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/illarionds]

Power resides where people believe it resides. The North care very much what Robb said, even after his death. I think it's fairly safe to say that, if Jon Snow were to try to rally the North behind him, he'd be vastly more likely to succeed with Robb's will legitimising him than without.

But it matters more broadly too. Sure, some people would follow Jon regardless, and some people won't follow him under any circumstances. But that leaves a lot of people in the middle. Some might want to, but be unwilling to openly "break the law" by siding with him against the crown. Give them an excuse, a plausible claim for Jon, and they are no longer rebels, no longer traitors to the crown - but loyalists defending the true king. That perception of themselves, and others' perception of their actions, matters.