House Butterwell

House Butterwell
Coat of arms	Undy green, white, and yellow (Barry wavy vert, argent, and or)
Seat	Whitewalls (formerly)
Head	Unknown
Region	Riverlands
Title	Lord of Whitewalls (formerly)
Overlords	House Tully (?–300 AC) House Baelish (300 AC–present)

House Butterwell is a noble house of the riverlands. Their blazon is undy green, white, and yellow.^[1][2]

House Butterwell was once a rich house with extensive lands, though its main incomes came from dairy cows,^[1] prompting some to dismiss their origins as little more than upjumped cattle thieves,^[1] and once had a castle called Whitewalls. House Butterwell was said to have had the best wines outside of the Arbor.

History

After King Maegor I Targaryen exterminated House Harroway in 44 AC, he divided the Harroway holdings among his remaining supporters. The king granted Lord Harroway's Town to Lord Alton Butterwell, Harrenhal to Lord Walton Towers, and the rest of the Harroway holdings to Lord Darnold Darry.^[3] When Maegor decided to take more wives as he needed an heir, Alton, the king's master of coin, suggested his widowed stout sister as a match, who while no great beauty had given birth to seven children so her fertility was beyond doubt. Maegor was scornful of Alton's offer, but remembering his words he eventually chose women of proven fertility when he wed three new brides in 47 AC.^[3]

During the Dance of the Dragons, Lord Butterwell initially supported Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen's claim to the Iron Throne and declared for the blacks. He was captured and sent to the Red Keep's dungeons. When he was faced with the choice between swearing fealty to Aegon II Targaryen or death, Lord Butterwell chose to defect to the greens.^[4]

Lord Butterwell was Hand of the King to Aegon IV Targaryen. King Aegon stayed one night at Butterwell's castle,^[1] and gave his Hand a dragon egg in return for "access" to his three maiden daughters.^[1][5] By the next day all three girls had royal bastards on the way, according to the tales.^[1] He had Whitewalls built, the pale castle was commonly called the Milkhouse by the smallfolk who lived near it. Its walls, keep, and towers were made of white stone quarried in the Vale of Arryn, and its floors and pillars were crafted from white marble veined with gold. The rafters were carved from the trunks of weirwoods.^[1]

Lord Butterwell's grandson, Ambrose Butterwell, was a master of coin under King Aegon IV Targaryen^[1] and was also later a Hand of the King, for Daeron II Targaryen.^[6][1][7] At the beginning of the First Blackfyre Rebellion, Lord Ambrose performed so poorly that some thought he was in league with Daemon Blackfyre.^[6][7] He was replaced by Lord Hayford as Hand.^[6][7]

The Butterwells attempted to keep one foot in each camp during the First Blackfyre Rebellion.^[1] Lord Ambrose's eldest son fought for Daeron while his second son fought for Daemon, but both sons died at the Battle of the Redgrass Field. His youngest son died of the Great Spring Sickness.^[1]

In 212 AC, Lord Ambrose held a wedding tourney at Whitewalls, for a marriage between himself and the daughter of Lord Frey, which became the setting for the Second Blackfyre Rebellion. As punishment, Lord Brynden Rivers allowed Ambrose to keep only a tenth of his wealth. Whitewalls was stripped from the Butterwells, and Bloodraven decided to have it dismantled to prevent it from becoming a Blackfyre monument.^[1]

House Butterwell at the end of the third century

The known Butterwells during the timespan of the events described in A Song of Ice and Fire are:

• No member has appeared yet.

Historical Members

• Lord Alton Butterwell, master of coin during the reign of Maegor I Targaryen.^[3][8]
  • Alton's sister, a fat and homely widow, but of proven fertility, having produced seven children.^[3][8]
• Beatrice Butterwell, the closest friend of Princess Viserra Targaryen.^[9]
• Lord Butterwell, who chose to swear fealty to Aegon II Targaryen and the greens rather than face execution for having supported Rhaenyra Targaryen and the blacks at the start of the Dance of the Dragons.^[4]
• Lord Butterwell, a Hand of the King to Aegon IV Targaryen^[5] and the first Lord of Whitewalls.^[1]
  • Three daughters.^[1]
  • A son.^[1]
    • Lord Ambrose Butterwell, grandson of Lord Butterwell, head of the house during the reigns of Aegon IV Targaryen, Daeron II Targaryen, and Aerys I Targaryen; he was a master of coin under Aegon IV and a Hand of the King to Daeron II.^[1][6][7]
      • Three sons and three daughters by his first wife.^[1]
      • Lady Butterwell, his second wife and daughter of Lord Frey.^[1]

References

v d e Houses of the Riverlands   At the start of A Game of Thrones Great House Tully Lordly Houses Bigglestone Blackwood Bracken Butterwell Chambers Charlton Darry Deddings Frey Goodbrook Lychester Mallister Mooton Nutt Perryn Piper Roote Shawney Smallwood Vance of Atranta Vance of Wayfarer's Rest Vypren Wayn Whent Knightly Houses Cox Paege Wode Other Houses (noble rank unknown) Blanetree Erenford Grell Grey Haigh Hawick Keath Lolliston Nayland Pemford Ryger Terrick Extinct Houses Fisher Harroway Hoare Hook Justman Lothston Mudd Qoherys Strong Teague Towers   At the end of A Dance with Dragons Great House Baelish Lordly Houses Bigglestone Blackwood Bracken Butterwell Chambers Charlton Deddings Frey of Riverrun Frey of the Twins Goodbrook Lannister of Darry Lychester Mallister Mooton Nutt Perryn Piper Roote Shawney Smallwood Vance of Atranta Vance of Wayfarer's Rest Vypren Wayn Knightly Houses Cox Paege Wode Other Houses (noble rank unknown) Blanetree Erenford Grell Grey Haigh Hawick Keath Lolliston Nayland Pemford Ryger Terrick Deposed Houses Darry Slynt Tully Whent Extinct Houses Fisher Harroway Hoare Hook Justman Lothston Mudd Qoherys Strong Teague Towers