House Whent

House Whent of Harrenhal is a vassal house of the Riverlands that held fealty to House Tully of Riverrun. Their lands were along the north shore of Gods Eye, which they ruled from the huge and formidable castle of Harrenhal.HBO viewers guide, season 2: episode 4 map, Harrenhal entry The Whents were granted Harrenhal after the extinction of House Lothston.
Their heraldry consists of nine black bats over a gold field. Their words are unknown. Their heraldry is apparently derived from the previous holders of Harrenhal, as House Lothston's heraldry was a single black bat over a field diagonally divided between gold and silver. Whether this indicates a family relationship, or simply references that they took House Lothston's old seat, is unclear.
==History==
===Game of Thrones: Season 1===
House Whent lost Harrenhal when it was given to Janos Slynt for his assistance in betraying Eddard Stark."Baelor" Harrenhal had already fallen under the control of House Lannister."Fire and Blood"
==Members==
*Lord {Walter Whent}, Lord of Harrenhal
**Lady Shella Whent, Lord Whent's widow and the head of the family, an old woman without any heirs.
*Ser {Oswell Whent}, of the Kingsguard of Aerys II Targaryen. Lord Whent's younger brother. Died during Robert's Rebellion.
*Lady {Minisa Whent}, wife of Lord Hoster Tully and mother to his three children - Catelyn, Lysa, and Edmure. Died in childbirth.
==In the books==
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, Harrenhal is a castle of ill repute. Every house that has held it has fallen into ruin. House Lothston, who held Harrenhal before the Whents, disintegrated in madness and fell deeds over half a century before the events of the series. The Whents chose to ignore this when they took possession of the castle, and indeed seemed to prosper.
However, since that time the family has fallen on harder times. Lady Shella Whent's husband and children have all died. As a result, Lady Shella is left as a lonely old woman with her household inhabiting a vast and crumbling ruin.
Lady Shella Whent is stated to have died (but it is not confirmed) soon before lordship of the castle was granted to Littlefinger, at which point House Whent was considered extinct by the crown - though the current generation of Tullys seem to have a claim on the lands, this was apparently ignored because they were in rebellion against the Iron Throne. Due to the alleged curse of Harrenhal (this is the reason Littlefinger gives Sansa, but he may have other reason), Littlefinger doesn't physically settle at Harrenhal after being named its lord, and treats the title as purely nominal - ignoring the devastated Riverlands to focus on wooing Lysa Arryn in the Vale. Harrenhal is retaken by a Lannister army led by Gregor Clegane soon before the Red Wedding, when Roose Bolton retreated his remaining garrison back to the Twins. Following the Red Wedding, it remains in control of a Lannister garrison. Having been seized, liberated, and retaken so many times, practically all of the original Whent servants who inhabited the castle were put to the sword by this point, save for only one washer-girl, one blacksmith and one cook.
In the novels, House Whent's Heraldry is said to be nine black bats on a yellow field, but it wasn't said how they were arranged. Only in a later semi-canon listing that Martin gave to Westeros.org was it specified that they are arranged in three rows: four in the top row, then three in the middle, and two on the bottom. The House Whent heraldry observed in Season 1 of the TV series however, arranged them differently, with one bat in the middle surrounded by the eight other bats arranged into a diamond shape (five rows top to bottom, with three in the widest row, then two, then one. This may have just been due to confusion in Season 1, however, because in the Histories & Lore featurettes for both Season 2 and Season 5, the sigil of House Whent was arranged in the 4-3-2 pattern. For that matter, the Season 1 sigil was depicted as orange instead of yellow - though this is an easy mistake to make, because "gold"-colored in heraldry can mean a wide rang of colors from yellow to orange. The colorized version of the Whent heraldry in the Season 5 Histories & Lore also used a yellow background, as in the description given for the book continuity.
===Known members===
*{Lord Walter Whent}, a previous lord of the house, who was rich and open-handed.
**Lady {Shella Whent}, his wife. Presumed dead.
***{Their four sons}.
***{Their daughter}. The reigning Queen of Love and Beauty at the start of the Tourney at Harrenhal in 281 AC, called "the fair maid".
*Ser {Oswell Whent}, Walter's brother, and a member of King Aerys II Targaryen's Kingsguard. Slain at the Tower of Joy.
Of unknown relationship with the rest of the family:
*{Sarya Whent}, fifth wife of Lord Walder Frey. Deceased with no progeny.
*Wynafrei Whent, married to the ninth son of Lord Walder Frey, Danwell. She had no progeny, only many stillbirths and miscarriages. The only known surviving member of the house.
*{Minisa Whent}, wife of Hoster Tully and mother to his three surviving children, Catelyn Stark, Lysa Arryn, and Edmure Tully.
==Gallery==
House_Whent-shield.png|The sigil of House Whent emblazoned on the shield of Ser Willis Wode (inaccurately depicts only 7 bats)
House Whent.png|The HBO viewers guide icon for House Whent.
House Whent sigil Season 2 Harrenhal Histories and Lore.png|House Whent sigil in the Season 2 Histories & Lore featurettes, with the bats arranged in a 4-3-2 pattern, as in the novels.
House Whent Histories and Lore Season 5 Tourney of Harenhal.png|House Whent sigil in the Season 5 Histories & Lore featurettes, with the bats in a 4-3-2 pattern and a yellow background, as in the novels.
Whent man-at-arms.png|House Whent soldier.
Willis Wode, House Whent knight.jpg|A knight of House Whent. 
==References==
==External links==
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Category:Extinct houses
 
Category:Houses from the Riverlands
Category:Vassal houses
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