In this episode of the podcast, Liz takes listeners on a tour of the Reach, a pivotal region in the 'A Song of Ice and Fire' series. The Reach is presented as not only the agricultural heartland of Westeros but also a center of chivalry and historical significance. Liz starts with the geography of the Reach, noting the importance of the Mander and Honeywine rivers, the defensive Shield Islands, and the Arbor's vineyards. She recounts the history of House Gardener, the ancient rulers of the Reach, and the Tyrell family's ascent to power after the Targaryen conquest.
Liz delves into the Reach's complex noble lineage, spotlighting House Tyrell and the intricate alliances formed through marriages. Although some characters from the novels did not appear in the television adaptation, their narratives and influence in the books remain critical to the region's dynamics. The episode promises further exploration of the political and social intricacies of the Reach's noble families in future installments.
In the first chapter, Liz paints a vivid picture of the Reach's fertile lands and historic families. She also references House Florent's overlooked role and how marital connections shape the political landscape. The next chapter offers a closer look at the family ties within the Reach, such as the union between Mace Tyrell and Alerie Hightower.
Liz warns of potential spoilers for those not familiar with the novels or upcoming adaptations. She emphasizes the Reach's abundant population, strategic importance, and historical conflicts with Dorne. The Reach's role in creating chivalric traditions and hosting grand tournaments is highlighted, along with the political struggles that arise from the Tyrells' somewhat tenuous claim to power.
In conclusion, Liz encourages audience interaction through thewesteroseeprimer.com and invites feedback on the Reach's portrayal and its noble houses' quest for power.
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Welcome to another episode of The Westerosi Primer. My name is Liz. And in this episode, I will be talking about the Reach. I’ll be discussing some of the notable people, places, and historical events that happened in the garden and bread basket of Westeros.
Before I start the discussion, there are a couple of things to note. First there will be some potential spoilers for people who have not read the novels in the “A Song of Ice and Fire” saga. There may also be potential spoilers for House of the Dragon and other shows that may be adapted by Max in the future. So if you’re okay with this, then please continue listening.
Second, this will not be a definitive episode of everything about the Reach as there really is a lot of information about all the notable houses mentioned in the novels and the additional information written by George R. R. Martin and collected by various fans including the contributors of Westeros.org.
Throughout this season of the Westerosi Primer, I will be using information gathered from the novel series, Westeros.org, The World of Ice and Fire, and The Lands of Ice and Fire. Check out the full show notes and other links located on this show’s website: thewesterosiprimer.com With that said, let’s begin!
The Reach is understandably a land with plenty of people living in it due to the fertile and bountiful crops grown there. To the west is the Sunset Sea. Northwest is the Westerlands. To the east and southeast are the Stormlands. To the south is Dorne. Famously the Roseroad links Oldtown to King’s Landing and the Ocean Road links Highgarden to Lannisport.
The Mander River is a large and very important river that flows in the Reach. As mentioned in Episode 2, House Manderly has ties to the lands of the Reach as indicated by their name. The Honeywine is another important river which starts near Brightwater Keep and ends at Oldtown. There are also islands of note in the Reach. The four Shield islands act as warnings for any suspicious ships like that of the Ironborn approaching the wealthy lands of the Reach. The Arbor is another important island famous for its wine, the Arbor Gold, which is mentioned quite a bit in the novels and often drunk by characters in the TV show.
Before the Targaryens flew over the skies of Westeros, House Gardener ruled the Reach. Stories say it began with a king called Garth Greenhand. Centuries later many noble houses of the Reach claim they descend from Garth Greenhand. Chivalry and rules in tournaments were created in the Reach. Like the Stormlanders, Reachmen fought with the Dornish over territory for centuries. Very little has changed in that respect considering how the Dornish are still viewed with some disdain. As happened in the other kingdoms, House Gardener lost their crown when the dragons arrived. Though unlike the other former kings, House Gardener was extinguished in the infamous Field of Fire.
House Tyrell gained where House Gardener burned to ash in the wind. House Tyrell began as stewards to the Gardeners of Highgarden. When King Mern IX and his Gardener kin died in the Field of Fire, Harlan Tyrell surrendered the castle to Aegon. In return, he was named Lord Paramount and Warden of the South despite other noble houses having stronger claims to the former throne of the Reach.
The Tyrells still feel some degree of inferiority over the fact that they didn’t have this ancient right to their position unlike other houses. This results in a lot of politics that happens within the Reach. In the tv show, we know Lady Olenna, Mace Tyrell, and his two children Loras and Margaery. However the novels included additional members of this house. Mace’s wife Alerie is very much alive. He also has two older sons than Loras, Willas and Garlan.
This I suspect means that House Tyrell will have some different endings to their storylines in the books due to the fact these two older sons exist. They likely have bigger roles to play than what happened in the TV show. As I mentioned in episode 2, they have an interesting connection with other houses via Alerie Tyrell formerly Hightower. I’ll soon talk a bit more about the Hightowers.
House Florent of Brightwater Keep is a noble house of the Reach. They claim descent from House Gardener and they also claim descent from Garth Greenhand through their ancestor, Florys the Fox daughter of Garth Greenhand. This is why their sigil features a fox. One interesting thing to note is that there isn’t much discussion of this house in the TV show, which as I mentioned in the previous episode is a shame because this family has some interesting connections worth mentioning.
As we know and as I explained a bit in the previous episode, Stannis’ wife Selyse is a Florent. Their one child is the unfortunate Shireen. Selyse’s deceased father is actually one of four brothers. His eldest brother Lord Alester Florent had three children. One of whom is a daughter named Melessa. She married a lord named Randyll Tarly.
And if that name is familiar to you Game of Thrones viewers, you’ll recall that Jon Snow’s best friend Samwell is a Tarly. In fact he is the son of Randyll and Melessa. Which means when Stannis and his family were at the Wall, they were also there with their second cousin, Samwell. Bit of a shame in my opinion that this familial relationship was never included or noted in the show.
Another interesting story I’ll mention before I move to the next house is about another branch of the Florent family. Another one of Selyse’s uncles is Ser Colin Florent. Of his three children is a daughter named Delena. I mention her specifically because at Stannis and Selyse’s wedding, the newly wedded couple headed off to their bedchambers to consummate their marriage.
Unfortunately they discover that a drunken Robert is having sex with a woman who was definitely not his wife Cersei. He was in fact having relations with Selyse’s maiden cousin, Delena. And then nine months later, she has a baby named Edric. And if this name sounds familiar I mentioned him in the previous episode when I talked about a boy named Edric Storm being raised at Storm’s End.
House Tarly is a noble house of the Reach. They claim descent from House Gardener as well. They claim they are descendants of Garth Greenhand through his two sons who loved a woodwitch who lived with them in a castle they built called Horn Hill. And as mentioned in the TV show, they do have a Valyrian steel sword called Heartsbane. They live in the Dornish Marches.
I already discussed what the Dornish Marches are in the previous episode. Of course the most notable members of this house are Samwell Tarly and his father Randyll. As I mentioned just before, Sam’s mother was a Florent. Interestingly Randyll Tarly was one the only people who defeated Robert in battle during Robert’s Rebellion.
House Hightower of Oldtown is another noble house of the Reach. They are among the oldest families as they also claim descent from Garth Greenhand through one of his children. As we saw in House of the Dragon, their house words are “we light the way.” They have a Valyrian steel sword named Vigilance. Their castle is called the Hightower. They are also major supporters of the Faith of the Seven, which again we also see evidence in House of the Dragon. The Hightower, as the name suggests, is a fortress that famously has a large signal tower. The flame can change to green color to signify a call to arms, which we saw references in episode five of House of the Dragon season 1. As mentioned in episode 2, there are claims the Hightower was built by Bran the Builder.
Oldtown is one of the five great cities of Westeros. Aside from the Hightower, this city is also famous for two other important buildings: The Citadel and the Stary Sept. The Citadel is actually complex of buildings where all maesters get their training. It is in essence a university in Westeros. The citadel receives funding from Oldtown’s taxes and fees paid by lords for the services of their maesters. Maesters regularly make their appearances in the novels and the TV shows.
The Starry Sept is basically a cathedral for the Faith of the Seven. This sept hosted many major ceremonies including coronations of kings in Westeros until later the Sept of Baelor was constructed in King’s Landing.
There are of course many notable Hightowers throughout Westerosi history. I previously mentioned two sisters Alerie and Lynesse marrying into House Tyrell and Mormont respectively. We of course are familiar with more members of house Hightower in House of the Dragon.
House Beesbury of Honeyholt is another noble house in the Reach who also claims decent from Garth Greenhand. They have First Men origins as well. There have been a few notable members of house Beesbury mentioned in Westerosi history. However the most notable one to you listeners is Lord Lyman Beesbury who was the master of Coin for Jaehaerys I and King Viserys I. As you would have remembered from House of the Dragon, he tragically is killed by Criston Cole for refusing to recognize Aegon as the king over his sister Rhaenyra. Suffice it to say, his house sided with her in the Dance.
House Redwyne of the Arbor is another old house descended from Garth Greenhand. As mentioned earlier, they rule the Arbor which is famous for its wine. Also as an island holding, the Redwynes have a notable armada of ships both for war and trade. Of course there have been many Redwynes participating in various events in Westerosi history, but the most notable ones are of course included in Game of Thrones. Before her marriage, Olenna Tyrell was Olenna Redwyne. Her nephew Paxter Redwyne is the Lord of the Arbor. He marries Olenna’s daughter Mina Tyrell. They and their children appear in the novels, but not in the TV show.
And that just about covers the basics of whose who in the Reach. If you’re interested in finding out more for yourself about any of these houses and other people and places I didn’t discuss in this episode, feel free to go to the full show notes where I will have links. Though be aware if you do any of this research there will be spoilers to the novels and some possible material covered in the future seasons of House of the Dragon.
Thank you for listening and tune in to the next episode where we travel to a region famous for its wealthy gold mines. They certainly need the riches from those mines to pay off their debts.