Robert Arryn

Robert Arryn, the only son of the late Hand of the King Jon Arryn and Lysa Tully, is the six-year-old Lord of the Eyrie and Defender of the Vale. Sickly, prone to trembling fits, and emotionally stunted by his mother's fierce overprotectiveness, he embodies the fragility of a noble house whose power rests on a child's shoulders. His mother's refusal to let him be fostered elsewhere, and her manipulation of his fears, make him a pawn in the game of thrones even as he holds one of the Seven Kingdoms' most impregnable seats.

Identity and Background

Robert Arryn was born the only living child of Jon Arryn and his third wife, Lysa Tully, after a series of stillbirths and miscarriages. He is described as a painfully thin child, small for his age and afflicted with what the maesters call "the shaking sickness" — a trembling that seizes him when he is frightened or upset. His father's dying words, "The seed is strong," were spoken as a blessing for his son, a phrase Lysa later clings to as proof of the boy's worth. Robert is six years old when the story begins, and he has never been away from his mother's side for long. He carries a ragged cloth doll and is still nursing at his mother's breast, a fact that shocks his aunt Catelyn Stark when she visits the Eyrie.

Life and Upbringing

Robert's childhood is defined by illness and isolation. His mother, Lysa, keeps him confined to the Eyrie, the impregnable castle high in the Mountains of the Moon, where she believes no enemy can reach them. She refuses to let him be fostered elsewhere — rejecting offers from King Robert to send him to Casterly Rock with Tywin Lannister, and later from Catelyn to foster him at Winterfell. Lysa's fear of the Lannisters, whom she believes murdered her husband, drives her to keep Robert close at all times. She tells him that the Eyrie is impregnable and that no one can hurt them there. The boy has absorbed his mother's paranoia; he asks if the Imp, Tyrion Lannister, is a "bad man" and eagerly suggests making him "fly" — a reference to the Moon Door, the Eyrie's method of execution by defenestration.

Role in the Eyrie's Politics

As Lord of the Eyrie, Robert is nominally the ruler of the Vale, but he is a figurehead. His mother governs in his name, and the lords of the Vale grow restive under her rule. Ser Brynden Tully, the Blackfish, observes that the boy is "six years old, sickly, and prone to weep if you take his dolls away" and that many whisper he is too weak to sit his father's seat. Suitors gather around Lysa, hoping to marry her and rule the Vale through her, but she rejects them all, preferring to rule alone until Robert comes of age. The boy himself is aware of his power in only the most childish way: he enjoys the spectacle of the Moon Door and demands to see prisoners "fly." When Tyrion Lannister demands a trial by combat, Robert fidgets impatiently and calls out, "Fight!" and later, after Bronn wins, he whines, "Can I make the little man fly now?"

Relationship with His Mother

Lysa Arryn's relationship with Robert is suffocating and infantilizing. She calls him "my sweet baby" and "my little lord," and she nurses him openly in front of guests, even when he is six years old. She strokes his hair and shields him from any unpleasantness, telling Catelyn, "He has a delicate temper." When Catelyn tries to discuss the Lannister threat, Lysa snaps, "You're scaring the boy." Robert clings to his mother, trembling, and she opens her robe to let him nurse. This dynamic has left the boy utterly dependent on her and incapable of functioning as a lord. Catelyn reflects that the boy is "utterly without discipline" and that he will never be strong enough to rule unless he is taken away from his mother for a time.

Narrative Significance

Robert Arryn serves as a symbol of the vulnerability of noble houses when their leadership falls to a child. His weakness contrasts sharply with the strength of other young lords like Robb Stark, who at fifteen leads an army. Robert's existence also drives several plot points: his father's dying words, "The seed is strong," become a crucial clue in Eddard Stark's investigation into the legitimacy of Cersei's children. Lysa's refusal to let Robert be fostered at Casterly Rock or Dragonstone deepens the rift between the Lannisters and the Arryns, and her flight to the Eyrie with her son isolates the Vale from the coming war. Robert himself, though barely a participant in events, is the reason the Vale's swords remain idle, a fact that frustrates both the Starks and the Lannisters.