Thousands of years ago, during the Age of Heroes, when there was peace between the First Men and the Children of the Forest, the major houses of Westeros were established. Some of these houses would have swords with "special properties" that would be passed down from one head of household, or Lord, to the next. Let's take a closer look at these swords starting with the ones that we have already seen on the show.
Probably the most well known sword of Game of Thrones is Long Claw, Jon Snow's Valyrian steel sword.
Long Claw originally belonged to House Mormont from Bear Island and was passed down the line to Jeor Mormont (who would later become Lord Commander of the Night's Watch) who passed it to his son Jorah. However, Jorah in order to fund his wife's extravagant lifestyle began selling poachers he caught on his land to slave traders. This is very illegal in the 7 kingdoms, and so Jorah was exiled to Essos, leaving his dishonored famly and his heritage behind. Jeor Mormont soon left for the Wall, taking Long Claw with him but setting it aside until Jon Snow (his steward) saved him from a White Walker attack. Jeor gave the sword to Jon, and had the pommel remade so it displayed a white wolf at the end instead of a bear. Long Claw is still in Jon's possession in both the show and the book.
The Stark's had a Valyrian steel sword as well, not just a sword, but a two-handed GREAT SWORD named ICE. Ned Stark carried it with him, was used it more for ceremonial things than for actual battle. When Ned was accused of treason and beheaded by Ser Illyn Payne (the King's Justice), ICE was the sword Payne used. It would later be taken by Tywin Lannister and melted down.
The Lannisters have an interesting history with Valyrian steel swords. The family once possessed one for themselves called BRIGHT ROAR, wielded by the King of the Rock (referring to the Lannister's home Casterly Rock) Tommen II, but it was lost at sea during Tommen's crusade to Valyria. Tywin Lannister would later attempt to buy a Valyrian steel sword from other houses of Westeros, but no family would part with theirs.
After Ned Stark died, Tywin had ICE melted down and reforged into two swords. Oathkeeper was given to Ser Jamie, then Lord Commander of the King's Guard and Widow's Wail was given to King Joffrey as a wedding gift. After Joffrey died, the sword passed to his brother the young King Tommen. Currently Widow's Wail is still in Lannister possession. Oathkeeper was given to Brienne of Tarth by Ser Jamie to help fill his pledge to Catlyn Stark. Jamie sent Brienne to find Sansa and Arya and to protect them. In the show, Brienne still has Oathkeeper, but in the books she's been captured by the Brotherhood Without Banners and the sword is now being used as evidence against her, suggesting that she betrayed Lady Catlyn and joined the Lannisters. Can't wait to see what happens there in Winds of Winter.
A lesser known, but major ancestral sword that was mentioned briefly in season 6 is the sword of House Dayne, DAWN. It is said that DAWN was forged from the metal of the heart of fallen star. The Dayne's are ALL ABOUT THIS SWORD. Their castle is named Starfall, their banner is of a white sword and a falling star AND they don't follow the traditions of Westeros like the other houses. Most houses pass these swords from lord to lord, but the Daynes pass DAWN on to a knight that is deemed worthy enough to wield it and thus named "the Sword of the Morning". For example, DAWN became a focal point in season 6 because of it's possible tie to Jon Snow's prophecy. DAWN, at the time of Jon's birth, was carried by Arthur Dayne. The story goes that Ser Arthur Dayne (a member of King Aerys' King's Guard, and loyal to Prince Rhaegar) fought against Ned Stark and Howland Reed at the Tower of Joy where he was struck down. After Ned left the tower, he journeyed south to Starfall to return DAWN to House Dayne, where it remains until the next Sword of the Morning is named.
Now there are some lesser known Valyrian steel swords attached to some houses in Westeros that have not been talked about in the show or the books. You can find information about them in The World of Ice & Fire book, or through the Tell Tale video game about Game of Thrones. In that game, you meet the Lord of House Forrester Gregor, his heir Rodrik, and Rodrik's squire (and 4th born son of House Forrester) Ryon. The sword doesn't appear to have a name, and is referred to as "The Forrester Greatsword". After the events of the Red Wedding both Gregor and Rodrik are struck down and presumed dead, so the sword passes to the 3rd born son, Ethan, who is later killed by Ramsay Bolton; leaving Ryon Forrester as the sole heir. Depending on the choices you make in the game, Rodrik is revealed to still be alive and takes the sword for himself. It is believed to still be in his possession in Essos.
Another lesser known house and sword is House Corbray's sword LADY FORLORN. The Corbrays descend directly from the Andals and were involved in the Blackfyre rebellions. They followed the Blackfyres in the civil war against the Targaryans. Now it is believed that the sword is still in residence at the Corbray's castle, Heartshome.
The Blackfyres are very interesting. They are actually the bastard line of King Aegon IV, one of the many Targaryan kings. On his deathbed, King Aegon IV legitimized all of his bastard children (which was said to be dozens and dozens), and specifically named his bastard son Daemon as heir to the throne and gave him the sword BLACKFYRE as a way of showing this. In Westeros, bastards are frowned upon for the most part, so Daemon's acension to the thrown was heavily contested and thus the first Blackfyre rebellion began. Many citizens of Westeros saw the passing of the sword as the passing of the true Targaryan heritage and so Daemon had many supporters for his claim to the Iron Throne. He was defeated though, and after the 3rd rebellion, Daemon's son Daeron was killed in battle. The sword was claimed by Blackfyre loyalist Aegon Rivers aka Bittersteel, who fled to Essos, where he would help form the Golden Company, an army of sellswords. It is believed now that BLACKFYRE is kept by Illario Mopatis, the silk merchant of Pentos, possibly hinting at his Targaryan or Blackfyre heritage. (Illario is the dude that makes the deal for Dany to marry Khal Drogo, and gives her the 3 dragon eggs as a wedding present, he definitely has major stakes in who sits on the Iron Throne).
The Targaryans had another famous Valyrian steel sword that has an interesting history. DARK SISTER was believed to be forged for Queen Visenya, wife and sister (gross) of King Aegon the Conqueror. It's supposedly designed for a smaller hand and is overall lighter to use. After Visenya's death, the sword made it's way through her ancestors and finally ended up in the possession of Bryndon Rivers aka Blood Raven. For show watchers, Blood Raven is also the 3 Eyed Raven that helps train Bran Stark when he goes North of the Wall. There is no mention of where the sword could be though. It's possible that Blood Raven brought the sword with him to the Wall when he joined the Knight's Watch or maybe even brought it with him North of the Wall to the weirwood tree in which case it's possible to think maybe Meera Reed picked it up when escaping the White Walker's attack. If not, then it could be anywhere.
I forgot to mention a sword that we saw this last season, and the sword that I think will kick off Sam's quest in season 7! And that's the sword that actually belongs to his own house, House Tarley's Valyrian steel sword, HEARTSBANE! It's Valyrian steel that's been passed down through House Tarley for 500 years. In the books, it's still held by Sam's father, Randyll Tarley, but in the show Sam took it for his own. Can't wait to see what the showrunners are going to do with this! (be sure check out my theory about Sam along with my other season 7 predictions!)
This brings me to my last entry for today, but it's the one with the most specualtion and story behind it. I'm talking about the sword of Azor Ahai, LIGHTBRINGER. The story goes that Azor Ahai forged this sword himself. He toiled for 30 days and nights, and attempted to temper the steel in water, but it shattered. So he went back to work, this time for 50 days. When he was done, he found a lion and thrust the sword through the lion's heart, hoping the strength of the beast would temper the steel, but again it shattered. And again, Azor Ahai went back to work, this time working day and night for 100 days. At the end he called to his wife, Nissa Nissa, whom he loved more than anything in the world; and thrust the sword through her heart, using her warmth, love and loyalty to temper the steel. This time it worked, and the blade ignited in flame and blazed with mighty colors. Azor Ahai would used LIGHTBRINGER in the Battle for the Dawn to fight off the White Walkers and save the world. Prophecy says that Azor Ahai will return and LIGHTBRINGER will be reforged; many believe that Jon is the last hero, and the new Azor Ahai. There could be a very dramatic and awesome moment when Jon stabs someone with LONG CLAW and the blade ignites. But who would he have to kill? Sansa? Melisandre? Daenarys? Damn I hate that we have to wait til next summer for season 7! I certainly hope Winds of Winter comes out soon!
Do you have any ideas about the missing Valyrian steel swords? Do you think the Lannister's BRIGHT ROAR is actually lost or was it taken? Did Meera pick up DARK SISTER by accident when running from the White Walkers? Does Illario Mopatis have BLACKFYRE and plan to give it to whom he believes is actually the true ruler of the Seven Kingdoms? Will all of these weapons be collected and used in the upcoming War of the Dawn? I, for one, cannot wait to find out! Let me know what you think.
**Pictures come from awoiaf.westeros.org a great wiki for all things related to A Song of Ice & Fire***
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