Eddard Stark
| House / Order | House Stark |
|---|---|
| Race / Culture | Northmen |
| Status | Deceased |
| Origin | The North |
| Born | 263 AC |
| Died | 298 AC, King's Landing |
| Weapon | Ice, a Valyrian steel greatsword |
| Fate | Beheaded on the orders of Joffrey Baratheon on false charges of treason |
| Portrayed by | Sean Bean |
Eddard Stark, called Ned, is the Lord of Winterfell, Warden of the North, and head of House Stark. A man of rigid honor and few words, he is one of the central figures of the early events of A Game of Thrones, and his fate sets in motion the War of the Five Kings.
Raised partly in the Vale as a ward of Jon Arryn, Eddard came to embody the old values of the North: duty, justice, and the worship of the old gods. His refusal to bend to the intrigues of King's Landing makes him both admirable and doomed in the southern game of thrones.
Background
Eddard was the second son of Rickard Stark, Lord of Winterfell, and was fostered at the Eyrie alongside Robert Baratheon, with whom he formed a lifelong friendship. His elder brother Brandon and his father were murdered by the Mad King Aerys II Targaryen, making Eddard the heir to Winterfell.
The abduction of his sister Lyanna Stark by Rhaegar Targaryen helped ignite Robert's Rebellion. Eddard fought beside Robert and his goodfather Hoster Tully, and married Catelyn Tully, originally betrothed to Brandon. At the war's end Eddard rode south and found Lyanna dying at the Tower of Joy in Dorne; her final words, "Promise me, Ned," haunt him through the novels. He returned north with an infant bastard, Jon Snow, whose mother he never names.
Biography
A Game of Thrones
Eddard rules the North from Winterfell with his wife Catelyn and their children: Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran, and Rickon, alongside the bastard Jon Snow. After the sudden death of Jon Arryn, King Robert journeys to Winterfell and names Eddard Hand of the King.
Reluctantly, Eddard travels south to King's Landing. Investigating Arryn's death, he uncovers the truth that Queen Cersei Lannister's children are not Robert's but the product of incest with her brother Jaime Lannister. When Robert is mortally wounded hunting, Eddard moves to install Robert's true heir, Stannis Baratheon, but is betrayed by Littlefinger and arrested.
Persuaded that confessing will spare his daughters and earn him exile to the Wall, Eddard falsely admits to treason. The boy king Joffrey Baratheon instead orders his execution, and Eddard is beheaded with his own sword Ice before the Great Sept of Baelor, an act that shocks the realm and triggers open war.
Character
Eddard is defined by honor, justice, and an unbending sense of duty. He insists that the man who passes a sentence must swing the sword himself, and beheads a deserter of the Night's Watch in the novel's opening chapter. His honesty, a virtue in the North, becomes a fatal weakness amid the deceit of the capital. He is also burdened by the secret of Jon Snow's parentage, the central mystery he carries to his grave.
Relationships
Eddard's marriage to Catelyn grows into deep love despite its political origins. His friendship with Robert Baratheon is genuine but strained by Robert's drinking and cruelty toward the Targaryens. His relationships with his children, especially Arya and Bran, are tender. His refusal to reveal Jon Snow's mother is a lasting source of pain between him and Catelyn.
Quotes
The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword.
When the snows fall and the white winds blow, the lone wolf dies but the pack survives.
Promise me, Ned. (Lyanna Stark, recalled)
In the television series
In HBO's Game of Thrones, Eddard was portrayed by Sean Bean. His arc closely follows the first novel, and his execution concludes the first season. The series later confirmed the long-theorized truth of Jon Snow's parentage (the union of Lyanna Stark and Rhaegar Targaryen), which the novels strongly imply but have not yet stated outright.