House Bracken

House Bracken of Stone Hedge is a noble house of the riverlands. Their lands are in the heart of the Riverlands, located along the banks of the Red Fork of the Trident. Their seat is known as Stone Hedge, ruled by the Lord of Stone Hedge. Their current lord is Jonos Bracken. Their sigil is a red stallion on a gold field.

The Brackens hold an ancient grudge against their neighbors, the Blackwoods of Raventree Hall. The two houses, both of which have the blood of the First Men in their veins, competed for the throne of the Riverlands when it was an independent kingdom. The enmity and competition continues to this day and was increased when House Bracken converted to the Faith of the Seven.

Season 1
At the Crossroads Inn, Catelyn Stark asks for the assistance of a man-at-arms of House Bracken in taking Tyrion Lannister prisoner. The man-at-arms, Kurleket, agrees to aid her. She tells him that her father counts Lord Jonos as one of his most loyal bannermen. The banner of House Bracken flies at the tourney of the Hand in King's Landing. Kurleket is killed in a clash with the hill tribes on the eastern edge of the Vale of Arryn. Tyrion uses his shield to batter to death one of the tribesmen attacking Catelyn Stark.

Lord Jonos Bracken himself joins the army of Robb Stark as it crosses the Riverlands, following the victory at the Whispering Wood. As Robb, the Northern lords, and the Riverlords debate a course of action, Bracken suggests declaring for Renly Baratheon, to which Robb refuses as Renly is second-in-line to his older brother, Stannis. After Greatjon Umber interrupts and suggests they crown Robb as the King in the North, Bracken joins the Northern lords and his fellow Riverlords in proclaiming Robb their king and seceding their lands from the authority of the Iron Throne.

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, House Bracken is a loyal vassal of the Tullys. The enmity between Brackens and Blackwoods was radically exacerbated when Ser Otho Bracken slew Lord Quentyn Blackwood in a tourney accident roughly a century ago, and it still exists at present - even when the two houses were temporarily on the same side at the War of the Five Kings.

The sigil of House Bracken is slightly different in the books: like the TV series, it consists of a red stallion on gold, however, in the books the outside edge of the gold field also has a brown border - though it was brieflyshown surmounting a brown escutcheon at the tournament in Season 1.

House Bracken suffers a lot during the war: the Mountain steals its harvest, burns everything he cannot carry off, puts Lord Jonos's castle to the torch and rapes one of his daughters. Yet, following the Red Wedding, House Bracken yields to the Iron Throne, since Lord Jonos (similarly to many of the Riverlords) figures there is no point to keep fighting for a lost cause.

After receiving a pardon, Lord Jonos besieges Raventree Hall, the castle of his nemesis Lord Tytos Blackwood, on behalf of the Iron Throne. Since the rivalry between the Blackwoods and Brackens goes back thousands of years, neither side asks for a parley. With unspecified familiar relationship to the main branch of the house there is also:
 * Lord Jonos Bracken, Lord of Stone Hedge.
 * Lady Bracken, his wife.
 * Barbara Bracken, their daughter.
 * Jayne Bracken, their daughter.
 * Catelyn Bracken, their daughter.
 * Bess Bracken, their daughter.
 * Alysanne Bracken, their daughter.
 * {Hendry Bracken}, his nephew. Killed by Lannister soldiers during the liberation of Stone Hedge.
 * {Harry Rivers}, the Bastard of Bracken, the natural son of a member of House Bracken, claimed to be Lord Jonos's son. Killed by Lannister soldiers during the War of Five Kings.
 * Lord Bracken's daughter. One of the possible matches for Brynden Tully in his youth. Possibly a sister of Lord Jonos.