House Manderly

House Manderly of White Harbor is one of the most powerful vassal houses that holds fealty to House Stark of Winterfell. They control White Harbor, a seaport and the North's only city. Their sigil is a white merman holding a trident.

is a noble family in the north whose seat is the New Castle in the city of White Harbor. They are among the most powerful and loyal vassals of House Stark as well as the richest northern family due to their control of the only city in the region. Unlike most other northern houses,[1] the Manderlys follow the Faith of the Seven instead of the old gods, as the family emigrated from the Reachafter the Andal invasion.

The Manderlys' blazon is a white merman with dark green hair, beard and tail, carrying a black trident, over a blue-green field.[2][3] Their words do not appear in the books, neither has George R. R. Martinsubmitted them in semi-canon material. Manderly guards wield tridents instead of spears.[4]

The Lord of White Harbor, Wyman Manderly, influences all lands and houses east of the mouth of the White Knife, including Houses Locke, Woolfield, and Flint of Widow's Watch.[5] The Manderlys' dominion includes the Sheepshead Hills[6] and the Broken Branch,[7] as well as the allegiance of Ramsgate.[8] Their bannermen includes a dozen petty lords and a hundred landed knights.[5]

Early history
House Manderly was once a powerful noble house in the Reach. Centuries ago they were driven out of the Reach and were given sanctuary and lands by House Stark in exchange for their pledge of fealty. The Manderlys still keep many traditions from the South, because even though they are descended from the First Men just like their fellow Northmen, they have long ago adopted the Faith of the Seven and the chivalric culture of the past Andal invaders. They are the richest House in the North through fish, grain and overseas trade.

In the books
In A Song of Ice and Fire, House Manderly was originally a major noble house of the Reach, overseeing rich lands along the River Mander, and some claim that the river is named after them. Descending from the First Men, their seat was the castle Dunstonbury and they had a fierce rivalry with House Peake. King Gwayne III Gardener was once able to make both houses accept his judgement in a quarrel and do fealty for their lands without bloodshed. After the Andal Invasion, the Manderlys converted from the Old Gods to the Faith of the Seven. Near the end of the reign of Garth X Gardener, conflict broke out between the Manderlys and Peakes. The King had no sons, only daughters, one married to Lord Manderly, the other to Lord Peake. Both believed that their own wife should succeed King Garth, leading to conspiracy, murder and betrayal, and eventually war, with other lords supporting both sides. After a decade of anarchy, Ser Osmund Tyrell, the High Steward of Highgarden, united with the other lords of the Reach and defeated the Manderlys and Peakes.

House Manderly eventually overreached itself, leading to their disgrace and exile from the Reach a thousand years ago. According to Maester Yandel, Lord Lorimar Peake was responsible, convincing King Perceon III Gardener, who was afraid of the Manderlys' growing power and influence, to exile the family. House Peake thus acquired Dunstonbury, while the Manderlys were left without friends. They were eventually given a safe haven at the Wolf's Den by the King in the North, who charged them with defending the White Knife, and rose to rule over the city of White Harbor that was built on the Wolf's Den. As a result they are the only major House in the North that follows the Faith of the Seven instead of keeping to the Old Gods and they are noted as being fiercely loyal to the Starks. Their seat in White Harbor, the New Castle, resembles Dunstonbury.

House Manderly also controls a considerable amount of choice territory in the North. While their seat is at White Harbor at the mouth of the White Knife river, their lands extend as far north and east as the Sheepshead Hills, where the headwaters of the Broken Branch river also begin. Apparently their lands extend all the way east to the line of the Broken Branch, as the castle of Ramsgate at the river's mouth is held by an as-yet-unnamed vassal house of the Manderlys. The lands ruled by House Manderly are bordered by House Hornwood north of the Sheepshead Hills, House Flint of Widow's Watch east of the Broken Branch river, and on the south by House Locke of Oldcastle - though it isn't clear if the Lockes are vassals of the Manderlys. Their lands apparently extend west as far as the Kingsroad.

After the Red Wedding, Lord Wyman Manderly wishes to pay the Lannisters, Boltons and Freys back for the death of his son Wendel at the Red Wedding, but cannot act openly against them as long as his other son Wylis is held prisoner at Harrenhal. He bides his time, waiting for an opportunity to avenge Wendel's death, since "the north remembers".

Davos attempts to persuade Lord Manderly to join Stannis. Lord Manderly fakes Davos's execution, revealing that he was loyal to House Stark all along, but he will only follow a legitimate son of Eddard Stark over his daughter (as the North believes that Ramsay has married Arya). Davos is then sent to find Rickon Stark on the Isle of Skagos, as the Manderlys secretly knew where he was all along.
 * Lord Wyman Manderly, Lord of White Harbor, Warden of the White Knife, Shield of the Faith, Defender of the Dispossessed, Lord Marshal of the Mander and Knight of the Order of the Green Hand, the head of the family. His wife is deceased.
 * Ser Wylis Manderly, Lord Wyman's eldest son and heir. Taken captive twice, at the Battle of the Green Fork and the Battle of the Ruby Ford, and held prisoner at Harrenhal by the Lannisters. Recently he has been freed and returned home safely.
 * Leona Woolfield, Wylis's wife.
 * Wynafryd Manderly, Ser Wylis's elder daughter.
 * Wylla Manderly, Ser Wylis's second daughter.
 * Ser {Wendel Manderly}, Lord Wyman's second son. Killed at the Red Wedding.
 * Ser Marlon Manderly, Lord Wyman's cousin. The commander of the garrison at White Harbor
 * Lady {Donella Manderly}, Wyman's cousin, married to Lord Halys of House Hornwood. Starved to death by Ramsay Snow.