Robb Stark

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Lore & Background

At the start of A Game of Thrones, Robb is 14 years old (increased to 17 in the TV series). Trained by Ser Rodrik Cassel, he becomes a skilled rider and swordsman. He leads an assembled Northern army south after his father's arrest, seeking to relieve the besieged Riverlands. To secure safe passage across The Twins, Robb consents to marry a daughter or granddaughter of Lord Walder Frey. However, during A Storm of Swords, he takes Lady Jeyne Westerling as his wife in the books (or Talisa Maegyr in the TV series) after an assault in the Westerlands and injury, rescinding his arrangement with House Frey. This breach causes House Karstark to withdraw support after Robb executes Lord Rickard Karstark for killing Lannister prisoners. Despite these setbacks, he attempts to repair alliances by arranging for his uncle Edmure Tully to marry Lady Roslin Frey.

In Their Own Story

The Red Wedding serves as the tragic climax of Robb's storyline. During the wedding feast at The Twins, the Northern convoy is treated with bread and salt, guaranteeing guest rights, yet they are betrayed by House Frey and House Bolton. Tywin Lannister orchestrated this massacre to end the Northern rebellion. Robb is shot multiple times by crossbow bolts before being personally murdered by his chief vassal, Lord Roose Bolton, who had secretly defected in exchange for dominion over the North. Following his death, the Freys mutilate Robb's body by sewing the head of his direwolf, Grey Wind, onto his decapitated corpse. His mother Catelyn and his entire army are also killed, save for a few Boltons, Freys, and escaped soldiers.

Reader's Guide

Robb Stark is not a point-of-view character in the novels; his actions are witnessed through the eyes of Bran, Catelyn, Jon Snow, and Theon Greyjoy. Time critic James Poniewozik describes him as less eager for retaliation than his father but more pragmatic, capable of feints and deceptions at the cost of 2,000 men. George R. R. Martin stated he killed Robb to keep the story unpredictable, noting that killing Ned Stark made readers expect his son to rise up and avenge him, so killing Robb became the necessary next step. In the television adaptation, Richard Madden received positive reviews for portraying this transition from acting Lord of Winterfell to King in the North.

Did You Know?

• George R. R. Martin killed Robb Stark specifically because he wanted to subvert the predictable narrative of a son avenging his father's death.
• Robb is accompanied by his direwolf, Grey Wind, whose head was sewn onto Robb's corpse after the Red Wedding.
• In the novels, Robb marries Jeyne Westerling, while in the TV series he marries a healer named Talisa Maegyr.
• The Red Wedding was inspired by two events from Scottish history: the Black Dinner and the Glencoe Massacre.
• Robb's age at the start of A Game of Thrones is 14 in the books but was increased to 17 for the television series.