Robb Stark

The Young Wolf who crowned himself King in the North before falling to betrayal at The Twins.

Robb Stark, known by the epithet The Young Wolf, is a central figure in George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series and its HBO adaptation Game of Thrones, portrayed by Richard Madden. Introduced in A Game of Thrones (1996), he is the eldest son and heir of Lord Eddard Stark and Lady Catelyn Stark. Following his father's execution on the order of King Joffrey Baratheon, Robb is crowned King in the North by his bannermen. He wages a war against the Iron Throne to free his father and secure the independence of the North, appearing prominently in A Clash of Kings (1998) and A Storm of Swords (2000). His journey ends abruptly with his betrayal and murder at the Red Wedding, an event that shocked both book readers and television audiences.

Quick Facts

Series

A Song of Ice and Fire character; Game of Thrones

Portrayed by

Richard Madden

Creator

George R. R. Martin

Adapted by

D.B. Weiss and David Benioff (Game of Thrones)

First

Literature:
A Game of Thrones (1996)
Television:
"Winter Is Coming" (2011)

Last

Literature:
A Storm of Swords (2000)
Television:
"The Rains of Castamere" (2013)

Based on

Edward IV

Occupation

Military commander

Lore & Background

At the start of A Game of Thrones, Robb is 14 years old (increased to 17 in the TV series). Trained by Ser Rodrik Cassel, he becomes a skilled rider and swordsman. He leads an assembled Northern army south after his father's arrest, seeking to relieve the besieged Riverlands. To secure safe passage across The Twins, Robb consents to marry a daughter or granddaughter of Lord Walder Frey. However, during A Storm of Swords, he takes Lady Jeyne Westerling as his wife in the books (or Talisa Maegyr in the TV series) after an assault in the Westerlands and injury, rescinding his arrangement with House Frey. This breach causes House Karstark to withdraw support after Robb executes Lord Rickard Karstark for killing Lannister prisoners. Despite these setbacks, he attempts to repair alliances by arranging for his uncle Edmure Tully to marry Lady Roslin Frey.

Reader's Guide

Robb Stark is not a point-of-view character in the novels; his actions are witnessed through the eyes of Bran, Catelyn, Jon Snow, and Theon Greyjoy. Time critic James Poniewozik describes him as less eager for retaliation than his father but more pragmatic, capable of feints and deceptions at the cost of 2,000 men. George R. R. Martin stated he killed Robb to keep the story unpredictable, noting that killing Ned Stark made readers expect his son to rise up and avenge him, so killing Robb became the necessary next step. In the television adaptation, Richard Madden received positive reviews for portraying this transition from acting Lord of Winterfell to King in the North.

Did You Know?

Robb is accompanied by his direwolf, Grey Wind, whose head was sewn onto Robb's corpse after the Red Wedding.
The Red Wedding was inspired by two events from Scottish history: the Black Dinner and the Glencoe Massacre.