The History of House Manderly | ASOIAF Animated

In the harsh wintry cold of the North, a land of hard men and tree worshippers, one dynasty stands out. A House of wealth and trade of cunning and corpulence of knighthood and southron Faith. How did the mermen of the Mander almost seize power over the Kingdom of the Reach? Why were they forced into exile? What schemes are they hatching in A Song of Ice and Fire? And who's this... fat guy? For more animated lore videos hit like and subscribe, and comment your favourite Manderly down below. I've

also got a cheeky Patreon if you're interested. This is the History of House Manderly. The House of Manderly are an ancient family of First Men from the Reach, who served the powerful Gardener Kings. The Manderlys ruled from the castle of Dunstonbury by the Mander, the longest river in Westeros. Though they once worshipped the Old Gods, the culture of the Reach transformed when the Gardeners accepted Andals into the Kingdom, and House Manderly eventually converted to the Faith of the Seven. For

reasons unbeknownst to most maesters, the mermen of the Mander had a vicious feud with the Peakes of Starpike. This grew so intense that King Gwayne III - known as Gwayne the Fat - persuaded the Houses to accept *his* judgement on their rivalry, and do fealty for their lands without bloodshed. Not all Kings were so wise... Garth X, crowned at the age of 7, surrounded himself with lickspittles and power-mongers. As his beard became grey and his wits slipped away, two factions formed around him. Y

ou see, Garth Greybeard had failed to sire a son, and a succession crisis loomed. One of his daughters married into House Manderly, the other into - oh, there's a shock - House Peake. The true heir of the Oakenseat is a fact lost to time - but it certainly didn't matter to these feuding factions. The tension grew and grew, as plots bred conspiracy, conspiracy bred betrayal, and betrayal bred murder.... ... until the Reach ERUPTED into open war and its lordly Houses clung onto their chosen champi

ons. There was nothing the senile King could do. The Storm King and the King of the Rock carved out land for themselves during the chaos. One Dornish King crossed the River Mander and sacked Highgarden itself, desecrating the Oakenseat, murdering the Greybeard, and putting the castle to the torch. Nearly ten years of anarchy followed... until a golden rose blossomed. Ser Osmund Tyrell, the High Steward of Highgarden, united the Reach lords against the Manderlys and Peakes, and placed Garth Greyb

eard's second cousin on the throne: King Mern VI, who rebuilt Highgarden and restored the power of the Reach. Anarchy had reigned, yet the bitter rivalry had not yet reached its… uh… peak. The great Lords of Dunstonbury grew greater still, but we are told that, in their insatiable thirst for power, they overreached, exposing their soft underbelly to foes and rivals. King Perceon III Gardener grew fearful of the merman banner, and conspired with Lord Lorimar Peake to drive the Manderlys into exil

e. ... Or perhaps it was Lord Peake who persuaded the King? Regardless, the Peakes eagerly snatched the castle of Dustonbury, adding it to their sigil. The Reachmen fled to the Kingdom of the North, bending the knee to House Stark of Winterfell, swearing a fierce oath of loyalty. The Stark King granted their wealthy new bannermen the castle of Wolf's Den, which stood sentinel by the White Knife river. The Manderlys built a settlement around the Wolf's Den, which over the centuries became White H

arbour - the only port city in the North, and a valuable means by which the exiled lords sustained their wealth. As the Wolf's Den cracked and crumbled, a new castle was built, one that mirrored their long-lost Dunstonbury: the New Castle. I wonder where Gurm gets all his ideas from… The saga of their exile may have occurred as long ago as 1000 years before Aegon's Conquest, yet the Manderlys retain their worship of the Seven and acceptance of knighthood. And more importantly perhaps, their undy

ing gratitude to the Wolves of Winterfell... When Aegon Targaryen invaded the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros, King Torrhen Stark bent the knee. Not all were so swift. The Three Sisters of the Vale renounced their boy King Ronnel Arryn, and Lady Marla Sunderland was crowned Queen by the islands' rebellious lords. Lord Paramount Torrhen Stark was tasked with ending this rebellion, so he sent a knight of House Manderly named Ser Warrick to command the Northern army. The Sistermen's Rebellion soon ended

without bloodshed. Queen Marla was exiled, her brother Steffon became the new Lord of the Sisters, and his son was taken to White Harbour as a hostage. The Manderlys had proven their loyalty to the Targaryens. Half a century later, Jaehaerys I sat the Iron Throne. During a royal progress Good Queen Alysanne visited White Harbour and its lord, Theomore Manderly Lord Theomore was a gracious host: he threw a large feast, offered his daughter Jessamyn to be the Queen's cupbearer, and allowed Alysan

ne to host the North's first ever women's council in his castle. This must have placed him in her good favour, for she later organised a betrothal between the widowed Theomore and her daughter, the beautiful - if vain - Princess Viserra Targaryen. Alas, she died while drunkenly riding through the streets of King's Landing - but the Manderly grind did not stop there. Theomore's great-grandson, Lord Desmond, saw an opportunity to right this wrong. This may contain future House of the Dragon spoile

rs, so skip to the next chapter if you want. On his journey to Winterfell, Prince Jacaerys Velaryon first arrived at White Harbour. Another marriage pact was sealed: Lord Desmond's youngest daughter would marry Prince Joffrey Velaryon - once the war was won, of course. When Queen Rhaenyra captured King's Landing, Desmond sent his sons to aid her: The fearsome Ser Medrick and the clever Ser Torrhen. Fear, paranoia, and hunger led to mass riots throughout the city, and the brothers led their men t

o restore order. The brothers Manderly later fled the capital with Rhaenyra, sailing to White Harbour while she left for Dragonstone. When the Dance of the Dragons was over, King Aegon III sat the Iron Throne - although he was just a child. Ser Torrhen Manderly returned to King's Landing and was named one of Aegon's seven regents. When the Winter Fever broke out in the Sisters and spread to White Harbour, Lord Desmond caught the fever and died. His son Ser Medrick succeeded him as Lord, but died

of the same illness just 4 days later. He had sired no children, so Torrhen resigned as regent and returned to White Harbour as its new lord. But the Northerner kept his chubby fingers in many Southron political pies. The ancient rivalry reared its ugly head when the new Hand - Lord Unwin Peake - tried to betroth *his* daughter to Aegon. Lord Torrhen sent a letter to the King urging him to marry *his* daughter. After all, both Targ-Manderly marriage pacts had collapsed in the past, so it was on

ly fair. Aegon did not accept, but that wasn't the end of Torrhen's ambitions. After Unwin resigned a Great Council was called, and Lord Manderly was named the new Hand of the King. He never truly liked young Aegon and the feeling was mutual, but the large lord proved to be an able administrator, enacting major tax reforms and judging the trials of those who plotted to poison the King. In anticipation of Aegon's 16th nameday, Torrhen prepared a grand royal progress. It was not to be. The King st

rode into the council chambers, cancelled the progress, and removed Torrhen as his Hand. Torrhen returned to White Harbour in bitter humiliation, taking with him the Court Fool, Mushroom. We will probably discover what the slighted Lord got up to in Fire and Blood Part 2... If that ever comes out. By the start of the main book series, we know of 6 Manderlys. The Lord of White Harbour is the corpulent and cunning Wyman Manderly. Lord Lamprey. Lord Lard. Lord... Too-Fat-To-Sit-A-Horse. At the end

of Robert's Rebellion, he had fought at the Battle of the Trident, and was saved by his retainer Ser Bartimus, who was made castellan of Wolf's Den - which now had become the White Harbour prison. The widowed Wyman sired two sons: the quiet Ser Wylis and the boisterous Ser Wendel. The former sired two daughters - Wynafryd and Wylla - while the latter is childless. Wait - a fat Lord Manderly with two sons, both of them knights, one childless? This sounds kinda familiar George… Anyway, Wyman has a

t least two cousins: Lady Donella, who married Lord Halys Hornwood, and Ser Marlon, the commander of the New Castle garrison. When Robb Stark calls the banners, Wendel and Wylis join him. Ser Wendel accompanies Robb's contingent riding for Riverrun as one of his Personal Guard, while Ser Wylis commands the Manderly forces within Roose Bolton's army marching south. Ser Wylis is captured by the Lannisters during the Battle of the Green Fork, and Lord Halys Hornwood, the husband of his father's cou

sin, is slain. That's relevant, stay with me. Ser Wendel survives the Battle of the Whispering Wood, but Lord Hornwood's only legitimate son, Daryn, is slain. No seriously, this is actually relevant. You'll see why. Up North, Winterfell hosts a harvest feast. Lord Wyman informs Bran Stark that he is willing to mint new coins for King Robb, and proposes to build a fleet of galleys. As well as ingratiating himself with the Starks, he eyes an opportunity to expand his lands and holdings. You see, w

ith Halys and Daryn dead, the male line of House Hornwood is extinct. The widowed Lady Donella now rules Hornwood, so Lord Wyman offers to marry his cousin. She rejects him, but upon leaving the feast is kidnapped by Ramsay Snow, the Bastard of Bolton, who forcibly marries her and locks her away in a tower, where she starves to death. Ramsay declares himself the new Lord of Hornwood. Wyman sends his men to seize the Hornwood lands and drive out the Boltons. In the South, the captured Wylis is ta

ken to Harrenhal as a prisoner, but he's freed when it falls to Roose Bolton and the Brave Companions. He and his brother Wendel are both invited to attend the wedding between Edmure Tully and Roslin Frey at the Twins. Unfortunately, Ser Wylis is ambushed by Ser Gregor Clegane and his men, and he's once again imprisoned in Harrenhal. The starving knight is fed roast goat by the Mountain - unbeknownst to him, he's actually eating the cooked flesh of Vargo Hoat, leader of the Brave Companions. Yet

this is a better fate than his brother could hope for. Ser Wendel makes it to the Red Wedding unscathed, but is slain during the massacre with a crossbow bolt to the face. With Wylis hostage, Wyman can offer little resistance. 3 Freys arrive to deliver Wendel's bones and negotiate marriage alliances. Rhaegar offers to wed Wynafryd and betroth Wylla to Little Walder Frey, while Ser Jared spins a mocking tale of Robb Stark turning into a wolf and slaughtering Ser Wendel. All the while, Symond bri

bes several members of the White Harbour court, even sending his wife's handmaid to seduce Manderly's fool. Not even the New Castle maester can be trusted. After all, Maester Theomore was once a Lannister of Lannisport. Foes and false friends surround him, infesting his city like cockroaches. Davos Seaworth arrives at White Harbour to negotiate with Wyman on behalf of King Stannis Baratheon. To finally secure his son's release, Wyman has Davos arrested, thrown into the Wolf's Den, and executed…

... or does he? Robb Stark may be dead, but the vengeful, cunning Lord Wyman does not go gentle into that good night. He has played the role of a broken man, just as his granddaughter Wynafryd has played the role of a happy bride-to-be. They have no intentions of upholding the marriage, nor executing poor Davos. A lookalike from the dungeons is beheaded in his place, confirming his pretend loyalty to the Lannisters. Ser Jaime orders Wylis to be released from Harrenhal and sent back home. Wyman t

ells Davos that he will support Stannis Baratheon… if the Onion Knight travels to Skagos to rescue Rickon Stark. He knows of Rickon's location from Wex Pyke, the young Ironborn bastard who survived Ramsay's sacking of Winterfell. Wyman and the three Freys travel to Winterfell to witness the wedding between Ramsay Bolton and *ahem* "Arya Stark", aka Jeyne Poole. The three Freys go missing in the snow, that's a shame. No worries though! Wyman's made up for it with three giant pork pies- Wait a sec

ond. Tensions flare as the northern lords are trapped in Winterfell by the blizzard. When Little Walder Frey is found dead in the snow, his uncle Ser Hosteen accuses Wyman, and slashes one of his many chins. Through the power of sheer neck blubber Lord Manderly survives, but Roose has had enough. He orders the Frey and Manderly troops to march outside Winterfell and take the fight to Stannis, whose army is stationed at a nearby crofter's village. What is to come for House Manderly in The Winds o

f Winter? The Manderly forces are sure to betray the Freys, and Boltons' days are numbered. If Wyman is killed by Roose Bolton, or perhaps even Stannis, the Lordship passes to his quiet son Wylis. OR perhaps he will survive, and support the One True King once Davos brings Rickon Stark back to Winterfell. Or maybe Wyman was lying? He doesn't want Rickon to be Lord of Winter, but the new King in the North? Regardless of the outcome, Lord Wyman will find a way to avenge his son, and strike back aga

inst the Freys. How these upjumped weasels became so powerful in the first place can be discovered in this video. Like and subscribe if you enjoyed this House History, and check out my Patreon if you want more goodies, including the Patreon Discord and an animated History of House Dayne. Quinn the GM has a great video on House Peake on his channel, so check that out as well. See ya next time!