Arya: well, I mean to say that the argument about sex is the only one that applies uniquely to Lyanna, and that the other arguments are not, IMO, very substantive in the event.
There is the argument about training, of course, but this applies equally to Howland, so if it's an argument against one it's also equally an argument against the other. And the ultimate truth is that none of us knows enough to say whether Lyanna had any training, if so how much, and how important it is anyway.
There is also the argument about age, but this applies equally to Ben - or indeed Barristan at ten, or the Knight of Flowers, who is a tourney knight famed throughout the Seven Kingdoms at sixteen, and so was presumably winning jousts well before that age.
Then there's the argument about physique, but see the young Barristan or Loras again - 'thin as a reed', but knocks dozens of knights including Jaime, three other Kingsguard, and even the Mountain off their horses.
There's the argument that Lyanna's presence would be missed, but this applies equally to Ben, and ladies were not expected to attend every day of the jousting anyway.
Temperamentally, there's no argument that Lyanna wouldn't be daring enough to do it. She has the motivation. She can get access to the horse, the armour, and the weapons. So I don't see any argument that makes Lyanna any less likely than any other candidate, apart from her sex.
Culhwch: look at that phrasing again. 'Carried' a sword, ie actually wore one out and about, so to speak. That's what Lyanna is forbidden to do, not to practise with one.
We know that Robb, for example, is not permitted to 'carry' a sword until he has achieved a certain level of maturity and training, but he certainly exercises with one before that.
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