House Frey

 

House Frey is a fictional family in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. They are bannermen to House Tully. The Freys are a fairly new house, about 600 years old, and are often referred to as upstarts by the older houses. They are frequently described as stoatish or weaselly in appearance. Their sigil is two towers, representing the towers of their stronghold, known as the Twins. The Twins are of great importance because they are the only crossing of the Green Fork, a branch of the Trident.

History

House Frey is one of the younger houses in Westeros, dating back some six centuries when its founder was awarded lands and nobility. The founding Frey had a vision of building a great bridge spanning the Green Fork of the Trident and began its construction. His grandson ultimately finished the bridge's construction and built wooden keeps on both sides as well. Later generations replaced the timber keeps with identical stone keeps that were named the Twins. A large tower was constructed in the middle of the bridge and called the Water Tower. The Twins' defensible construction and strategic location allowed the Freys to prosper by extracting tolls for passage across the river. The Freys grew into one of the richest and most powerful houses of the Trident. Their quick rise to prominence has caused other powerful houses to look down on them as upstarts.

House genealogy

Walder Frey

Stevron 1

Emmon 2

Genna Lannister

Aenys 3

Merrett 9

Geremy 10

Roslin ?

Edmure Tully

Cleos 2.1

Jared 4

Raymund 11

Ryman 1.1

Tion 2.2

Sept Luceon 5

Amarei 'Gatehouse Ami' 9.?

Jammos 13

Walder

Whalen 14

Edwyn 1.1.1

Walder

Petyr 1.1.3

Hosteen 6

'Fat' Walda 9.?

Roose Bolton

Perwyn 15

Symond 7

Benfrey 16

Danwell 8

Willamen Maester of Longbowhill 17

Olyvar 18

Wendel 19

Colmar 20

Waltyr 21

Elmar 22

Current members

Lord Walder

Walder Frey, a man in his nineties, is the current head of House Frey and Lord of the Crossing. Though infirm, he still maintains an active hand in the running of his house. He is vain, prickly, ambitious, and untrustworthy. He was often called "The Late Lord Frey" by Hoster Tully after he delayed arriving at the Battle of the Trident until rebels had already won. Lord Walder is famous for siring many children and surviving many wives. He is currently married to his eighth wife and has over a hundred descendants, base and trueborn. He places a great emphasis on family loyalty, though his descendants jockey ruthlessly for his favor. Many Freys name their sons Walder and daughters Walda in hopes of honoring him.

Though a Tully bannerman, Lord Walder did not go to Riverrun when Edmure called his banners. When the use of his Twins became a strategic necessity for Robb's host, Walder was able to negotiate marriage contracts for his children into both the Tully and Stark families. After Robb married Jeyne Westerling instead of a Frey, Lord Walder was outraged and withdrew his support. Through Lame Lothar, Walder lured Robb and many of his key bannerman back to the Twins under the guise of making amends and marrying Edmure Tully to his daughter Roslin as promised. During the wedding feast, Walder's men ambushed Robb and his entire host, slaughtering Robb, Catelyn, many of their bannermen, and a significant portion of the northern army. This betrayal became known as the Red Wedding. Walder then openly swore loyalty to House Lannister, receiving Riverrun and its lands as reward.

Although the slaughter of the Red Wedding was carried out at the behest of Tywin Lannister, the Freys are held in contempt by many other noble houses—including the Lannisters—for their deceit and the way they broke the sacred laws of hospitality, which dictate that once a guest has broken bread with their hosts (as the Starks did with the Freys at the Red Wedding) they cannot be harmed by their host.

Aegon

Aegon, called "Jinglebell", is a halfwit son of Ser Stevron and fool of the Twins.

He was brought out at the Red Wedding to insult the King in the North, Robb Stark. When the crossbowmen began shooting Robb, Catelyn Stark threatened to kill Aegon if Lord Frey did not release her son. Lord Frey refused, saying a halfwit grandson was worth a son any day. Catelyn killed "Jinglebell" and was quickly murdered herself.

Cleos

Ser Cleos is the son of Emmon Frey and Genna Lannister. He is somewhat cowardly and not very bright. He is married to Jeyne Darry and has two young sons, Tywin and Willem.

Due to his Lannister blood, Cleos fought with the Lannisters and was captured along with Jaime at the Whispering Wood. Catelyn Stark released him with Robb's surrender demands and he made the trip with Jaime and Brienne of Tarth. He was killed during an ambush when his horse spooked and dragged him across the ground. He was not particularly mourned, either by Jaime or his parents.

Emmon

Lord Walder's second son, Emmon is a small, bald, nervous man in his sixties. He is married to Genna Lannister, who dwarfs her husband in both size and intelligence. They have four sons: Ser Cleos, Ser Lyonel, Tion, a squire and "Red" Walder, a page of Casterly Rock.

Emmon was given the Tully lands and titled Lord of Riverrun when the Crown declared the Tullys forfeit to all land and titles. For a time he believed that this made him the new overlord of the Trident until Jaime Lannister pointed out his mistake. Emmon was among the Freys at the siege of Riverrun, and was furious when Brynden Tully escaped through the River Gate. He now holds Riverrun with some 300 men.

Lothar

Often called "Lame Lothar", he is twelfth son of Walder Frey. He is plump, with close-set eyes, a pointed beard, and dark hair in ringlets to his shoulders. His nickname derives from a leg twisted at birth. Despite his handicap, he is intelligent, cunning and well-spoken, and has served as Lord Walder's steward for twelve years.

When Robb went to the Twins to make amends with Walder over breaking his marriage promise, Lothar met him outside of the gate and behaved in a conciliatory manner. In fact, Lothar was one of the prime engineers of the Red Wedding massacre that was about to occur.

Merrett

Merrett is Walder Frey's ninth son and a drunk.

Merrett served Lord Sumner Crakehall as a page and later a squire, along with Jaime Lannister. He spread a pox throughout the camp when Lord Crakehall marched against the Kingswood Brotherhood. He was captured by Wenda the White Fawn (a female outlaw), and was branded with her mark, the fawn. Later, he was smashed on the head with a mace that left him insensible for a week. As a result, he suffered immense pain whenever he was hit in the head, and generally suffering extreme headaches for which he drank excessively. He was never knighted because of his injuries. Due to his injuries he is mocked as Merrett the Muttonhead by his father.

During the Red Wedding, Merrett was told to get Greatjon Umber too drunk to fight during Robb's murder. He failed, however passing out, and the Greatjon killed three men. Later, when Petyr Frey was captured by the Brotherhood Without Banners, Merrett went to ransom him. He found that the Brotherhood, now being led by Catelyn Stark, had hanged Petyr for his involvement in the Red Wedding. They took the ransom and promptly hanged Merrett as well.

Perwyn

Ser Perwyn is the fifteenth son of Lord Walder.

During Catelyn Stark's parley with Lord Walder, Perwyn was left in the company of Robb Stark to ensure her safety. He served as one of Robb's chosen protectors during the battles near Riverrun and accompanied Catelyn as she went south to treat with Renly Baratheon's camp. He was sent away from the Twins before the Red Wedding because he was judged too sympathetic to his former northern comrades.

Ryman

Ser Ryman is the eldest son of Stevron Frey. He is a portly man of great appetites, prone to gluttony, drunkenness, and whoring. Unlike his father, he never received Lord Walder's grooming on family values.

Ryman became heir to the Crossing after his father's death. After King Robb married Jeyne Westerling, slighting House Frey, he struck Robb's banner and led his forces back to the Twins. Although in command of the Frey forces at the siege of Riverrun, he left the planning to his son Edwyn, so he could spend his time drinking and whoring, even going so far as to give Robb's crown to one of his prostitutes. His poor behavior and inept leadership disgusted Jaime Lannister to such a degree that he removed Ryman from his position. On Ryman's journey back to the Twins, he was captured and hanged by the Brotherhood Without Banners, led at the time by the vengeful Catelyn Stark.

Stevron

Ser Stevron is Lord Walder's first born, and heir apparent to the Twins. A man in his sixties, Stevron's appearance shows his age. Walder has groomed him for lordship of the house, though Walder often jokes that Stevron has been waiting for him to die for forty years. Through his father, Stevron has learned to place great importance on the family.

When House Frey allied with Robb Stark, Stevron accompanied its forces and personally led the Frey soldiers into battle. He was killed at the Battle of Oxcross. King Robb often recalled how he died bravely serving him.

Walder Rivers

Walder Rivers is a natural son of Lord Walder, and is often called "Bastard Walder". He is a gruff and dour man. Though not an official Frey, he is often put in positions of responsibility for the house due to his strong reputation as a warrior.

Rivers accompanied Lame Lothar on his meeting with Robb outside the gates of the Twins, but was much less friendly than his half-brother. During the Red Wedding, he commanded the attack on the soldiers' camp. He was also present at the siege of Riverrun, where he participated in the heated stalemate that plagued the besieging army's command.

Other Freys

• Aenys. A knight and the third son of Lord Walder. A big man, but grey and stooped, with watery eyes and large, gnarled hands.
• Benfrey. A knight and sixteenth son of Lord Walder. Benfrey participated in the slaughter at the Red Wedding.
• "Big" Walder. Son of Jammos, a ward of Winterfell for a time and now a squire of Lord Ramsay Bolton.
• "Black" Walder. Ryman's younger son. Ambitious and dangerous, with an eye on inheriting the Twins. He is second in the line of succession.
• Colmar. Twentieth son of Lord Walder.
• Danwell. Eighth son of Lord Walder.
• Edwyn. Ryman's eldest son, he is with the Freys at the siege of Riverrun. He informed Jaime Lannister of his father's death and demanded revenge. Ryman's death made Edwyn first in the line of succession to the Twins.
• Elmar. Twenty-second son of Lord Walder. Squire to Lord Roose Bolton. Briefly betrothed to Arya Stark.
• Geremy. Tenth son of Lord Walder.
• Hosteen. Lord Walder's sixth son. The Largest and strongest of the Freys due to his Crakehall blood. A knight who participated in the Red Wedding.
• Jammos. A knight and thirteenth son of Lord Walder.
• Jared. A knight and fourth son of Lord Walder. Lean, balding, and pockmarked.
• Luceon. Fifth son of Lord Walder and a septon of the Faith.
• Olyvar. Eighteenth son of Lord Walder. One of Robb Stark's squires as part of Robb's agreement with Lord Walder. Sent away from the Twins before the Red Wedding as he was judged too sympathetic to his former northern comrades.
• Raymund. Eleventh son of Lord Walder. He killed Catelyn Stark at the Red Wedding.
• Symond. Seventh son of Lord Walder.
• Tion. A son of Genna Lannister and Emmon Frey. Murdered while a captive at Riverrun by Lord Rickard Karstark, who desired revenge for the deaths of his sons at the Battle of the Whispering Wood.
• Waltyr. Twenty-first son of Lord Walder. Usually called "Tyr".
• Wendel. Nineteenth son of Lord Walder.
• Whalen. A knight and fourteenth son of Lord Walder. He tried unsuccessfully to drink with Merrett and the Greatjon at the Red Wedding.
• Willamen. Seventeenth son of Lord Walder and Maester of Longbow Hall.

A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin
Novels	A Game of Thrones (1996) · A Clash of Kings (1998) · A Storm of Swords (2000) · A Feast for Crows (2005) · A Dance with Dragons · The Winds of Winter · A Dream of Spring
Novellas	The Hedge Knight · The Sworn Sword
Major Houses	Arryn · Baratheon · Bolton · Frey · Greyjoy · Lannister · Martell · Stark · Targaryen · Tully · Tyrell
Other characters	Minor Houses · Independent characters · Complete character list · Daenerys Targaryen
Organizations	Night’s Watch · Kingsguard · Maesters · Brotherhood Without Banners · Other organizations
Places	Westeros · Cities · Strongholds · The North · Across the narrow sea · Free Cities · Ghis
Wars and tourneys	Historic wars · War of the Usurper · War of the Five Kings · Tourneys
Games	A Game of Thrones: collectible card game · board game · role-playing game

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