"A naked man has few secrets. A flayed man, none." What video shall I make next? Subscribe: www.youtube.com/@fantasyhaven1 Patreon: www.patreon.com/FantasyHaven TIME STAMPS: 00:00 - The Red Kings 01:37 - The Rebellious Lords 02:59 - The Leech Lord 05:48 - A Game of Thrones
NGL, I know this is a joke theory, but now I'm imagining a story from the perspective of someone in Ramsay's position (not necessarily Ramsay himself, he's somewhat lacking in Protagonist Energy), being legitimised and then gradually finding out that "Dad" is actually a staggeringly old, completely inhuman monster, and all the 'gifts' he's given the kid are just to set him up as the 'heir' for when Daddy Dearest commits Ye Olde Identitye Thefte.
Well, that's a view. But I've never heard of vampires putting their time, energy and theories into REMOVING blood from themselves. Funny sort of vampire that'd make him. Sort of like someone who wants to be pretty throwing acid on their face.
I have a gut feeling that the flaying had a more magical purpose in the ancient days, but like so much magic and history in the ASOIAF, it’s been lost to time
It can be assumed that the flaying practiced by the Bolton family has its roots in the early religious traditions of the First Men. There is evidence that in ancient times, long before the Andal invasion, the First Men brought bloody sacrifices to their gods. There was also a special method of execution: the criminal was brought to the godswood, where he was dismembered and pieces of his body were hung on the branches of a sacred tree. There are several lines dedicated to this in "The World of Ice and Fire" in the chapter about North and there is nothing specifically about flaying, but it can be assumed that the content of these religious practices varied among different houses and clans.
@@АлександрВишняков-т6ф Mmmm... Starks famouslly have been wargs (at least this generation was) so I imagine the Starks from the distant past also shared this trait; and at least some Kings of Winter had direwolf compannions... maybe the Red Kings envied this favour from the gods. Maybe they wanted to steal this powers. In the books, warg powers are ofte mixed up and missunderstood for lichantrhopy or other means of literall skin-changing... maybe the Starks of old kept a secret how they where able to control wolves into battle... and some, like the Boltons, believed that the Starks themselves turned into wolves (Lannister soldiers mistook Robb's magical conecction to his wolf for real lichantrophy) so MAYBE skinning their enemies was a 'way' to steal the skin-changing power from them... or something like that
Tbh, the fact that their House survived and was spared so many times while the Starks weren't afraid of making Houses that were relative to them go extinct over treachery is a bit ridiculous
Yeah, it is quite questionable, though. I've always figured just crippling House Bolton was their go-to method as they are the second most powerful house in the North. Not to mention that a lot of changes in terms of vassalage and land distribution would need to be done near the Last River if the Boltons were wiped out entirely. That probably doesn't entirely justify their continued existence, but it kinda smoothes things at least slightly over in my mind.
@@epsilon9739not every Bolton was bad just like not every stark was good. When you have thousands of years of families your bound to have great and horrible lords.
There's a theory that the Greystarks fought the Starks after the whole Bael the Bard thing happening. Whit the Current Stark being a Wildling Bastared that killed his Wildling Father which lead to his mother commiting suicide. The theory goes that in the eyes of the Greystarks saw him unfit to rule and rose up as the only legitimate Starks.
I agree, the Bolton’s sigil is a dude with his skin peeled off, their values are intrinsically evil and they’d always be a threat. The Starks should have wiped them out and dismantled the Dreadfort, but I guess the problem is that the Dreadfort is too good of a castle to lose.
You just know sometime after the Bolton’s bent the knee to Theon Stark and helped push back the Andals some other stark Bannerman went to King Theon and was like “Sir the Bolton’s are still flaying after you told them to stop”. And Theon not wanting to rock the boat of such a powerful, not to mention new, vassal probably said something like “well their enemies are now our enemies so let them flay away”
@jsizemo. Even that would work in the Starks favor. Most of the houses in the North are not very smart and super hard headed so when trying to make a “King” a vassal it’s usually either they stubbornly keep saying no even in the face of extinction or get scared and bend the knees (usually when needing the Starks help with a bigger foe). So the Bolton’s flaying for the Starks instead of flaying THE Starks might bring new vassals running to bend the knee for protection and the people that would get mad double down and refuse to bend the knee where probably going to do that anyways and at lead you got the crazy flayers on your side lol
Although I like both Roose and Ramsay as villains, I have to say that house Bolton always felt like an odd addition to the series. By that I mean that Martin always seemed to have tried to ground his fantasy world in reality as much as possible, yet there's Boltons who rule from castle called Dreadfort and have a sigil of flayed man. He might have as well called them house Redflag. I remember reading "Clash" and "Storm" and thinking to myself "Why is Robb trusting these guys when they're so obviously evil" and I assumed that twist would be that they're actually loyal to Robb and are just being a little weird. How wrong was I.
Domeric: "Hey... dad... have you seen our banners?" Roose: "What? No! ... A bit..." Domeric: "They've got *flayed men* on them." Roose: "I don't, um..." Domeric: "... Are *we* the baddies?"
Yeah, there are so many moments like that in the series that appear grim and realistic but after a while makes you question how the world really functions lol. Like the Ghiscaris are absolute monsters and everyone's the same!
I said this in another video, but I recently came to believe that Ramsay is a symbol of who Roose really is on the inside. The cold calm personality is partially an act. We all know, behind closed doors, Roose is just as crazy as Ramsay, only better at hiding it. We see Roose show anger for the first time at the end of ADWD. He’s losing control, mask is slipping. I wonder if we’ll see the mask fall off completely in TWOW.
That's why I think he leeches himself, so that he can control his emotions when he wants to skin alive in the moment. Hells the story he tells Theon about how he forced himself on the miller girl whilst her husband hung from the tree is pretty sadistic.
@@theArab__I think we’ll get TWOW but no chance the series is ever finished. He’d have to have been writing both at the same time with his HotD stuff and tons of other projects.
@fantasyhaven1 I've only watched a few of your videos so far (after your collab with Quinn), but I can already tell you're a fiend for those little book details. Like in your House Tyrell vid I noticed you gave Renly his green eyes and jade stag crown. Books > show
Someone should write a skit about how the red wedding plans went down from their side. I can imagine how funny it must have been to them, for Rob to fall for it.
Not gonna lie, after hearing what the Starks occasionally did to the main, male lines of some of their previous rivals in the North, (wiping them out, sometimes taking their daughters hostage and married for blood ties) it always amazes me how House Bolton somehow got off the hook. Especially when you hear about how much worse they were as rivals than just about any other rival/competitors the Starks had. They decimated all the male descendants, as well as the animla companions, of the Warg King and took his daughters as their wives, (as I explained earlier) partly due to wanting that Warg/Greenseer power for themselves to be even more special than the other lords and petty kings in the North. But the Boltons? Who flayed Stark King's, their sons, allies and the likes for centuries? Nah, they just kept on doing whatever. Keep in mind, I don't think anyone should wipe out Houses completely out of convenience, even if out of vengeance for something, but the fact the Boltons are just chilling after hearing all about these other cool houses that, in some cases, were just done dirty (like the Halloways under Maegors reign) and annihilated fully just seems wrong to me. Life ain't always fair, but... damn man, that's insane.
I don’t think every Bolton is bad, the last red king helped the sharks defeat the andals. History always remembers the worst things instead of the good!
@nathanhursey6779 Oh, I agree they had some good people among them. As I said, I'd rather no house get wiped out at all. Just saying, Boltons have a track record compared to the previous House's that the Starks and other houses have ended.
@fantasyhaven1 Yeah, probably 😅 Boltons got some insane stuff in their history. But, as the other guy said, Boltons have come to the rescue at times... or at least the one time
I lone the Bolton aesthetics is so edge but cool at the same time. I think Whycreate put it best “house Bolton is like vampire mixed with werewolf hunters”
In the Blue Winter Rose supposedly after Bales son (Lord Stark) grows up he kills Bale at the Frozen Fjord but then Lord Stark was supposedly killed by by one of his lords with his skin being peeled off and worn as a cloak. I wonder if the Boltons made their way into the Stark lineage…
Even though he killed Robb, there's a lot about Roose that I find intriguing. & there's one particular piece of artwork out there that makes Roose look almost vampiric. On the channel "DavidReadsASoIaF" he voices Roose's lines in exactly the voice I'd imagine Roose having. Such an enigmatic character.
I find the absence of the Boltons in the last several hundreds years of ASOIAF history somewhat questionable. They are a powerful house in the North so you'd think they would at least warrant a mention at some point in the last 300 years beyond just Barba Bolton. Nothing about any Lord Bolton during the Troubles or the Dance or Reymond Redbeard's invasion. Nothing about Roose Bolton's father or any siblings or of-course his first wife. I wonder if GRRM just lost interest in House Bolton or if he's left them out because more about them is intended to be revealed in the struggles yet to be resolved in the North during the main story.
Great video as always Lord Haven keep it up! Kind of niche but I think a look into all the weird islands and isles that surround Westeros (I.e. Skagos, the Three Sisters, the Stepstones, etc) and the kind of lifestyle and culture these small dots on the map have and how they affect the westerosi mainland.
Great video! I learned a few new things about the Boltons that I was previously unaware of from this upload. Roose is definitely a more interesting character than his sadistic, bastard son Ramsay. Top notch MS paint as always!!! Thanks for the informative entertainment :)
How many Frey's still alive at Winterfell know that Roose was involved in the planning of the Red Wedding? Ramsey doesn't need a king to legitimize him if Roose claims him. In theory, Ramsey would only need a king's declaration if his father refused to recognize him. It seems like Roose is setting Ramsey up somehow. Is it possible that Roose is setting himself up to look like a victim of Lannister's/Ramsey? He's up to something, for sure. I don't know if he will succeed, though, since he isn't one of the snowmen on the wall. I feel like Lady Dustin is going to be a part in it. Like maybe she is going to help Roose survive if Roose gives her Ramsey to bring to northern justice or something. I don't know! But Lady Dustin would NEVER being the same house, let alone the same room as Ramsey without some really strong personal reason was my impression. These pre-released chapters aren't in order...there are some missing in between them. All that weird crap with Theon hanging in a room with Stannis...wtf? THAT was shadey as all hell. Like the WHOLE chapter. Stannis talking all that crap in front of Theon, making SURE the birds stayed in the room...even talking to them! Asha Greyjoy talking sheet to Stannis-it ALL feels like an intentionally set scene for someone NOT in the room but who is known to be listening. I'm probably wrong but my brain says something crazy is afoot. If Roose has a plan, and he succeeds in it, his downfall would almost have to be Lady Stoneheart.
Interesting channel. I'm glad you made this based on the books rather than the show. As much as I love the show, the books are just so much more lively in my opinion. George does a great job of making this fictional place come alive. I'd be interested in an exploration of the Iron Islands and why they are so different from the mainlanders (ie: economy, ecology, theology, etc). How are they able to create a sustainable existence, basically plundering the north and the westerlands? Seems that the mainland would prepare defenses for this inevitability. Always seemed like an odd addition to the world by George, especially considering where this is placed geographically (ie: west of Westros) the options for pillaging is limited. The Sisters seems a better situated location for options for this sort of behavior. The Sisters would also be interesting to explore. I only remember a brief stopover for Davos(?) in the books. But its been some years since I read them.
I would love to see a video on the Starks lords bannerman. Perhaps a single video about the Umbers, Karstatks, Cerwyns, et al. A video about any one of the houses would most likely be a thin gruel but a video about any number of the Northern houses taken all together would most like make for a hardy stew. I would be interested in knowing the rivalries between the various houses, how they came into service for the Starks and all the betrayals, ambitions and notable lords of the Northern houses in Service to the Starks.
The Boltons have some of my favorite House Words: "Our Blades Are Sharp" No bravado, no warning of supernatural happenings, just a simple statement of fact. One that has some scary implications.
The boltons are the ecample of why the southerners sees the northerners as savages, heathen and untrustworthy martial people, ned was the exception of the exception since even the old starks was prolly like the Bolton's in their cruelty and display of violence. And the boltons are extremely loyal, guys was vassals of the starks for thousand of years with just three major rebellion in the count, by the time of ned they are example vassals
Great Video u Mist say the boltons are one of the few Lords Who have the "Guts" to Rebel XD.... WE need a video about House crab i mean they say that this is a House of necromancers but thats Just rumors right?
Cool video but just asking are you still making those all houses in Westeros videos if so I can’t wait for the other ones riverlands, north, the vale, and the reach.
I personally like the theory that Theon is actually the 3rd Reek. This theory has it that Ramsay turned his sweet brother Domeric into the second Reek and Domeric/Reek was the one Ramsay switched places with to avoid being killed by the Stark's men.
I’d like to see a video about how TWOW will be about the end of the world. Volcanoes erupting like in Valeria, winter killing and disease everywhere. The sun will rise in the east and set in the west after the next book.
Boltons are proof ASOIAF is more of a fairytale than historical fiction. In a realistic world the Boltons would have been disowned a million times, yet here they still are
‘His use leeches earned Roose the epitaph ‘Lord Succ’, but after a number of disappearances and reports of agonized screaming from the Dreadfort, popular culture amended this to ‘The Leech Lord.’’
I know they are cartoonishly evil but they're so cool for whatever reason, the northern terror. Also, I would really love to see your take on the dreadfort or any other castles. I do not mind you using the show one though
The Boltons have always been my favorite house! I know there horrible I just think there scary and cool. I hope one Bolton makes it through the story but that probably won’t happen.
Call me crazy but.... Roose Bolton survives the books by simply taking all the food at winterfell and going scorched earth, heading back to the Dreadfort and making Fat Walda shit out kids he can offer to the White Walkers like Craster 😅
I'm not going to lie House Bolton has better art, ecstatics, and designs than House Stark. The Dreadfort seems to be a more formidable fortress than Winterfell.
2 adds and a mid roll wtf on an 8 min Windows Movie maker looking animation i'm probably going to have yt stop recommending your channel tbh thats egregiouus
I can't "improve" because RU-vid randomly decides how many ads each viewer gets. Some people will get 0, some people will get every mid-roll I include. It's not up to me
@@fantasyhaven1 this is news to me n I can only apologise for my ignorance perhaps screenshot my fist reply and email them to get their act together as you n your content shouldn't suffer due to their shortcomings
I know what he said. You’re to spy on me and keep his secrets. As if he had secrets. Sour Alyn, Luton, Skinner, and the rest, where does he think they came from? Can he truly believe they are his men? -Roose to Reek he trust him yeah lol
I always found it weird how the book goes on and on about Roose and thin almost non existent lips and Ramsay’s fat, wormy lips. I think they’re not related at all and Roose just got grifted by some peasant woman. By the way, do we even know if Ramsay’s mother is still alive or any hints that she might show up later in the story?
Domeric will forever be a character that I'll always be interested in. There's little information on him, but from what little info that we have it seems like he was a good lad, a sharp contrast to his cruel and cold father. I wonder what kind of relation he had with Roose. Also one personal thing. Around 3:18 a new music piece starys playing, and I've been looking for its name for AGES. Recently I even started thinking that I just made it up and it didn't actually exist because I couldn't find the videos where I heard it. So does anyone know what its called? I'd be eternaly greatful. Edit: I have found it in the link in description. Took some time to find but it was worth. Finally, after all these years! It's called ,,The Pyre" if anyone was interested. Thank you for helping me find this lost piece Fantasy Haven. If I could subscribe twice, I would.
I’ve seen the theory Domeric may actually have been the son of Bethany Ryswell and Brandon Stark, and really it was she and Brandon that used to fool around together in their youth. While Lady Dustin was only claiming ownership of the young love affair with Brandon and his taking her maidenhead to shield her sister’s reputation. And this could be why Domeric was so completely different from the rest of his family, and also why he could command and ride a horse well enough to even rival Lyanna Stark. I know Stark genes are very distinct but other stronger genes override theirs, as we see with the Stark children mostly having the Tully appearance. So it’s possible the same is true with Domeric.
@@laileleneirose7966or perhaps cuz he was less under influence of roose? As he wasn't so Psychologically affected by him, & he has been squiring here & there such as his aunt or lord so he was taking lessons more from them... Jaime is a better version of himself when he's away from cersie or tywin Is it condition that good people don't exist in house of bad people? Or having bad father? Anyone can be a good horserider it's not genetic
So the Boltons have white irises? I remember that Roose has them in the books but I didn’t realize that was a hereditary trait of their house. The surviving Starks need to drive them out of the North.
Bro i just wanna say, that you are really good content creator, as a viewer i can feel your passion and investment regarding GOT. Unfortunaly you are a "little late to the party", regarding the hype of the topic. You doing great, keep it up👍
Love your videos man keep up the good work ! Would love a video on the Royces, this house sounds so epic but we don't have that much lore in the books about them
