[Blind]

Spoiler:


Just before Selmy there was Gerold Hightower as Commander (of Aerys's kingsguard).

[Werthead]

Dolorous Menhir said:

Spoiler

Ah, so in the chapter where Jaime read from the Kingsguard record book, and he quoted from passages written by Barristan Selmy's predecessor as Commander, they were written by Ser Duncan? Or was there an intervening Lord Commander between Dunc and Selmy?

I also remember someone telling the story of a tournament in the not-so-recent past, about an unnamed great knight who lost at tourney to an unknown knight...I can't remember what book it was in, had assumed perhaps Rhaegar or Robert were the subjects of that story, was it actually the event you talk about?

Yes, Ser Gerold Hightower was Lord Commander before Barristan Selmy. Hightower was killed in the battle at the Tower of Joy during the War of the Usurper (or technically immediately after it) by Eddard Stark or one of his companions. Given that was 25 years after Summerhall, it's also possible there was another Lord Commander between him and SDTT.

The tourney you are thinking of (I think) is the Great Harrenhal Tourney in the Year of False Spring, where three powerful knights were unhorsed by the mystery knight, widely believed to be the future Lord Howland Reed of Greywater Watch. Rhaegar later unhorsed him and won the tourney. That tourney was in 281 AL and was where Lyanna and Rhaegar first met, setting the whole sequence of events in motion that led to the War of the Usurper.

[Dolorous Menhir]

Ok, thanks for the answers. I've only ever read ASOIAF through once, I didn't get into it until Christmas, well after I discovered SE, perhaps I'll give it another go in the summer when I have time.

I was quite surprised when I first looked up a GRRM forum and found so much speculation on the books, after MBOTF Martin's books seem so simple, it's all on the surface, I thought I had everything sussed, but it seems I missed a lot of subtleties.

For example I totally missed the FrankenGregor thing in aFfC, I didn't even realise Qyburn was a necromancer, I thought he was just a vivisectionist/torturer. I passed over Sandor Clegane as initiate monk too, which was annoying because the Hound is my favourite character. Are these things confirmed by the way, or is there just a general consensus among fans that these ideas are accurate?

[Werthead]

With GRRM a lot 'more' stuff is on the surface, but the mysteries are slightly more interestingly set up. There's a feeling that everything GRRM has kept under wraps (Jon's parentage, what the Doom of Valyria actually was etc, the Tragedy at Summerhall) is important to the storyline, whilst probably half the stuff that Erikson hasn't explained yet probably isn't, it's just background he hasn't gotten into.

The AFFC mysteries are much in the realm of speculation. Pate=Jaqen, Alleras=Sarella, the gravedigger=Sandor, FrankenGregor etc are all very well supported, but Martin could pull a trick out the hat again.

[rlfcl]

question, and ill put this in spoiler tags just in case

Spoiler

was i the only one who thought that arys' pov chapters just screamed out "plot device" and nothing more? it was the only thing in AFFC that felt lacking to me/

[Werthead]

Sorry, did you mean Arys or Arya?

If you mean Arya, then I think those chapters fulfiled a role up to a point (essentially they're forming a 'training montage' of her becoming a badass), but that point was weakened by splitting her chapters in half. I think Arya and Asha Greyjoy's chapters (both weak in AFFC) will make more sense when they are continued in ADWD.

[rlfcl]

i meant arys...arys oakheart

[Werthead]

Yeah, Arys' chapter was basically pointless. I don't understand why he didn't have the chapter from Arianne's POV and give her three chapters, which would have made her a 'proper' POV. Actually, I don't know what purpose Aeron Greyjoy's chapter had either. We need POVs from Asha and Victarion (as Asha at least has POV chapters in ADWD as well), but Aeron's seemed unnecessary.