Horn of Winter or a horn of the Children of the Forest?

[Sword of the Morning]

So I'm reading A Clash of Kings again and I came apon Jon's chapter were he finds the horn and dragonglass arrows and daggers. Basiclly page 516 in the paperback American version. Now the horn he finds is made of an auroch's horn with bronze on it. Jon or Sam cleaned it out and tied to get a sound out of the horn, yet nothing happend. I'm thinking that horn is important. I doubt is the horn of winter that is broken so the Wall will never fall. But could the horn be made by the Children to call some kind of magiclly help? Or somthing? Could the horn have called Cold hands back to life? Or is it just some ordinary horn?

Any thoughts?

 

[LadyFel]

I think Coldhands is already out there when Jon comes across the horn, isn't he?

 

[red_temple]

I don't remember there being a horn amongst the dragonglass, so I'll have to re-read that part. But it has started me thinking - what if it is the horn of winter, and the other that Mance had was just a false one?

 

[Trey Greyjoy]

I don't remember there being a horn amongst the dragonglass, so I'll have to re-read that part. But it has started me thinking - what if it is the horn of winter, and the other that Mance had was just a false one?

My head is dizzy.
Yeah, there was a broken horn along with the dragonglass.
Im about 50% thinking its a red herring and 50% thinking there is something to it.
The question would be why would Mance think he has the real horn.
Unless...
His big fancy horn was all a ruse to begin with...attempt to bluff the Night's Watch to surrender and the simpler horn Ghost & Jon found was the real one. (ala Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade; the real grail was just a simple clay cup)
Ygritte also told Jon they never found it despite all the searching....

But if Mance did truly believe he had the horn, I have to believe it is the real one.

 

[Brian G Turner]

I presumed it was a horn to call the children of the forest...

 

[AryaUnderfoot]

Maybe the horn isn't really broken. Maybe it is only supposed to work for one person. This is where Bran might come in, as it's pretty apparent that he'll be trained by the Children of the Forest. Just maybe...

 

[Brian G Turner]

Or perhaps, like a dog's whistle, it works at frequencies outside of normal hearing for humans?

 

[Culhwch]

I always assumed that the Horn Mance had was just a fake to a) scare the Watch and b) keep the Wildlings in line/give them hope. Whether Jon's horn is the Horn of Winter, well, I think that more likely, though I sure wouldn't put money on it. What if the real Horn is just a myth, anyway? Perhaps it never existed at all, it's just a story like snarks and grumkins and nice Lannisters....

 

[Sword of the Morning]

I sometimes wonder if my question would/could ever be answered. But I thouhg about it some more. I figure Mance's best chance to pass by the wall was to offer up the horn that he called the horn of winter. I mean no black brother could try out that horn. Thought experiment. Could the free folk have fought their way by the Night's Watch? I'd say no. Yes the free folk had the numberial advantage, but the Night's Watch had the height advantage, discipline, and the "funnel effect". The free folk could only pass by way of the gate. As Jon said the A Storm, they can not pass without breaking the gate. Thus take a large number of people packing into a small area will cause heavy casualties for that side, the funnel effect. The French learned that in the middle ages, the battle name escapes me at the moment. The French took heavy casualties because they tried to pack a small area with their knights and what not to attack the English.

 

[Duff_Omathum]

A believe the tactic is also known as a 'bottleneck'.

The most famous examle being of course Herodotos the Historian's the battle of Thermopyla when king Leonidas and his 300 spartans along 700 thespians held a narrow strip of land against an army of 50,000 persians.

They died to man following a betrayal, but their sacrifice saved Greece.

 

[Boaz]

Did the thespians know that it was for real and not a play? I heard that they showed up because they thought it was a casting call...

Seriously, Thespiae, a city north of Athens sent it's men to fight valiantly alongside Leonidas and the Spartans. The Thespians venerated the Muses.

An ancient Greek playwright, Thespis, is considered the founder of tragedy in drama.

I'm not sure if our modern term thespian comes from the Muse inpired people of Thespiae or the actors of Thespis.

 

[Duff_Omathum]

Did the thespians know that it was for real and not a play? I heard that they showed up because they thought it was a casting call...

Luckily there was no such city as Moros in Greece at the time huh?

Watch out, here come the Morons!

 

[Sword of the Morning]

A believe the tactic is also known as a 'bottleneck'.

Bottleneck, funnel, its all the same. Althought nice mention of the battle of Thermopyla. See what a few determined soldiers can do.

 

[Ender]

Maybe the horn isn't really broken. Maybe it is only supposed to work for one person. This is where Bran might come in, as it's pretty apparent that he'll be trained by the Children of the Forest. Just maybe...

That sounds a decent theory to me...however...why Bran?
I mean, what's that special on him in order to be the only one "allowed" to play it?

 

[Boaz]

Maester Luwin gave him lessons about blowing the horn on his knees, perhaps?

 

[AryaUnderfoot]

That sounds a decent theory to me...however...why Bran?
I mean, what's that special on him in order to be the only one "allowed" to play it?

I'm thinking it will take a certain amount of magic to actually allow the horn to blow. Bran is on his way to hone the powers that awoke in him during his coma. These may be directly related to blowing the horn. Think about it: he's of the North, he's a Stark, and it's the Horn of Winter. Combine that with the ancient powers of the land and you might have something there.

 

[Dolorous Edd]

I always thought that maybe Ben Stark (if that cloak belonged to him, and if it's the real horn of winter) snuck in to the burial site before the wildings started digging and nabbed the real horn from under mance's nose and placed a fake in it's place.

 

[Sword of the Morning]

I always thought that maybe Ben Stark (if that cloak belonged to him, and if it's the real horn of winter) snuck in to the burial site before the wildings started digging and nabbed the real horn from under mance's nose and placed a fake in it's place.

Sounds nice. But why does Benjen resurface into the story? He could have come back to the Wall.

 

[Hero500]

The children of the forest were innocent and the such, so maybe you have to be an innocent person to blow it, without thoughts of conquering everything for your own purpose.

 

[ras'matroi]

There is certainly something important about that horn Jon found.
He gives it to Sam and in 'A Feast for Crows'...
SPOILER!!!









...Sam still has it with him and even when he has to give everything away to pay for passage on the ship it is the only thing he keeps.
Imo it is wrong that the horn of winter has the ability to bring down the wall. But every legend has a bit of truth in it so it could be that there is a magic horn.I think it is more likely that it will call some help against the Others.

And as we are talking about horns....
The horn that was sounded by a man from Euron at the kingsmoot seems to be magical too. I think Euron said it was a dragonhorn and the man who blew it died of it because his lungs were soared.
Yot think there is some meaning to that?