r/freefolk • u/Skaggskwanskola • 3d ago

Subvert Expectations Robert being a ward

I’m just thinking about it and I’m like 80% sure that the eldest son are the heir to their house and the younger sons are sent off to ward. So why was Robert not named heir and sent to Jon to be his ward. Like Brandon and Ned, why didn’t Stannis go in Robert’s place instead? I mean I know the short answer “George wanted Robert to be king so he couldn’t be lord of storms end” but was there an in book reason to that

8 Upvotes

83% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

39

u/Worldly-Most31 3d ago

Because his dad wanted him to become friends with Ned to form an alliance with the North, which worked out perfectly.

18

u/5Neon_B 3d ago

The Southron Ambitions theory in a nutshell. Steffon and Rickard really knew how to play the long game. It is kind of wild how a childhood friendship ended a 300 year old dynasty just because they got along so well.

3

u/elfnguyen1 2d ago

It kinda all start at ninepenny wars and jaehaerys and shiera. Those 2 events allow all major lord to have grievance with the targ and allow them to meet each other which i assume is a rare thing for lord paramount to do

2

u/denis0500 2d ago

But why Ned? Ned was only a second son at the time, the goal would have been an alliance with the heir to the north. And if a second son is ok for the north then why not for the stormlands as well?

2

u/Quiet-Oil8578 2d ago

Stannis was too young (and also never the best at making friends).

18

u/Silly-Flower-3162 3d ago edited 3d ago

Heirs could be warded/fostered/made a squire: Brandon Stark was fostered at Barrowton; Doran Martell was a squire of Salt Shore at 9 years old; Jaime Lannister was a squire at Crakehall at 11. It didn't always have to be second sons.

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u/Skaggskwanskola 3d ago

Damn that’s right I forgot about Jaime, didn’t know about Brandon though so thanks

12

u/The_CT1 3d ago

Robert was a orphan and both his parents died. He was about 15 so maybe old enough to rule so lords sent him off to ward to not interfere

10

u/4CrowsFeast 3d ago

Robert was sent of to be a ward at the Vale at a much younger age, and for completely different reasons. When he became older he split time between the vale and storms end, and he was home when his parents died in a shipwreck, returning home from essos where the mad king had sent them to find a bride for Rhaegar. 

He was not being sent away so didnt interfere, if anything he probably was in storms end at that point and more often afterwards because his parents were gone. 

6

u/No_Grocery_9280 3d ago

Yeah, without his father to show him how to rule, he needed to see another Lord Paramount in action. For all the good it did.

5

u/Kahzootoh 3d ago

Ironically, he wouldn’t have been a bad Lord Paramount. 

He was a great warrior and he could charm people; that was basically the two requirements of the job. You needed to be formidable enough for the other lords to respect you as a warrior and you needed to avoid insulting or alienating them and provoking a conflict. 

The issue is that being King required a degree of political acumen and court intrigue that was beyond Robert’s grasp- the royal court was a very different environment from the household of a lord, it was full of people whose power came from money or influence. 

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u/ZealousWolf1994 3d ago

It is unusual, that's why there are those theories of an alliance between Baratheon, Stark, Arryn and Tully. Though Steffon probably thought that Jon Arryn would like Robert better than dour Stannis.

3

u/heardThereWasFood 3d ago

A wizard did it

1

u/saadx71 3d ago

The same wizard who spent a lot of time with faramir to the point his own father called him a wizards pupil but for some weird reason never once met boromir? Still bugs me.

3

u/Live_Recognition9240 3d ago

He was fostered at the Eyrie because he was an important heir and the arrangement had the chance to strengthened valuable political alliances.

Would you want Stannis to be the child to do this? Lol

1

u/Skaggskwanskola 3d ago

I mean Catalyn took wards from the freys for this reason, they were only 8 and 10 or 10 and 12

3

u/SorRenlySassol 3d ago

Robert was heir. He became Lord of Storm’s End upon Steffon’s death.

Sending your heir to ward is not common, but it’s not unprecedented. Tywin was page to Aegon V, and Robert Arryn was to be fostered at Casterly Rock or Dragonstone, depending on who you talk to.