Night’s Watch

The Night's Watch is an organization dedicated to defending the realms of man in George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire.

History

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The Night's Watch mans the Wall, a huge fortification built primarily of ice located in the far north of Westeros. 300 miles long and over 700 feet high, it extends from the Frostfangs mountain range in the west to the Bay of Seals in the east. According to Westerosi legend it was built after the period known as The Long Night by the nearly mythical Brandon the Builder over 8,000 years prior to the present setting. The wall was constructed after The Long Night in an attempt to forever shut out the inhabitants of the far north that had overrun Westeros in that period before being turned back by unknown forces. The greatest antagonist to the Watch has been the Others a race of mystical creatures not seen in thousands of years.

For the vast majority of the Watch's recent history they have served as a practical penal colony, filled with petty and violent criminals, political exiles and vanquished nobility. Although their numbers are dwindling and the title of Brother of the Night's Watch no longer holds the honor and prestige it once did, the core of the Watch is still composed of capable and dedicated men. These men now serve the Watch and the Realm of Men by helping ensure that the barbarian human settlers of the areas north of the wall, known as Wildlings, are not allowed to raid south of the wall, their ancient task all but forgotten by time and practical, modern concerns.

While the Night's Watch holds 19 castles along the Wall, they have never had enough strength to man them all at once. At the time of the series, the Night's Watch is in an extremely weak state and is only able to man three: Castle Black (situated near the middle of the Wall, home of the Lord Commander); Eastwatch-by-the Sea and the Shadow Tower in the far west. The Night's Watch also received "The Gift", a tract of land beneath the Wall, from a long-dead Stark Lord, though they do not use it. This tract was later extended by Queen Alyssane, wife of King Jaehaerys the Concilliator. The nearest point of civilization to the Wall is Mole's Town, a subterranean settlement whose brothel is frequently patronized by brothers of the Night's Watch.

The Nineteen Castles of the Night's Watch

(castles in bold currently occupied)

Westwatch-by-the-Bridge
The Shadow Tower
Sentinel Stand
Greyguard
Stonedoor
Hoarfrost Hill
Icemark
The Nightfort (the oldest and largest)
Deep Lake
Queensgate, formerly known as Snowgate
Castle Black
Oakenshield
Woodswatch-by-the-Pool
Sable Hall
Rimegate
The Long Barrow
The Torches
Greenguard
Eastwatch-by-the-Sea

Culture of the Watch

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A man of the Night's Watch serves for life; after a man has taken his vow (which includes a promise not to take a wife or father children), desertion is punishable by death. As already noted some of the men are high-born nobles and knights, but most are criminals: being sent to the Wall is a standard punishment for serious crimes in Westeros. The high-born of the North have traditionally considered it an honor to serve on the Wall, but many of the high-born southerners that serve were sent because they fought on the wrong side of a war. Men of the Night's Watch are garbed all in black, a tradition which earned them the nickname "crows". While some use this name derogatorily, many in the Night's Watch have adopted the term for their own use.

The Night's Watch is broken down into 3 main groups: rangers, builders and stewards. The rangers are tasked with actively defending the wall and riding out to face the Watch's enemies, including the lawless wildlings as well as the mysterious inhuman Others; the builders are responsible for maintaining the Wall; and the stewards handle the day-to-day running of the Wall. There is a "First Ranger", "First Builder" and "First Steward" to lead each group, and the Lord Commander of the Night's Watch oversees the entire organization. It is strongly suggested by the author that the Lord Commander is usually a ranger.

The oath of the Night's Watch is as follows: Night gathers, and now my watch begins. It shall not end until my death. I shall take no wife, hold no lands, father no children. I shall wear no crowns and win no glory. I shall live and die at my post. I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers, the shield that guards the realms of men. I pledge my life and honor to the Night's Watch, for this night and all the nights to come.

Notable Brothers to appear in the books

Lord Jon Snow, 998th Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. A bastard of Stark blood.
Lord Jeor Mormont, 997th Lord Commander of the Watch, known as "The Old Bear". Died from wounds received in battle.
Othell Yarwyck, First Builder of the Night's Watch.
Bowen Marsh, Lord Steward of the Night's Watch.
Lord Denys Mallister, Commanding at The Shadow Tower.
Cotter Pyke, Commanding at Eastwatch-by-the-Sea.
Benjen Stark, First Ranger and brother to Lord Eddard Stark, missing beyond the Wall and thought dead.
Qhorin Half-Hand, second in command at The Shadow Tower and a Ranger of much repute. He allowed Jon Snow to kill him so that Snow would be accepted among the wildlings.
Donal Noye, one-armed blacksmith at at Castle Black. He was personal blacksmith to House Baratheon before losing an arm during Greyjoy's Rebellion. He died fighting Mag the Mighty, king of the giants, underneath the Wall.
Thoren Smallwood, First Ranger after Benjen Stark's disappearance.
Jarmen Buckwell, senior Ranger.
Ser Waymar Royce, a novice Ranger slain by an Other.
Yoren, a "wandering crow" or recruiter for the Watch. He was killed fighting Lannister men searching for Robert Baratheon's bastard, whom he was taking to the Wall.
Maester Aemon Targaryen, Maester of Castle Black and one of the last Targaryens.
Samwell Tarly, son of renowned battle commander Randyl Tarly, an obese and admitted coward.
Beardless Dick, Ranger.
Eddison Tollett, Ranger, called "Dolorous Edd" for his sarcastic and black humor.
Stonesnake, a Ranger from Shadow Tower, companion to Qhorin Half-Hand and the most accomplished mountian climber in the Watch. Missing and presumed dead after trying to cross the Frostfangs alone and on foot.

Wildlings

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A Wildling is, by definition, any person that lives North of the Wall. These people are viewed as barbarians by those south of the Wall, people viewed by the Wildlings as weak and soft. There are tens, possibly hundreds of thousands of Wildlings split into hundreads of tribes, clans, villiges and raiding parties. Some, such as the Thenn, live in tightly knit communities while others are semi-nomadic loners, held down only by their own needs. While there is often conflict between the Wildlings and the "crows" the two groups are not beyond some form of cooperation as lost Brothers have been aided by Wildlings and the Watch is not beyond taking Wildling children and raising them to be Brothers of the Watch. In recent times there has been a lot of activity north of the wall as a Wildling born deserter of the Brotherhood, Mance Rayder, gathers Wildling forces around him.

Known Wildlings

Mance Rayder, known as the King-Beyond-the-Wall.
Dalla, companion to Mance Rayder.
Val, sister of Dalla.
The Lord of Bones, mocked by the Brotherhood (and some Wildlings) as "Rattleshirt", a sadistic raider who wears armor made of bone.
Styr, the Magnar of Thenn, chieften of the Thenns, a war-like wildling tribe.
Harma, called "Dogs-Bane", an infamous female raider and cynophobe.
Varamyr "Sixskins", a diminutive skinchanger who is accompanied by three wolves, a snowbear and a shadowcat.
Tormund, known as "Giant's Bane", among other things, a raider prone to tall tales.
Ygritte, red-haired lover to Jon Snow.
Craster, holds a keep near the Wall and occasionally gives begrudging aid to rangers.

Others

The Others, known amongst the Wildlings as White Walkers, are a race of creatures that have been recorded to exist north of the Wall. Before the recent events of their reappearance the Others hade not been seen on Westeros since the end of The Long Night over 8,000 years ago. The Others have traditionally been regarded in the same manner as the Children of the Forest: that they are extinct or even simply a fairy tale. Recent events though have proven this not to be the case.

Others are a graceful and slender race of creatures that seem to thrive on, or carry with them, extreme cold. They have an extreme martial prowess and carry razor thin, nearly translucent blades that give off a bluish hue and are armored in color shifting scale suits. Their gaunt forms are capable of moving in complete silence and they have an unsettling appearance of chalk white skin and burning blue eyes. Although deadly and fearsome, they are not immortal. They have shown a particular weakness to weapons made of obsidian, often called Dragon Glass in Westeros. There is speculation that Others also hold a weakness to Valyrian Steel, thought to be the "dragon steel" mentioned in history books, but this has not yet been proven. Despite all of their own abilities one of the most feared and effective weapons an Other has in its arsenal is its ability to create wights. These zombie-like creatures are reanimated from the bodies of creatures slain by Others and will only die if totally dismembered or set aflame. It is not uncommon for the Night's Watch to find itself battling its fallen comrades only moments after their deaths. Up until this point no Other had made a daytime appearance or managed to make it south of the Wall.

A Song of Ice and Fire