House Stark

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Winter is Coming
The Starks trace their descent from Brendon the Builder and the ancient Kings of Winter. For thousands of years, they ruled from Winterfell as Kings in the North, until Torrhen Stark, the King Who Knelt, chose to swear fealty to Aegon the Dragon rather than give battle.
Their blazon is a grey direwolf on an ice-white field. The Stark words are Winter Is Coming.
The principal houses sworn to Winterfell are Karstark, Umber, Flint, Mormont, Hornwood, Cerwyn, Reed, Manderly, Glover, Tallhart, Bolton.

  • EDDARD STARK, Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North,
  • —his wife, LADY CATELYN, of House Tully,
  • —their children:
  • —ROBB, the heir to Winterfell, fourteen years of age,
  • —SANSA, the eldest daughter, eleven,
  • —ARYA, the younger daughter, a girl of nine,
  • —BRANDON, called Bran, seven,
  • —RICKON, a boy of three,
  • —his bastard son, JON SNOW, a boy of fourteen,
  • —his ward, THEON GREYJOY, heir to the Iron Islands,
  • —his siblings:
  • —[BRANDON], his elder brother, murdered by the command of Aerys II Targaryen,
  • —[LYANNA], his younger sister, died in the mountains of Dorne,
  • —BENJEN, his younger brother, a man of the Night’s Watch,
  • —his household:
  • —MAESTER LUWIN, counselor, healer, and tutor,
  • —VAYON POOLE, steward of Winterfell,
  • —JEYNE, his daughter, Sansa’s closest friend,
  • —JORY CASSEL, captain, of the guard,
  • —HALLIS MOLLEN, DESMOND, JACKS, PORTHER, QUENT, ALYN, TOMARD, VARLY, HEWARD, CAYN, WYL, guardsmen,
  • —SER RODRIK CASSEL, master-at-arms, Jory’s uncle,
  • —BETH, his young daughter,
  • —SEPTA MORDANE, tutor to Lord Eddard’s daughters,
  • —SEPTON CHAYLE, keeper of the castle sept and library,
  • —HULLEN, master of horse,
  • —his son, HARWIN, a guardsman,
  • —JOSETH, a stableman and horse trainer,
  • —FARLEN, kennelmaster,
  • —OLD NAN, storyteller, once a wet nurse,
  • —HODOR, her great-grandson, a simpleminded stableboy,
  • —GAGE, the cook,
  • —MIKKEN, smith and armorer,
  • —his principal lords bannermen:
  • —SER HELMAN TALLHART,
  • —RICKARD KARSTARK, Lord of Karhold,
  • —ROOSE BOLTON, Lord of the Dreadfort,
  • —JON UMBER, called the Greatjon,
  • —GALBART and ROBETT GLOVER,
Eddard Stark
Eddard Stark, informally called "Ned", is Lord of Winterfell and Warden of the North. He is a POV character and the protagonist of the first book of series A Game of Thrones. He and Catelyn Tully Stark have five children, and he claims a bastard son, Jon Snow. Eddard is known for his sense of honor and justice; he dislikes deceit, intrigue, and secrecy. Though his family finds him kind, some consider his reserved personality a sign of coldness and disdain. Ned is also a devout follower of the Old Gods, the gods of the First Men. These gods are also said to be the gods of the children of the forest, original inhabitants of Westeros.
Ned was fostered by Jon Arryn at the Eyrie, alongside Robert Baratheon. Ned befriended Robert, and came to consider Lord Arryn a second father. King Aerys II demanded that Arryn send him the heads of the two wards (having already had Ned's father and brother murdered on charges of treason). Arryn refused, launching a rebellion in which Ned and Robert joined as lords of their houses and chief commanders. Shortly before the final battles of the rebellion, Ned married Catelyn Tully, who had been betrothed to Ned's brother Brandon before his death. Ned was present, along with Howland Reed, at a tower on the Dornish border known as the "Tower of Joy" when his sister Lyanna died there, an incident that haunted Ned ever after.
Once the conflict had ended and Robert had taken the throne, Ned returned home, bringing with him a bastard son, Jon, about whose origins he refused to speak. He spent the next fifteen years as Lord of Winterfell. He rarely left his lands, and did not involve himself in the complex intrigues of the southern courts.

Robb Stark
Robb is Eddard Stark's eldest legitimate child, and the heir to Winterfell. He is the only major Stark that is not a POV character. He bears great responsibility with scant complaint, and shares his father's devotion to honor and justice. He is very close to his bastard half-brother Jon Snow, and uncomfortably aware of his mother Catelyn's antipathy toward Jon. His appearance favors his Tully side, with a stocky build, blue eyes, and thick auburn hair. His companion direwolf is named Grey Wind.

Sansa Stark
Catelyn and Eddard's elder daughter, Sansa (a POV character) has traditional feminine graces and is a strong believer in the world of chivalry portrayed in stories and songs. She is traditionally beautiful, with high cheekbones, vivid blue eyes, thick red hair and, as she grows up, a tall and graceful figure. She excels at many female leisure activities, including singing, dancing, fashion, and social graces. She has a strained relationship with her sister Arya, whose interests are opposite in many respects and bewildering to Sansa. Her direwolf companion was named Lady.

Arya Stark
Arya (a POV character) is a spirited tomboy with an interest in fighting and exploring. Her character contrasts with her elegant sister Sansa, whom she often describes as "stupid". Arya displays great resourcefulness, cunning, and an unflinching ability to accept hard necessity. She is skinny, athletic, and often mistaken for a boy. She has strong Stark family features, with a long face and brown hair. She is said to take after her fiery aunt Lyanna in temperament and appearance. Her direwolf companion was named Nymeria. Arya is the only character to have a P.O.V in all five completed novels.

Bran Stark
Catelyn and Eddard's second son, Bran (a POV character) is a boy who enjoys climbing and exploring Winterfell. He is adventurous and tough-minded, "almost a man grown" at seven years old. He is named for his deceased uncle Brandon, elder brother of Eddard. He dreams of one day being a great knight. His direwolf companion is (eventually) named Summer.

Rickon Stark
Eddard's youngest child, only three years old when the series begins. Rickon is a naturally aggressive and strong-willed child. However, his youth makes it difficult for him to cope with the terrible changes that are brought upon his life and family by war. His direwolf companion is named Shaggydog.

Jon Snow
Jon Snow is a POV character and the supposed bastard son of Eddard, by an unknown woman. It has been speculated that his mother was a wet nurse named Wylla, serving in House Dayne, but this is not for certain since Ned was executed before he could tell Jon who his mother was. In Davos Seaworth's POV of the fifth book, the Lord of Sweet Sister tells Stannis' Hand that Ned Stark is rumoured to have fathered a child named Jon Snow (named after Jon Arryn and the bastard surname of the North) with the daughter of the fisherman who helped him flee the wrath of the Mad King. In the beginning of A Game of Thrones, when Jon and Robb Stark find the direwolves, they originally find five direwolves for the five legitimate Stark children. However, as they are leaving, Jon finds the runt of the litter, a small albino pup separate from the other five. This pup becomes Jon's direwolf companion, Ghost.
Jon is of an age with Robb. Ned brought him to Winterfell after the Battle of the Tower of Joy, which only Ned and Howland Reed survived. Despite his wife Catelyn's objections, Ned insisted on taking responsibility for the boy, and he grew up side-by-side with the trueborn Starks. He has a long face, grey eyes and lean build, with strong Stark coloring, looking more like Lord Eddard than any of Lady Stark's legitimate children, save for Arya. Jon's life at Winterfell is made arduous due to issues of his illegitimacy and Catelyn's antipathy toward him.

Lyanna Stark
Eddard's only sister, Lyanna died at the end of Robert's Rebellion.
Lyanna was betrothed to Robert Baratheon, who was infatuated with her. Lyanna was not as ardent in her love for Robert, and was aware of his philandering ways. However, Prince Rhaegar Targaryen crowned her Queen of Love and Beauty after winning the Harrenhal tourney, passing over his wife, the Dornish princess Elia. Shortly thereafter Lyanna and Rhaegar disappeared together, which her fiancé Robert and older brother Brandon treated as a non-consensual abduction. Their anger over the event led to Brandon's execution by King Aerys and Robert's Rebellion. Eddard and six companions went to rescue Lyanna from the "Tower of Joy". They fought three Kingsguard knights; who slew all but Eddard and Howland Reed. Eddard found Lyanna dying. Her last words to Ned Stark were, "Promise me, Ned". She was buried in the ancestral crypts of Winterfell.
Lyanna was described by those who knew her as a spirited young woman, and more than a little wild. She was said to exhibit the typical Stark colorings, and was regarded as beautiful. Comparisons are made between her and Arya, both in appearance and temperament (a shock to Arya, who does not consider herself attractive).