Hey Steven,
I was reading your ACOK Cat 2 essay, and it got me thinking. You mentioned how the Redwynes don't have any men with Renly's army cause Hobber and Horas are "guests" of the king, so I'm curious: if a House isn't able to fulfill their obligations and send men to their liege lord during a war cause the enemy is holding members of that House hostage, would they be punished for it, or would the liege lord basically go, "yeah fair," and overlook it?
As I've written about, the process of getting a vassal to fulfill their feudal obligation to provide military service was always one that involved political negotiation between liege lord and vassal.
So while the Tyrells probably wouldn't be thrilled about the Redwynes holdng back their forces because the heirs to the House are being held captive, it would be seen as an understandable motive - noblemen get taken captive in wars all the time, the custom of hostage-taking is an accepted and legitimate part of feudal politics, and only a madlad (or lassie) would ignore the threat and fight anyway.
Given their political skill, I would expect an overlord like the Tyrells to respond by paying the ransom for Horas and Hobber in order to not only free up the Redwyne forces but also place the Redwynes under a heavy debt/obligation to their liege lord, thus ensuring their loyalty for some time to come.


















