#towerhouse

[queen-of-andor]

There are some heavy anti parallels between Daenerys Targaryen and Joffrey Baratheon/Cersei Lannister as monarchs in the way they treat Ser Barristan Selmy.

Joffrey dismisses Barristan Selmy from the Kingsguard because he needed someone to blame for his father's (Robert's) death. Of course, Joffrey is in reality his mother's puppet King, who considers dismissing Ser Barristan Selmy a great decision, as it would clear the way for Jaime to become the commander of the Kingsguard and give his a seat on the Small Council ( and Lannisters are all for nepotism in the way they run things). Plus, with Ser Barristan Selmy gone, Joffrey could make his personal guard Sandor, a member of the Kingsguard, something that Cersei also considered a winning situation.

Cersei sighed. "Joff wanted someone to blame for Robert's death. Varys suggested Ser Barristan. Why not? It gave Jaime command of the Kingsguard and a seat on the small council, and allowed Joff to throw a bone to his dog. He is very fond of Sandor Clegane. We were prepared to offer Selmy some land and a towerhouse, more than the useless old fool deserved."

Tyrion I, ACOK

The above passage not only reveals that Joffrey is his mother's puppet King but also that Cersei isn't the most clever person when it comes to ruling. Not only she fell for Varys' plan but she is also a very bad judge of other people. She considers Barristan Selmy an "useless old fool" when he's a great fighter and an asset due to his experience and strength for any ruler to have by their side. She also considers a great exchange to have Sandor in Barristan Selmy's place and we saw how that worked for the Lannisters at the end of ACOK.

Another passage on this specific incident that shows Cersei's myopic way of thinking:

"Ser Barristan was the Lord Commander of Robert Baratheon's Kingsguard," Tyrion reminded her pointedly. "He and Jaime are the only survivors of Aerys Targaryen's seven. The smallfolk talk of him in the same way they talk of Serwyn of the Mirror Shield and Prince Aemon the Dragonknight. What do you imagine they'll think when they see Barristan the Bold riding beside Robb Stark or Stannis Baratheon?"

Cersei glanced away. "I had not considered that.

Tyrion I, ACOK

Let's compare it with Daenerys, who finds out that Ser Barristan Selmy was lying to her about his identity. What is more, she realises that the man she trusted as her advisor was serving Robert Baratheon for years. Ser Jorah, in a move that closely reflects Varys' manipulation of Cersei/Joffrey, offers to kill Barristan Selmy for Daenerys. But Dany, needs to first listen Barristan's story before she decides what she'll do with him:

"Why are you here?" Dany demanded of him. "If Robert sent you to kill me, why did you save my life?" He served the Usurper. He betrayed Rhaegar's memory, and abandoned Viserys to live and die in exile. Yet if he wanted me dead, he need only have stood aside . . . "I want the whole truth now, on your honor as a knight. Are you the Usurper's man, or mine?"

"Yours, if you will have me." Ser Barristan had tears in his eyes. "I took Robert's pardon, aye. I served him in Kingsguard and council. Served with the Kingslayer and others near as bad, who soiled the white cloak I wore. Nothing will excuse that. I might be serving in King's Landing still if the vile boy upon the Iron Throne had not cast me aside, it shames me to admit. But when he took the cloak that the White Bull had draped about my shoulders, and sent men to kill me that selfsame day, it was as though he'd ripped a caul off my eyes. That was when I knew I must find my true king, and die in his service—"

"I can grant that wish," Ser Jorah said darkly.

"Quiet," said Dany. "I'll hear him out."

Daenerys V, ASOS

Daenerys, unlike Cersei, won't allow any advisor of hers to cloud her judgement. She knew beforehand that Ser Jorah was antagonistic towards Ser Barristan so even if she doesn't fully know the reason yet ( the revelation that Jorah was a traitor happens right after that passage) she won't allow him to interfere while she gets Barristan's confession.

Of course, after she finds out that not only one but two close advisors of hers have betrayed her she has a strong reaction. It's only natural for her to do so. And yet, despite that antis always accuse her of being merciless, she shows mercy while dealing with them. Another ruler would execute them both for treason and no one would bat an eye. In fact, everyone would say that their action was justified while treating with two traitors. But Dany admits on her inner monologue that she can't do that:

Go, go away forever, both of you, the next time I see your faces I'll have your traitors' heads off. She could not say the words, though. They betrayed me. But they saved me. But they lied. "You go . . ." My bear, my fierce strong bear, what will I do without him? And the old man, my brother's friend. "You go . . . go . . ." Where?

And then she knew.

Daenerys V, ASOS

When they both return successful from their mission to help the capturing of the city of Mereen, it's time for her to decide what she'll do with each of them.

Even while she has every right to be angry with them - and she is- she is still fair towards them and admits twice that they helped her to win Mereen.

Before she makes her decision, she opts to listen to Barristan's story once again, to understand better the reasons why he acted the way he did. It's a good move for a leader because someone who leads needs to know all the facts in order to make a fair judgement on someone. And that's what Dany does.

Barristan doesn't sugarcoat his opinion. He tells her that he considered Robert a good man and that's why he followed him instead of Viserys who he thought to be unfit to rule. He even tells Dany that he lied about his identity because he wanted to make sure she was - unlike her father and brother Viserys- fit to rule before he pledged his sword to her.

Once again, another ruler would be offended by the knight's words. He insulted her dead relatives by calling them unworthy to rule,which are true facts but how many rulers or even mere noble do you know besides Dany that would accept hard truths about their families? And then he proceed to tell her that he didn't automatically choose to follow her because she's the rightful ruler - remember both Dany and Barristan live in a world where they believe in ruling by birthright- but first he had to test her abilities to rule. And Dany was okay with that! How many rulers or again mere nobles do you know that would be okay with someone questioning their birthright and telling them that they need to prove their worth before they claim it? I really believe that as a fandom we don't give Dany the recognition she deserves for being more humble than most while dealing with these subjects.

Daenerys decides to allow Ser Barristan Selmy to remain by her side and that shows her political genius - which again is hardly recognised in the asoiaf fandom. She set aside her hurt pride by the knight's words and saw the bigger picture: someone who decided to follow her not simply because of her birthright but because he considers her a component leader is gonna be forever loyal to her. And Barristan Selmy is an asset for a ruler to have by their side, something that Tyrion had pointed out on his own chapter while he was dealing with the knight's dismissal by his nephew/sister.

And Dany made the right decision because we can see how much loyal Ser Barristan is to her on the fifth book of the series. He remains loyal to her even after Dany goes missing towards to the end of the book.

[amplifyme]

Sandor Clegane, the wordsmith.

The Hound escorted her across the drawbridge. As they were winding their way up the step, she said, "Why do you let people call you a dog? You won't let anyone call you a knight."

"I like dogs better than knights. My father's father was kennelmaster at The Rock. One autumn year, Lord Tytos came between a lioness and her prey. The lioness didn't give a shit that she was Lannister's own sigil. Bitch tore into my lord's horse and would have done for my lord too, but my grandfather came up with the hounds. Three of his dogs died running her off. My grandfather lost a leg, so Lannister paid him for it with lands and a towerhouse, and took his son to squire. The three dogs on our banner are the three that died, in the yellow of autumn grass. A hound will die for you, but never lie to you. And he'll look you straight in the face."

A Clash of Kings

[warsofasoiaf]

In ACOK Tyrion sends Janos Slynt to the Wall and then tells him that his eldest son will "inherit the title of Lord Slynt. Lands will be found for him...he will be responsible for building his own seat." I am curious, how would the Slynts build their own keep as new Lords? In this scenario, are the Slynts likely to be petty lords, subject to another vassal? Would they get lands in the Crownlands or the Westerlands?

As the new lords Slynt are unlikely to have any vassals to squeeze for cash, the new lord Slynt would probably have to take out a loan to finance a new castle being built. However, it's also possible that a suitable towerhouse or holdfast would be turned into a castle for the new lords, and they'd be responsible for expanding it, which would incur significantly less expenditures. Many nobles could bankrupt themselves with loans taken to repair/renovate castles or build new ones.

The lands for the Slynts are likely to be somewhere in the Crownlands. Now, it could be a new fief cut out of the existing royal demense, they could be lands seized from traitor lords in the War of the Five Kings, or it could be that the Slynts are subinfeudated to another Crownlands vessel. Of those three options, I tend toward the second.

Thanks for the question, Cle-Guy.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[racefortheironthrone]

Following on the castle question, do more nobles in ASOIAF have castles compared to real life history

It's more the case that most of the nobles we meet in ASOIAF are from the higher end of the nobility - the Lords Paramount and Principal Houses of the Seven Kingdoms - who are more likely to own castles.

By contrast, in the Dunk & Egg stories, we see more of the lower end of the nobility. Given our protagonists' point of view, in these stories we encounter hedge knights and sworn swords and landed knights like Ser Eustace Osgrey, whose Standfast is described as a fortified towerhouse:

This is exactly what a major type of fortified manor house looks like - because the artist probably referenced a photo of a surviving fortified manor house from our world. And in Sworn Sword, we see major intraclass inequality between marginal landed knights like Ser Eustace and the more well-established and well-capitalized small lords like the Webbers of Coldmoat - who can afford to maintain a small castle (with its eponymous moat), which happens to include having enough soldiers to back up its monopoly over the Chequey Water against rival claims.

While George R.R Martin's chops as a medievalist are often called into question, I think his knowledge base is a lot stronger when it comes to topics that older historiography focused on (wars, arms and armor, castles, dynastic politics) and a lot weaker on social history topics that have become more prominent in recent decades (the material life of the masses, medieval race, gender, and sexuality, etc). I would be very much surprised if GRRM hadn't collected the same illustrated books of Arms and Armor, the Medieval Castle, and so forth that I had when I was a young nerd.

[agentrouka-blog]

I just saw something on Twitter about this, but a user was saying that the Cleganes are descendants of Dunk. Though I thought that was Brienne? Since when were the Cleganes confirmed descendants? Op was a s@nsan shipper, so I didn���t want to quote tweet their post in case discourse started …

I don't think they are. It's certainly not confirmed.

"I like dogs better than knights. My father's father was kennelmaster at the Rock. One autumn year, Lord Tytos came between a lioness and her prey. The lioness didn't give a shit that she was Lannister's own sigil. Bitch tore into my lord's horse and would have done for my lord too, but my grandfather came up with the hounds. Three of his dogs died running her off. My grandfather lost a leg, so Lannister paid him for it with lands and a towerhouse, and took his son to squire. The three dogs on our banner are the three that died, in the yellow of autumn grass. (ACOK, Sansa II)

If they were, the kennelmaster grandfather would have to be Duncan's bastard son, fathered in the 220s. (Or his wife a bastard daughter.) I can't imagine that this detail would not feature front and center with the Clegane family history, given how recent their ascendence to titles and honors is. And if they don't know of the relation, then GRRM has made no point of implying it in the same way he has with Brienne or Hodor.

I mean, Duncan was probably not the only tall man in the Seven kingdoms to leave tall offspring. If he is their ancestor, it would be a fun and dark twist on the theme his own corrupted knighthood.

[kolajmag]

COLLAGE ON VIEW

Graphic Paper

The Art of Cutting Things Out with Alison Kurke at the Borders Textile Towerhouse in Hawick, Scotland 13 April-15 June 2024. American collagist, now resident of the Scottish Borders, Alison Kurke presents collages that are an overview of a studio practice that has evolved over the past twenty years. She makes collage because she likes cutting things out, combining them and pasting them down in pleasing arrangements. Retirement has its advantages and focused play is vastly underrated. At the opening reception on Saturday, 13 April, 1-3PM, is the launch of Standard Processes in Dressmaking, a collaged altered book by nine members of the International Collage Community, led by Kurke. Using E. Lucy Towers’s iconic, 1948 instruction manual as a point of departure, artists added fragments to the pages of the book as a means of exploring womanhood and fashion. Read More

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Kolaj Magazine, a full color, print magazine, exists to show how the world of collage is rich, layered, and thick with complexity. By remixing history and culture, collage artists forge new thinking. To understand collage is to reshape one's thinking of art history and redefine the canon of visual culture that informs the present.

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[virtualscotland]

This is a visit to Kinneil House in Bo'ness in central Scotland. It's an historic mansion built in 1677 on the remains of a 15th or 16th century towerhouse. The building was saved from destruction in 1936 when 16th century mural paintings were discovered and it's now in the care of Historic Environment Scotland. We really enjoyed visiting! 😀

[smallcatsims]

And here we have.. Gregor’s towerhouse. When you enter you’re greeted with a big heavy locked door, which leads to the dungeon. Here, Gregor has two floors full of cages, torture devices, and training equipment. The only light in the dungeon comes from a fire he lights under the prisoners in the mounted cage to terrify them.

Up two flights of stairs are Gregor’s private rooms. He has a dining hall, and adjacent are a kitchen and a room/office for a steward who does housework for Gregor and manages his accounts. Gregor drinks strongwine and milk of the poppy for his headaches, so there are plenty of bubble blowers and minibars for him.

Upstairs is a little mancave where he can play darts and look at deer antlers, and a bedroom/bathroom.

[sorcierecat]

Need some inspiration for a picture-perfect September? towerhouse has got you covered with their pretty pins.

[setzabilly]

Towerhouse Farm

[crazygamecommunity]

Il gioco open-world PvPvE SAND verrà lanciato in Accesso Anticipato su PC (Steam) il 3 Aprile, hanno annunciato tinyBuild e gli sviluppatori Hologryph e TowerHaus.

[talesofthenine]

Towerhouse Farm

[joliegriffin]

Towerhouse Farm

[warsofasoiaf]

True, and that would also depend on what House Stark does afterward. If House Stark decides to provide a towerhouse on the Stark lands for Benjen's family to administer, that might soften the blow somewhat even if Benjen just dropped everything to join the Watch.

It'd also depend on the family Benjen married. A family that is supportive of the NIght's Watch might be more forgiving than one who thinks of the Watch as a glorified penal colony.

Excellent adds.

-SLAL

Would it be seen as stain of house stark if benjen stark had gotten married and had a child before leaving to the nights watch? Or it be seen as a weird stark honour thing?

No. People have had gotten married and had kids before leaving for the Watch. It's about having a family *after* you join. Unless it was always the plan for Benjen to join the Watch, even before puberty.

Thanks for the question, Anon.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[themountainlady]

I love castles, and always manage to visit one once in a while. Today let me present you Drum castle, in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. . For centuries it was the seat of the chief of clan Ivrine. Drum derived from the Gaelic "druim", meaning ridge. . This medieval castle has seen changes, improvements over the centuries and is now a gorgeous castle to discover! . . . #ig_scotland #visitingscotland #scottishhighlands #highlandsofscotland #scottishblogger #edinburghblogger #drumcastle #aberdeenshire #lovethehighlands #medievalcastle #castleofscotland #scottishcastle #castlesoftheworld #nationaltrustofscotland #towerhouse #hiddenscotland #ourhistory https://www.instagram.com/p/B5xujmvHaRT/?igshid=1pehswx6x4ibp

[observationsandreflections]

Reflection: Plans - Tower house, Nutley, Hampshire, UK, 2011- . Reference: Sergison Bates, el croquis 187; pg.165 . #architecture #sergisonbates #SBa #elcroquis #plan #drawing #courtyard #house #towerhouse #wall #inhabitedwall #vernacular #tradition #craft #interior #design #catalogue #visualreference #observations_and_reflections https://www.instagram.com/p/BsVhfS3F5GK/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=ktcoxzu0endq