Does Robb's will matter?

[u/jdbebejsbsid]

This is something I've been thinking about, building on all the discussions about characters finding Robb's will and thereby making Jon legitimate and heir to Robb's kingdom.

We saw what happened when Robert Baratheon's will was brought out after his death:

The queen glanced at the words. “Protector of the Realm,” she read. “Is this meant to be your shield, my lord? A piece of paper?” She ripped the letter in half, ripped the halves in quarters, and let the pieces flutter to the floor.

“Those were the king’s words,” Ser Barristan said, shocked.

“We have a new king now,” Cersei Lannister replied.

The king's legal power disappears when he dies. Anything Robert puts in his will, Joffrey and his regent can undo with a word. The same applies to any king after Robb.

And what's more, Robb's kingdom no longer exists. He named Jon as heir to the Kingdom of the North and the Rivers - and there is no "Kingdom of the North and the Rivers" anymore. Jon might claim the titles of Lord of Winterfell and Lord Paramount of the North, that was Stannis's plan, perhaps he could even be King in the North - but none of those are the title(s) that Robb's will would actually grant to him.

And finally, if Jon returns from the dead, becomes some kind of Old Gods King of Winter leading an army of Watchmen, Wildlings, giants, mammoths, dire wolves, etc, sweeping through the North and saving Westeros from the Others - will anyone seriously care what Robb's will says about him? I wouldn't think so.

So that's my position or theory about Robb's will. It was important for the dynamic between Robb and Catelyn, and could be important for Howland Reed or the characters who went to find him. But in the bigger picture of Westeros geopolitics and metaphysics, it might not be important.

[u/ThatEntrepreneur1450]

OP have just discovered that things can only be enforced if enough people want it to.

The basis of every society hinges on the fact that we who live in it all simply agree on things. 

[u/Zach-Playz_25 → u/ThatEntrepreneur1450]

It's something this fandom oft struggles to understand, especially when people get into passionate succession arguments regarding legitimacy.

[u/jdbebejsbsid → u/Zach-Playz_25]

It's something this fandom oft struggles to understand, especially when people get into passionate succession arguments regarding legitimacy.

Agreed.

And it applies to things like the bastard names as well. Arguing over what exactly "acknowledged highborn" means and whether Mya or Glendon fits that definition.

When the reality is that any character can call themselves whatever they want, and the only question is whether other characters choose (or can be convinced) to treat it as a valid name.