Iron Islands
"The islands are stern and stony places, scant of comfort and bleak of prospect. Death is never far here, and life is mean and meager." - A Clash of Kings[1]
The Iron Islands, also known as the Iron Isles or the Kingdom of the Iron Isles, are a harsh and storm-lashed archipelago off the western coast of Westeros. Once ruled by rock, salt, and High Kings chosen in kingsmoots, the isles came under the rule of hereditary Kings of the Iron Islands after the slaughter at Nagga’s Hill, when Urron Greyiron abolished the title of High King. The Iron Islands are home to the ironborn, a fierce seafaring people who pride themselves on their unyielding nature. The isles themselves are small, rocky, and only thinly fertile, with frequent storms, grey skies, and restless seas. [2]
Overview
Terrain
The Iron Islands consists of thirty-one isles west of the Cape of Eagles, with another thirteen clustered around Lonely Light, the westernmost point of known lands. Of these, seven are counted as major: Old Wyk, Great Wyk, Pyke, Harlaw, Saltcliffe, Blacktyde, and Orkmont. The isles are rocky and thin-soiled, better suited to grazing goats than raising crops. Frequent storms, grey skies, and stony shores define the landscape. The sea is the lifeblood of the isles, without its bounty, the ironborn would starve in winter. The surrounding waters teem with fish, cod, monkfish, skate, sardines, mackerel, as well as crabs, lobsters, swordfish, seals, and whales, providing sustenance for the islanders. Seven of every ten families are said to be fisherfolk, and to own a ship is to command one’s fate. [2]
Main Islands/Regions
Culture
The ironborn are a fierce seafaring people who view themselves as set apart from other men. According to their priests, they are not descended from those of the green lands, but were born of the sea itself, created by the Drowned God to rule the waters of the world. Their religion is without temples or books; the priests, called Drowned Men, wander the isles, living an austere life close to the sea, and wield great influence. The Drowned God is opposed by the Storm God, whose winds and storms bring ruin. [2]
The culture of the Ironborn is built upon reaving and raiding. War, not labor, is a proper ironman’s calling. Thralls work the fields and mines, while freeborn men fight and sail. Reavers from the Iron Islands rule the Sunset Sea, their longships swift and deadly. [3] Inland, the ironborn rarely venture far from salt waters. In time, the loss of their own forests to shipbuilding forced them to raid the green lands for timber and wealth. Raiding also supplies the islands with thralls, food, and salt wives. Salt wives, captured during raids, are joined to their captors in marriage rites performed by Drowned Men; their children are legitimate, and salt sons could inherit in the absence of trueborn heirs. But a salt wife would always be beneath a rock wife.
History
The Dawn Age
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The Age of Heroes
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The Coming of the Andals
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