Rutting Meadow

Rutting Meadow is a stretch of land in the riverlands, one of several territories that House Bracken claimed had been taken from them by House Blackwood centuries ago. It appears in the negotiations following the siege of Raventree Hall, when Jaime Lannister, acting as King Tommen's envoy, brokers a settlement between the two feuding houses.

Location and Disputed Status

Rutting Meadow lies within the broader region that Lord Jonos Bracken of Stone Hedge asserted was rightfully his. When Jaime Lannister arrived to accept Lord Tytos Blackwood's surrender, Bracken presented a map detailing the lands he expected to receive as reward for his loyalty to the Iron Throne. Among the villages, mills, and hills he listed were "the east bank of the Widow's Wash, from Crossbow Ridge to Rutting Meadow, and all the islands in the stream." Bracken insisted that these territories "belonged to Stone Hedge once" and that "the Blackwoods stole them from us."

Role in the Peace Settlement

During the parley at Raventree Hall, Jaime Lannister used the map Bracken had given him as a bargaining tool. When Lord Tytos Blackwood asked what lands would be required of him, Jaime handed him the map. Blackwood, after examining it, chuckled and remarked, "To be sure. The turncloak must be given his reward." He then offered to cede Woodhedge, Crossbow Ridge, and Buckle—a ruin, a ridge, and a few hovels—but Jaime pressed for more substantial concessions, including a mill and an additional village. The final agreement gave Bracken Buckle, Woodhedge, Honeytree and its hives, Crossbow Ridge, and Lord's Mill, but Rutting Meadow was not among the lands Blackwood agreed to surrender. Jaime noted that Bracken would receive "a smaller one than he imagines, for a smaller service."

Narrative Significance

The dispute over Rutting Meadow exemplifies the ancient, bitter feud between House Bracken and House Blackwood, a conflict that has persisted for thousands of years. As Hoster Blackwood, Lord Tytos's son, explained to Jaime, the enmity dates back to the Age of Heroes, when the Blackwoods were kings and the Brackens were petty lords who hired swords to overthrow them. The young hostage observed that "so long as men remember the wrongs done to their forebears, no peace will ever last." Jaime's cynical response—"Never wound a foe when you can kill him. Dead men don't claim vengeance"—underscores the futility of such ancient grudges in the context of the ongoing war. Rutting Meadow itself remains a symbol of the unresolved grievances that continue to fuel the cycle of violence between the two houses.