House Osgrey

House Osgrey of Standfast
Coat of arms	A lion, checkered green and gold, on white (Argent, a lion chequy vert and or)
Seats	Standfast Coldmoat (formerly)
Head	Unknown
Region	Reach
Titles	Knight of Standfast[1] Lord of Coldmoat[2] (formerly) Marshall of the Northmarch[2] (pre-Conquest)
Overlord	House Rowan
Cadet branch	Osgrey of Leafy Lake

House Osgrey of Standfast is a noble house from Standfast in the Reach. Sworn to House Rowan of Goldengrove, its lands border those of House Webber and House Stackhouse.^[2] They once were among the greatest houses of the Reach, with four castles. However, by 211 AC, they had not been lords in centuries, and were only landed knights with a single towerhouse. The Osgrey fortunes improved in that year,^[2] but their status is unknown afterwards.

House Osgrey had at least one cadet branch at Leafy Lake, but by 211 AC they had become extinct.^[2]

Their blazon is a chequy lion, green and gold rampant on a field of white.^[2][3] Their motto has not appeared yet.

History

Early History

House Osgrey was established at least 1,000 years before the Conquest. They were the Marshalls of the Northmarch under House Gardener.^[2] At that time they possessed four castles, the greatest of which was Coldmoat, raised by Lord Perwyn Osgrey. House Osgrey was done fealty by a score of lesser lordlings and a hundred landed knights. They held the land from Nunny to Cobble Cove, and controlled the towns of Dosk, Little Dosk, and Brandybottom, as well as the caves at Derring Downs. They also held both sides of the Leafy Lake and the Horseshoe Hills. The Osgreys were a prominent family who intermarried with great families such as the Florents, Swanns, Tarbecks, Hightowers, and Blackwoods.^[2]

Ser Wilbert Osgrey was the youngest of five brothers, and so was called "the Little Lion", though he grew to be a tall, valiant knight. When Gyles III Gardener, King of the Reach, was battling the Storm King in the east, the King of the Rock, Lancel IV Lannister, attempted to cut a piece out of the Reach for himself. With Wilbert's older brothers away with King Gyles, it fell to Wilbert to stop King Lancel. During the battle at Red Lake, Wilbert came face to face with the King of the Rock. It is said the king had a Valyrian steel greatsword, Brightroar, and chopped the Little Lion to bits, but as Wilbert was dying, he drove his dagger into a gap in the king's armor and killed him. The westermen army collapsed, and the Reach was saved.^[2][4]

Targaryen rule

After the conquest of Westeros by House Targaryen and the death of the last Gardener king on the Field of Fire, the Osgreys' prominence began to diminish. Lord Ormond Osgrey lost Coldmoat when he spoke out against King Maegor the Cruel for his suppression of the Poor Fellows and the Warrior's Sons.^[2]

Lady Clarice Osgrey was the widowed aunt of Unwin Peake, Lord of Starpike during the reign of King Aegon III Targaryen. It is unknown if she was a maternal or paternal aunt, and whether she was an Osgrey by birth or by marriage. When Unwin became Hand of the King in 133 AC, her put Clarice in charge of Queen Jaehaera Targaryen's household, supervising her maids, servants, and lady companions.^[5] After Jaehaera's death, Clarice managed the household of the new queen, Daenaera Velaryon, and stayed in her position after her nephew resigned as Hand in 134 AC.^[6] It was suspected that Clarice was involved in the conspiracy regarding the attempted poisoning of the king and queen in 135 AC, but nothing was ever proven.^[7]

The Blackfyre Rebellion

In the late 2nd century AC, he head of the house, Ser Eustace Osgrey, was good friends with his neighbor, Lord Wyman Webber. However, Eustace was somewhat envious of House Webber's lands, and especially their castle, Coldmoat, which had once belonged to House Osgrey. Ser Eustace's youngest son, Addam, served at Coldmoat as Wyman's page and squire, and began a childhood romance with Wyman's daughter, Rohanne. But when Eustace proposed that Addam marry Rohanne, Wyman rejected him; though he was courteous, as Eustace left, he heard Wyman laughing with his castellan, Ser Lucas Inchfield.^[2]

Animosity built between House Webber and House Osgrey because of this event, and because of Ser Eustace's political leanings. In the First Blackfyre Rebellion of 196 AC, Ser Eustace supported Daemon Blackfyre, believing that a Blackfyre king might restore the lands and castles that House Osgrey had lost under House Targaryen. Primarily Eustace desired Coldmoat. However, the rebellion failed, and Eustace's three sons, Edwyn, Harrold, and Addam, were killed at the decisive Battle of the Redgrass Field. Eustace was pardoned by King Daeron II Targaryen, but his daughter Alysanne was sent to King's Landing as a hostage. After Eustace brought home the bones of his sons and allowed Alysanne to be taken away, his wife committed suicide by throwing herself from the top of Standfast. Eustace's wife and sons were buried at Standfast by the blackberry bushes his sons had loved to pick. Rohanne Webber blamed Ser Eustace for Addam Osgrey's death, and held a grudge against the knight thereafter.^[2]

Furthermore, some lands of House Osgrey, including the Chequy Water, were granted to the neighboring House Webber, which had remained loyal to House Targaryen. The Webbers were further granted the rights to hunt in House Osgrey's forest, Wat's Wood, and to cut twenty trees from the wood each year. Eustace was allowed to keep Standfast, though it would revert to the crown if he died without a male heir of his body.^[2]

Alysanne stayed in King's Landing for the rest of her life, and became a silent sister. Ser Eustace went to visit her once, but she refused to break her vows of silence to speak with him. Alysanne died during the Great Spring Sickness (in 209 AC or 210 AC), which made Eustace the last of his line.^[2]

Conflict with Rohanne Webber

In 209 AC, Dake, a peasant of House Osgrey's villages who had served as a forager for Ser Eustace during the Blackfyre Rebellion, was accused of stealing sheep from the neighboring lands of House Webber. After Rohanne Webber, Lady of Coldmoat, tried contacting Eustace twice with no response, she sent her knights across the Chequy Water to seize Dake and bring him to Coldmoat for punishment. When Eustace arrived at Coldmoat to demand Dake's release, he learned the peasant had been sewn into a sack with rocks, which was sunk in the moat of Coldmoat. Eustace then swore a holy vow that he would never return to Coldmoat again, except to take possession of it.^[2]

The aging Eustace took on hedge knights as sworn swords to protect his lands from House Webber; first Ser Bennis of the Brown Shield, and later Ser Duncan the Tall. In 211 AC, the second year of a severe summer drought, Lady Rohanne Webbber had the Chequy Water dammed in order to irrigate Webber lands and fill Coldmoat's namesake moat. However, this blocked the stream from reaching Osgrey lands. This caused a confrontation with Ser Eustace, when Ser Bennis saw the dam being built and assaulted Wolmer, one of Rohanne's men. Eustace, fearing that Lady Webber would demand Bennis's life as she had with Dake's, ordered Bennis and Duncan to raise troops from the peasant villages of House Osgrey and prepare them for a possible war. However, the meager amount of men of fighting age were untrained, and no match for the knights of House Webber. Seeing this, Eustace decided to send Ser Duncan to Coldmoat to pay a blood price for Wolmer, and to request that Lady Rohanne take the dam down.^[2]

However, Rohanne rejected both offers, and had her maester, Cerrick, show Duncan a document sealed by the crown, declaring House Webber's possession of the Chequy Water and revealing that Ser Eustace had been a traitorous supporter of the Blackfyres, both of which Duncan was not aware. When Duncan returned to Standfast, he confronted Eustace about his Blackfyre loyalties and about lying to him about the deaths of his sons and the status of the Chequy Water. Duncan planned to leave Standfast the next morning, but the castle was awakened that night by a fire in Wat's Wood. Eustace believed that Rohanne had set the fire, and planned to use his peasant militia to make war on her lands and burn one of the Webber mills. However, Duncan realized that all the peasants would die in the conflict, so sent them home, and told Eustace he would represent him at the confrontation with Rohanne.^[2]

The two feuding houses met at the Chequy Water, the border of their lands. Rohanne denied burning the forest, and demanded an apology for the slander; she also did not accept Duncan cutting his own cheek as payment for Bennis's attack on her man. Both Rohanne and Eustace refused to have their overlord, Lord Rowan, judge the conflict. Eventually they agreed to a trial by combat between Eustace's champion, Ser Duncan, and Rohanne's champion, Ser Lucas Inchfield. Duncan prevailed in the combat in the Chequy Water, killing Ser Lucas, but almost drowned in the river in the process. While Eustace and Duncan were away from Standfast, Bennis tied up Eustace's servants, Sam Stoops and his wife, stole the remaining valuables from Eustace's tower, and fled.^[2]

Nevertheless, Duncan's valor reconciled Eustace and Rohanne. Eustace allowed Rohanne to enter his lands, and she visited Addam Osgrey's grave at Standfast; when she began to weep, Eustace comforted her. They spent the night talking of their families, and married the next day, as a resolution to Rohanne's father's will that she be married within two years of his death or lose her ruling rights to a cousin. Eustace became the Lord of Coldmoat, but it is not known if he became the ruling Lord or only a consort to Lady Rohanne: thus, the lands that were under the domain of House Webber may or may not have been restored to House Osgrey. Eustace and Rohanne offered to make Ser Duncan their new captain of the guard at Coldmoat, but Duncan refused and left with his squire.^[2]

Historical Members

• Lord Perwyn Osgrey, also known as Perwyn the Proud, builder of Coldmoat.^[2]
• Ser Wilbert Osgrey, also known as the Little Lion, during the reign of Gyles III Gardener of Highgarden.^[2]
  • The four older brothers of Ser Wilbert Osgrey.^[2]
• Lord Ormond Osgrey, lost Coldmoat when he spoke out against Maegor I Targaryen.^[2]
• Clarice Osgrey, aunt to Lord Unwin Peake and mistress of the households of Queen Jaehaera Targaryen and Queen Daenaera Velaryon.^[5][6][7]
• Lord Eustace Osgrey, the Knight of Standfast and Lord of Coldmoat during the reign of Aerys I Targaryen.^[2]
  • Ser Edwyn Osgrey, Ser Eustace's eldest son.^[2]
  • Ser Harrold Osgrey, Ser Eustace's second son.^[2]
  • Addam Osgrey, Ser Eustace's third son.^[2]
  • Alysanne Osgrey, Ser Eustace's daughter.^[2]

Household

During the time of The Sworn Sword (211 AC), the Osgrey household was composed of:^[2]

• Sam Stoops and his wife, servants.
• Ser Bennis of the Brown Shield, a household knight.
• Ser Duncan the Tall, a household knight.
  • Egg, his squire.
• Mudge, a swineherd.
• Eight men of fighting age living on Osgrey lands: Wet Wat, Wat Barleycorn, Wat, Treb, Will, Lem, Pate, and Big Rob.

House Osgrey at the end of the third century

According to a semi-canon source, House Osgrey is still extant.^[8] The known Osgreys during the timespan of the events described in A Song of Ice and Fire are:

• no member has appeared yet.

Quotes

I am old, but I am not dead. The woman will soon find that the chequy lion still has claws!^[2]

—Eustace Osgrey, to Duncan the Tall

Woman: Is it war? Is the black dragon come again?
Duncan: There are no dragons in this, black or red. This is between the chequy lion and the spiders. The Red Widow has taken your water.^[2]

—an Osgrey smallfolk woman and Duncan the Tall

Ser Eustace chose the black dragon over the red, in the hope that a Blackfyre king might restore the lands and castles that the Osgreys had lost under the Targaryens. Chiefly he wanted Coldmoat. His sons paid for his treason with their life's blood. When he brought their bones home and delivered his daughter to the king's men for a hostage, his wife threw herself from the top of Standfast tower. Did Ser Eustace tell you that? No, I did not think so.^[2]

—Rohanne Webber, to Duncan the Tall

A king's mercy is a poisoned gift. Daeron Targaryen left me life, but took my pride and dreams and honor. I should have gone with Bittersteel into exile, or died beside my sons and my sweet king. That would have been a death worthy of a chequy lion descended from so many proud lords and mighty warriors. Daeron's mercy made me smaller.^[2]

—Eustace Osgrey, to Duncan the Tall

References

v d e Houses of the Reach   At the start of A Game of Thrones Great House Tyrell Lordly Houses Ambrose Ashford Beesbury Blackbar Bulwer Caswell Chester Cockshaw Costayne Cuy Florent Footly Graceford Grimm Hewett Hightower Meadows Merryweather Mullendore Oakheart Peake1 Redwyne Risley Rowan Serry Stackhouse Tarly1 Varner Vyrwel Webber Willum Knightly Houses Fossoway of Cider Hall Osgrey of Standfast Other Houses (noble rank unknown) Appleton Ball Bridges Bushy Cobb Conklyn Cordwayner Crane Dunn Durwell Fossoway of New Barrel Graves Hastwyck Hunt Hutcheson Inchfield Kidwell Leygood Lowther Lyberr Middlebury Norcross Norridge Oldflowers Orme Pommingham Redding Rhysling Rodden Roxton Shermer Sloane Uffering Westbrook Woodwright Wythers Yelshire Exiled Houses Manderly Extinct Houses Gardener Osgrey of Leafy Lake   At the end of A Dance with Dragons Great House Tyrell of Highgarden Lordly Houses Ambrose Ashford Beesbury Blackbar Bulwer Caswell Cockshaw Costayne Cuy Footly Graceford Hightower Meadows Merryweather Mullendore Oakheart Peake1 Redwyne Risley Rowan Stackhouse Tarly1 Tyrell of Brightwater Keep Varner Vyrwel Webber Willum Knightly Houses Fossoway of Cider Hall Osgrey of Standfast Other Houses (noble rank unknown) Appleton Ball Bridges Bushy Cobb Conklyn Cordwayner Crane Dunn Durwell Fossoway of New Barrel Graves Hastwyck Hunt Hutcheson Inchfield Kidwell Leygood Lowther Lyberr Middlebury Norcross Norridge Oldflowers Orme Pommingham Redding Rhysling Rodden Roxton Shermer Sloane Uffering Westbrook Woodwright Wythers Yelshire Deposed Houses Chester Florent Grimm Hewett Serry Exiled Houses Manderly Extinct Houses Gardener Osgrey of Leafy Lake 1 Marcher Lords