The Tullys never reigned as kings, though they held rich lands and the great castle at Riverrun for a thousand years. During the Wars of Conquest, the riverlands belonged to Harren the Black, King of the Isles. Harren’s grandfather, King Harwyn Hardhand, had taken the Trident from Arrec the Storm King, whose ancestors had conquered all the way to the Neck three hundred years earlier, slaying the last of the old River Kings. A vain and bloody tyrant, Harren the Black was little loved by those he ruled, and many of the river lords deserted him to join Aegon’s host. First among them was Edmyn Tully of Riverrun. When Harren and his line perished in the burning of Harrenhal, Aegon rewarded House Tully by raising Lord Edmyn to dominion over the lands of the Trident and requiring the other river lords to swear him fealty.
The Tully sigil is a leaping trout, silver, on a field of rippling blue and red.
Lesser houses sworn to Riverrun include Darry, Frey, Mallister, Bracken, Blackwood, Whent, Ryger, Piper, Vance.
- HOSTER TULLY, Lord of Riverrun,
- —his wife, LADY MINISA, of House Whent, died in childbed,
- —their children:
- —CATELYN, the eldest daughter, wed to Lord Eddard Stark,
- —LYSA, the younger daughter, wed to Lord Jon Arryn,
- —SER EDMURE, heir to Riverrun,
- —his brother, SER BRYNDEN, called the Blackfish,
- —his household:
- —MAESTER VYMAN, counselor, healer, and tutor,
- —SER DESMOND GRELL, master-at-arms,
- —SER ROBIN RYGER, captain of the guard,
- —UTHERYDES WAYN, steward of Riverrun,
- —his knights and lords bannermen:
- —JASON MALLISTER, Lord of Seagard,
- —PATREK MALLISTER, his son and heir,
- —WALDER FREY, Lord of the Crossing,
- —his numerous sons, grandsons, and bastards,
- —JONOS BRACKEN, Lord of the Stone Hedge,
- —TYTOS BLACKWOOD, Lord of Raventree,
- —SER RAYMUN DARRY,
- —SER KARYL VANCE,
- —SER MARQ PIPER,
- —SHELLA WHENT, Lady of Harrenhal,
- —SER WILLIS WODE, a knight in her service,
Hoster Tully Lord of Riverrun and Lord paramount of the Trident, Hoster Tully is an old, sick man. As a younger man he was tall and broad, and grew portly in age, but now is shrunken by his illness. He traveled the Riverlands extensively and was fond of gazing at his rivers.
Years ago, Hoster forced his daughter Lysa to terminate her illegitimate pregnancy. He used her pregnancy as proof that she was fertile when arranging her marriage to the heirless widower Jon Arryn, in exchange for House Tully's support in the rebellion.
Catelyn Tully
Catelyn Tully Stark (a POV character) is Hoster's eldest child and once his heir until the birth of her brother. She is the wife of Eddard Stark of Winterfell and mother of their five children, Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon. Catelyn is seen as honorable and upright by acquaintances, holding duty over desire as a governing principle of behavior. She has a deep love for family and a strong faith in the Seven. However, she regards Jon Snow as an outsider to her family, and has never forgiven Eddard for bringing him into her household. She has a strong and stately beauty, with auburn hair, blue eyes, and long fingers.
Lysa Tully
Lysa was secretly in love with her father's ward Petyr Baelish, who had deflowered and impregnated her when they were young. Hoster Tully was enraged when he learned of it and sent Baelish back to his own desolate home. He had Lysa's child aborted, though he later used its existence as proof of Lysa's fertility when wedding her to Jon Arryn, a man older than Hoster himself. As the Lady Regent of the Vale, Lysa's sanity begins to fail her, and she tries to isolate the Vale and her family from the rest of the events in the kingdom.
Edmure Tully
Hoster's third child, only son, and heir, Edmure is a dutiful but rash young man, known more for his large heart than his sound head. He wishes to earn the respect of his father and protect his smallfolk. He is stocky and tall, with shaggy auburn hair and a fiery beard.
Brynden Tully
Ser Brynden Tully, also known as Ser Brynden the Blackfish, is a member of House Tully and younger brother by five years to Lord Hoster and the uncle of Catelyn, Lysa and Edmure.. His personal coat of arms consists of the traditional Tully colors, but with a black fish.
He quarreled with his brother constantly. During one of their arguments, Hoster called him the 'black goat' of the family as he refused to marry a woman chosen for him. He pointed out that their sigil was a fish, so he took the name 'Blackfish' from then on. Ser Brynden earned acclaim during the War of the Ninepenny Kings. Eventually, he accompanied Lysa Tully to the Vale of Arryn when she married Lord Jon Arryn. He was named Knight of the Gate by Lord Jon.
