#gilbert farring

Welcome to House Words Wednesdays! Each week, I take a House without known canon or semi-canon words and present what I think could make sense as that House’s motto. You’re free to suggest more as well, if your favored House has not yet been suggested; take a look at this link to see what has already been suggested, and shoot me an ask through Tumblr if you have another House you’d like to see

House Farring is a noble House of the Crownlands, though its position within the Crownlands is uncertain. Individual members of House Farring are found throughout the book's appendices, but there's no noted head of the House (we don't even know if it's a House of lords or landed knights) and no named seat. Still, I think it very likely that House Farring is, if not formally sworn to Dragonstone, at least within Dragonstone's geographic sphere of influence, as young Bryen Farring was serving as squire to Stannis Baratheon, Lord of Dragonstone, at the opening of ACOK and two more Farrings (Gilbert and Godry) became prominent members of Stannis’ host in the series. Not that the Farrings are not solely composed of Stannis loyalists, of course: the sole known female member of House Farring is - was - Lady Annara, the late seventh wife of Lord Walder Frey and mother of, among others, Elmar, to whom Arya was briefly betrothed. (It may make sense, if the Farrings are indeed sworn to Dragonstone, that Walder would have sought to marry Lady Annara: the Freys being eager to flatter in their names whatever royal House is in charge - older Freys boasting Targaryen names, younger ones called “Robert”, “Cersei”, and “Tywin” - and Lord Walder being tainted by his latecomer reputation during the Rebellion, the old lord might have thought a marriage to one of the new king's brother's vassals would go some ways toward showing that he was now loyal to the Baratheons.)

The Farrings have been most prominent in the story around Stannis, from ACOK through ADWD. Young Bryen Farring was Stannis’ faithful squire, being introduced, in Davos’ very first chapter, as helping Stannis burn the Seven on Dragonstone - though when Stannis decided to marsh through the snow to Winterfell, poor Bryen succumbed to hunger and cold and died along the way. Bryen's father, Ser Gilbert Farring, has been similarly faithful to Stannis, even being cited by him in ASOS as one of the “few good men” remaining in his camp; we may even see Ser Gilbert in the near future, as he was castellan of Storm's End in ADWD (which Young Aegon's crew apparently has taken by the end of “Arianne II” in TWOW). Ser Godry, Gilbert's cousin, is also in Stannis’ army, even leading the van after Stannis leaves the Wall, but he’s a deeply dislikable man. Puffed with pride at being “the Giantslayer” - having chased down a fleeing giant and cut off its “pitiful small head” after sticking a lance in its back - Godry is arrogant, vain, and cruel, taunting Jon Snow and urging Stannis to offer “unbelievers” as human sacrifices to R'hllor.

For the Farring words, I chose Where the Sword Falls. The Farring sigil is two knights, purple and white, crossing swords, and so I thought this motto fitting: a knight is made by a falling sword, after all, when a squire is dubbed, and the combat of the knights on the Farring sigil will be determined by where their swords fall. Certainly, I would think young Bryen Farring hoped that Stannis’ sword would fall on him eventually, raising him from squirehood to knighthood as one of Stannis’ key men, but the fierce northern winter ended those hopes. Ser Godry, of course, is very proud of where his sword fell - through the fleeing giant's neck - and boasts of the tale for everyone to hear, so this motto seemed fitting for him as well. As for Gilbert, well, Aegon’s sword (maybe Blackfyre itself) is going to fall on Storm’s End, and his loyalty to Stannis will be tested to the utmost - perhaps even to faithful Gilbert’s death.