Bran Stark

Origin

Brandon (Bran) Stark was the second son and fourth child of Eddard and Catelyn Stark. Bran was born in the North, at Winterfell, in the height of Summer. As such he knows little of the devastation that the coming of Winter heralds. Bran is named after his father’s older brother, whose death was one of the main catalysts for Robert Baratheon‘s rebellion against the Targaryen Royal House. He has two older siblings; Robb and Sansa, and two younger; Arya and Rickon. He also has a half-brother, Jon Snow.

Creation

The “Game of Thrones” series has been adapted from the book of the same name, part of the series “A Song of Ice and Fire, written by George R.R. Martin. Bran Stark first appeared in Game of Thrones #1.

Current Events

After Bran witnessed the execution of a deserter of the Night’s Watch, carried out by his father, he traveled back to Winterfell – along with twenty other men. On the return journey, the group came across a dead direwolf, surrounded by her five pups (the sixth, the runt of the litter, was hiding nearby). Several members of the group call for the pups to be killed (direwolves are notoriously lethal), but others suggest that the pups are an omen of sorts. The six direwolf pups represent the five children, and one bastard, of Eddard Stark and to kill such creatures would only bring bad fortune. The direwolf, after all, is the sigil of House Stark. Bran received his direwolf who he later named Summer. Shortly afterward, Robert Baratheon, the King of the Seven Kingdoms, traveled north to persuade Eddard to take the mantle of Hand of the King- a title held by the then-deceased Jon Arryn. The Royal Household, which included many of the Lannisters, traveled with him. The following day, Bran engaged on one of his typical climbing adventures. He climbed to one of the tallest towers at Winterfell, only to unknowingly eavesdrop on the Queen, Cersei Lannister, making love to her twin brother, Jaime. Bran slipped, only to be caught by Jaime, who – at the orders of Cersei- then pushed him out the window. The fall didn’t kill him, but lost the use of his lower body, and quickly slipped into a deep coma.

Other Media

Novels

Bran Stark first appeared in “Game of Thrones”, a novel by George R.R.Martin. Bran is a prominent character in the series “A Song of Ice and Fire”.

Television

Bran also appeared in the HBO television series, based on “A Song of Ice and Fire”, titled “Game of Thrones”. He is portrayed by Isaac Hempstead-Wright.