The Tullys of Riverrun are a Great House in Westeros at the beginning of Game of Thrones, and a Tully woman named Catelyn Stark (née Tully) is married into House Stark of Winterfell. She provides an interesting perspective about her homeland, beginning with how they worship the Seven, unlike the Starks, who still keep the Old Gods.
Because Catelyn is Ned's wife, and Lord Hoster Tully's daughter, she swears by the Old Gods and the New in Game of Thrones. She is an amalgam of the traditional and the modern. It is in the wake of Ned's imprisonment and Robb's war against the Lannisters, that the Tullys and their seat, Riverrun, are given prominence. So, what happens when Riverrun is besieged, and more importantly, who aids the Lannisters in breaking the strength of House Tully?
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The First Siege Of Riverrun
The Riverlands Become A Battleground In The Lannister-Stark War
Riverrun sits at the confluence of the Red Fork of the Trident and the Tumblestone Rivers, making the Tully lands rich and fertile. An infamous noble House in the Riverlands sworn to Robb Stark's grandfather, Hoster Tully, is Frey. This family eventually causes the downfall of the Tullys, but are barely able to hold Riverrun in the long run. The Lannister-Stark relations worsen in Game of Thrones when Catelyn takes Tyrion "the Imp" of House Lannister (despised by his father and sister, Cersei) as captive for the attempted murders of her son, Bran Stark. Tywin Lannister fears Tyrion's captivity will sully their name.
By Game of Thrones season 1, episode 7 "You Win or You Die," word has reached Tywin, and he provides Jaime Lannister with an army of thirty-thousand to free Tyrion. This coincides with Ned Stark's imprisonment, Robert's assassination, and Joffrey Baratheon demanding that Robb ride to King's Landing to swear fealty to him. It should be noted that Tyrion frees himself by naming Bronn as his champion in a Trial by Combat at the Eyrie. At the Lannister encampment, Tywin tells, Jaime:
I'm giving you half of our forces. 30,000 men. And we'll bring that to Catelyn Stark's girlhood home, and remind her that Lannisters pay their debts.
Jaime does what he's told, he goes to the Riverlands with an army, marking the opening of hostilities of the War of the Five Kings. At the Stark's encampment near the Trident, Robb informs his bannermen in Game of Thrones season 1, episode 8 "The Pointy End" :
The Riverlords are falling back with Jaime Lannister at their heels, and Lord Tywin is bringing around a second Lannister army from the South. Our scouts confirm it's even larger than the Kingslayer's.
Robb realizes he needs to bolster his numbers and that the support of House Frey is vital to victory. The Starks declare an all-out war against the Lannisters, and Jaime wins at the Golden Tooth. He lays siege to Riverrun, but Robb won't sit by. The Northmen are deeper into the south, they have crossed the Neck, and plan to break Jaime's siege of Riverrun. They need to cross the Trident and the only crossing is controlled by Lord Walder and the Freys.
The Starks Lift The Siege
What Is The Battle Of The Camps?
Catelyn visits Lord Walder Frey to ask for his permission to use the Crossing. After initial reluctance, he agrees on conditions that the heir to Winterfell, Robb, must marry a Frey girl, and Arya must marry his son, Waldron when they come of age. Robb consents and Lord Walder lets him use the bridge. The real battle - of Whispering Wood commences and Jaime is taken captive. Ned, in the meantime, is executed by the unhinged Joffrey, and Robb is no longer warden but King in the North by Game of Thrones season, episode 10 "Fire and Blood." Tywin's brother, Kevan, thinks it's best to sue for peace:
Jaime captured, his armies scattered. It's a catastrophe. Perhaps we should sue for peace.
The Battle of the Camps takes place after the Battle of Whispering Wood. It breaks the Lannisters' grip on Riverrun in a surprise nighttime attack. Tywin retreats to Harrenhal in Game of Thrones' "Fire and Blood" and tasks his loyalist, Gregor Clegane aka the Mountain, "to set the Riverlands on fire from Gods Eye to the Red Fork."
The Second Siege Of Riverrun
What Happens To Ser Brynden The Blackfish?
The Second Siege of Riverrun takes place long after Robb and Catelyn's assassinations in Game of Thrones. The Stark and Tully armies were butchered at the Red Wedding, held at the Twins, and the Lord of Riverrun, Edmure, remains the Frey's prisoner. Catelyn's uncle, Ser Brynden Tully aka the Blackfish, who'd escaped the Red Wedding massacre, reforms the Tully army and retakes Riverrun. Many changes have taken place at King's Landing and in House Lannister. Joffrey was poisoned at his wedding feast, and Tyrion shot Tywin with a crossbow. Cersei's youngest, Tommen, is king, and he is married to Margaery of House Tyrell. Meanwhile, the Crown and the Faith are now inseparable.
In Game of Thrones season 6, episode 6 "Blood of My Blood," Tommen dismisses Jaime as Lord Commander of the Kingsguard and orders him to lead the Crown's army to the Riverlands. The Freys' siege of Riverrun is a disaster, and Jaime takes command. He orders Lothar and Black Walder to have Edmure bathed and fed. Jaime's right hand, Bronn, teaches the Frey men to dig trenches while he wants a parley with the enemy. The Blackfish refuses to change his stand:
As long as I am standing, the war is not over. This is my home. I was born in this castle and I am ready to die in it. So you can either attack or starve us out. We have enough provisions for two years.
Meanwhile, ahead of Game of Thrones' Battle of the Bastards, Brienne of Tarth is directed by Sansa to ask the Blackfish for help in the fight against the Boltons. She and Podrick reach the Lannister encampment and Brienne makes Jaime an offer. She will try to get the Blackfish and the Tully host to surrender Riverrun in exchange for a safe passage to the north. When that fails, Jaime gets around by using Edmure as a pawn and threatens to kill him, his wife, and his son. Because Edmure is the Lord of Riverrun, he orders that the gates of the castle be opened to him. He is let in, and the Lannister and the Frey armies follow. The Blackfish refuses to escape with Brienne and fights for Riverrun till his last breath:
I haven't had a proper sword fight in years. I expect I'll make a damn fool of myself.
Game of Thrones
Game of Thrones, based on the Song of Ice and Fire book series by George R.R. Martin, tells the sprawling story of warring families in Westeros. This includes the Starks, the Lannisters, the Baratheons, and the Targaryens. Along with human conflicts, Westeros is also threatened by the re-emergence of dragons, and an undead enemy from beyond the Wall.
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