Hey folks! Just to let you know that, while work on Politics of the Westerlands and Jaime II continues, updates might be a bit slower for the next few weeks because A. final papers have arrived and need to be graded and B. I’m going on vacation for a couple weeks, and while writing is inherently enjoyable to me, I will have social obligations to family and friends so my time will be a bit more limited.
In the meantime, what do we have on the Tumblrs?
- Differences between slave societies.
- Private land ownership in Westeros:
- The Riverlands and historical nation-state formation.
- Half-swording in Westeros:
- Who has a right to the Throne after Robert? Not Cersei.
- Barbrey Dustin’s attitude re the Freys.
- Dany’s cultural mistakes in Meereen.
- The nexii of the Great Game.
Race for the Iron Throne 
Yeah, I’ve got to agree with you. A lot of people misidentify the issue with Daenaerys reign as her being a foreign conqueror, in large part because they think of it as a metaphor for the iraq war. But really she simply doesnt understand the social basis of her rule and so waffles between conciliation with the masters, and support for the revolutionary slaves trying to build a new life, and ultimately doesnt really solve any problems because of it.
If anything in her cultural posture was wrong, it was that she dressed as a master rather than embracing the Shavepate look and trying to actively identify herself as their leader (and through that, directing the content of what being a shavepate is).
On Barbery’s Dustin’s attitude: I always thought her hatred towards the Starks was only ever on show to those she thought would report back to the Boltons. I think ‘the North Remembers’ line also refers inadvertently to the fact that she is scouting out the passages to Winterfell to let in Stannis’s forces.
Bob Dillon
Barbrey Dustin is too specific and detailed about her grievances against the Starks for them not to be genuine. Her remarks to Theon about how she loved Brandon Stark and how she resented that Ned Stark had brought his sister’s remains back to the North but not her husband’s sound heartfelt, as does her statement that she will prevent Ned’s bones from being brought back to Winterfell.
There’s no doubt she also detests the Freys and loathes Ramsay as well. The problem is knowing what she does want. She never remarried and it’s not clear who is the heir to Barrowton. (By the way, it’s just another example of Ned Stark’s neglect that he didn’t insist that she remarry.) At this point it’s doubtful that she will marry or have children, so it seems pointless for her to aspire to rule the North. If she has any desire other than to express her malice towards everyone she hates, it’s fairly well hidden. She may be one of the least understood characters in the story in terms of insight into her true motives.
One thing that seems almost certain is that she knows “Arya Stark” is a fake. Jeyne was with her for the entire journey from Barrowton to Winterfell, and she’s very poor at playing a role. Her story would collapse under any but the most cursory questioning. She also doesn’t resemble either of her alleged parents, and is too old to be Arya. It would be incredible if Lady Dustin weren’t completely aware of the fraud. That knowledge may figure into her plans, whatever they are.
Tumblr’s being a pain for me so I’ll say thanks here for answering my civil war slave resistance question and suggesting resources.
And it’s what I get for using search engines that seem geared towards recommending what most people like, rather than what the keywords are. Tons and tons of results about everything except slavery itself.
Not a problem!
Nice videos on half-swording.
When it comes to Baratheon heirs, I think that both here and with the Starks there is an unrealistic lack of cousins. There is always some cousin who would be next in line, often several who has competing claims. Though I get the choice of not having an even larger ensemble.
Okay, your half-swording stuff sent me down a (massively enjoyable) youtube rabbit hole. Who knew this stuff was out there?
I also now find myself absurdly confident I could take on an armored man. And, to be perfectly honest, I am a little worried that a couple of those guys in the videos suffered full-blown concussions. Which now I could give to any armored mugger who dared approach me and my blunty sword! Grrr!
Thanks for a fun evening! 🙂