Brotherhood Without Banners

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The Brotherhood Without Banners is an outlaw organization in George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. Their goals include fighting the Lannisters and protecting the common people of the the Riverlands from depredation by warriors fighting the War of the Five Kings.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

1 Organization
2 History
3 Other members
4 The Fan Group
5 External links

[edit] Organization

The Brotherhood acts as a grassroots, altruistic outlaw society with strong ties to local communities. All men are welcome to join the Brotherhood and each new member is knighted, making all members equal. They conduct guerrilla strikes against anyone that they believe threatens the smallfolk and the King's peace, regardless of the target's allegiance. Members of the Brotherhood consider themselves to have no allegiance but to each other and King Robert. Some members also participate in religious prayers and rituals to R'hllor. The Brotherhood is divided into many smaller cells operating under the leadership of various influential warriors. The behavior of the various groups varies depending on their leader. Beric's men give their prisoners a fair, if speedy, trial and a quick execution, while men under the Mad Hunstman torture their captives. The Brotherhood receives intelligence and supplies from local river lords and smallfolk who are grateful for its protection. To supplement its income, members of the Brotherhood commandeer supplies whenever they can find them. In one instance, smallfolk loyal to the Brotherhood operated an inn with the express purpose of stealing the possessions of their lodgers. The Brotherhood considers the goods it takes to be loans, and exchanges them for written deeds, to be repaid at a more opportune time.

[edit] History

The Brotherhood was originally founded by Beric Dondarrion and Thoros of Myr. In response to the sacking of several Riverland villages, Hand of the King Eddard Stark charged them to bring the Lannister bannerman Gregor Clegane to justice in the name of King Robert. Beric, having the command of the party, led his men into an ambush and was killed. Afterwards, Thoros unintentionally resurrected Beric during a common burial ritual of his god R'hllor. The revived Beric swore to uphold his oath to King and resumed his quest for Gregor's head. Once Robert died and the Lannisters assumed control of the Iron Throne, Beric's men became an outlaw organization.

As outlaws, Beric's men formed the Brotherhood as a way to uphold the spirit of Robert's decree and protect the people. With the help of local communities, Beric began leading successful ambushes on Gregor Clegane's men and other soldiers of all sides of the ongoing conflicts. Due to the odds against him, however, Beric died several more times, but was resurrected each time when Thoros performed his burial ritual. Beric developed a heroic reputation and was dubbed "the Lightning Lord" for his Dondarrion arms and his lethal ambushes. His various deaths and inexplicable reappearances fed the Brotherhood's mystique. Despite numerous opportunities, however, the Brotherhood could not kill Gregor.

Groups of the Brotherhood managed to capture Arya Stark and Sandor Clegane and bring them to Beric's hideout at the same time. Beric decided to hold Arya until they could ransom her to her Tully relatives. He put Sandor on trial for Lannister atrocities. On Arya's eyewitness testimony, Beric convicted Sandor of murdering a butcher boy, but allowed him to choose a trial by combat. He fought Sandor personally with a flaming sword, but was killed. The Brotherhood allowed Sandor to leave, though they seized his possessions in exchange for a deed. Thoros resurrected Beric once again, and later Arya was captured by Sandor.

After the Red Wedding, the Brotherhood discovered Catelyn Stark's corpse, upon which Beric performed R'hllor's burial ritual. He exchanged his life for hers, dying in truth and resurrecting Catelyn's half-decayed body. Though rendered nearly mute from an unhealed throat injury, Catelyn took the name Lady Stoneheart and became the Brotherhood's new de facto leader. Under her leadership the Brotherhood changed dramatically, shifting focus from helping the smallfolk to taking vengeance on all those responsible for the Red Wedding. Thoros believed that the Brotherhood had become a cruel institution. Catelyn's total lack of pity manifested itself when members of the Brotherhood captured Brienne and two of her companions. Catelyn viewed Brienne as a traitor and ordered her to be hanged along with her adolescent squire after she refused to assassinate Jaime Lannister.

[edit] Other members

Anguy the Archer, a skilled young bowman from the Dornish Marches who won the archery competition at the Hand's Tourney.
Edric Dayne, heir to one of the more important houses in Dorne, this twelve-year old serves as Beric's squire.
Harwin, formerly in the service of Eddard Stark. Arya revealed herself to him in the hopes that he would reunite her with her family, but his loyalty was only to his Brotherhood.
Lem Lemoncloak, a burly former soldier, Lem joined the Brotherhood after his family was killed. He earned his name by wearing a bright yellow greatcloak. He obtained and wears Sandor Clegane's snarling-dog helm, which Thoros saw as a sign of how far the Brotherhood had fallen from its idealistic beginnings.
Tom o' Sevens, a skilled harpist and lothario. He once bedded a woman desired by a young Edmure Tully and wrote a song about the incident, mocking Edmure's "floppy fish." He observed the siege of Riverrun, where Jaime Lannister ordered him to play "The Rains of Castamere" as a threat to Edmure, though Jaime was unaware of the two men's previous history.