House Blackwood

House Blackwood

House Blackwood^[1] ofRaventree Hall is a vassal house that holds fealty toHouse Tully ofRiverrun. Their lands are in the heart of theRiverlands, located along the banks of theRed Fork of theTrident. House Blackwood's sigil is a flock of ravens on scarlet surrounding a dead weirwood tree.

History[]

Background[]

House Blackwood were once lesser kings during theAge of Heroes. The Blackwoods hold an ancient grudge against their neighbors,House Bracken ofStone Hedge. The two houses, which hold the blood of theFirst Men in their veins and merged with the invadingAndals rather than being annihilated by them, competed for the throne of the Riverlands when it was an independent kingdom. The enmity was increased when House Bracken converted to theFaith of the Seven. House Blackwood, however, is one of the few major noble Houses outside of the North which continues to worship theOld Gods, and never converted to the Faith of The Seven.^[2]

House of the Dragon: Season 1[]

In116 AC,^[a]Willem Blackwood travels toStorm's End to contend forRhaenyra's hand in marriage. When he killsJerrel Bracken in a duel, Rhaenyra abruptly leaves and ends her tour.^[3]

In126 AC,^[b] theSmall Council discusses the feud between House Blackwood andHouse Bracken after LordSamwell Blackwood sends a complaint alleging that the Brackens have been illegally annexing Blackwood lands.^[4]

House of the Dragon: Season 2[]

Davos Blackwood and other members of the house confrontAeron Bracken and other Brackens over one of the borders between the two houses. The dispute leads into theBattle at the Burning Mill, with dozens of dead on both sides, including Samwell Blackwood and Aeron Bracken.^[5]

Willem Blackwood, regent for the young lordBenjicot Blackwood attends King ConsortDaemon's summons toHarrenhal. After reminiscing of his encounter with the then-Princess Rhaenyra, Willem offers the levies of House Blackwood in exchange of Daemon attacking the Brackens withCaraxes.^[6] AfterAmos Bracken rebuffs Daemon's terms, Daemon gives House Blackwood leave to use terror tactics against Bracken lands to force Amos's submission.^[7]

Several days later, Willem Blackwood arrives at Harrenhal, along with other Riverlords, asOscar Tully presents himself to Daemon. The lords demand justice for the crimes committed by Willem, who used the Targaryen banners to commit atrocities against House Brackens. Oscar cunningly turns the table on Daemon and forces him to execute Willem.^[8]

Game of Thrones: Season 1[]

The banner of House Blackwood is seen at theTourney of the Hand.^[9]

Game of Thrones: Season 2[]

Raventree Hall isliberated by a Northern-Riverlands host led byGreatjon Umber.^[10]

Game of Thrones: Season 6[]

Following thetaking of Riverrun byBrynden Tully, House Blackwood rises againstHouse Frey, which had been madeLord Paramount of the Trident after theRed Wedding, along withHouse Mallister.^[11][12]

Members[]

• Lord {Lucas Blackwood}, Lord of Raventree duringAegon's Conquest.
• Lord {Samwell Blackwood}, Lord of Raventree during theDance of the Dragons. Killed in theBattle at the Burning Mill.
  • LordBenjicot Blackwood, his son and successor. Lord of Raventree after his father's death.
• Ser {Willem Blackwood}, Samwell's younger brother. A suitor toRhaenyra Targaryen before her marriage toLaenor Velaryon. Regent for Lord Benjicot. Sentenced to death by LordOscar Tully forhis atrocities during the war and beheaded byDaemon Targaryen.
• Davos Blackwood, of unspecified relation to the main branch.

In the books[]

In theA Song of Ice and Fire novels, House Blackwood is a loyal vassal of the Tullys. The enmity and competition betweenHouse Bracken and House Blackwood was radically enhanced when Ser Otho Bracken slew Lord Quentyn Blackwood in a tourney accident roughly a century ago, and it still exists at present - even when the two houses were temporarily on the same side during theWar of the Five Kings.

Following the Red Wedding, the Blackwoods - alongside the Mallisters and the Tullys at Riverrun - are the few Riverlords who refuse to yield to the Iron Throne- the Brackens were among the first.^[13] After LordJason Mallister and the Tullys surrender, Raventree Hall is the last stronghold in the Riverlands which is still unconquered.

In the fifth novel, after resolving thesiege of Riverrun, Jaime travels to Raventree Hall and persuades Lord Tytos Blackwood, non-violently, to yield. Lord Bracken spitefully suggests that Jaime be punitive in his dealing with the Blackwoods, but the latter develops a moderate liking for Lord Blackwood- and deals kindly with him, while also subtly punishing Lord Bracken (as a former rebellious lord).^[14]

The Blackwoods were originally from theNorth, and ruled most of thewolfswood before being driven out by theStarkKings of Winter. 500-1000 years before thecoming of the Andals, the feud between the Blackwoods and Brackens began. Nonetheless, the two houses allied against theAndals and were defeated in the Battle of the Bitter River. The feud was then made even more bitter when the Brackens converted to the Andalnew gods while the Blackwoods kept to theold gods.

The sigil of House Blackwood is slightly different in the books, in which the white weirwood tree is set against a black escutcheon (shield), which is itself surrounded by a red background containing black ravens. The TV series version removed the black shield, so the white weirwood tree is directly against the red background.

Members[]

• Lord Tytos Blackwood, Lord of Raventree Hall, the current head of the family.
  • Brynden Blackwood, his eldest son and heir.
  • {Lucas Blackwood}, his second son. Slain at theRed Wedding.
  • Hoster Blackwood, his third son.
  • Edmund Blackwood, his fourth son.
  • Alyn Blackwood, his fifth son.
  • Bethany Blackwood, his eldest daughter.
  • {Robert Blackwood}, his sixth son. Died of loose bowels.

With unspecified familiar relationship to the main branch of the house there is also:

• {Alyssa Blackwood}, the fourth wife of LordWalder Frey.

Gallery[]

The banner of House Blackwood at theTourney of the Hand in "The Wolf and the Lion".

References[]

Notes[]

External links[]

• House Blackwood onA Wiki of Ice and Fire)

v • d • e
Head	Benjicot Blackwood	Heir	Unknown
Seat	Raventree Hall	Region	Riverlands
Ancestors	Lucas Blackwood
Members	Davos Blackwood
Deceased	Samwell Blackwood ·Willem Blackwood
Overlords	House Tully