Norden kommer ihåg
Det finns en lång historia till Nattens Vakt, och Norden kommer ihåg.
Thanks to the children, the first men of the Night's Watch banded together and were able to fight—and win—the Battle for the Dawn: the last battle that broke the endless winter and sent the Others fleeing to the icy north. Now, six thousand years later (or eight thousand as True History puts forward), the Wall made to defend the realms of men is still manned by the sworn brothers of the Night's Watch, and neither the Others nor the children have been seen in many centuries.
That [the Others] became monstrous in the tales told thereafter, according to Fomas, reflects the desire of the Night's Watch and the Starks to give themselves a more heroic identity as saviors of mankind, and not merely the beneficiaries of a struggle over dominion.
The World of Ice and Fire - Ancient History: The Long Night
The history of the Night's Watch is a long one. Tales still tell of the black knights of the Wall and their noble calling. But the Age of Heroes is long done, and the Others have not shown themselves in thousands of years, if indeed they ever existed.
The World of Ice and Fire - The Wall and Beyond: The Night’s Watch
Starks och norr kommer ihåg historien där Night Watch var född. Ett brödraskap som svarade för att skydda alla , oavsett påståenden från den glömda terror som ligger i den glömda norra.
Nattens klocka till riket påpekas av Visenya, när hon modellerar Kingsguard-löfterna efter Night's Watch. Men i stället för riket är Kingsguard svurit till kungen.
She modeled their vows upon those of the Night's Watch, so that they would forfeit all things save their duty to the king.
The World of Ice and Fire - The Targaryen Kings: Aegon I
Det var norr som var direkt i linje för att få rekt av de andra, och Nights Watch var de som skydde dem:
The northern boundary of the Stark domains was protected by the Wall and the men of the Night's Watch
The World of Ice and Fire - The North: The Kings of Winter
Denna punkt utvidgades i en tweet av Elio och Lindo @ westerosorg:
It's also a recognition that the wall has helped protect the North from wildling invasions much more recently than when the Others were last seen. It's an honorable (sic) calling for a younger son, who otherwise has few prospects, to take the black because of this history Tweet from @westerosorg
Det är för det mesta oklart varför de ära det så, men bara det de gör.
Wildling raids may rightly be considered more of a nuisance than a menace; many wise men suggest that they might be better dealt with by allowing the lords of the North to extend their rule beyond the Wall so that they can drive the wildlings back.
Only the fact that the Northmen themselves greatly honor the Watch has kept it functioning, and a great part of the food that keeps the black brothers of Castle Black, the Shadow Tower, and Eastwatch-by-the-Sea from starving comes not from the Gift but from the yearly gifts these Northern lords deliver to the Wall in token of their support.
The World of Ice and Fire - The Wall and Beyond: The Night’s Watch
I vilken utsträckning det ansågs hedersvärt i de gamla dagarna uppmärksammas av Jon, när han diskuterade Shieldhall. Där de gamla sköldarna av riddare och adelsman som hade gett upp sina hus för den svarta skulle hänga sina sköldar, tills deras död,
The Shieldhall was one of the older parts of Castle Black, a long drafty feast hall of dark stone, its oaken rafters black with the smoke of centuries. Back when the Night's Watch had been much larger, its walls had been hung with rows of brightly colored wooden shields. Then as now, when a knight took the black, tradition decreed that he set aside his former arms and take up the plain black shield of the brotherhood. The shields thus discarded would hang in the Shieldhall.
Hundreds of knights meant hundreds of shields. Hawks and eagles, dragons and griffins, suns and stags, wolves and wyverns, manticores, ... , and a hundred other heraldic charges had adorned the Shieldhall walls, blazoned in more colors than any rainbow ever dreamed of.
But when a knight died, his shield was taken down, that it might go with him to his pyre or his tomb...
A Dance with Dragons: Jon XIII
Söderna har länge glömt hotet av inte bara de andra, men av Wildlings, anser de mest att det är folkhistorier och gamla kvinnas berättelser. Southron-herrarna har bara känt den nordliga riket för att vara deras hot från norr (före Aegons landning) sedan Nattens Vakt och norr hade hållit allt annat i avfart. Denna okunnighet var emellertid inte alltid fallet, som beskrivningen av Shieldhall-staterna fanns det ett antal hus som en gång var representerad på Hallens väggar.
Hawks and eagles, dragons and griffins, suns and stags, wolves and wyverns, manticores, bulls, trees and flowers, harps, spears, crabs and krakens, red lions and golden lions and chequy lions, owls, lambs, maids and mermen, stallions, stars, buckets and buckles, flayed men and hanged men and burning men, axes, longswords, turtles, unicorns, bears, quills, spiders and snakes and scorpions
A Dance With Dragons - ibid. A list of the houses can be found here
Huset sträcker sig från hela riket och består inte bara av nordens.