Riverrun is the ancestral seat of House Tully and is located in The Riverlands. It is a three sided castle and one of the most defendable seats in the Seven Kingdoms.
Location[]
Riverrun is located in the west of the Riverlands, where the Red Fork and the Tumblestone rivers meet. It is due west of Stone Hedge and Raventree Hall, as well as being north of Pinkmaiden Castle. It sits on the river road, which connects Lannisport and the crossroads.
Layout[]
Riverrun is a three sided castle, bordered by rivers from two sides and a massive man-made ditch on the third. In time of danger the sluice gates can be opened to fill a wide moat and leave the castle surrounded on all three sides by water, turning Riverrun into an island and leaving it practically unassailable.
Locations[]
The Great Hall.[]
There is a private audience chamber above the Great Hall with a high seat for the lord and a bell to ring for servants. The Great hall is where the large counsels are held.
The Dungeons.[]
All the dungeons in Riverrun are windowless, and has heavy doors made of iron and wood.
The Keep.[]
It is triangular like Riverrun itself.
The Lord Solar.[]
it is also triangular like the castle, with a stone balcony jutting eastwards. The solar can be reached by a spiral stairway.
The Water Gate.[]
It has a wide arch and a heavy iron portcullis, red with rust in its lower half. It is named so for being half in the water. One must use a boat to go through it.
The Sept.[]
Like all Septs, the sept at Riverrun is seven-sided sandstone building. It was built under the command of Hoster Tully amidst the garden of his wife Minisa Whent. The images of the Seven Holies are painted on marble.
The Godswood.[]
It is a bright and airy garden, with redwoods, flowers, nesting birds, and streams. The godswood's heart tree is a slender carved weir-wood.
The Wheel Tower.[]
It has a great waterwheel within it, which is turned by the tumble-stone that its waters go through it. It has ivy climbing alongside it, below it one makes a wide turn and ends up in churning waters. Eventually one can reach the Water Gate.
History[]
Riverrun was built by Axel Tully more than a thousand years before the start of the book. House Tully would never rule as kings, but would serve them, and as such Riverrun and Pinkmaiden were the main strongholds that guarded the Riverlands from the kings of The Westerlands.
During the War of Conquest Edmyn Tully would raise his banners for King Aegon I Targaryen. As a reward for his actions he was named Lord Paramount of the Trident. House Tully would support the Faith against King Maegor the Cruel during the Faith Militant Uprising. Riverrun stood as neutral during the Dance of the Dragons, but would later declare itself for the blacks.
Petyr Baelish would be fostered at Riverrun during his youth, where he would fall in love with Catelyn Stark, and where Lysa Arryn would fall in love with him. It was the site of Petyr's duel with Brandon Stark over Catelyn's hand. After Petyr lost he was sent away by Lord Hoster Tully.
The godswood of Riverrun would see a double marriage at the start of Robert's Rebellion, when Lord Eddard Stark would marry Catelyn and Lord Jon Arryn would marry Lysa. Despite House Tully being of the Faith of the Seven, Riverrun's sept was constructed by Lord Hoster to honour his wife, Minisa Tully.
Books[]
A Game of Thrones[]
Ser Edmure Tully is defeated at the Battle of Riverrun, and the castle is subsequently put under siege by Ser Jaime Lannister. This siege is broken, however, when Lord Robb Stark, grandson of Hoster Tully, attacks the Lannister's troops from the North and the west, routing them at the Battle of the Camps.
It is in the great hall of Riverrun that Robb is declared as King in the North.
A Clash of Kings[]
When Robb Stark leaves the Riverlands in order to attack the Westerlands, he leaves Riverrun under the command of Edmure Tully.
After Tyrion Lannister becomes the Hand of the King, he sends envoys to Riverrun who secretly tries to free Jaime Lannister who was captured at the Battle of the Whispering Wood. However the attempt fails and the envoys are hanged.
Edmure and the riverlords defend the Red Fork from Lord Tywin Lannister's army in the Battle of the Fords, after which Riverrun celebrates Edmure's victory and Robb's storming of the Crag.
A Feast for Crows[]
After the Red Wedding Riverrun is besieged by forces of House Frey and House Lannister, as Emmon Frey has been named the new lord of Riverrun. The siege is eventually broken when Jaime Lannister convinces demure Tully to bend the knee, but the stubborn castellan, Brynden Tully, escapes and is named an outlaw.
- ↑ The World of Ice and Fire, The Riverlands: House Tully.