Salt & Stone: The Secret Origin of the Wall and its Construction | ASOIAF Theory

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❄️ *Theory: The Wall, Its Construction, and the Importance of Salt in ASOIAF* ❄️
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📖 Chapters 📖
00:00 - Intro
00:44 - Salt in Real Life
03:02 - Salt in ASOIAF: Religion & Blood
05:29 - Salt in ASOIAF: Hospitality
07:37 - Salt in ASOIAF: Status
09:20 - Salt, Fire & Ice
14:52 - Salt, Life & Death
17:17 - The Wall is Made of Saltwater
22:20 - The Horn of Winter Raises the Wall
30:55 - The Sunless Sea Under the Wall
42:23 - The Others Helped with the Wall
47:51 - The Weirwoods' and Giants’ Role in the Wall
52:54 - Salt and Wights
54:39 - Outro
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📚 *Sources* 📚
ASoIaF book series, House of the Dragon HBO TV series, The World of Ice and Fire, Fire & Blood, Prose Edda, Poetic Edda.
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🌐 *Social Media & Podcast* 🌐
Instagram: [Company of the Cat]( / company_of_the_cat )
Facebook Page: [Company of the Cat]( profile.php?...)
Podcast Feed: [COTC Feed](media.rss.com/cotc/feed.xml)
☕ *Support the Channel* ☕
[Buy Me a Coffee](bmc.link/CompotCat)
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🎬 *Credits* 🎬
Clips from HBO's GOT: Histories and Lore
Maps: The Lands Of Ice And Fire
🖼️ *Thumbnail Art:* Artist Unknown (If you have information, please help!)
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#asoiaf #asongoficeandfire #hotd #houseofthedragon #thrones #fantasy
🔍 *Keywords:* asoiaf theory, house stark, the wall, ASOIAF, A Song of Ice and Fire, asoiaf theories, the Wall, hammer of the waters, horn of winter, horn of joramun, bran the builder, children of the forest, others, wight walkers, long night, black gate, bran stark, nightfort

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8 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 104

@CompanyOfTheCat 6 месяцев назад

And let's not forget that they use salt all the time at the Wall to help with the ice, I forgot to mention that!

@gerrys374 6 месяцев назад

That Bran chapter in Nightfort has a ton of information and for some reason we talk only about the stories Bran is thinking and not what actually is going on in the scene. Great video and love that fact that is a longer one!

@CompanyOfTheCat 6 месяцев назад

Now that I am thinking about it, you're actually correct

@KarlKarsnark 6 месяцев назад

As for the Stannis's pinch of salt in the drinking water, mayhaps he's doing it out of superstition to "ward off" any "bad spirits"/"cleanse the water", or just to show that Stannis wants/needs/creates "bitterness"/"saltiness" unnecessarily in his life, while Davos is able to enjoy and savor "sweet"/"fresh"/"clean" water when he can get it despite being a "man of the sea" his whole life. Cheers!

@milkmilk2328 6 месяцев назад

Viva la Karsnark!

@OrchinX 6 месяцев назад

Echoes of the Chinese vinegar tasters

@BadPotat 4 месяца назад

That or he isn’t putting all his eggs in the god of light and is attempting to appease the drowned god.

@SV-tx6hw 6 месяцев назад

This upload came out of nowhere, but I am not complaining.

@YarPirates-vy7iv 6 месяцев назад

It was actually prophesied by Daenys the Dreamer. One of her lesser known 'Nap Dreams' prophesies.

@fayperce 6 месяцев назад

Ranting in Greek is officially my favorite content, it sounds cool and fun at the same time. Love your videos keep it up and happy new year!

@Bluemilk92 5 месяцев назад

Thanks for making top tier content. When my love for The Song wanes, it reincarnates. George has created true "Undying" from us fans, with y'all providing the feasts of warlock wine, and weirwood paste.

@jsull81 6 месяцев назад

I'm only 20 minutes in but this makes so much sense, already! And great catch with the salt potentially being dangerous to the Others. I could never get over why humanity would build a giant ice wall to keep out ice demons. But if it's the salt that's stopping them then that makes a lot of sense. And also explains why they don't just go around through the sea like Patchface suggests, lol

@mycroft_moriarty 6 месяцев назад

Excellent video, great theory, very well researched. Also appreciated the "Impromptu Greek Lessons" as always; an amazing part of your delivery! Your "credentials" regarding your familiarity with humans made me laugh out loud! Thank you for all the extensive effort that undeniably went into this. It's very much appreciated.

@theduxabides9274 6 месяцев назад

9:20 the salt water could be for teeth pain? He's always described as grinding his teeth, ESP. when people annoy him, as was the case in that example

@CompanyOfTheCat 6 месяцев назад

I guess it could be, idk how much he put in so it could assist with pain or annoyance in general and numb it, but yeah, it would make sense.

@theduxabides9274 6 месяцев назад

@@CompanyOfTheCat also just fits his demeanor as a salty SoB

@kawikaahina1759 6 месяцев назад

Don't mind all of the ironborn videos, keep them coming. The more the merrier. Happy new year

@eric2500 6 месяцев назад

Smoke is a purifier also in many old ritual contexts.

@eric2500 6 месяцев назад

So the question would be whether or not it is symbolically the same as fire.

@loveagoodqueef 6 месяцев назад

the wall being the harrenhal of the giants (and maybe wildlings too) makes a lot of sense, also sunless sea is a cool name. Great vid!!!

@joseysomemore 6 месяцев назад

I use salt to clear my home...come to think of it I need to do this again soon. thanks for the reminder. lol All you content is wonderful and set on pens until the next one. Happy New Year!

@burnedbread4691 3 месяца назад

Stannis adding salt to his water might have symbolism but it also was a pretty common habit in the Classical and Middle Ages. As you said, salt was seen as vital for human life, and especially rich and powerful indulged in table salt. Adding salt to water is both a luxurious thing but also a modest, practical nutrition - something that fits Stannis well. Salty water was also very popular with soldiers for hydration, and Stannis sees himself as a soldier. A populae drink with similar function was also posca, diluted wine and/or vinegar with salt and other minerals.

@silverprincess2642 6 месяцев назад

You and Phoenix have such beautiful accents 😔

@CompanyOfTheCat 6 месяцев назад

Thanks 🥺

@theduxabides9274 6 месяцев назад

Been waiting for this!!!!

@charliehunter9257 6 месяцев назад

I feel a bit guilty saying this, because I do not want to detract from the amazingly well thought out content you create... but you also have a very lovely voice. I've been listening to your channel off and on all year. You are one of the better ASOIAF theorists out there... and I find your voice and accent soothing and pleasant. That being said, I am a commercial fisherman from a small Norwegian town in Alaska. A bit of a real world analogue for the Ironborn. Salt is very important culturally, and from a scientific standpoint. I think you are on to something here.

@CompanyOfTheCat 6 месяцев назад

Thanks you very much, glad you like the content and you are having fun with the videos! PS. Since you are Norwegian, how the hell do you pronounce these freaking wells? 😂😭

@thalljoben3551 6 месяцев назад

Gabriel's Horn from Judeo-Christianity was my first thought when hearing of the Horn of Winter as well!

@sinthoras1917 6 месяцев назад

Just finished, you convinced me (as usual). Good video!

@ThumbBandit04 5 месяцев назад

@CompanyoftheCat You quote GRRM at about 27:15 and it made me think. I was only half paying attention and when I heard him say "It was much smaller when first raised. It took hundreds of years to complete and thousands to reach it's present height." It made me think of how these trees are immortal. "More than ice went into raising rh wall." Trees grow slowly and the way he keeps saying "raising" and not "building" is a hint I think. And If "Magic of this caliber has a very high price" and there is a horn to "wake the sleepers" I think that; I think that the sleepers might be the trees and they are what took "hundreds of years to be raised and thousands more to get to this height" He is describing trees growing, not people building a wall. So the horn wakes the trees and they can stop crying as they will be free from the ice wall. OPr maybe there are evn people still tied to them and they are the sleepers so some combo of both are gonna be freed to do magic stuff. Idk... sounds about wight.

@laurenanderson61 6 месяцев назад

Your usual wonderful job.

@loveagoodqueef 6 месяцев назад

not finished w/ the vid (i just like live commenting) but the association of salt with life is so thematically great in the many ways u talked about like its use in food preservation, preventing dehydration, etc. I started thinking of salt in history and in mali and west africa in general was a hotbed of salt mines, it funded half the empires that existed in the area (along with the gold of the region) and it was necessary for cross desert travel to make sure people didnt die but it was all mined by slaves. it reminded me of the ironborns thrall culture and especially Eurons use of it (also in a way i feel like the ironborn are very much like west africa because of its geographical isolation from europe + the islamic world by a desert and the ironborn feel kind of the same with the ocean as its lil desert). Im rambling but maybe there is some sort of historical connection as with mali, their empire fell due to civil war (betweens brothers, uncles, nephews 👁️👁️), their use of slaves in their empire, and the arrival of the europeans. I believe that eurons downfall will be because of his reliance on this old system of ironborn rule clashing with the new order daenaerys seeks to establish (slave free world woooo) and im sure his use of thralls will come and stab in the back through treachery (looking at u dalton greyjoy) or revolt much like in the slaver cities, incited by some sort of "savior" army which im thinking is dany or one of the tyrells. Thats all i love speculating 😍

@stevendorries 4 месяца назад

9:22 I think Stannis just likes the taste

@Chu9947 6 месяцев назад

Peak content

@joeschmo4646 6 месяцев назад

Your theories are always next level.

@thalljoben3551 6 месяцев назад

Saltwater in the southern americas is used to this day as a remedy for anything from impacted teeth, oral infections, sores, sore throat, or even coughing, but I do believe youre on to something with that Stannis line... it makes me think.

@ladyvimto5546 6 месяцев назад

This is brilliant! Your videos are so well thought through and use textual evidence! ❤

@jenniferarmstrong8879 6 месяцев назад

This is such a cool theory. The salt is making me think about why Patchface could drown and still come back to life days later. Does the salt trap the spark of life in the body when people drown? So putting salt in the body banishes the spirt and wrapping it in salt preserve the spirit

@CompanyOfTheCat 6 месяцев назад

Funnily enough, this is my theory about why Aeron and Patch did not die😂

@gingercatqueen4368 6 месяцев назад

I love your channel! Found it a bit ago and have been binging all your videos! I love your theories! Happy New Year! 🎉

@julioulloa5403 6 месяцев назад

Goddamit! I dont want to start the year wanting to re-read asoif yet again

@CompanyOfTheCat 6 месяцев назад

What you suggest is possible, my lord, yet I do not think it likely.

@milkmilk2328 6 месяцев назад

Another good video. The salt as a ward, and the wall as a barrier makes a lot of sense to me, among other things in the video.

@TheCdathomas Месяц назад

If you ever had a tooth pulled, the oral surgeon will tell you to rinse your mouth with salt water. When I had my wisdom teeth removed salt water helped with the pain and soreness.

@eric2500 6 месяцев назад

Brainwave: salt and ice are both crystalline and have been considered connected with purity of some sort.

@90745piper 5 месяцев назад

Outstanding 👍👍

@Pentagathusosaurus 4 месяца назад

Stannis drinking a little salt might just be a hydration thing, in pre modern times we know that farmers in some parts of the world drank their own home made isotonic drinks which might have inspired George here.

@LolzUrFaceXD 5 месяцев назад

I wonder if Stannis adding salt to his water is from the siege of Storm's End? We know they were starving in the castle, I wouldn't be surprised if fresh water was also hard to come by. It may be that he's reminding himself of that when he drinks salt water.

@iwark 6 месяцев назад

I attended my first housewarming party after I read asoiaf, and at first I honestly thought that my brother giving bread and salt as a gift was a reference to the books. Then I realized that at every housewarming party at least one person gives the same gift, and that it seemed a very old tradition.

@CompanyOfTheCat 6 месяцев назад

Imagine you just going into a house seeing the salt and bread, starting doing pans and references, and everyone in the room being like 👁️👄👁️

@renaissancewoman3770 6 месяцев назад

Ooh this tickles my pickle! Thank you!

@treckerdirector7 6 месяцев назад

Well, woman, i bet you know more about salt now than you ever thought possible. i mean kudos! 😀 and of course, the greek is back, always happy about that! anyway... i always thought of the horn of winter as a bit of a macguffin. i prefer to imagine the free folk just throwing salt at the wall to bring it down. not as cool, but just as amazing. btw, i love all the magic artifacts of ASOIAF. the horns, shadow babies, the condiments... ps: another great vid. and also, enjoy the coffee! 😉

@CompanyOfTheCat 6 месяцев назад

I learned so much about salt indeed, also I would pay George so I can have Tormund throwing just salt at the wall during a siege! So glad you're are enjoying the content, you are one the people who always comment and watch my videos, so thank you so much🥺 And thanks for the coffee as well! Have a great new year's eve and stay safe 🍾

@treckerdirector7 6 месяцев назад

@@CompanyOfTheCat well, your content is amazing. all the praise is well deserved. happy new year!

@Cheezycats 4 месяца назад

Salt in water can help with headaches and hydrates you more than regular water

@thalljoben3551 6 месяцев назад

OOOOOOOOH YES THIS

@AzorAhia 6 месяцев назад

Euron did not get the Dragon Horn from Valyria. He took it from the Warlocks when he took them captive. I learned this from the AWOIAF app.

@cinema_roll6296 6 месяцев назад

Awesome video! :^)

@theduxabides9274 6 месяцев назад

22:04 So the Hammer of the Waters that broke the arm is supposed to have involved a ritual at the Isle of Faces; could be that the attempt to break the Neck was done at Moat Cailin some time afterwards, to prevent northward expansion by the Andals? Perhaps this attempt, even though it failed, led to the Old Gods being tolerated alongside the Seven?

@theduxabides9274 6 месяцев назад

42:23 Your's and Michael Talks About Stuff's theories about the wall fit perfectly. He proposes that the Wall has giant weirwoods within it to convey water from the depths and allow the wall to replace the water it loses when it weeps. It would also explain the skinny, faceless Weirwood Bran sees at the Nightfort, being a branch from a giant weirwood. The image of the well trying to capture the moon makes complete sense then, as the moon pulls the water from the sea upwards, and it freezes around the weirwoods to act as a frame (also explains the tunnels, which could be bored by roots and branches). If I had to guess, what freezes the water may be The Heart of Winter itself. As for a Pact, the lands beyond the wall are pretty much all 'deep forest' in the Haunted Forest, so I can see why the Others (being derived from the trees) would have it set aside for them as the deep woods and caves were for the COTF. The Wildlings being there could be a result of the Starks unifying the North, meaning there was one law to live under, and so those who opposed them fled or were driven beyond the wall which was then permanently raised. This would explain the additional castles, as more defenses were required to keep the Wildlings on their side.

@umwha 6 месяцев назад

They cannot fit together actually. If the wall is replenished through trees transpiring water up through the roots then it cannot be salty as trees don’t use salt water. Michael had nothing to say about why the drop of water was warm and salty - he only said that it was to remind us of bodily fluids

@theduxabides9274 6 месяцев назад

@umwha These are weirwoods, they don't need to function 100% like actual trees

@umwha 6 месяцев назад

@@theduxabides9274 Im accepting they can house ancient consciousnesss, and be used as 300 foot arteries, and spurt water out their branches. But I will not buy that trees can drink saltwater.

@theduxabides9274 6 месяцев назад

@umwha Figured I'd add to this by saying that trees CAN absorb salt, they just SHOULDN'T. Certain species of plants like Mangrove Trees have developed to filter out most salt from the water around them, 90-95% of it, but trees CAN absorb it. It's very bad for them, but they can do it, hence why de-icing salt should be used with care around trees. Our blood also contains sodium since our bodies require it in reasonable amounts, and since Weirwoods consume the flesh and blood of their sacrifices, this means they would already be processing considerable amounts of sodium to begin with. Given that these are abnormal, seemingly undead trees with magical properties, their being able to move salt or even partially salt water through their roots to maintain the tree isn't THAT big of a leap, esp. since the salt barrier helps to explain why the Others haven't just frozen the ocean and gone around the Wall.

@Leo_ofRedKeep 6 месяцев назад

White Walkers built the Wall and made the Starks pay for it.

@thomasj3701 6 месяцев назад

I would doubt that salt water was used, but adding salt makes sense to help melt the ice. One of my biggest issues with GrrM is how he writes cold. Its like he's never been cold. The south side of the wall wouldn't have any ice on it. The north side would be a wasteland for a good distance. If lakes were frozen over for more than a year in the type of cold he describes, nothing would be living in the lake due to a lack of oxygen. Planting in the spring would not be possible. It would take a couple years for the soil to recover and be able to grow a seed to plant. Then, i need to remember, its only a book...

@umwha 6 месяцев назад

It’s not that he dosent understand cold it’s that he dosent understand winter. I also question how humans survive 10 year winters. I guess grem simply though wel if you have a 10 year summer then you can just store it all. Which means that only humans with advanced agriculture could live through winter . Also we should be hearing about enormous storage rooms and a culture around taboos relating to food stores and stealing. Also, if winter is 10 years, does that mean that hibernating animals sleep for 10 years?

@thomasj3701 6 месяцев назад

@umwha Image what spring would look like! It would be nearly as bad of a disaster. Rivers could reroute due to ice dams. Mudslides would change landscapes. The spring floods would be devastating. As for the wildlife, say goodbye to all living things. I am just some dude that's lived nearly half my life in winter. Sure, short 5 month winters most years (not this year! Been warm here in Minnesota).

@CompanyOfTheCat 6 месяцев назад

In general, I agree, but I am gonna play devil's advocate, the "Long Night" always sounded like an ice age kind of era to me. It is destructive, yes, it changes tremendously things, same when the arrival of spring comes, but it's not ice and snow everywhere, similar to real-life ice ages where the temperature is lower with the addition of magic. At least to me, this is what it always sounded like. Yes in the North things were bad, but in different kingdoms as well as in Essos the stories are not nearly as bad. They talk about the dark and some demons from the East, but they do not talk about snow and ice for example. I think these longer winter eras are closer to magical ice ages than every place in Planetos has suddenly the climate of the Lands of Always Winter. And it would make much more sense considering that they do have winters between these long nights it's not always summer.

@thomasj3701 6 месяцев назад

@CompanyOfTheCat Of course I have to keep the whole fantasy aspect in control when reading a fantasy novel. It just bothers me some that he talks/writes about cold/winter yet it kinda seems like he's only ever seen cold in pictures or something. Then my head starts to think about how I feel when it's cold and none of the characters ever seem cold. Gotta remember, it's all just for fun and let the brain go. But... think about the stupid amount of firewood needed!! See, sometimes its hard to not think about it all. To heat like a small cabin for one normal winter takes a couple cords of wood. Preparing for a years long winter... blah blah blah, I just need to stop... see what happens when a dozen years pass between books, we start to pick and sift...

@eric2500 6 месяцев назад

I thought Bran's experience of Hodor not bending down enough was a sort of baptism.

@CompanyOfTheCat 6 месяцев назад

That is a cool symbolism

@christianayers622 6 месяцев назад

Adding salt to water is good for you. The body needs salt, so I don't think it's abnormal to add salt to water

@mohmmedakrot9663 6 месяцев назад

Hi my lady

@CompanyOfTheCat 6 месяцев назад

Mi lord

@mohmmedakrot9663 6 месяцев назад

@@CompanyOfTheCat what is your name my lady

@suburbanburrito210 6 месяцев назад

So mance is Azor Ahai?

@iamkrohn 2 месяца назад

Putting salt in the water is for his Blood Pressure

@Gandalf-of-many-colors 6 месяцев назад

Or from the nearby lake …

@CompanyOfTheCat 6 месяцев назад

mieh.. you're no fun😂

@Akalyptos18 Месяц назад

Όταν το γύρισες στα ελληνικά πέθανα στα γέλια 😂😂😂😂😂

@haerverk 6 месяцев назад

Is there a reason why no one thinks "Giants in the Earth" refers to the famous book of the same title? I'm yet to hear any theorist mention it. The themes are even very apropos in regards to the tragical struggle between man and nature in a harsh region with deadly winters.

@CompanyOfTheCat 6 месяцев назад

I think mostly because it's not something that people are familiar with. I will check it out though

@haerverk 6 месяцев назад

@@CompanyOfTheCat Well, it's a phrase I've only heard twise in my life outside of ASOIAF; one being the bible the other being that book. It depicts the experiences of Norwegian settlers in the Dakota territories alongside the natives, which strikes me as topically similar to those trying to survive both at and beyond the wall. Could be coincidence of course, but I'd be surprised if GRRM wasn't familiar with the book at least.

@Cgl3g3nd 6 месяцев назад

Me when she switches languages which is Greek I think. Awe that’s a cool language and what am I missing 😂

@CompanyOfTheCat 6 месяцев назад

It is Greek, but just so you know it's mostly rants, I do not put important stuff in there 😂

@gingercatqueen4368 6 месяцев назад

Same! I love it!

@laurenanderson61 3 месяца назад

Gaol is pronounced jail

@CompanyOfTheCat 3 месяца назад

They should be going to jail, why write it like that then? 😂

@thalljoben3551 6 месяцев назад

I love GoT but tbh i followed after hearing your voice and accent, as a white guy I get tired of always hearing from white men. Thankyou!

@arsenicjones9125 Месяц назад

Water when it freezes doesn’t contain the salt. Icebergs are freshwater. If you freeze a container of saltwater it will separate into a frozen freshwater part and an extra salty water portion. The wall is not salt water. Thank you this is a bad theory

@CompanyOfTheCat Месяц назад

It depends on the circumstances. If it’s in nature, a river, lake, or sea then ice forms on the top, from pure water, and the brine underneath contains all the salt, in increasing concentration as the water freezes. Water doesn’t “like” the salt to be part of its crystals, BUT there would come a point - which rarely happens in nature but CAN in other circumstances, where the salt in the liquid has nowhere to go and starts to be part of the ice. Last time I checked this is neither an iceberg nor naturally formed, thanks for the comment and the view.

@arsenicjones9125 Месяц назад

@@CompanyOfTheCat it depends on the circumstances is a wild stretch. The entire wall would have to stay below -21C but more than that the bottom of the wall would have to be colder than the top because the mass of 800+ft of ice wall bearing down creates pressure and pressure works against temperature. The more pressure the colder it has to be to maintain its state. A glacier, not made of salt water, maintains its state by being far more massive than the wall and it looses and gains water thru the season. This is just a non-starter. Sure it’s cold but not -21c cold. Sure it’s fantasy but grrm doesn’t make stuff stupid fantasy. Just no.

@genkmiz Месяц назад

@arsenicjones9125 The wall as a glacier already has to operate outside of basic glacial physics, considering that the Nights Watch built things on/in/near it thousands of years ago and no one has mentioned those things ending up far out place due to ice floes.

@arsenicjones9125 Месяц назад

@@genkmiz the wall isn’t a glacier and a glacier is made of fresh water. Next!