The Blackfish

Ser Brynden Tully, known throughout the Seven Kingdoms as the Blackfish, is a knight of the riverlands and the younger brother of the late Lord Hoster Tully. He is the uncle of Catelyn Stark, Lysa Arryn, and Edmure Tully, and a veteran of the War of the Ninepenny Kings. His epithet derives from his personal sigil—a black trout—which he adopted after a quarrel with his brother led him to leave Riverrun and serve as a knight errant. The Blackfish is defined by his unyielding sense of honor, his tactical acumen, and his refusal to submit to authority he considers illegitimate, a stance that makes him one of the most persistent thorns in the side of the Lannister-Frey alliance after the Red Wedding.

Role in the War of the Five Kings and the Red Wedding

During the War of the Five Kings, the Blackfish served as castellan of Riverrun for his nephew, Robb Stark, the King in the North. He was present at the Red Wedding, where Robb, Catelyn, and much of the northern host were slaughtered by the Freys and Boltons. The Blackfish escaped the massacre, a feat that became the subject of rumor and speculation. When Jaime Lannister arrived at Riverrun to accept the castle's surrender, he asked Lord Edmure Tully, the captive lord, whether the Blackfish had taken refuge there. Edmure replied that Ser Brynden knew better than to come to him, and that he would clap him in chains if he appeared. The Blackfish, however, had already fled, and his whereabouts remained unknown to the Lannisters.

The Siege of Riverrun and the Escape

After the fall of Riverrun, the Blackfish became a hunted man. Jaime Lannister, having accepted the surrender of Lord Tytos Blackwood at Raventree Hall, later encountered Brienne of Tarth, who claimed to have found the girl he sought and asked him to come alone, lest the Hound kill her. The Blackfish himself was not present at that meeting, but his legend as a fugitive who had slipped through the fingers of the Lannister army persisted. When Jaime later negotiated the surrender of Raventree Hall, Lord Tytos Blackwood asked about the Blackfish, and Jaime confirmed that he had offered to let him take the black, but that he had fled instead. The Blackfish's refusal to yield, even when offered the honorable exile of the Night's Watch, underscored his determination to continue the fight against those who had destroyed his family.

Thematic Significance

The Blackfish embodies the stubborn, unbroken spirit of the riverlands in the face of overwhelming Lannister-Frey domination. His refusal to bend the knee, even when his liege lord Edmure had surrendered, marks him as a figure of resistance and a living rebuke to the new order. His escape from the Red Wedding and his subsequent flight make him a symbol of the north's and the riverlands' enduring defiance, a ghost that haunts the victors. His personal history—leaving Riverrun over a quarrel with his brother, then returning to serve his nephew—shows a man who places loyalty to blood and principle above comfort or safety. The Blackfish is a reminder that even after the Red Wedding, the war is not truly over, and that some men will never accept the peace of the grave.