Lyanna Mormont
| House / Order | House Mormont |
|---|---|
| Race / Culture | Northmen |
| Status | Alive (as of A Dance with Dragons) |
| Origin | Bear Island, The North |
| Born | c. 290 AC, Bear Island |
| Died | |
| Weapon | |
| Fate | The young Lady of Bear Island, who defies Stannis Baratheon with a fierce letter of loyalty to House Stark |
| Portrayed by | Bella Ramsey |
Lyanna Mormont is the young Lady of Bear Island and head of House Mormont, a small but fiercely loyal house of the North. Though only a child, she becomes a memorable symbol of northern defiance and Stark loyalty when she rebuffs a king's demand with a single, blistering letter.
In the novels Lyanna is a minor but striking figure, glimpsed only through her words; her fame rests almost entirely on one act of childish, ferocious courage that the wider audience came to know through the television series.
Background
Lyanna is the youngest daughter of Lady Maege Mormont of Bear Island, and a kinswoman of Jeor Mormont, the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, and his disgraced son Jorah Mormont. House Mormont is a poor, hardy house of the rugged island, known for its fighting women and unbending loyalty to House Stark. With her mother and elder sisters away at war or otherwise occupied, the rule of Bear Island falls, remarkably, to the young Lyanna.
Biography
A Dance with Dragons
After the Red Wedding and the fall of House Stark, Stannis Baratheon arrives at The Wall and seeks to win the North to his cause, sending letters to the northern houses demanding their allegiance as the rightful king. The reply from Bear Island is written in a child's hand and is quoted in full: a single, devastating line of refusal. Lyanna Mormont, Lady of Bear Island, declares that Bear Island knows no king but the King in the North, whose name is Stark. The brevity and ferocity of the rebuke, from a girl of around ten, stands out even amid the grim politics of the war, a small flame of unwavering northern loyalty in a fractured land.
Character
Lyanna, as glimpsed in the novels, is fearless, blunt, and utterly devoted to House Stark, embodying the proud, hardy spirit of Bear Island and its fighting women. Her single letter conveys a will and a fierceness far beyond her years, refusing to bend to a king's command out of loyalty to the fallen Starks. She is a reminder that in the North, even the smallest and youngest can be unyielding.
Relationships
Lyanna is the daughter of Lady Maege Mormont and kin to Jeor Mormont of the Night's Watch and Jorah Mormont, the exiled knight serving Daenerys Targaryen. Her loyalty is fixed wholly upon House Stark, on whose behalf she defies Stannis Baratheon.
Quotes
Bear Island knows no king but the King in the North, whose name is Stark.
In the television series
In HBO's Game of Thrones, Lyanna Mormont was portrayed by Bella Ramsey, whose performance made the character vastly more prominent than in the books. The show developed her into a recurring figure: she pledges Bear Island's small strength to Jon Snow, rallies the northern lords to name him King in the North, and dies heroically at the Battle of Winterfell, slaying a giant wight as she falls. None of these scenes occur in the novels, where Lyanna's role is confined to her famous letter.