House Bolton

House Bolton is one of the oldest and most feared noble houses in the North, its seat the grim fortress of the Dreadfort. Their sigil is a flayed man, inverted, on a field of pink, and their words are "Our Blades Are Sharp." The house is infamous for its ancient practice of flaying its enemies, a custom they claim dates back to the Age of Heroes when they warred with the Kings of Winter, the Starks of Winterfell. This history of cruelty and rebellion has made them the Starks' most persistent rivals, a blood feud that simmered for millennia before erupting in the War of the Five Kings.

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

Lord Roose Bolton, the cold and calculating Lord of the Dreadfort, initially pledged his swords to Robb Stark, the King in the North. He fought in several battles, but his loyalty was always suspect. After the Young Wolf's military successes began to wane, Roose secretly conspired with Lord Walder Frey and Tywin Lannister to betray him. This treachery culminated in the Red Wedding, where Robb Stark, his mother Catelyn, and much of his army were slaughtered. As a reward, Roose Bolton was named Warden of the North by the Iron Throne, and his bastard son Ramsay was legitimized and granted the right to use the Bolton name.

Roose Bolton: The Cold Lord of the Dreadfort

Roose Bolton is a man of unnerving stillness and soft-spoken cruelty. His pale, colorless eyes and ageless face betray little emotion; he is a master of manipulation and patience, preferring to let others do his bloody work. He is pragmatic to the point of ruthlessness, viewing his allies and enemies alike as pieces in a game. He is deeply suspicious of his own son, Ramsay, whom he considers a dangerous and uncontrollable brute. Roose is haunted by the death of his trueborn son, Domeric, whom he believes Ramsay murdered. He has taken a new wife, the fat and fertile Walda Frey, hoping to sire a more suitable heir, though he acknowledges that Ramsay will likely kill any such children. His rule is one of quiet terror, enforced by the fear of his name and the flaying knife.

Ramsay Bolton: The Bastard of the Dreadfort

Ramsay Bolton, formerly Ramsay Snow, is the legitimized bastard son of Roose Bolton. He is a sadist of the highest order, finding pleasure in hunting, torturing, and flaying his victims. He keeps a pack of hounds named after the women he has killed, and his favorite sport is hunting human prey. He is impulsive and cruel where his father is calculating, but he possesses a cunning that makes him a formidable and terrifying enemy. He is responsible for the sack of Winterfell, the murder of its inhabitants, and the capture and torture of Theon Greyjoy, whom he breaks into the creature called Reek. He marries a woman he believes to be Arya Stark (actually Jeyne Poole) to solidify his claim to Winterfell, and he writes a letter to Jon Snow at the Wall, boasting of his victory over Stannis Baratheon and demanding the return of his bride, among other hostages.

The Bolton Ascendancy and Its Fragility

Following the Red Wedding, the Boltons are the de facto rulers of the North, but their hold is tenuous. They are surrounded by enemies and former Stark bannermen who remember the Red Wedding and chafe under Bolton rule. Lord Wyman Manderly of White Harbor secretly plots against them, and the mountain clans rally to Stannis Baratheon. The Boltons' power rests on the support of the Freys and the Lannisters, but with Tywin Lannister dead and the Freys losing men to mysterious murders, their position is weakening. The Boltons are a house built on a foundation of blood and fear, and as winter descends, their enemies are closing in. The house's future depends on the outcome of the coming battle with Stannis Baratheon, a battle that will decide whether the flayed man of the Dreadfort flies over the North for a generation or is torn down forever.