As the reigning
monarchy at the beginning of the series, it is only natural that this
family comes next in the analysis series.
A bit of background
House
Baratheon is now extinct, but in the beginning of the series they
were one of the most powerful families with a seat at Storm End and
King Robert on the throne. The House was founded more recently than
House Stark, 281 years ago, when Orys Baratheon defeated Argilac the
Arrogant and was rewarded his lands. He cemented this partnership
with his marriage to Argilac's daughter Argella.
This
is mirrored in modern Westeros with King Robert's acention to the
throne being won through conquest and cemented with a marriage to a
more powerful family.
The Significance of
the Sigil and Words
The
Baratheon sigil takes the form of a black crowned stag on a field of
gold; the crown symbolic of their royal status and the gold of their
wealth. The stag also is symbolic of royal status, the stag being
“King of the Forest”, but more than this it suggests fertility
(King Robert's numerous base-born children), and pride shared by the
entire family.
The
words “ours is the fury”, unlike the Stark warning, is a boast of
their power. Symbolic in nature, these words might stand for the
Storm's surrounding their seat, which legend says destroyed six
castles before Orys Baratheon's seventh stood. This is also, more
modernly, symbolic of Robert's anger, easily flared and hard to tame.
In
part 2 of the analysis of House Baratheon, we will delve deeper into
the symbolism surrounding this house, mostly in terms of their
relationships with other houses.
Also,
I will be running a poll to determine which house will be explored
after the Baratheon's are done with.
No comments:
Post a Comment