WINTERFELL CRYPTS
“Their faces were stern and strong, and some of them had done terrible things, but they were Starks every one, and Bran knew all their tales. He had never feared the crypts; they were part of his home and who he was, and he had always known that one day he would lie here too.”
The Crypt of Winterfell is located under the castle and contains the tombs of House Stark. Originally only the Kings of Winter were “buried” down there, then after Torrhen bent the knee, the Lords of Winterfell, until the most recent events and untimely deaths of Lord Rickard Stark and his two children, Brandon and Lyanna, who were also buried there, although Brandon never became a Lord (but he was a man and according to Bran Stark from the above written quote apparently all Stark men are buried in the crypts, which seems a bit odd unless it is a foreshadowing) and Lyanna was the only female to find her place in the crypts. Breaking this tradition – being the only female tomb – is an extreme outlier. It draws attention to itself on that basis alone. Why did Ned do it? Keep in mind Lyanna did ask him to promise her he will bring her bones back to Winterfell but even if this is the case why would Ned break a thousands years long tradition for his sister? I only have two possible explanations. First: he buried an artifact within her tomb, something that can serve as the solid proof of Jon’s true identity. It could be a Targaryen sword as it was the custom to secure the line by passing it along (but which one), a harp (although I don’t see how he could’ve carried it all the way to Winterfell without getting noticed), a book (with his drawings and written prophecies), a decree (or some other proof of Jon’s legitimacy and perhaps their marriage)…. Second: With the untimely death of Lord Rickard Stark (and his heir Brandon Stark) the Secret of Winter got lost. Ned was not the first born; he was never intended to be the Lord of Winterfell, so if there actually was the secret to be passed from generation to generation with the untimely deaths of Rickard and Brandon the secret was lost. Think of Ned’s last talk with Jon. It is the same thing. It was the secret so great that it had to be passed orally from a father onto a son. Keep it secret. Keep it safe. Not having the facts, Ned made a precedent, he buried both his brother and his sister, who became the only female being buried there. The only Starks confirmed to be in the Crypts (their bodies) are Lyanna, Brandon and Rickard. One of them a female, one not a Lord and one literally cremated, which was not the custom of the Stark family. Although this might not mean anything it is a food for thought. Could this be the violation of the rules, condemned by the Kings of Winter? Perhaps.?
But what happened to the other bodies? We assume they are buried under their stone statues but we do not have a solid proof of this claim. What if the statues keep the bodies, and not only spirits at bay, what if there was another custom we do not know about? What if they are connected to the Wall somehow? Where am I going with this? From the text we know Winterfell crypts are important for uncovering the mystery. It is a Stark place; it is the home for the Kings of Winter; a place where both Bran and Rickon experienced strange things, i.e. they both talked to their, at the time, dead father; it is the tomb of a castle that was built by the means of magic, during the times magic was still largely at play; Jon keeps dreaming that the truth he needs to uncover is hidden down there, something he is so afraid off; conveniently all three of the boys I tie to the Winter and WW have had some strange experience with and within the crypts and finally the crypts are intersect with great number of tunnels and are so big that no even the current characters at play managed to explore them. Think of the crypts as a unique space of magic, a chamber of secrets and a passage between the seemingly separate worlds. A one piece in the puzzle carefully assembled by Bran the Builder.
“Their faces were stern and strong, and some of them had done terrible things, but they were Starks every one, and Bran knew all their tales. He had never feared the crypts; they were part of his home and who he was, and he had always known that one day he would lie here too.”
The Crypt of Winterfell is located under the castle and contains the tombs of House Stark. Originally only the Kings of Winter were “buried” down there, then after Torrhen bent the knee, the Lords of Winterfell, until the most recent events and untimely deaths of Lord Rickard Stark and his two children, Brandon and Lyanna, who were also buried there, although Brandon never became a Lord (but he was a man and according to Bran Stark from the above written quote apparently all Stark men are buried in the crypts, which seems a bit odd unless it is a foreshadowing) and Lyanna was the only female to find her place in the crypts. Breaking this tradition – being the only female tomb – is an extreme outlier. It draws attention to itself on that basis alone. Why did Ned do it? Keep in mind Lyanna did ask him to promise her he will bring her bones back to Winterfell but even if this is the case why would Ned break a thousands years long tradition for his sister? I only have two possible explanations. First: he buried an artifact within her tomb, something that can serve as the solid proof of Jon’s true identity. It could be a Targaryen sword as it was the custom to secure the line by passing it along (but which one), a harp (although I don’t see how he could’ve carried it all the way to Winterfell without getting noticed), a book (with his drawings and written prophecies), a decree (or some other proof of Jon’s legitimacy and perhaps their marriage)…. Second: With the untimely death of Lord Rickard Stark (and his heir Brandon Stark) the Secret of Winter got lost. Ned was not the first born; he was never intended to be the Lord of Winterfell, so if there actually was the secret to be passed from generation to generation with the untimely deaths of Rickard and Brandon the secret was lost. Think of Ned’s last talk with Jon. It is the same thing. It was the secret so great that it had to be passed orally from a father onto a son. Keep it secret. Keep it safe. Not having the facts, Ned made a precedent, he buried both his brother and his sister, who became the only female being buried there. The only Starks confirmed to be in the Crypts (their bodies) are Lyanna, Brandon and Rickard. One of them a female, one not a Lord and one literally cremated, which was not the custom of the Stark family. Although this might not mean anything it is a food for thought. Could this be the violation of the rules, condemned by the Kings of Winter? Perhaps.?
But what happened to the other bodies? We assume they are buried under their stone statues but we do not have a solid proof of this claim. What if the statues keep the bodies, and not only spirits at bay, what if there was another custom we do not know about? What if they are connected to the Wall somehow? Where am I going with this? From the text we know Winterfell crypts are important for uncovering the mystery. It is a Stark place; it is the home for the Kings of Winter; a place where both Bran and Rickon experienced strange things, i.e. they both talked to their, at the time, dead father; it is the tomb of a castle that was built by the means of magic, during the times magic was still largely at play; Jon keeps dreaming that the truth he needs to uncover is hidden down there, something he is so afraid off; conveniently all three of the boys I tie to the Winter and WW have had some strange experience with and within the crypts and finally the crypts are intersect with great number of tunnels and are so big that no even the current characters at play managed to explore them. Think of the crypts as a unique space of magic, a chamber of secrets and a passage between the seemingly separate worlds. A one piece in the puzzle carefully assembled by Bran the Builder.
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