Robb Stark

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Robb Stark
A Song of Ice and Fire character
File:Robb Stark-Richard Madden.jpg
Richard Madden as Robb Stark
First appearance Novel:
A Game of Thrones (1996)
Television:
"Winter Is Coming" (2011)
Last appearance Novel:
A Storm of Swords (2000)
Television:
"The Rains of Castamere" (2013)
Created by George R. R. Martin
Portrayed by Richard Madden
Game of Thrones
Information
Title Lord of Winterfell
King in the North
Family House Stark
Spouse(s) Jeyne Westerling (book)
Talisa Maegyr (tv-series)
Children Eddard Stark (unborn child on tv-series)
Relatives Ned Stark (father)
Catelyn Stark (mother)
Bran Stark (brother)
Sansa Stark (sister)
Arya Stark (sister)
Rickon Stark (brother)
Jon Snow (paternal half-brother)
Kingdom The North

Robb Stark, is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones.

Introduced in 1996's A Game of Thrones, Robb is the eldest son of Eddard Stark, the honorable lord of Winterfell, an ancient fortress in the North of the fictional kingdom of Westeros. He subsequently appeared in Martin's A Clash of Kings (1998) and A Storm of Swords (2000).

Robb is portrayed by Richard Madden in the HBO television adaptation.[1][2][3]

Character description

Robb is fourteen years old at the beginning of A Game of Thrones (1996). He is the eldest son of Eddard "Ned" Stark and his wife Catelyn, and has five siblings: Bran, Sansa, Arya, Rickon, and the illegitimate brother Jon Snow. Robb is constantly accompanied by his direwolf, Grey Wind.

Robb is the eldest legitimate son of Lord Eddard Stark, and heir to Winterfell. When Lord Eddard relocates to King's Landing to become the King's Hand, Robb remains at Winterfell to rule in his father's stead. When Eddard is beheaded by Ser Ilyn Payne, Robb declares himself King in the North rather than swear fealty to the Lannister king, Joffrey Baratheon, drawing the banners of the north and of the riverlands to his cause. Despite winning every military conquest against the Lannisters, he is betrayed and murdered by Walder Frey at the wedding of his uncle, Edmure Tully, to Frey's daughter Roslin.

Overview

Robb Stark is not a point of view character in the novels, so his actions are witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of other people, such as his mother and Theon Greyjoy. Robb is mostly a background character in the novels.[4]

Reception

The Scottish actor Richard Madden has received positive reviews for his role as Robb Stark in the tv-series.[5]

Storylines

File:Stark Coat of Arms.png
Coat of arms of House Stark

A Game of Thrones

When his father leaves for King's Landing to be made King Robert Baratheon's Hand, Robb becomes acting Lord of Winterfell. After his father's arrest for presumed treason, he marches south with an army to free his father. To secure control of a vital bridge, Robb consents to marry one of Walder Frey's daughters. After crossing, he destroys the Lannister army besieging Riverrun. Upon hearing of his father's execution, Robb is crowned 'King in the North', and invades Tywin Lannister-controlled realm of the Westerlands in A Game of Thrones (1996).

A Clash of Kings

During this raid, Robb is wounded and falls in love with his nurse, Jeyne Westerling. When he marries her, House Frey leaves his army. Robb continues to win victories against the Lannister army. He earns the nickname "The Young Wolf" for his ferocity in battle in A Clash of Kings (1998).

A Storm of Swords

Robb then returns to the Twins to repair the alliance, but he, his mother, his direwolf, and his army are all killed in an event known as "The Red Wedding" in A Storm of Swords (2000).

Later novels

Robb is mentioned a few times in the later novels.

Family tree of House Stark

TV adaptation

Robb Stark is played by Richard Madden in the television adaption of the series of books.[6] Due to the child characters' ages being increased, Robb's age is changed from 14 to 17 years old at the start of the series. Instead of marrying Jeyne Westering (as in the novels), he marries a healer from Volantis named Talisa Maegyr, who is also slaughtered during the Red Wedding.

Storylines

Robb Stark is the eldest son of Eddard and Catelyn Stark and the heir to Winterfell. His dire wolf is called Grey Wind. Robb becomes involved in the war against the Lannisters after his father, Ned Stark, is arrested for treason. Robb summons his bannermen for war against House Lannister and marches to the Riverlands. Eventually, crossing the river at the Twins becomes strategically necessary. To win permission to cross, Robb agrees to marry a daughter of Walder Frey, Lord of the Twins. Robb leads the war effort against the Lannisters and successfully captures Jaime. After Ned is executed, the North and the Riverlands declare their independence from the Seven Kingdoms and proclaim Robb as their new King, "The King in The North".

He wins a succession of battles in Season 2, earning him the nickname the Young Wolf. However, he feels that he botched the political aspects of war. He sends Theon to the Iron Islands hoping that he can broker an alliance with Balon Greyjoy, Theon's father. In exchange for Greyjoy support, Robb as King in the North will recognize the Iron Islands' independence. He also sends his mother Catelyn to deal with Stannis Baratheon and Renly Baratheon, both of whom are fighting to be the rightful king. Theon and Catelyn fail in their missions, and Balon launches an invasion of the North. Robb falls in love with Talisa Maegyr, a healer from Volantis due to her kindness and spirit. Despite his mother's protest, Robb breaks his engagement with the Freys and marries Talisa in the 2nd season finale. On news of his grandfather, Lord Hoster Tully's, death, Robb and his party travel north to Riverrun for the funeral, where the young king is reunited with his great-uncle, Brynden Blackfish, and his uncle, Edmure Tully, the new lord of Riverrun. While at Riverrun, Robb makes the decision to execute Lord Rickard Karstark for the murders of two teenage squires related to the Lannisters, a decision that loses the support of the Karstarks and leads Robb to make the ultimately fatal decision to ask the Freys for their alliance. He is killed in the Red Wedding Massacre, after witnessing the murder of his pregnant wife and their child. Lord Bolton personally executes Robb, stabbing him through the heart while taunting that "the Lannisters send their regards", in fact a promise made to Jaime (who had no knowledge of Bolton's impending treason) when leaving for the Twins. His corpse is later decapitated and Grey Wind's head is sewn on and paraded around as the Stark forces are slaughtered by the Freys and the Boltons.

References

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