Thenns
The Thenns are the inhabitants of Thenn, a mountain valley in the peaks of the Frostfangs, beyond the Wall.[1]
Contents
Culture
The Thenns consider themselves the last of the First Men. They speak the Old Tongue and most have only a few words of the Common Tongue.[1] They are led by the Magnar of Thenn, who is considered more a god than a man by his people.[2] Because they have laws and lords in their valley, some consider the Thenns more sophisticated than other free folk and closer to the people south of the Wall. They have more dealings with giants than other men.[3]
The Thenns are savage fighters, but because of their belief in the Magnar as their god, they are more obedient and disciplined than other free folk.[1][4] They are often better equipped than most free folk, with bronze helms,[1] axes of bronze and a few of chipped stone,[5] short stabbing spears with leaf-shaped heads,[5] bronze swords,[6] leather shirts sewn with bronze disks[5] and scales,[7] and plain unadorned shields of black boiled leather with bronze rims and bosses.[5] They use bronze-banded warhorns to warn each other of the Night's Watch.[8]
History
The Thenns are unable to withstand the Others.[7] Styr, the Magnar of Thenn, joins the army of Mance Rayder after being defeated by him three times.[6]
Recent Events
A Storm of Swords
Jon Snow accompanies one hundred Thenns led by Styr who climb the Wall and descend at Greyguard, though Jon escapes them at Queenscrown in the Gift.[4] The raiders attack Castle Black from the south, but are defeated by the Night's Watch, and Styr dies in the battle.[5] Stannis Baratheon captures the new Magnar, Styr's son Sigorn, when Mance's army is defeated in the battle beneath the Wall.[9]
A Dance with Dragons
Soon after Mance is defeated at the Wall and his host is broken, a dour warrior in fur and amber urges the survivors to come with him and take refuge in the valley of the Thenns. Though the Thenns had fled their valley to find safety south of the Wall, hundreds of free folk still follow the warrior northward.[10]
The Thenns under Sigorn's leadership refuse to join the Night's Watch in defending the Wall.[11]
Jon arranges a marriage between Sigorn and Alys Karstark, forming House Thenn.[3] Supported by Sigorn's two hundred Thenns, Alys believes that Karhold will open its gates to her.[3]
Quotes
The closer they got, the more the Thenns held back. They have never seen the Wall before, not even the Magnar, Jon realized. It frightens them. In the Seven Kingdoms it was said that the Wall marked the end of the world. That is true for them as well. It was all in where you stood.[8]
—thoughts of Jon Snow
The Thenns have lords and laws... They mine tin and copper for bronze, forge their own arms and armor instead of stealing it. A proud folk, and brave.[3]
—Jon Snow, to Alys Karstark
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 26, Jon III.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 15, Jon II.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 49, Jon X.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 41, Jon V.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 55, Jon VII.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 49, Catelyn VI.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 73, Jon X.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 A Storm of Swords, Chapter 30, Jon IV.
- ↑ A Storm of Swords, Chapter 76, Jon XI.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Prologue.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 21, Jon V.
- ↑ A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 35, Jon VII.
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