Boaz
Happy Easter!
- Joined
- Jul 14, 2005
- Messages
- 6,589
Don't credit me too much here. I'd never even suspected that Lyanna might have been the mystery knight. The OP and Raven's posts make a lot of sense, so I went and re-read this story again. Some thoughts struck me during the re-reading.
First, Lyanna seems to have been brave, yes, but she loved justice. She went out of her way to save Howland from a bad beating. Then (if she was the KOTLT) she went out of her way to teach both the knights and their squires a lesson in manners. Then she disappeared... she did not want glory, admiration, or vengeance... just simple justice.
That seems to fly in the face of her running off with the crown prince to have his love child. Frightening her family, stealing a husband, causing a scandal, and upsetting the balance of the whole Seven Kingdoms are not the actions of a just woman. But then again, Rhaegar's strength and compassion coupled with his acknowledgement of her as the champion might have caused her to give in for an instant... but then she'd have had to lie to cover up the mess and that just does not sound like Lyanna. She was capable of dealing with hard truths. For example, she told Ned that Robert would be a faithless husband, but that she was prepared to deal with it.
The Targaryen loyalists and sympathizers make Rhaegar out to be a wise, compassionate, brave, and honorable man... not the sort to kidnap and rape a woman. And Ned recalled how headstrong Lyanna was... so I don't know if Lyanna was kidnapped, seduced by Rhaegar, seduced Rhaegar, or mutually eloped with Rhaegar.
Second, Martin shows us a glimpse of Ned and Ashara's romance. But the important thing here is that Howland Reed noticed this and passed it on to his children. Why should he tell his children of his lord's former love?
Third, there was no mention of Brandon or Eddard riding in the tourney. Surely both were old enough. Was the tourney limited only to knights? The Starks kept the old gods so they could not be knights. Only young Bran wanted to be a knight, possibly due to the influence of his mother's faith.
Fourth, Howland must have felt some depth of affection, admiration, or debt of honor to Lyanna. Was he close friends with the Starks before the tourney? Or did he become close friends due to the tourney? Certainly, he becomes Ned's close companion in the rebellion. Rescuing Lyanna from Rhaegar's clutches may have been his payment of his debt.
Fifth, the Mystery Knight had a booming voice. Booming means loud and usually deep sound... not shrill at all. Could Lyanna have spoken like that?
Sixth, if Lyanna was the Mystery Knight, Brandon and Eddard could not have known of her plans before hand. They would have stopped her... Brandon as the eldest and Rickard's representative would have taken it upon himself to do justice and Eddard would have counseled caution. But young Ben, who had already volunteered to procure arms for Howland, might have been Lyanna's accomplice. A knight needs a squire to help him/her don and doff the armor, so the Mystery Knight needed some help. Was Howland the squire?
First, Lyanna seems to have been brave, yes, but she loved justice. She went out of her way to save Howland from a bad beating. Then (if she was the KOTLT) she went out of her way to teach both the knights and their squires a lesson in manners. Then she disappeared... she did not want glory, admiration, or vengeance... just simple justice.
That seems to fly in the face of her running off with the crown prince to have his love child. Frightening her family, stealing a husband, causing a scandal, and upsetting the balance of the whole Seven Kingdoms are not the actions of a just woman. But then again, Rhaegar's strength and compassion coupled with his acknowledgement of her as the champion might have caused her to give in for an instant... but then she'd have had to lie to cover up the mess and that just does not sound like Lyanna. She was capable of dealing with hard truths. For example, she told Ned that Robert would be a faithless husband, but that she was prepared to deal with it.
The Targaryen loyalists and sympathizers make Rhaegar out to be a wise, compassionate, brave, and honorable man... not the sort to kidnap and rape a woman. And Ned recalled how headstrong Lyanna was... so I don't know if Lyanna was kidnapped, seduced by Rhaegar, seduced Rhaegar, or mutually eloped with Rhaegar.
Second, Martin shows us a glimpse of Ned and Ashara's romance. But the important thing here is that Howland Reed noticed this and passed it on to his children. Why should he tell his children of his lord's former love?
Third, there was no mention of Brandon or Eddard riding in the tourney. Surely both were old enough. Was the tourney limited only to knights? The Starks kept the old gods so they could not be knights. Only young Bran wanted to be a knight, possibly due to the influence of his mother's faith.
Fourth, Howland must have felt some depth of affection, admiration, or debt of honor to Lyanna. Was he close friends with the Starks before the tourney? Or did he become close friends due to the tourney? Certainly, he becomes Ned's close companion in the rebellion. Rescuing Lyanna from Rhaegar's clutches may have been his payment of his debt.
Fifth, the Mystery Knight had a booming voice. Booming means loud and usually deep sound... not shrill at all. Could Lyanna have spoken like that?
Sixth, if Lyanna was the Mystery Knight, Brandon and Eddard could not have known of her plans before hand. They would have stopped her... Brandon as the eldest and Rickard's representative would have taken it upon himself to do justice and Eddard would have counseled caution. But young Ben, who had already volunteered to procure arms for Howland, might have been Lyanna's accomplice. A knight needs a squire to help him/her don and doff the armor, so the Mystery Knight needed some help. Was Howland the squire?
