House Bolton
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House Bolton is a fictional family in George R. R. Martin's epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire. They are bannermen to House Stark. The Boltons are an old line descended from the First Men and dating back to the age of Heroes. Their sigil is a flayed man, red on pink. Their seat is the Dreadfort and they are one of the most powerful vassal lords of the North. The Dreadfort's torture chambers are legendary.
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[edit] History
The Boltons are an ancient and powerful house of the North who for many centuries were bitter rivals of the Kings in the North, the Starks of Winterfell. The Boltons achieved some successes against the Starks, flaying the skins of several Stark lords and hanging them in their stronghold, the Dreadfort. According to rumour, some Bolton lords even wore the flayed skins of their enemies - including the Starks - as cloaks. This practice has given the Boltons a somewhat sinister reputation, and it has been suggested that the Night's King was a Bolton.
Approximately a thousand years ago the Boltons finally swore fealty to the Kings in the North and agreed to abandon their tactic of flaying their enemies alive. However, three hundred years later the Boltons rose in rebellion against the Starks of Winterfell. The Stark armies besieged the Dreadfort for four years before the Boltons finally capitulated and dipped their banners once more. Since then the Boltons have remained loyal to the Starks, although rumours persist that they continue to practice the flaying of prisoners in secret, and maintain a hidden chamber in the Dreadfort to display the skins of their enemies.
[edit] House genealogy
?----------Roose==+==(first wife) Lady Ryswell==+==(second wife) Lady Walda Frey
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Ramsey Snow Domeric
[edit] Current members
[edit] Roose
Lord Roose is the current Lord of the Dreadfort, and a retainer of Lord Eddard Stark. He is of average size and appearance, with his only noticeable feature being his eerie, pale eyes. He receives regular leechings, which he believes to improve his health, prompting some to call him "the Leech Lord". Though mild-mannered, he is cold, calculating, and capable of great cruelty. He speaks softly, never raising his voice, forcing those who must listen to do so intently. In light of the childhood death of his trueborn son, Domeric, Bolton's current heir is now his bastard son: Ramsay Snow. This privileged status would automatically shift, however, to any trueborn son that Roose Bolton may produce.
Bolton answered his liege's call as Robb Stark summoned his banners to aid his grandfather Hoster Tully and father Eddard. His patience, cold cunning, and strategic skill proved invaluable, earning him the command of the Northern foot sent to engage Lord Tywin Lannister. During the war he married his second wife, "Fat" Walda Frey, granddaughter of Walder Frey, who had allied his house to Robb's. His cautious and calculating nature aided him in his command as he maximized the damages done to his northern rivals yet kept his own men relatively unscathed. He took Harrenhal while Jaime Lannister was a prisoner there. Roose released Jaime after getting Jaime's assurance that Roose would not be held responsible for Jaime's loss of his hand. Before leaving, Jaime told Roose, "Give my regards to Robb Stark." Roose was then summoned north to join Robb to aid in retaking the North from House Greyjoy. However, after Lord Tywin's great victory on the Blackwater, Bolton decided that House Stark's cause was lost and plotted with Lord Tywin, Lord Walder, and his own bastard son Ramsay to bring them down. He helped orchestrate and participated in the Red Wedding, stabbing King Robb through the heart with his sword while telling him, "Jaime Lannister sends his regards." For this service, the Lannisters gave him the title of Warden of the North. This raised House Bolton's status to Lords Paramount of the North and one of the ruling families of Westeros.
[edit] Ramsay Snow
Ramsay is the natural son of Lord Roose and is known as the Bastard of Bolton and the Bastard of the Dreadfort. Despite his bastardy, he was still named heir to the Dreadfort after Roose's trueborn son Domeric died in infancy and his first wife, of House Ryswell, died shortly after. Ramsay considers himself a true Bolton despite his birth. He has a fleshy appearance, with large, wormy lips. Where Roose uses cold, calculated cunning, Ramsay is savage and wild, taking delight in torturing others. He is quite fond of the old Bolton custom of flaying their enemies.
While his father was away at war, Ramsay began to amass troops at the Dreadfort. When he received news that the neighboring lands of House Hornwood had lost both their lord and his heir, he attacked, taking the Hornwood keep and forcing the widowed Lady Donella Hornwood to marry him. He then locked her in a tower without food, where she starved to death after eating some of her fingers. At Lord Robb's request, Lord Manderly sent his men to kill Ramsay and stop the atrocities. Ramsay was able to survive by switching clothes with his necrophiliac companion Reek, who was killed in his place. Ramsay was taken as a prisoner to Winterfell in the guise of Reek. After Prince Theon Greyjoy captured Winterfell, Ramsay exchanged a vow of service to Theon for his release. He orchestrated Theon's cover-up of the Stark boys' escape by killing two peasant boys of an age with the Starks. Theon presented their flayed corpses as the Starks, then had their heads mounted on spikes over the castle walls. Ramsay next offered to help Theon by taking a large sum of money to the Dreadfort and returning with much-needed reinforcements. After consulting with his father, Ramsay planned and carried out the sack of Winterfell, capturing Theon in the process. He was rewarded for his service with a decree of legitimization, making him Ramsay Bolton in truth as well as Roose's true heir. Ramsay kept Theon at the Dreadfort, where he is reportededly flaying him. He sent a small piece of his skin to Robb Stark as a gift, to show vengeance was being exacted for Bran and Rickon's "murder". After the Red Wedding, Roose named him Lord of Winterfell and betrothed him to a girl posing as Arya Stark.
[edit] Sworn Houses
After they were raised to Lords of the North several houses swore fealty to their new overlords, not all willingly.
- Manderly of White Harbour.
- Ryswell of the Rills.
- Umber of Last Hearth.
- Waterman
- Wells
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| Novels | A Game of Thrones (1996) · A Clash of Kings (1998) · A Storm of Swords (2000) · A Feast for Crows (2005) · A Dance with Dragons · The Winds of Winter · A Dream of Spring |
| Novellas | The Hedge Knight · The Sworn Sword |
| Major Houses | Arryn · Baratheon · Bolton · Frey · Greyjoy · Lannister · Martell · Stark · Targaryen · Tully · Tyrell |
| Other characters | Minor Houses · Independent characters · Complete character list · Daenerys Targaryen |
| Organizations | Night’s Watch · Kingsguard · Maesters · Brotherhood Without Banners · Other organizations |
| Places | Westeros · Cities · Strongholds · Across the narrow sea · Free Cities · Ghis |
| Wars and tourneys | Historic wars · War of the Usurper · War of the Five Kings · Tourneys |
| Games | A Game of Thrones: collectible card game · board game · role-playing game |
