| SkinnyPupp | 06-02-2013 09:45 PM |
I was going to try to explain to non readers why the Red Wedding was pretty much the most despicable thing any character has done in ASOIF. There are certain things that are just known to be worse than anything else - killing your family members, sleeping with family members, etc. But the way it is written, killing a guest in your castle after they have eaten is pretty much the worst thing you can do. I came across this explanation which will save me some time.. CTRL+V
So, what was it that made the slaughter of King Robb, his mother, and men so especially reprehensible? The viewer got a subtle hint at this at the beginning of the episode, in the scene where Robb and his men shared "bread and salt" with Walder Frey (well return to that in a bit), and that was the invoking of the ancient custom of hospitality, "Guest Right"..
Guest Right, as I said is an ancient custom of gods and men (among all the religions of Westeros, not just the faith of the seven) dating back to the first men, that states if a guest shares food and drink under the roof of a host that the guest is offered protection by the host. Neither guest can harm host, nor host harm guest during the duration of the stay, and breaking of this custom of hospitality, as we saw tonight, is considered very egregious by all men and women of Westeros, and the person who violated "guest right" is considered accursed and loses any reputation they may have had... It's a big deal.. As I mentioned above, regardless of religion, regardless if you're a lowborn bastard, or the King himself, "Guest Right" is sacred. Walder Frey did not only commit a heinous act of treachery, but went far beyond that in the violating of "Guest Right"
Now, as I said above, Guest Right is automatically observed once the host shares his table with his guest, no matter what the meal or drink or who the host or guest is, but among the Lords and highborn families there are some traditional formalities associated with Guest Right. The first is what we saw in tonight's episode, Bread and Salt. Bread and Salt are traditionally presented to a guest in highborn circles as "officially" recognizing the custom of Guest Right, it may be presented to the guest and it may be requested by the guest, either way it is an official way to state among all parties that said law of hospitality is invoked. Guest Right ends when the guest takes their leave from the host, though there is some formality with that as well, traditionally the host will present his or her guests with "guest gifts" signifying that the custom Guest Right has ended, the guest usually also present the host with gifts as a tolkien of gratitude for protection while under the host's roof. Guest Right, can be denied if the host chooses, in Westerosi custom if a Lord bares naked steel across his lap when his guests arrive, it is a tolkien that Guest Right is being denied and they do not have "understood protection" while under his roof....
There have been a few examples of Guest Right being violated in the backstory of ASOIAF.. One example is that of the "Rat Cook of the Night Fort". The Rat Cook was a member of the Night's Watch when a King (prior to Aegon's Conquest) traveled to the Wall as a guest, the cook was wronged in some way by the king so the crow murdered the son of the king, and cooked the prince into a huge meat pie which he later fed to the guest King. Legend goes that the gods took such error with this that the cook was transformed into an enormous rat who could only ever eat his young.. A song about the Rat Cook is still sung around the seven Kingdoms as a reminder of the sacred law of Guest Right..
The second example that we've seen in which Guest Right was violated was when the men of the Night's Watch murdered Craster under his own roof, as we saw several episodes ago. This serves to remind that even though it was not "invoked" traditionally, it is still observed. There is a line in the books that didn't make it into the show that lends this credence. Mormont states that "There is no worse crime than murder at a host's dinner table" and that they're all accursed, another clear violation of guest right, and illustrates that, in this case, how the guests can be the ones who violate the observance.
And lastly is the example of what we saw tonight, the Red Wedding, all traditional observations were noted, bread and salt were exchanged and offered. (Though in the books Walder, was reluctant to give it to them when Robb and his banner-men arrived at the Twins) And Walder by murdering the King in the North, his mother, and his host has committed one of the most vile acts the people in Westeros can think of.
I hope you enjoyed this, and are a bit more enlightened on the subject of Guest Right, and why it is so vile that it was violated on tonight's episode.. Thanks to both Tower of the Hand, and Wiki of Ice and Fire for some of the finer details... until next week, happy... uh... nothing's ever going to be happy again. Have a week! |
