The sentencing lord must wield the sword

The sentencing lord must wield the sword is a Northern custom that makes the lord who passes a death sentence perform the execution himself. At the Red Keep, Cregan Stark unsheathes Ice to carry out the sentences, but a condemned man’s request to take the black—and the prisoners’ appeal to the same alternative—brings the executions to an end before Cregan strikes.

Custom and Responsibility

As Septon Eustace prays for the condemned, rain falls in the Red Keep’s outer ward. When the prayer concludes, Cregan draws Ice, the Valyrian greatsword prized by his house. The account explains that Northern custom requires the sentencing man to wield the sword so that the condemned’s blood rests upon his hands alone. The rule therefore joins judgment to personal responsibility: the lord cannot pronounce death and leave its execution to another.

Invocation and Outcome

Cregan is poised to execute a large group of prisoners when Ser Perkin the Flea, chosen by lot to die first, asks to take the black. Cregan honors the request, consistent with the North’s regard for the needs of the Night’s Watch. Seeing a possible reprieve, the other condemned men make the same request, and even Grand Maester Orwyle is spared. The episode ends not with Cregan carrying out the sentences, but with the prisoners’ appeals preventing the custom from reaching its intended act.