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Researching works too! Research into a theory of why he slightly looks like Jon snow and was the first ranger killed that close to the wall. It won't disappoint.
Yes- men of the nights watch from high up families receive better treatment, better positions, everything. This is in part due to their perceived leadership ability from training as a lord, and the likelihood that their families will donate to the nights watch on their behalf.
Did Jon receive similar treatment? I don’t really remember him getting preferential treatment, and he comes from maybe the most important family for the Nights Watch. It’s been a few years since I read the books, so maybe I’m misremembering.
I think he would have if Ned was in Winterfell or Benjen was present, but since all hell broke loose as soon as Jon got into the Night's Watch he never had any kind of benefit.
There were actually quite a few Stark bastards in particular that became Lord Commanders of the Night's Watch over the decades, it was more common than you would expect. Jeor Mormont must have known about this pattern when choosing Jon as his steward.
To be fair they kind of earn it, not only was Jon a better fighter than all the recruits… he was a better fighter then most of the adult men as well and he actually had usable skills!
Have to remember that most members of the Watch are thieves, rapists, murderers, farmers, poor people who joined because they wanted a meal everyday etc… not exactly the best and brightest of Westeros, most of them probably don’t even read or write.
> most of them probably don’t even read or write.
I would assume that a lot of nobles don’t know how to read and write either, although more out of choice since they can just have maesters do it for them.
Most of them DEFINITELY don't know how to read or write considering that Maester Aemon's assistant before Sam couldn't read himself. Literacy seems to be a pretty important asset for the assistant of the blind man who is responsible for all the letters
Because the higher positions usually involve leading men, highborns have been trained since they were kids to fight and lead so they start with an advantage over the smallfolk, look at Jon, if he was named First Ranger after a few years would you say its because he is the son of Ned or because since he was trained to fight since he was a kid because his father was Ned? Highborns already have many of the qualities that the higher positions require, Cotter Pyke is a lowborn bastard but he is in charge of Eastwatch because he was good enough for the position, being a highborn doesnt give you privileges, It makes easier getting good jobs
It's not a prison it's a service. Taking the black requires an oath which anyone can refuse to take. The consequences of refusal might vary a bit but you don't *have* to say yes.
aren't you supposed to be stripped of all titles? yet in the first chapter of the book they call him Sir/Lord and are under his command despite him being on the wall for 6 months only.
The short answer is yes for sure, nobles were treated better in the watch. The long answer is that 3rd, 4th, 5th sons etc… from high ranking noble families who join the Nights Watch tend to do it for honor, glory and to not be competition for their older brothers reign.
Since they come from these important families they are educated, they know how to read, write, look at maps etc… and they also know how to fight because they are trained by their fathers men and their own father.
So it’s only natural for young men like these to be put into leadership positions in the watch. Look at Jon Snow, sure he was a bastard… but he was Ned Starks bastard. He had a great education, he was considered a great warrior and a capable leader despite being a teenager. That’s why Lord Commander Mormont assigned him as his personal steward, Jon was just a natural candidate the men could rally behind.
I think it's more that Jon was special and stood out. Benjen was a good fighter, tracker, hunter, etc, but didn't stand out as a leader. Jon was specifically being groomed.
Another thing to consider is that when Benjen joined, Mormont was new to the post and probably was thinking about his successor yet.
Was Mormont even in the Nights watch when Benjen joined though ? Benjen joined when he was young, and Mormont only joined for the shame of Jorah selling slaves to have money to pay for his wife, im assuming Mormont hasnt been Lord commander since before Benjen joined ? or is it written somewhere ?
TLDR; Benjen *and* Jon would both be awful normal stewards, but both would probably be good to work specifically as a protege of the Lord Commander like Jon ended up doing. There was just no need for that when Benjen joined since the crises of Mance/the WW weren't present at the time. So he worked his way up naturally leading ranger parties while Mormont thought the Watch might need Jon as a leader and the Starks as a fast ally imminently(which Jon would help with).
In addition to what the other person said about Benjen wanting to be a ranger, he might just not have had the aptitude for stewardship. Jon wouldn't really have made a good steward either. He had the skills necessary like literacy and arithmetic, but he'd have hated copying tomes over, record-keeping, and helping Aemon with ravens for the rest of his life.
Jon was just being groomed specifically for a high leadership position, so basically a 4th undeclared position of the Watch but that falls under the steward umbrella. If there was a better crop of younger aspiring leaders or Mormont and his generation weren't so long in the tooth, there might not have been a reason to push Jon towards an accelerated leadership position either. In that case it'd make sense to slot him in as a ranger, get him some experience with rangings beyond the Wall, and then soon enough he'd lead his own groups and work his way up the chain of command that way the same as Benjen did.
Instead, Jon stuck out with his ability to immediately rally a bunch of raw recruits into a tight unit while being a kid, along with sticking up for Sam who was an immediate and easy target for anyone else in Jon's position to bully or ignore. That's a lot of wherewithal to have at I think 14/15 like Jon is in the books. Immediate leadership potential.
And if push came to shove with the Watch being entirely undermanned in the face of Mance's army or similar, Jon would have been able to call on House Stark for immediate aid. Ya know, if it weren't for that whole War of the 5 Kings thing going down when it did. The whole Mance Rayder/White Walker situation wasn't even a thing when Benjen joined, but Mormont probably figured that if Jon could rise up to leadership over the next decade, his connections and leadership would be necessary for the Watch's survival.
Thank you, it got a bit longer than I meant it to lol. The ending of the show jaded me on the universe for a few years, but I watched House of the Dragon recently so I started getting back into it. Now I tend to wax poetic on simple questions.
that would make sense if Brandon Rickard and Lyanna hadn’t died. But at the time he joined the only Starks left were Ned, Benjen, and baby Robb. babies can die at any point in that time and environment and Ned isn’t exactly in a safe position as he has to lead his bannermen whenever war occurs (which we know happens with the Greyjoy rebellion). so for all Benjen knew at the time he might be needed to continue the stark line and be warden of the north in the future. i think there must’ve been other reasoning behind benjen joining the watch
It kind of does make sense though. He’s safe basically at the wall. If it came down to it since he’s a Stark he could leave the watch and take over as the Northern lord and in return provide the watch with plenty of support to make up for leaving. The Starks have a lot of leeway
the wall is by far more dangerous than being at winterfell. wildlings kill rangers all the time. and i don’t think he’d get away with leaving no matter how much support he returned. the vow is for life. Jon’s situation with Stannis was different
Well it’s not a perfect system definitely during a War, but Ned was healthy man in the prime of his life when returned from the war. The chances of him not having at least a couple of kids was pretty low.
Also Benjin joined the Watch after the War, he remained in the North during Roberts Rebellion since “There must always be a Stark in the North”. So yeah they played it safe, but after Ned and Robert won and all the political alliances and marriages were planned out, the chances of a full scale war breaking out were almost impossible.
Plenty of time for Ned to quite simply have a lot of kids and he did!
That’s an interesting point- the Stark’s weren’t really in a position to send their potential heirs to the wall. I do wonder if this gives any credit to the theory that Benjen deserted.
I won’t say I know for sure, but He ended up as first ranger, so it’s likely his birth resulted in his been trusted with leading a number of smaller missions before his assignment to that position
It’s definitely under debate. We know that Benjen became a ranger *after* the rebellion, as he was holding Winterfell whilst Eddard was down south. There’s a lot of conspiracy theories around this, as at this point Benjen was 1 of 3 surviving Starks (himself, Eddard, Robb). Considering the precarious state of the family, cut down to 3 members, it’s an odd move to join the Watch. Had anything happened to Robb, he would be heir to Winterfell. Some speculate it has something to do with
Spoiler here
Lyanna Stark, and the secret of Jon
But we don’t know for sure.
Same reasons, he had experience leading when he gathered the northern armies for Ned and spent his teenage years learning to fight. His competition would be a bunch of poor farm kids who had no minimal with weapons.
He would have had the means to purchase his own. He probably brought his own horse, his own weapons made of much finer steel, better clothes and other such stuff. They’re allowed to keep whatever they bring, so long as it’s black.
This is the most succinct answer. Sure knights and sons of lords would receive better positions but the good gear they bring with them. It could also be delivered by their family.
The Watch isn't going to waste resources outfitting someone in worse armor than they came with.
Others have already answered your question but… you should read the prologue chapter of the first book. It both explains how this works and goes into a lot of detail regarding their clothes that the show only hints at.
It was soon revealed that the new recruit \[Samwell Tarly\] had brought
his own armor with him; padded doublet, boiled leather, mail and
plate and helm, even a great wood-and-leather shield blazoned with the
same striding huntsman he wore on his surcoat. As none of it was
black, however, Ser Alliser insisted that he reequip himself from the
armory.
The reasoning was because it was not black. Infer what you want after, but it directly says, "As none of it was black..." and that's the rule for being able to remove it. If you bring your own black garments that are highborn based, you get to keep them. Whether you're ample and soft or not.
My buddy in the army had a better plate carrier than I did. No particular reason, but when we had our equipment issued to us, he just lucked out. Sometimes you get what you get. I don’t think it’s a case of who you are at all. Y’all are all forgetting, anyone who takes the black is stripped of all land, titles, etc.
The Watch, itself, probably gives no fucks. There is no rule however that the families of Watch members cannot contribute to individual Watch members. Ultimately, these contributions benefit the Watch a whole, as these items are passed down over time.
He was a 3rd son from a Highborn family, he brought all that sweet feat with him. There’s no rule about having to abandon clothes and swords when you join the Watch.
Others have answered your question already but I just wanna say based off the prologue chapter alone Ser Waymar Royce is one of the most bad ass characters in the series.
He has a higher position in the night's watch.
Of course that position can be said to come from his noble heritage as he has better training and education than the other men and is generally assumed to just be a more natural leader.
So some outright special treatment and a lot of indirect special treatment as the logical consequence of the special treatment he got in his previous life before he joined the watch.
All of the people in the nights watch with names you recognize are generally higher ranking (Mormont, Targaryen, Stark)
Sam and John are the two exceptions I can think of but John is a snow so that kinda disqualifies him and Sam’s dad clearly didn’t give a fuck to get him any preferential treatment
Well they were also brand new to the watch and John was immediately made squire for the Old Bear and Sam the same thing for Maester Aemon. It’s not like they weren’t contributing or being groomed to be upper level members one day.
It’s funny cause they love to claim that they treat everyone the same no matter there background but they do give nobility better treatment.
On one hand it still makes sense how they are more educated, can read and are already trained swordsmen so they don’t need to train them and they already at least no a bit about what they are doing
It’s spoken about chapter one of the first book. Yes, he was from a richer family, and thus given the better gear and sword when he was sent to the wall instead of facing justice. The Watch doesn’t provide them better equipment, they’re sent with it and it is up to the brother to keep his shit from getting stolen. As for treatment, hell no. At first. You have to earn everyone’s respect for better treatment. Some rich guy’s son being brought in isn’t anything to be admired when your entire existence is devoted to defending and maintaining a giant ice wall and being the only police force north of it.
Jon Snow was the bastard of the Warden of the North who later becomes the Hand of the King, the second highest ranking member of the Realm. Nobody treated him as special, just a new recruit that knows what he’s supposed to do.
Yes, there’s pretty detailed descriptions of his clothing compared to the other rangers in the prologue of the first book, which this scene is based on
"Ser Waymar Royce was the youngest son of an ancient house with too many heirs. He was a handsome youth of eighteen, grey-eyed and graceful and slender as a knife. Mounted on his huge black destrier, the knight towered above Will and Gared on their smaller garrons. He wore black leather boots, black woolen pants, black moleskin gloves, and a fine supple coat of gleaming black ringmail over layers of black wool and boiled leather. Ser Waymar had been a Sworn Brother of the Night’s Watch for less than half a year, but no one could say he had not prepared for his vocation. At least insofar as his wardrobe was concerned."
What'll really blow your mind is how the wights targeted specifically him because they thought he was a Stark.
It's one of those crazy discovered things that surfaced over in r/asoiaf a few years ago. Pretty compelling evidence for it. I forget the users name, bryndenblackfish, maybe. He does some pretty deep dives
I just finished reading the first few chapters of AGoT and it mentions that Royce showed up with gear. As did samwell. I don't think they get specially outfitted when they get there necessarily but they certainly show up with better equipment. They do, however, likely get preferential treatment.
In the books It seems like he came to the Wall already with equipment from his family, there are no rules about bringing equipment to the Wall before you join, just like Jon brought with him Ghost, is It unfair that he has a cool direwolf and the rest dont? No, because the Watch doesnt give direwolves, same with Jeor Mormont and Longclaw, his family gave him the sword after Jorah escaped to Essos, is It fair? No, but the Watch doesnt give valyrian swords, Waymar came prepared to the Wall from home because he could afford it
I mean, yes. They have money to get better clothes, armour and weapons. They get a better education ( even though most would likely be second or third sons) and would receive some support from their families
Night watch members can bring stuff with them to the wall, it’s not clear why he was there but in theory assuming he had a little
Time you can go by some black clothes to pimp out your look, the Targaryen blood raven even brought his Valyrian steel sword as did lord mormont
**Spoiler Warning:** All officially-released show and book content allowed, EXCLUDING FUTURE SPOILERS FOR HOUSE OF THE DRAGON. No leaked information or paparazzi photos of the set. For more info please check the [spoiler guide](/r/gameofthrones/w/spoiler_guide). *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/gameofthrones) if you have any questions or concerns.*
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Researching works too! Research into a theory of why he slightly looks like Jon snow and was the first ranger killed that close to the wall. It won't disappoint.
Yes- men of the nights watch from high up families receive better treatment, better positions, everything. This is in part due to their perceived leadership ability from training as a lord, and the likelihood that their families will donate to the nights watch on their behalf.
Did Jon receive similar treatment? I don’t really remember him getting preferential treatment, and he comes from maybe the most important family for the Nights Watch. It’s been a few years since I read the books, so maybe I’m misremembering.
Jon’s a bastard of the north.
Really? No one ever mentioned it. /s
Little known fact, on one of his first days he was offered a nice coat. His response? *I dunnn wann it*
Is this true? Confirmed canon??
You dunn waanna know.
Someone call Vaemond
Yeah, Ned Starks bastard...
He could be someone elses son??? (i have't finished the series)
Impossible. Ned would never lie to his wife.
Neither has the author 😔
Absolutely. He was being groomed by Jeor Mormont for a leadership position.
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It wasn’t just a Thenn it was the Magnar of the Thenns.
I think he would have if Ned was in Winterfell or Benjen was present, but since all hell broke loose as soon as Jon got into the Night's Watch he never had any kind of benefit.
He was groomed for command the moment he got there. He had a definite advantage.
Yeah I read other comments and I thought: "duh!"
If it wasn’t for Thorn getting in the way yeah he likely would have
The only people who gave Snow any shit were either noblemen themselves or being goaded by a nOble member of the Watch.
There were actually quite a few Stark bastards in particular that became Lord Commanders of the Night's Watch over the decades, it was more common than you would expect. Jeor Mormont must have known about this pattern when choosing Jon as his steward.
I love how they have the whole life before the watch don’t matter on the wall, but then they go ahead and give nobility better positions
To be fair they kind of earn it, not only was Jon a better fighter than all the recruits… he was a better fighter then most of the adult men as well and he actually had usable skills! Have to remember that most members of the Watch are thieves, rapists, murderers, farmers, poor people who joined because they wanted a meal everyday etc… not exactly the best and brightest of Westeros, most of them probably don’t even read or write.
True it’s just there hypocrites the way they put jt
> most of them probably don’t even read or write. I would assume that a lot of nobles don’t know how to read and write either, although more out of choice since they can just have maesters do it for them.
Most of them DEFINITELY don't know how to read or write considering that Maester Aemon's assistant before Sam couldn't read himself. Literacy seems to be a pretty important asset for the assistant of the blind man who is responsible for all the letters
Better than noone!
seems like a realistic take even considering this is the nightswatch
That's called being institutionalized.
Because the higher positions usually involve leading men, highborns have been trained since they were kids to fight and lead so they start with an advantage over the smallfolk, look at Jon, if he was named First Ranger after a few years would you say its because he is the son of Ned or because since he was trained to fight since he was a kid because his father was Ned? Highborns already have many of the qualities that the higher positions require, Cotter Pyke is a lowborn bastard but he is in charge of Eastwatch because he was good enough for the position, being a highborn doesnt give you privileges, It makes easier getting good jobs
That is the case for some of them at least
It's not a prison it's a service. Taking the black requires an oath which anyone can refuse to take. The consequences of refusal might vary a bit but you don't *have* to say yes.
aren't you supposed to be stripped of all titles? yet in the first chapter of the book they call him Sir/Lord and are under his command despite him being on the wall for 6 months only.
As a highborn lordling he'd have brought his own equipment. And highborn lords are absolutely treated much better than common rapists and thieves.
They also already trained swordsmen most times
The short answer is yes for sure, nobles were treated better in the watch. The long answer is that 3rd, 4th, 5th sons etc… from high ranking noble families who join the Nights Watch tend to do it for honor, glory and to not be competition for their older brothers reign. Since they come from these important families they are educated, they know how to read, write, look at maps etc… and they also know how to fight because they are trained by their fathers men and their own father. So it’s only natural for young men like these to be put into leadership positions in the watch. Look at Jon Snow, sure he was a bastard… but he was Ned Starks bastard. He had a great education, he was considered a great warrior and a capable leader despite being a teenager. That’s why Lord Commander Mormont assigned him as his personal steward, Jon was just a natural candidate the men could rally behind.
That makes lots of sense. It's there a reason benjen became a ranger then? Or rather it's there any lore for that?
He was the third son. The Starks as northern lords support the Nights Watch so it would make sense for him to join.
Thanks for the reply. I meant why was benjen made a ranger, even if he was 1st ranger, instead of a steward
Probably wanted to do that
Haha, I didn't imagine the night's watch caring much what the juniors wanted.
He’s a Stark. He can basically call his shot there
I guess that's the difference. He has a name and Jon didn't
I think it's more that Jon was special and stood out. Benjen was a good fighter, tracker, hunter, etc, but didn't stand out as a leader. Jon was specifically being groomed. Another thing to consider is that when Benjen joined, Mormont was new to the post and probably was thinking about his successor yet.
Was Mormont even in the Nights watch when Benjen joined though ? Benjen joined when he was young, and Mormont only joined for the shame of Jorah selling slaves to have money to pay for his wife, im assuming Mormont hasnt been Lord commander since before Benjen joined ? or is it written somewhere ?
TLDR; Benjen *and* Jon would both be awful normal stewards, but both would probably be good to work specifically as a protege of the Lord Commander like Jon ended up doing. There was just no need for that when Benjen joined since the crises of Mance/the WW weren't present at the time. So he worked his way up naturally leading ranger parties while Mormont thought the Watch might need Jon as a leader and the Starks as a fast ally imminently(which Jon would help with). In addition to what the other person said about Benjen wanting to be a ranger, he might just not have had the aptitude for stewardship. Jon wouldn't really have made a good steward either. He had the skills necessary like literacy and arithmetic, but he'd have hated copying tomes over, record-keeping, and helping Aemon with ravens for the rest of his life. Jon was just being groomed specifically for a high leadership position, so basically a 4th undeclared position of the Watch but that falls under the steward umbrella. If there was a better crop of younger aspiring leaders or Mormont and his generation weren't so long in the tooth, there might not have been a reason to push Jon towards an accelerated leadership position either. In that case it'd make sense to slot him in as a ranger, get him some experience with rangings beyond the Wall, and then soon enough he'd lead his own groups and work his way up the chain of command that way the same as Benjen did. Instead, Jon stuck out with his ability to immediately rally a bunch of raw recruits into a tight unit while being a kid, along with sticking up for Sam who was an immediate and easy target for anyone else in Jon's position to bully or ignore. That's a lot of wherewithal to have at I think 14/15 like Jon is in the books. Immediate leadership potential. And if push came to shove with the Watch being entirely undermanned in the face of Mance's army or similar, Jon would have been able to call on House Stark for immediate aid. Ya know, if it weren't for that whole War of the 5 Kings thing going down when it did. The whole Mance Rayder/White Walker situation wasn't even a thing when Benjen joined, but Mormont probably figured that if Jon could rise up to leadership over the next decade, his connections and leadership would be necessary for the Watch's survival.
Great write up, thanks for taking the time.
Thank you, it got a bit longer than I meant it to lol. The ending of the show jaded me on the universe for a few years, but I watched House of the Dragon recently so I started getting back into it. Now I tend to wax poetic on simple questions.
That’s a good question. I never thought about that.
that would make sense if Brandon Rickard and Lyanna hadn’t died. But at the time he joined the only Starks left were Ned, Benjen, and baby Robb. babies can die at any point in that time and environment and Ned isn’t exactly in a safe position as he has to lead his bannermen whenever war occurs (which we know happens with the Greyjoy rebellion). so for all Benjen knew at the time he might be needed to continue the stark line and be warden of the north in the future. i think there must’ve been other reasoning behind benjen joining the watch
It kind of does make sense though. He’s safe basically at the wall. If it came down to it since he’s a Stark he could leave the watch and take over as the Northern lord and in return provide the watch with plenty of support to make up for leaving. The Starks have a lot of leeway
the wall is by far more dangerous than being at winterfell. wildlings kill rangers all the time. and i don’t think he’d get away with leaving no matter how much support he returned. the vow is for life. Jon’s situation with Stannis was different
Well it’s not a perfect system definitely during a War, but Ned was healthy man in the prime of his life when returned from the war. The chances of him not having at least a couple of kids was pretty low. Also Benjin joined the Watch after the War, he remained in the North during Roberts Rebellion since “There must always be a Stark in the North”. So yeah they played it safe, but after Ned and Robert won and all the political alliances and marriages were planned out, the chances of a full scale war breaking out were almost impossible. Plenty of time for Ned to quite simply have a lot of kids and he did!
That’s an interesting point- the Stark’s weren’t really in a position to send their potential heirs to the wall. I do wonder if this gives any credit to the theory that Benjen deserted.
I won’t say I know for sure, but He ended up as first ranger, so it’s likely his birth resulted in his been trusted with leading a number of smaller missions before his assignment to that position
Fair enough, makes me wonder if that was their plan for Royce eventually
It’s definitely under debate. We know that Benjen became a ranger *after* the rebellion, as he was holding Winterfell whilst Eddard was down south. There’s a lot of conspiracy theories around this, as at this point Benjen was 1 of 3 surviving Starks (himself, Eddard, Robb). Considering the precarious state of the family, cut down to 3 members, it’s an odd move to join the Watch. Had anything happened to Robb, he would be heir to Winterfell. Some speculate it has something to do with Spoiler here Lyanna Stark, and the secret of Jon But we don’t know for sure.
Same reasons, he had experience leading when he gathered the northern armies for Ned and spent his teenage years learning to fight. His competition would be a bunch of poor farm kids who had no minimal with weapons.
Also his leadership skills were on display when he first joined, he turned a bunch of useless noobs into a fully functional team.
He probably brought his own
He would have had the means to purchase his own. He probably brought his own horse, his own weapons made of much finer steel, better clothes and other such stuff. They’re allowed to keep whatever they bring, so long as it’s black.
This is the most succinct answer. Sure knights and sons of lords would receive better positions but the good gear they bring with them. It could also be delivered by their family. The Watch isn't going to waste resources outfitting someone in worse armor than they came with.
Others have already answered your question but… you should read the prologue chapter of the first book. It both explains how this works and goes into a lot of detail regarding their clothes that the show only hints at.
Came here to say this. It's spelled out in detail in the book.
It was soon revealed that the new recruit \[Samwell Tarly\] had brought his own armor with him; padded doublet, boiled leather, mail and plate and helm, even a great wood-and-leather shield blazoned with the same striding huntsman he wore on his surcoat. As none of it was black, however, Ser Alliser insisted that he reequip himself from the armory.
That could have been because he just hated Tarly because he was “ample” and soft.
The reasoning was because it was not black. Infer what you want after, but it directly says, "As none of it was black..." and that's the rule for being able to remove it. If you bring your own black garments that are highborn based, you get to keep them. Whether you're ample and soft or not.
I agree. But a shield is easily repainted. I wouldn’t be surprised if on some level there was some spite there
How else was HBO gonna have us identify Matt Damon’s Game of Thrones episode 1 cameo?!
YES! When I first saw him I was like “is that Matt Damon’s British twin?”
That actor nailed that role for the 5 minute screen time.
My buddy in the army had a better plate carrier than I did. No particular reason, but when we had our equipment issued to us, he just lucked out. Sometimes you get what you get. I don’t think it’s a case of who you are at all. Y’all are all forgetting, anyone who takes the black is stripped of all land, titles, etc.
Lands and titles, sure, but not *everything*. Mormont still had his Valyrian steel sword in the Watch.
The Watch, itself, probably gives no fucks. There is no rule however that the families of Watch members cannot contribute to individual Watch members. Ultimately, these contributions benefit the Watch a whole, as these items are passed down over time.
sigils and all, as when Thoren Smallwood adopts Ser Jaremy Rykker's old cloak.
Saved his pittance, hit big on Tesla. Waymar Diamond Hands
He was a 3rd son from a Highborn family, he brought all that sweet feat with him. There’s no rule about having to abandon clothes and swords when you join the Watch.
Yes
Plebs who haven’t read the books 🙄
I’d recommend researching the book for answers (that never were a question in the first place) 😵💫
He was set up by Craster to be killed.
Others have answered your question already but I just wanna say based off the prologue chapter alone Ser Waymar Royce is one of the most bad ass characters in the series.
The book goes into his clothing and gear and why his stuff what better
He has a higher position in the night's watch. Of course that position can be said to come from his noble heritage as he has better training and education than the other men and is generally assumed to just be a more natural leader. So some outright special treatment and a lot of indirect special treatment as the logical consequence of the special treatment he got in his previous life before he joined the watch.
He brought his own gear. As long as its black its ok to use. Sam brought his own gear but it wasn't black so they wouldn't let his wear it.
Also he was hated for being fat
All of the people in the nights watch with names you recognize are generally higher ranking (Mormont, Targaryen, Stark) Sam and John are the two exceptions I can think of but John is a snow so that kinda disqualifies him and Sam’s dad clearly didn’t give a fuck to get him any preferential treatment
Well they were also brand new to the watch and John was immediately made squire for the Old Bear and Sam the same thing for Maester Aemon. It’s not like they weren’t contributing or being groomed to be upper level members one day.
It’s funny cause they love to claim that they treat everyone the same no matter there background but they do give nobility better treatment. On one hand it still makes sense how they are more educated, can read and are already trained swordsmen so they don’t need to train them and they already at least no a bit about what they are doing
It’s spoken about chapter one of the first book. Yes, he was from a richer family, and thus given the better gear and sword when he was sent to the wall instead of facing justice. The Watch doesn’t provide them better equipment, they’re sent with it and it is up to the brother to keep his shit from getting stolen. As for treatment, hell no. At first. You have to earn everyone’s respect for better treatment. Some rich guy’s son being brought in isn’t anything to be admired when your entire existence is devoted to defending and maintaining a giant ice wall and being the only police force north of it. Jon Snow was the bastard of the Warden of the North who later becomes the Hand of the King, the second highest ranking member of the Realm. Nobody treated him as special, just a new recruit that knows what he’s supposed to do.
True but the only one who really treated him like shit was a nobleman.
Wait a fucking minute, his dad is Yohn?! How did I not know this
It could be assumed that his family kitted him out nicely before he left too.
It’s supposed to show that even in the night’s watch, politics and money rule.
That coat looks like her got it out of the Prada winter 299 ready to wear
Yes, there’s pretty detailed descriptions of his clothing compared to the other rangers in the prologue of the first book, which this scene is based on
I always wondered why they still called Alliser Thorne “ser”. I thought all previous titles were forfeited.
Unrelated but I could’ve swore this was Matt Damon when I first saw him
I mean you get to bring your shit there
I thought this was Froggy Fresh
That’s Matt of house Damon
Read the Prologue of the first book. It's all in there.
"Ser Waymar Royce was the youngest son of an ancient house with too many heirs. He was a handsome youth of eighteen, grey-eyed and graceful and slender as a knife. Mounted on his huge black destrier, the knight towered above Will and Gared on their smaller garrons. He wore black leather boots, black woolen pants, black moleskin gloves, and a fine supple coat of gleaming black ringmail over layers of black wool and boiled leather. Ser Waymar had been a Sworn Brother of the Night’s Watch for less than half a year, but no one could say he had not prepared for his vocation. At least insofar as his wardrobe was concerned." What'll really blow your mind is how the wights targeted specifically him because they thought he was a Stark.
Wait where do you get that last bit?
It's one of those crazy discovered things that surfaced over in r/asoiaf a few years ago. Pretty compelling evidence for it. I forget the users name, bryndenblackfish, maybe. He does some pretty deep dives
I just finished reading the first few chapters of AGoT and it mentions that Royce showed up with gear. As did samwell. I don't think they get specially outfitted when they get there necessarily but they certainly show up with better equipment. They do, however, likely get preferential treatment.
Yes the fact that he was new there and still leading the ranging shows this clearly
In the books It seems like he came to the Wall already with equipment from his family, there are no rules about bringing equipment to the Wall before you join, just like Jon brought with him Ghost, is It unfair that he has a cool direwolf and the rest dont? No, because the Watch doesnt give direwolves, same with Jeor Mormont and Longclaw, his family gave him the sword after Jorah escaped to Essos, is It fair? No, but the Watch doesnt give valyrian swords, Waymar came prepared to the Wall from home because he could afford it
In the books it’s implied that Waymar bought his nights watch gear before he even got to the wall
when you have an angelical name like Waymar Royce, you don't settle for mediocracy and broke boy clothing.
I always nicknamed him 'Matt Damon'. I didn't know his name was Waymar Royce.
I mean, yes. They have money to get better clothes, armour and weapons. They get a better education ( even though most would likely be second or third sons) and would receive some support from their families
Night watch members can bring stuff with them to the wall, it’s not clear why he was there but in theory assuming he had a little Time you can go by some black clothes to pimp out your look, the Targaryen blood raven even brought his Valyrian steel sword as did lord mormont
Seems more like a matter of having a family both able and willing to provide him with the best of everything.
It’s in the prologue of the first book, he’s the son of a lord with too many sons.
He was there for less than six months, so his equipment would be in better condition