There are many legends in Westeros, but perhaps
the north has some of the most compelling
and relevant to the main story in the books.
Out of these nemours legends I have always
enjoyed Bael The Bard and feel it links back
into the main books and whats to come in a
lot of ways. Bael the Bard was supposably
a King beyond the wall, and one of the greatest
wildling raiders of all time and renown both
beyond the wall and in the North due to his
antics. Bael was a singer who wrote many songs
about his life, songs that are still sung
today north of the wall.
According to the legends of the free folk
beyond the wall, Lord Brandon Stark, the liege
of the north, once called Bael a coward. Word
somehow reached Bael himself who vowed to
take revenge for this affront and prove his
courage. Bael climbed the Wall then took the
kingsroad to Winterfell where he entered the
anicaint castle under the guise of a singer
named Sygerrik of Skagos. There, he sang until
midnight for the lord of winterfell.
Impressed by his skills as a singer, Lord
Stark asked Bael what he wanted as a reward,
but Bael requested only the most beautiful
flower blooming in Winterfell's gardens. As
the blue winter roses were just blooming,
Brandon Stark presented him with one and all
thought was well and the debt had been paid.
But the following morning, the maiden daughter
and only child of Lord Stark had disappeared
in the night. In her bed was the blue winter
rose given to Bael as a reward.
Lord Brandon sent the members of the Night's
Watch looking for them beyond the Wall, but
they never found Bael or the Stark girl. With
her being Lord Bradons only child, The Stark
line was on the verge of extinction, when
one day the girl was back in her room as if
nothing had happened, holding in her arms
an baby. They had actually never left Winterfell,
staying hidden in the crypts. Bael's bastard
with Brandon's daughter became the new Lord
Stark on his Grandfather's Death.
Thirty years later, Bael was King-Beyond-the-Wall
and led a wildling army south, and he had
to fight his own son at the Frozen Ford. There,
incapable of killing his own blood, he let
himself be killed by Lord Stark. His son brought
back Bael's head to Winterfell, and his mother
who had loved the bard, seeing the trophy,
killed herself by leaping from the top of
a tower. The son was eventually slain by House
Bolton.
The legend of Bael the Bard is recalled in
songs of the free folk. Ygritte learned the
song from her mother and Mance Rayder often
sang it at the Shadow Tower after rangings
while he was still a brother of the nights
watch. Bael is not mentioned in the old chronicles
at Winterfell, and although Jon Snow learned
stories from Maester Luwin and Old Nan he
never heard of Bael before Ygritte's telling
of the legend.
What complicates this tale even further is
the vagueness of the timeframe and which of
the numerous Lord Bradon Starks the legend
is about. Lord Brandon's existence itself
is unclear as well. Ygritte claims Brandon
lived "a long time back". As both Brandon
and his grandson are given the title "Lord"
instead of "King" this seems to indicate that
the disappearance of Brandon's daughter took
place after the Starks had given up their
kingship during Aegon's Conquest. Something
else that helps narrow the timeframe down
is the kingsroad is mentioned, implying it
took place during or after the reign of Jaehaerys
I Targaryen, during whose reign the kingsroad
was built. However it is also possible that
as the world grew and changed, so did the
specific details of the tale, being updated
and modernized every few generations. But
on the other hand, the story states that Bael's
son was killed by one of his own lords who
wore his skin afterwards. The habit of flaying
an enemy and wearing his skin was practiced
by the Boltons, but they are said to have
given up the practice "a thousand years ago"
well before Aegon's Conquest.
So why is the tale of bael the bard so important
to the main book series. Many have pointed
out a lot of similarities to the supposed
kidnap of Lyanna Stark by Rhaegar Targaryen
that caused the Robbert Rebellion. There are
more similarities than i thought other than
a female stark being apparently kidnapped.
If R + L = J is true in the book then it very
much parallels the Stark princess being found
with a baby. In this case Lyanna taking the
place of the princess and Ned Stark being
the now lord of winterfell. We also have the
association of the blue winter rose with Lyanna
stark and the wall, and my favorite part is
the idea of Rhaegar being known as a singer
and in the past being know to pretend to be
a bard in the wine sinks of Kings Landing,
and was also known to write his own music
and songs in the ruins of summerhall. Some
speculation i have seen suggest that Bael’s
son becoming Lord Of Winterfell could suggest
that this that Perhaps Lyanna’s baby, Jon
Snow, may himself inherit winterfell which
is also supported by the will of Robb Stark.
If you take anything from the show as an indication
of things that may happen in the books, then
Jon becoming King In The North also supports
this idea.
Another much more flimsy parallel that may
exist is the idea of Bael's son kinslaying
albeit unknowingly. If the ending of the Show
bears any similarity to what will happen in
the books, and Jon Snow kills Daenarys, this
maybe parallels the kinslaying aspect of the
tale. We also have the obvious Parallel in
the book of Bran, Rickon, The Reeds and Osha,
hiding in the crypts of winterfell after faking
an escape. This parallels very closely with
Bael and The Stark Princess hiding there for
months. There are some who speculate that
Rhagar and Lyanna never actually left winterfell,
and hid in the crypts, but after reading up
on the idea, i’m still not really sure how
the timeline of this works with what we know
as the established fact of where everyone
was during the rebellion.
What can we take away from this. Well if there
is one thing George R R Martin likes to do,
is foreshadow future events using legends,
paralleling events. We see this with a a lot
of the legends in A song of ice and fire.
But like many legends they can be interpreted
in different ways. With in the text, in A
Storm Of Swords, during Jon’s First meeting
with Mance. Jon himself points out the similarities
of the tale of Beal the Bard, and mances trip
to winterfell during Robert Baratheon's time
there. Arguable events much later with Mance
and his spearwives sneaking into the bolton
controlled witherfell also plays really well
with this idea.
So here is 
the big question, is the legend of
Bael The Bard true? Well it's a legend and
impossible to say. It is definitely plausible
and events along those line could very well
have happened at some point. But over time
events have evolved and changed and if it
were true then i think the real events would
have very few specific similarities to the
legend, more so just the outcome. But at the
end of the day what does it matter if it is
true or not, the event’s are not going to
influence the current story in the book and
do there job at fleshing out the lore of the
world as well as proving a interesting way
of foreshadowing event’s in the main book.
So what do you think about the legend of bael
the bard, do you think he was real, do you
see the R L = J parallels. What did i miss
and what theories do you have about him. I
look forward to talking to you about it in
the comments section.
