Roose Bolton

**Roose Bolton** is the Lord of the Dreadfort and head of House Bolton. He receives regular leechings, which he believes to improve his health, prompting some to call him the **Leech Lord**.

## Appearance and Character

Though mild-mannered, Roose is cold, patient, calculating, and capable of great cruelty. He possesses a cold cunning, a skill for strategy, and a calculating nature. He is of average size with a soft and hairless body. Roose has a plain face, beardless and ordinary, with his only noticeable feature being his eerie eyes, which are as pale and strange as two white moons. To Jaime Lannister they are paler than stone, darker than milk. Roose has short, strong fingers. He has leeches applied to his pasty skin and pallid chest.

Roose's voice is spider soft; he speaks softly and rarely raises his voice, forcing those who listen to do so intently. When he speaks silence often descends.

Roose often wears black ringmail and a spotted pink cloak. He also owns a suit of dark grey plate armor over a quilted tunic of blood-red leather. Its rondels are shaped like human heads whose mouths are open in agony. Its helmet has streamers of red silk which flutter in the wind. With it is usually a pink woolen cloak embroidered with droplets of blood. He carries House Boltons ancestral sword, Dreadblade, with him in battle.

## History

Roose practices the abolished tradition of the first night, including raping a young miller's wife. However, he is discreet with his activities in order to avoid the attention and possible ire of the Wardens of the North, House Stark.

Lord Roose fought at the Battle of the Trident during Robert's Rebellion. When Ser Barristan Selmy, seriously wounded, was brought before Robert Baratheon, Roose counselled that they should kill him. Robert ignored Roose and spared Barristan's life, sending his own maester to tend to his wounds. According to a semi-canon source, Roose helped to suppress Greyjoy's Rebellion.

Roose's first wife has not yet been mentioned in *A Song of Ice and Fire*. His second wife was Bethany Ryswell, with whom he had one son survive the cradle, Domeric. In 297 AC, Domeric died of a "bad belly." Lord Bolton privately attributes his heir's death to poisoning by his bastard son, Ramsay Snow. Having no other trueborn heirs, Roose brought Ramsay to the Dreadfort but is not believed to have acknowledged him.[15] Roose is a widower as Bethany died of a fever.

## Recent Events

### *A Game of Thrones*

Roose answers his liege's call when Robb Stark summons his banners to Winterfell to aid his grandfather, Hoster Tully, and his father, Lord Eddard. Robb's army is able to cross at the Twins when he agrees to a betrothal with one of Lord Walder Frey's daughters. Due to his calculating caution, Bolton is given command of a host consisting of all the northern foot and some of the horse when Robb splits his army at the Twins. Roose travels south along the east bank of the Trident to distract Lord Tywin Lannister. He marches through the night and launches a surprise attack in the early morning, but is defeated by Tywin in the battle on the Green Fork. However, Roose retreats in good order, reforming the battered remnants of his army on the causeway before Moat Cailin.

### *A Clash of Kings*

During the War of the Five Kings, Roose brings his army from the causeway to the Twins, where he marries his third wife, Walda Frey. She is the granddaughter of Lord Walder Frey, who has allied House Frey to Robb Stark, the new King in the North and of the Trident.

Arya Stark hears that Lord Bolton has occupied the ruby ford. In an effort to limit Lord Tywin Lannister's options, who has marched from Harrenhal in an attempt to meet Robb in the westerlands, Ser Edmure Tully commands Roose to join Ser Helman Tallhart, who is coming south from the Twins, and to retake Harrenhal.[21]

Hoping to take Harrenhal without weakening his army, Roose makes a deal with Vargo Hoat, leader of the Brave Companions, unsavory sellswords in the employ of Lord Tywin. The Companions pretend to take a group of Bolton's men prisoner that then seize the castle, taking out the small Lannister garrison left behind and opening the gates to the rest of Roose's men. This is done with the aid of an incognito Arya and the assassin Jaqen H'ghar.

While at Harrenhal, Roose takes Arya as his cupbearer, mistaking her for a commoner. Arya is in attendance when Roose holds a council with the Freys; Roose lies naked and drained by leeches during the meeting. Because of Stannis Baratheon's defeat in the Battle of the Blackwater, the Freys do not think that Robb can now defeat Tywin. Roose issues orders to have Ser Helman Tallhart sack Darry and then join with Robett Glover to attack Duskendale. After the council Roose decides to hunt a pack of wolves near Harrenhal. Arya also learns from the Freys that they have been dishonored, but does not know why.

In the meantime, Roose's bastard son, Ramsay Snow, has married and starved Lady Donella Hornwood and claimed her lands as the Lord of the Hornwood. When Ser Rodrik Cassel besieges the ironborn-occupied Winterfell, Ramsay has the Dreadfort's garrison betray the other northmen and burn Winterfell. The destruction is attributed to Theon's ironborn, however.

### *A Storm of Swords*

It is revealed that the Freys have been dishonored because King Robb Stark married Jeyne Westerling instead of a Frey. After the Brave Companions take Jaime Lannister prisoner, Vargo Hoat has Jaime's sword hand cut off before bringing him to Roose at Harrenhal. Roose tells Jaime that Vargo acted independently to curry favor and refuge with Lord Rickard Karstark, as well as drive a wedge between Roose and Tywin. The ploy does not work, however, as Roose receives Jaime's assurance that he will not be held responsible for Jaime's injury. Before leaving Harrenhal in the hands of Vargo, Roose releases Jaime and asks him to give his regards to Lord Tywin; Jaime responds that Roose should give his regards to Robb Stark.

Robb summons Roose to aid in retaking Moat Cailin and the north from the ironborn. On the march north to the Twins, Roose takes his time when crossing the Trident and his rearguard is attacked by Ser Gregor Clegane. On the other side, he leaves Stark loyalists to guard the river, taking only Dreadfort and Karhold men with him, the latter incensed by Robb Stark's execution of Lord Rickard. After arriving at the Twins for Edmure Tully's wedding with Roslin Frey, Roose discusses with Robb the disastrous battle at Duskendale, in which joint Lannister and Tyrell forces shatter the force of Helman Tallhart and Robett Glover. Roose attributes the loss of a third of Robb's infantry to Robett Glover's initiative, not admitting that he gave Glover and Tallhart the order to attack Duskendale.

During the reception after Edmure's wedding at the Twins, Roose toasts Lord Walder Frey's grandsons, mentioning that "Big" Walder and "Little" Walder are now in the care of Ramsay after the battle at Winterfell. Roose later mumbles an excuse to use the privy and leaves the hall. Edmure's bedding and the subsequent playing of "The Rains of Castamere" is the signal for the Freys to betray and attack their guests. When Roose returns to the hall he is dressed in mail armor. Roose approaches Robb, who has already been wounded by Frey arrows, and kills him while saying: "Jaime Lannister sends his regards."

Outside the castle, the Frey, Bolton, and possibly Karstark soldiers attack their fellow northmen and rivermen and annihilate them. It is revealed that Roose had planned this "Red Wedding" in detail with Lothar Frey, including the choice of songs. For this service,Tywin gives Roose the title of Warden of the North. Roose also receives a royal decree of legitimization for his bastard son and heir Ramsay Snow, now Ramsay Bolton, as well as a girl masquerading as Arya Stark for Ramsay to marry.

### A *Feast for Crows*

Lord Roose marches north with his own forces from the Twins, augmented by two thousand Freys under the command of Ser Aenys Frey and Ser Hosteen Frey.

### *A Dance with Dragons*

After Moat Cailin surrenders to Ramsay thanks to a browbeaten Theon Greyjoy, Roose meets his son and introduces him to his fiancee, "Arya Stark" (actually Jeyne Poole). Roose is greatly displeased by his son's actions, stating as much to Theon at Barrowton, where the northern lords are to gather for Ramsay and Jeyne's wedding. Roose thinks that Ramsay is too loud and obnoxious. After he hears that Stannis Baratheon has retaken Deepwood Motte, Roose decides to have the wedding moved from Barrowton to Winterfell in order to bait Stannis. He is accompanied by his new wife, Walda.

Upon arriving at Winterfell, Roose finds the ruined castle now a refuge of more then two dozen squatters. When he tells them he will be merciful if they serve well, they are used for a labor force in rebuilding Winterfell. After the work is completed, Roose has them hanged instead of flayed, which Theon considers merciful.

At Ramsay's wedding feast, Roose does not eat any of the food or drink served to him unless he sees Lord Wyman Manderly, who brought the food, eat of the same dish.

Despite being named Warden of the North, Roose's support among the northern lords is grudging. The first to declare for him are the Dustins and Ryswells, to whom he is related through his second wife, Bethany. The faction of House Umber led by Hother Whoresbane declares for him since the Greatjon is in Frey captivity, and the Cerwyns, Lockes, Withehills, Warricks and Manderlys send men as well. Arnolf Karstark, the Karhold castellan who publicly declared for Stannis, is secretly in league with Roose and awaits the moment to turn his cloak.

Roose, Ramsay and the Bolton army remain at Winterfell awaiting Stannis Baratheon's host, which is marching on Winterfell. Several Bolton men are murdered during the wait, and suspicion is cast on several of the present Stark bannermen. In truth, however, most of the murders are committed by the singer Abel and his women, who are actually Mance Rayder and several wildling spearwives on a mission to free "Arya Stark". The murders raise tensions within the castle. Tempers flare when Lord Manderly insults the murdered "Little" Walder Frey; a clash ensues that leads to the deaths of several men-at-arms. Having learned that Stannis's army is three days march from Winterfell, Roose orders the Freys and Manderlys to leave Winterfell by separate gates and march on Stannis's position.

### *The Winds of Winter*

Having escaped Winterfell with Jeyne Poole, Theon Greyjoy informs Stannis that Roose has sent out the Freys and Manderlys, as well as Ramsay and his men, but kept much of his own strength behind in Winterfell. According to Theon, Roose is keeping his own men back as a reserve, as he once did in the riverlands, to weaken potential rivals. Stannis confirms that his supposed ally, Arnolf Karstark, has been secretly relaying information to Roose.