- This page is about the noble house. For the short, see: House Baelish (short)
- "Once, House Baelish had no lands, no name and no gold. Now, we have quite a lot of each. What new rung will the next generation climb? Let us not be hasty. I am not finished yet."
- ―Petyr Baelish
House Baelish[1] of Harrenhal is an extinct noble house that held fealty to House Arryn of the Vale. They ruled Harrenhal and an unnamed castle in the smallest of the Fingers.
Petyr Baelish, called "Littlefinger", was the only living member of the House at the beginning of the fourth century. Therefore, his personal sigil has come to be used as the House's main heraldry: a seemingly innocuous black mockingbird on a yellow background.
History[]
House Baelish began with Petyr's great-grandfather, a common sellsword from Braavos who traveled to Westeros to take up service with House Corbray in the Vale of Arryn. The sellsword's son, Petyr's grandfather, was a poor wandering hedge knight, who managed to earn a minor lordship - the most minor of lordships, just a few stony acres in the smallest peninsula of the Fingers, with a small keep to reside in.
Petyr's father fought in the War of the Ninepenny Kings, the preemptive assault on the forces of Maelys Blackfyre, the last of the Blackfyre pretenders, before they could invade Westeros. During the conflict Petyr's father served well under Lord Hoster Tully. Through their good relationship, Hoster agreed to foster his son Petyr at Riverrun, a great honor for a lesser House.
Seeing Littlefinger's financial acumen, Jon Arryn brought Petyr "Littlefinger" to the royal court at King's Landing, and made him Master of Coin. In charge of the crown's treasury, Littlefinger rapidly grew into a powerful player of royal politics, and a master of court intrigues.[2]
Since Littlefinger had no offsprings, his House became extinct at his demise.
Members[]
Past members[]
- Lord {Petyr Baelish}, called "Littlefinger", Lord of Harrenhal, Lord Protector of the Vale, former Master of Coin. Executed by Arya Stark on the orders of Sansa Stark for murder and treason.
- Lady {Lysa}, his wife of House Tully. Lady Regent of the Vale. Pushed through the Moon Door to her death by Petyr Baelish.
Household[]
- Lothor Brune, a freerider in Lord Baelish's service.
- {Ros}, a female former prostitute, and Lord Baelish's personal assistant. Killed by King Joffrey Baratheon after Littlefinger discovered that she was spying on him for Varys.
- Olyvar, a male prostitute and informant in Lord Baelish's service.
- At least two ships in service to Lord Baelish.
Ancestors[]
- {Petyr Baelish's great-grandfather}, a Braavosi sellsword and founder of the House. Littlefinger's great-grandfather.
- {Petyr Baelish's grandfather}, a hedge knight and son of the founder. Littlefinger's grandfather.
- {Lord Baelish}, son of the hedge knight and father of Littlefinger. Entered the ranks of the minor nobility when he was granted some small, very meager lands in the smallest peninsula of the Fingers.
- {Petyr Baelish's grandfather}, a hedge knight and son of the founder. Littlefinger's grandfather.
In the books[]
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Petyr is the only living member of House Baelish, though he is so poor that he gained all of his current wealth due to his own career as a treasurer. Petyr's great skills with numbers and banking led him to become the tax and revenue collector for Gulltown, the principal city of the Vale. At Lord Jon Arryn's suggestion, King Robert Baratheon later made Petyr his Master of Coin for the whole realm, a role he continues to serve in until he is sent back to the Vale to enter into a profitable marriage-alliance with Lysa Arryn.
The sigil of House Baelish is – or was – the grey stone head with fiery eyes of the Titan of Braavos, on a light green field. It was chosen by Petyr's grandfather when he was knighted, because his own father was from Braavos. However, the current lord of the House (Littlefinger) prefers to use his personal mockingbird sigil exclusively. Since he is the only living member of the House, the mockingbird sigil has functionally replaced the original. In the books, Littlefinger's personal heraldry actually consists of a field of multiple silver mockingbirds on a green plain.
Petyr rarely returns home, leaving the keeping of his minor towerhouse to a small staff. The original lands of House Baelish are so meager that their towerhouse doesn't even have a formal name, and it is so small that it doesn't have a maester assigned to it.
The only real benefit Petyr received from being born into House Baelish is that it technically made him a member of the minor nobility, thus allowing his initial entry into court life. Petyr downplays his partial descent from the Free Cities of the east, even abandoning the use of the original sigil of House Baelish, displaying the Titan of Braavos, to his own personal sigil featuring a mockingbird. Thus, it is somewhat ironic that he criticizes Varys for being from the Free Cities.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ Histories & Lore: Season 4, Short 2: "House Baelish" (2015).
- ↑ "House Baelish"
Notes[]
- ↑ In "Winter Is Coming," which takes place in 298 AC, Sansa Stark tells Cersei Lannister that she is 13 years old and Bran Stark tells Jaime Lannister that he is 10 years old. Arya Stark was born between Sansa and Bran, making her either 11 or 12 in Season 1. The rest of the Stark children have been aged up by 2 years from their book ages, so it can be assumed that she is 11 in Season 1. Arya is 18 in Season 8 according to HBO, which means at least 7 years occur in the span of the series; therefore, each season of Game of Thrones must roughly correspond to a year in-universe, placing the events of Season 7 in 304 AC.
External links[]
House Baelish
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Head
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Vacant (extinct) | Heir
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Vacant (extinct) | ||
Seat
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Eyrie (regency) · Baelish keep · Harrenhal (nominally) | Region
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Vale of Arryn · Riverlands (nominally) | ||
Titles |
Lord of Harrenhal | ||||
Deceased |
Petyr Baelish's great-grandfather · Petyr Baelish's grandfather · Lord Baelish · Petyr Baelish | ||||
Household |
Lothor Brune · Olyvar · {Ros} | ||||
Overlords |
House Arryn · House Frey |
Houses from the Riverlands | |
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Great House | |
Noble houses |
Blackwood · Bracken · Charlton · Frey · Mallister · Mooton · Piper · Smallwood · Vance |
Landed knights | |
Extinct houses |
Baelish · Darry · Harroway · Hoare · Justman · Lothston · Mudd · Qoherys · Strong · Towers · Whent |
Houses from the Vale of Arryn | |
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Great House | |
Noble houses |
Belmore · Corbray · Egen · Hardyng · Hunter · Moore · Royce · Tollett · Waynwood |
Extinct houses |