Castle | Inktober #14

Hello Thrones Amino!!

The prompt for this post of #Inktober2023 is Castle. I decided for this prompt I wanted to find some theories about the castle of Harrenhal and give my opinion on them. I've only done one theory post in the past and that was Bran theories but I thought it a fun idea to bring the theorys back and Harrenhal is one of the most interesting castles so I wanted to see what theories I could find on it.

Arya Lady of Harrenhal during the Long Night

Alright so this theory I found on tumblr. The theory is for the books as obviously the show has ended and this did not happen. So during the Long Night the Northerns that won't be fighting such as the women and children will have to flee somewhere south. This theory suggests that they take residence in Harrenhal and Arya Stark becomes the Lady of Harrenhal during the Long Night.

I think this theory stems from Aryas time in Harrenhal in the early series days. Though whilst I can understand the s thought process, I think it unlikely. Seeing how quickly the army moves. I don't think there will be enough time to safely flee South and to Harrenhal, however if they did. I see it being Sansa as the Lady of Harrenhal during the Long Night moreso than Arya as I do believe like the show, she will be helping fighting.

Harrenhal was inspired by the real life castle, Coucy.

This suggests a theory linking the castle to life. The castle has a large scale just like Harrenhal. However both castle were a victim to destruction. Harrenhal by dragons and Coucy to Germans blowing it up with tons of explosives at the end of WWI.

Coucy had the largest keep of any castle in the world. It was taller than any other keep, and probably broader than any as well, a true giant. It’s walls were over 20 feet (6 meters) thick. Coucy also had 5 towers (counting the central keep), just like Harrenhal.

It may have looked like this back in its glory days.

Now this theory is a little different however I can believe it. Most asoiaf fans call all agree that George was greatly inspired by historical events and we can see that in his work, so I have no reason to disagree that Harrenhal had some inspiration from the Coucy Castle.

Bran will Rule from Harrenhal

The theory is simply what the title is. The believes that Bran rather than remaining in Kingslanding like every other ruler will go to Harrenhal and make it the centre of the Kingdoms and will rule from there. The also added they believe this because of its proximity to the Isle of Faces.

I like this theory a lot. I think it's not strange to think traditions of Kingslanding being the home to the crown will be broken and Harrenhal represents the Targaryens coming in a way so why not move the King there to represent the end of the Targaryens. It also makes sense to me that Bran would want a seat close to the Isle of Faces.

That is all the theories I will be discussing today. I am interested to hear everyones opinions on them and what you think and if you agree with my opinion on any of them so feel free to comment.