Theory about the Wall, its Construction, and the importance of Salt in ASOIAF.
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Chapters
00:00 Intro
00:44 Salt in Real Life
03:02 Salt in ASOIAF: Religion & Blood
05:29 Salt in ASOIAF: Hospitality
07:37 Salt in ASOIAF: Status
09:20 Salt, Fire & Ice
14:52 Salt, Life & Death
17:17 The Wall is made of Saltwater
22:20 The Horn of Winter Raises the Wall
30:55 The Sunless Sea under the Wall
42:23 The Others HELPED with the Wall
47:51 The Weirwoods’ and Giants’ role in the Wall
52:54 Salt and Wights
54:39 Outro
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Sources: ASoIaF book series, House of the Dragon HBO TV series, The World of Ice and Fire, Fire & Blood, Prose Edda, Poetic Edda
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Clips from HBO’s GOT: Histories and Lore
Maps The Lands Of Ice And Fire
Thumbnail Art: I cannot find the Artist plz Help!
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#asoiaf #asongoficeandfire #hotd #houseofthedragon
Keywords: asoiaf theory, house stark, the wall, ASOIAF, A Song of Ice and Fire, asoiaf theories, the Wall, hammer of the waters, horn of winter, horn of joramun, bran the builder, children of the forest, others, wight walkers, long night, black gate, bran stark, nightfort
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And let's not forget that they use salt all the time at the Wall to help with the ice, I forgot to mention that!
Well, woman, i bet you know more about salt now than you ever thought possible. i mean kudos! 😀
and of course, the greek is back, always happy about that! anyway… i always thought of the horn of winter as a bit of a macguffin. i prefer to imagine the free folk just throwing salt at the wall to bring it down. not as cool, but just as amazing.
btw, i love all the magic artifacts of ASOIAF. the horns, shadow babies, the condiments…
ps: another great vid. and also, enjoy the coffee! 😉
Ranting in Greek is officially my favorite content, it sounds cool and fun at the same time. Love your videos keep it up and happy new year!
Your usual wonderful job.
Peak content
Bless her with salt! Bless her with smoke! Bless her with ham!
The Wall is made with salt because the Others are Carthaginese, it is known!
I attended my first housewarming party after I read asoiaf, and at first I honestly thought that my brother giving bread and salt as a gift was a reference to the books. Then I realized that at every housewarming party at least one person gives the same gift, and that it seemed a very old tradition.
Smoke is a purifier also in many old ritual contexts.
Brainwave: salt and ice are both crystalline and have been considered connected with purity of some sort.
I thought Bran's experience of Hodor not bending down enough was a sort of baptism.
As for the Stannis's pinch of salt in the drinking water, mayhaps he's doing it out of superstition to "ward off" any "bad spirits"/"cleanse the water", or just to show that Stannis wants/needs/creates "bitterness"/"saltiness" unnecessarily in his life, while Davos is able to enjoy and savor "sweet"/"fresh"/"clean" water when he can get it despite being a "man of the sea" his whole life. Cheers!
This is such a cool theory. The salt is making me think about why Patchface could drown and still come back to life days later. Does the salt trap the spark of life in the body when people drown? So putting salt in the body banishes the spirt and wrapping it in salt preserve the spirit
Is there a reason why no one thinks "Giants in the Earth" refers to the famous book of the same title? I'm yet to hear any theorist mention it. The themes are even very apropos in regards to the tragical struggle between man and nature in a harsh region with deadly winters.
I'm only 20 minutes in but this makes so much sense, already! And great catch with the salt potentially being dangerous to the Others. I could never get over why humanity would build a giant ice wall to keep out ice demons. But if it's the salt that's stopping them then that makes a lot of sense. And also explains why they don't just go around through the sea like Patchface suggests, lol
22:04 So the Hammer of the Waters that broke the arm is supposed to have involved a ritual at the Isle of Faces; could be that the attempt to break the Neck was done at Moat Cailin some time afterwards, to prevent northward expansion by the Andals? Perhaps this attempt, even though it failed, led to the Old Gods being tolerated alongside the Seven?
Awesome video! :^)
Ooh this tickles my pickle! Thank you!
Me when she switches languages which is Greek I think. Awe that’s a cool language and what am I missing 😂
42:23 Your's and Michael Talks About Stuff's theories about the wall fit perfectly. He proposes that the Wall has giant weirwoods within it to convey water from the depths and allow the wall to replace the water it loses when it weeps. It would also explain the skinny, faceless Weirwood Bran sees at the Nightfort, being a branch from a giant weirwood. The image of the well trying to capture the moon makes complete sense then, as the moon pulls the water from the sea upwards, and it freezes around the weirwoods to act as a frame (also explains the tunnels, which could be bored by roots and branches). If I had to guess, what freezes the water may be The Heart of Winter itself.
As for a Pact, the lands beyond the wall are pretty much all 'deep forest' in the Haunted Forest, so I can see why the Others (being derived from the trees) would have it set aside for them as the deep woods and caves were for the COTF. The Wildlings being there could be a result of the Starks unifying the North, meaning there was one law to live under, and so those who opposed them fled or were driven beyond the wall which was then permanently raised. This would explain the additional castles, as more defenses were required to keep the Wildlings on their side.
Don't mind all of the ironborn videos, keep them coming. The more the merrier. Happy new year
Another good video. The salt as a ward, and the wall as a barrier makes a lot of sense to me, among other things in the video.
I would doubt that salt water was used, but adding salt makes sense to help melt the ice.
One of my biggest issues with GrrM is how he writes cold. Its like he's never been cold. The south side of the wall wouldn't have any ice on it. The north side would be a wasteland for a good distance. If lakes were frozen over for more than a year in the type of cold he describes, nothing would be living in the lake due to a lack of oxygen. Planting in the spring would not be possible. It would take a couple years for the soil to recover and be able to grow a seed to plant.
Then, i need to remember, its only a book…
Just finished, you convinced me (as usual). Good video!
I feel a bit guilty saying this, because I do not want to detract from the amazingly well thought out content you create… but you also have a very lovely voice. I've been listening to your channel off and on all year. You are one of the better ASOIAF theorists out there… and I find your voice and accent soothing and pleasant. That being said, I am a commercial fisherman from a small Norwegian town in Alaska. A bit of a real world analogue for the Ironborn. Salt is very important culturally, and from a scientific standpoint. I think you are on to something here.
So mance is Azor Ahai?
The wall is made out of saltwater?! Now I want to lick it
Or from the nearby lake …
I love your channel! Found it a bit ago and have been binging all your videos! I love your theories!
Happy New Year! 🎉
OOOOOOOOH YES THIS
I love GoT but tbh i followed after hearing your voice and accent, as a white guy I get tired of always hearing from white men. Thankyou!
Saltwater in the southern americas is used to this day as a remedy for anything from impacted teeth, oral infections, sores, sore throat, or even coughing, but I do believe youre on to something with that Stannis line… it makes me think.
Gabriel's Horn from Judeo-Christianity was my first thought when hearing of the Horn of Winter as well!
White Walkers built the Wall and made the Starks pay for it.