House Arryn of the Eyrie

The heads of the house date back to the old Andal nation, which happened to invade Westeros. According to the way Martin tells of House Arryn, the lineage continually marries other Andal nobles, which makes this house the purest Andal nobles.

Before the Andals invaded and began controlling the Vale, it was overseen by the First Men under the rule of the Mountain Kings. Those kings wore the Falcon Crown, but these kings were overseen by House Targaryen and Aegon the Conqueror. Targaryen and Aegon were lords of the Vale and Wardens over the East. This title was always held by both Targaryen and Aegon. When Robert's Rebellion broke out, these two sided with Robert Baratheon.

After the Andal takeover of the Vale, Sir Artys Arryn, better-known as the Winged Knight, led the house in the invasion of that landed close to the Vale. According to the legend Martin outlined in his novels, Sir Artys Arryn jumped on a falcon and flew to the top of the mountain to conquer the Griffin King. The protectors of Vale, the First Men, heard about this great feat and ran away, leaving the Vale to House Arryn. Sir Artys Arryn became the first ruler of the Vale for House Arryn.

Martin explains through the novels of other legends of House Arryn, but the most famous legend was that of Alyssa. This Arryn lived more than 6,000 years ago and outlived her husband, children and her siblings. She was so devote to her people that she swore never to shed a tear. Because of this strength, the gods decided to curse her no a life without peace. That peace could only come when the glaciers of Giant's Lance mountains melted and watered the earth below them. Years after her death the glacier melted, creating a waterfall which was called Alyssa's Tears. However, throughout the novels and novella the curse still remained, because even though the glacier would melt during the summer, it would freeze in the winter.

Throughout the books and short stories, George R.R. Martin paints a vivid picture of House Arryn. This house had high standards that was not only demanded by the family Arryn, but to others. Many people would call the Arryn's thought themselves better than others. However, the Arryn's believed strongly in justice, honor and truth. Members of House Arryn were also known for their great fighting skills, which are sharpened by fighting the wild men of the mountains that would terrorize the roads of the Vale. This provided the members of House Arryn more combat challenges than the other houses.

Martin does a fantastic job of giving the reader a detail of each of the ruling houses and the characters he develops for all of his novels and novellas. He does it again with House Arryn. Throughout A Song of Ice and Fire series and the novellas, The Tales of Dunk and Egg, more and more details about House Arryn are explained, drawing you right into believing this house actually existed.