to hang Merrett after taking the ransom. When the outlaws raise the death of Robb Stark at the Red Wedding, Merrett insists it was not murder, but justified vengeance for Robb insulting House Frey by marrying Jeyne Westerling. He protests that all he did was drink and that the planning was done by Walder, Ryman Frey and Roose. The brotherhood reveals Catelyn Stark, who had been slain by Merrett's brother Raymund and eventually tossed into the Green Fork. Asked whether Merrett was part of the plot, the revived Catelyn just nods, as she cannot speak anymore. Merrett is then hanged by the brotherhood.

A Feast for Crows

Hunting the murderers of Merrett and Petyr, Lord Lucias Vypren follows one band to Fairmarket but loses them there. Another group is pursued from Hag's Mire by hounds and hunters led by Black Walder Frey, but their trace is lost when they reach the Neck. Peasants who are questioned describe a hooded woman who is believed to be their leader, but nothing is heard of Beric or Thoros of Myr. This creates doubts whether the brotherhood is responsible.

While traveling to Riverrun, Ser Jaime Lannister stops at Castle Darry, the seat of his cousin, Lord Lancel Lannister. He meets Merrett's widow, Mariya Darry, and his eldest daughter, Amerei, who is now Lancel's wife. Remembering Merrett to have been a bully, Jaime only praises Merrett as having been strong. When Amerei brings up her father's stories of fighting the Kingswood Brotherhood, Jaime thinks of them as exaggerations and lies. Jaime raises a toast to Merrett, considering it easier to drink to the man than talk about him. Amerei later mentions that Ser Harwyn Plumm has promised her Beric's head and she tries to coax Jaime into finding the killers of her father as well, although without success.

A Dance with Dragons

Merrett's son, Little Walder Frey, serves as a squire to Ramsay Bolton, who is the stepson of Merrett's daughter, Walda. However, Walder is later found murdered at Winterfell.

Family

Walder

Amarei Crakehall

Hosteen

Bellena Hawick

Lucias Vypren

Lythene

Symond

Betharios of Braavos

Arwood

Ryella Royce

Damon Vypren

Elyana Vypren

Jon Wylde

Alesander

Alyx

Bradamar

Ryella

Androw

Alyn

Hostella

Rickard Wylde

Danwell

Wynafrei Whent

Merrett

Mariya Darry

Pate of the Blue Fork

Amerei

Lancel Lannister

"Fat" Walda

Roose Bolton

Marissa

Stillborn daughter

Daughter

"Little" Walder

Geremy

Carolei Waynwood

Raymund

Beony Beesbury

Sandor

Cynthea

Robert

Malwyn

Sarra

Serra

Cersei

Tywin

Jaime

References

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at House_Frey. The list of authors can be seen in the page history of House_Frey. As with A Wiki of Ice and Fire, the content of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.