| “ | The mountain clans were lawless brigands, descending from the heights to rob and kill and melting away like snow whenever the knights rode out from the Vale in search of them. | „ |
| ~ Catelyn Stark's thoughts. |
| “ | That was the trouble with the clans; they had an absurd notion that every man's voice should be heard in council, so they argued about everything, endlessly. | „ |
| ~ Tyrion Lannister realizing the tribes' absolute beliefs in equality and freedom are the reason why they are unable to advance and improve. |
| “ | There's frost above us and snow in the high passes. If you don't freeze or starve, the shadowcats will get you, or the cave bears. There's the clans as well. The Burned Men are fearless since Timett One-Eye came back from the war. And half a year ago, Gunthor son of Gurn led the Stone Crows down on a village not eight miles from here. They took every woman and every scrap of grain, and killed half the men. They have steel now, good swords and mail hauberks, and they watch the high road - the Stone Crows, the Milk Snakes, the Sons of the Mist, all of them. Might be you'd take a few with you, but in the end they'd kill you and make off with your daughter. | „ |
| ~ A village elder in the Vale, warning Sandor Clegane not to try to reach the Eyrie. |
The Vale Mountain Clans, also called the Mountain Clans or Hill tribes, are a culture of clans that reject the rule of House Arryn and live independently in the foothills of the Mountains of the Moon in the Vale. They are also divided into many different tribes, in which they vary in size or strength. As they all descended from the First Men, they are considered by the lowlanders to be "primitive" and sometimes called "wildlings" like the Free Folk who live beyond the Wall.
They are not to be confused with the Northern Mountain Clans, who are respected, are considered lower nobility of the North, have ties, marriages, and involvement with the rest of the northern houses, are sworn and fiercely loyal to House Stark, and whose clan chiefs are sometimes regarded as petty lords.
The gods of the Vale Mountain Clans have not been revealed so far, making it unclear whether they follow the old gods, other deities of their culture, or old cultures of ancestors from the Mountains of the Moon and the Vale in general.
History[]
When the Andals migrated from their homeland of Andalos to Westeros, they conquered the Mountains of the Vale from the First Men. While some of the First Men yielded and intermarried with the Andals, some of them refused to surrender and instead fled to the Mountains of the Moon. Those First Men are the ancestors of the present mountain clans. For a very long time, the clans and the Knights of the Vale are strongly hostile towards each other, and the Vale Mountain Clans have a distrust for lowland lords, those who lived outside the Mountains of the Moon and would raid, burn, and plunder the Riverlands, as well as carry off women living in the region.
Even though House Arryn submitted to Aegon the Conqueror during the latter's conquest of Westeros, the Vale Mountain Clans still continued to cause trouble for the Arryns. In 54 AC, raiders from the clans killed Lord Donnel Arryn and his brother Ser Rymond while the two pursued the Mountain clans. Many centuries later, in 96 AC, the Stone Crows, one of the clans, killed an unnamed Lord Arryn and his sons, causing his daughter Jeyne Arryn to inherit the Eeyrie as Lady of the Vale.
In 132 AC, during winter, starving clansmen raided and plundered the Vale in large numbers, which forced Jeyne Arryn, who served during the regency of King Aegon III Targaryen, to leave her office of regent and return home so she could see to the Vale's defenses and deal with the Vale Mountain Clans. Ser Joffrey Arryn, Jeyne's cousin, defended the Vale as Knight of the Gate, the commander of the stronghold known as the Bloody Gate, which guards the entrance to the Vale of Arryn and the Eeyrie. Two centuries later, the Vale Mountain Clans attacked the royal host of Ser Robert Rowan during the night as he enforced Ser Joffrey's claim to the Eeyrie as Jeyne Arryn's true heir. The raiders also attacked Robert's baggage train, and Ser Rowan and his men were killed when the mountain clans toppled half of a mountainside onto them. After taking over Robert's host, Lord Benjicot Blackwood noted of the tenacity the starving clansmen.
As of now, there are at least 3,000 warriors amongst the mountain clans, though they weren't considered to be a significant threat for centuries.
Culture[]
The Mountains of the Moon served as the home of the population of the Vale Mountain Clans. As they reject the authority of the Eeyrie and House Arryn, the mountain clans are completely withdrawn from the Seven Kingdoms. Rather than being a feudal society, the clans are instead egalitarian, believing that everyone's voice should be heard during council meetings, regardless of whether they are male or female. While some clans share a bond with each other, they are also fiercely loyal to one another. When they get into conflict with each other, they are usually resolved with payments through blood money and settling grievances through violence. Because of the clans' way of life, they are considered by Archmaester Gyldayn to be "savages".
Clansmen often identify themselves by their first name and their father's name. When living the life of a bandit or outlaw, that is usually short. As the Vale Mountain Clans live in poverty and have a poor quality of weaponry and armor, their weapons consist of only stone-made axes and wooden clubs. The clans support themselves by engaging in the practice of raiding, in which they will raid on local villages and travelers. They can even attack the Lord of the Eeyrie, but only if he is not properly protected. They can steal/plunder weapons, armor, and grain they could find, and, much like the ironborn and the free folk raiders, they may even take women if they are already wedded or single. Some women can join in the clans' raids.
Similar to Dothraki, the Vale Mountain Clans ride small horses that are suited for narrow mountain paths.
Known mountain clans[]
Archmaester Ariel listed in his work Mountain and Vale the most notorious of all the Vale Mountain clans:
- Black Ears
- Burned Men
- Painted Dogs
- Howlers
- Moon Brothers
- Milk Snakes
- Redsmiths
- Sons of the Mist
- Sons of the Tree
- Stone Crows
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Vale Mountain Clans on the A Wiki of Ice and Fire.
- Hill Tribes on the Game of Thrones Wiki.
