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Laws and Customs of the peoples living in the Seven Kingdoms are based on their feudal system of government.

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Legal system
The King's Peace
Lords have judicial power over cases that occur on their lands. A lord will hear petitions at his local castle-court, sit
in judgment at trials, and pass sentence based on the evidence. In theory, justice derives from the authority of the
King of the Andals and the First Men, Lord of the Seven Kingdoms and Protector of the Realm, who sits on the Iron
Throne in the capital city of King's Landing. The King's power is delegated out to other great lords of the realm. This
extends in a hierarchy from the king, to the rulers of the Great Houses (such as House Lannister), to major Houses
(such as House Tarth), to minor Houses (such as House Cassel).[1]

The King's Peace is supposed to extend over the whole realm, and though small scale feuds or succession wars
happen now and again, the constant wars between the independent Seven Kingdoms were put to an end when they
were unified in the Targaryen Conquest three hundred years ago. The King's peace also extends to protection from
outlaws and pirates. The Targaryen Conquest specifically forced the ironborn to abandon their Old Way of preying
on the commercial shipping of Westeros itself (though it is tacitly acknowledged that they instead raid the shipping
and shores of other lands in Essos for plunder).

The Seven Kingdoms do have a “Master of Laws”, suggesting some sort of statutory written laws exist, but their
legal system still appears to be primarily based on customary laws, prior precedent, and the wisdom of the lord
presiding over a decision.

Individual lords are supposed to enforce the laws and carry out punishment on their own lands. Only the major cities
(and possibly a few of the large towns) have dedicated “police forces”, such as the City Watch of King's Landing.

Lordship

See main article: "Lordship"

Gaining the title of knighthood does not make a man a lord, though many knights do eventually become lords.
Knighthood is a middle-step between noble-born lords and commoners. A commoner can be knighted for valorous
service in battle, but the title is not hereditary. A commoner who is knighted usually starts out as a “hedge knight”, a
poor freelance knight not bound in allegiance to a specific lord (considered to be so poor that they sleep under
hedges by the roadside while searching for employment). The next step up for a prospective knight is to become a
“sworn sword”, sworn to the service of a particular lord. Beyond this step, a sworn sword may become a “landed
knight” if his lord rewards him with land for his service, typically a smallholding, large farm or small manor with
servants. Successful landed knights who expand their holdings or continue to perform exemplary service for their
liege may be raised to the rank of "Lord" in time, leading a minor noble House. Sometimes a knight may skip some
of these steps, and while rare it is not unheard of for a lord to reward a commoner for valorous service by granting
him both land and the title of knighthood, as when Stannis Baratheon rewarded Davos Seaworth for his rescue of
the garrison during the Siege of Storm's End.

The difference between a “landed knight” and a “minor lord” is often very subtle, as some landed knights may
actually be wealthier and more powerful than minor lords whose families have fallen on hard times. However, the
vital distinction is that only a “lord” legally possesses the power of justice, which a landed knight does not. For
example, House Clegane is a House of landed knights in service of House Lannister, but it is not a lordly House.
Thus the head of the House, Gregor Clegane, does not possess the legal right to hear trials and pass judgement.

Social structure: Highborns, lowborns, women, religious leaders

Gendry: "So you're a highborn then, you're a Lady?"
Arya Stark: "No! I mean yes. My mother was a Lady, and my sister, but - "
Gendry: "- You're a Lord's daughter, and you lived in a castle and...I should be calling you a 'Lady'! "
Arya Stark: "Do not call me a 'Lady'! "
Gendry: "As m'Lady commands."
— Gendry on discovering Arya Stark's identity.[src]

The society and legal system of the Seven Kingdoms recognizes a hereditary noble class set above a class of
commoners, who are officially known as "smallfolk" (the very name indicates their lower social standing). Members
of the nobility are also known as "highborn", while commoners are known as "lowborn". Nobles officially possess
more legal rights than the commoners do. Many crimes for which a lowborn peasant would be punished by having
their hand cut off a noble will only be punished for by paying a fine. The noble-born also have the right to demand a
trial by combat.

There are a number of wealthy merchants in the few cities and towns, but on the whole, the Seven Kingdoms’
society is feudal and agricultural. While there is a small merchant class, it does not extend far beyond the five major
cities (King’s Landing, Oldtown, Lannisport, Gulltown, and White Harbor). Even a wealthy merchant in King’s
Landing is still legally considered to be a “commoner”.

Women, even noble-born women, do not have the same legal standing as men. Inheritance only falls on a woman if
there are no males in her family ahead of her in line of succession. However, women can rule in their own right if
they have no surviving brothers (and their brothers left no surviving heirs). An exception is Dorne, which allows
equal inheritance. If the noble-born heir to a lordship is underaged (or otherwise infirm and unfit to carry out their
duties), a regent may be appointed to rule in their name.

Members of religious organizations are a different section of society, technically not nobles but possessing special
privileges that commoners do not possess. This of course primarily applies to the clergy of the Faith of the Seven,
the dominant religion in the Seven Kingdoms. The religion of the Old Gods of the Forest, which is the dominant
religion in the North, has no organized clergy at all. In the Iron Islands, the Drowned Men who serve as the priests
for their local religion devoted to the Drowned God are also held in high social esteem. In past centuries, the Faith
of the Seven had the power to conduct its own trials in ecclesiastical courts. However, they lost the right to hold
trials after the Targaryen Conquest, when such public powers were brought under the exclusive control of the king
on the Iron Throne.

Bastard children of a noble, who have been acknowledged by their noble parent, are allowed to take a special
bastard surname which signifies their status. These bastard surnames are based on the region a child was born in,
thus bastards from the North use the special surname “Snow” (e.g. Jon Snow, Ramsay Snow), bastards from the
Riverlands use the special surname “Rivers”, etc. Bastards are not allowed to inherit their parents' lands and have
no place in the line of succession (unless they are legitimized by special order of the king and allowed take their
parents' surname, which rarely happens). Even so, the acknowledged bastard children of a noble are still technically
“highborn”, and enjoy legal rights which commoners do not possess. Unacknowledged bastards, of course, cannot
confirm that they are indeed the bastard child of a noble, and thus are legally considered commoners (such as
Gendry, who is secretly the unacknowledged bastard son of King Robert Baratheon). There is no outright law
punishing noble men or women for having bastard children, instead it is considered a social and religious disgrace.
This disgrace for having bastard children or being a bastard is not so great, however, in Dorne.

Inheritance and Age of Majority

The legal age of majority in the Seven Kingdoms is considered to be sixteen years of age (this may have been
changed to eighteen years in the TV series). Their society does not possess a concept of “adolescence” as an
intervening life-stage between childhood and adulthood. As soon as a boy reaches his sixteenth nameday, he
suddenly becomes “a man grown”, and is legally considered to be an adult. Legally, girls are also considered adults
at sixteen, though culturally they are often seen as suddenly becoming “a woman” as soon as they have
menstruated. A girl who has had her first blood is often seen as now capable of being married.

Inheritance practices usually follow primogeniture, a male-preference winner-take-all system.

"After the tradition of her people, House Martell then ruled Dorne as 'princes', not 'kings' - unless the eldest child
was a daughter, for unlike the rest of Westeros, our loyalty isn't commanded by a cock. We follow a Prince or a
Princess Martell just the same. "
―Oberyn Martell [src]

The local laws in Dorne are somewhat different from the rest of the realm, as it joined the realm not through
conquest but through peaceful marriage-alliance only a century ago, and was thus allowed to retain several local
customs. In particular, Dorne practices equal primogeniture, in which the eldest child inherits regardless of whether
they are male or female.

Andal inheritance law (most of Dorne inheritance law Royal Targaryen inheritance law
Westeros)

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Marriage
Marriage customs in the Seven Kingdoms vary considerably between the three major religions, and there are local
variations in custom between different lands within the same regions.

The best documented are the marriage customs of the Faith of the Seven, as it is the dominant religion on the
continent. While the scale of the marriage can vary, it at least involves the couple exchanging marriage vows in a
ceremony performed by a Septon, acting as a sacred witness. Large-scale marriages are typically performed in
septs, before the gathered families of the bride and groom.

Children born outside of marriage are bastards and cannot inherit lands or wealth from their parents. The Seven
Kingdoms do have a system for acknowledging bastards with special region-based surnames (such as "Snow",
"Sand", etc.), but they still cannot inherit.

Marriage contracts
Marriages among the nobility of the Seven Kingdoms are rarely made for love, but as a means of securing political
alliances between noble families. Arranged marriages to secure marriage alliances are very common. It is
considered absurd for a member of the more powerful noble families to marry a commoner, throwing away any
chance and a valuable marriage pact. Marriages into the royal family are seen as particularly valuable.

It is considered unseemly for a girl to marry before she has "flowered", but a girl as young as thirteen or so is
considered a "woman" after she has first had her blood, and thus capable of being married and having children. It is
frowned upon for a girl to marry if she has not bled yet, but betrothals can still be established for young girls to be
married when they are older.

Consummation
A marriage is only legally considered to be binding if it has been consummated, that is, if the bride and groom have
had sex at least once. If a marriage has not been consummated, it may be annulled.

The nobility in the Seven Kingdoms practice a custom known as a "Bedding", in which after the wedding feast is
over, the bride and groom are physically carried off to the marriage bed, to ensure that the union is consummated.
The men at the wedding carry off the bride, and the women carry off the groom. The group carrying each strips the
clothing off the newlyweds while telling ribald jokes. Foreigners think this is a somewhat odd custom.

Paramours
Social customs are somewhat different in Dorne, which has more liberal attitudes towards sexuality. A holdover from
the old court culture of their Rhoynar ancestors’ city-states on the eastern continent is that Dornish society still
allows nobles to keep "paramours" - formal mistresses/unmarried lovers who can be male or female. Outsiders from
the other kingdoms often dismissively think of Dornish paramours as little more than mistresses or prostitutes, but
they often have significant social standing in Dorne. Some are even functionally treated as wives in all but name,
such as Oberyn Martell's paramour Ellaria Sand.

Crime and Punishment

See category pages for "Crimes" and "Punishments".

As a feudal society, the Seven Kingdoms do not maintain long-standing dedicated prisons. There are dungeons in
the major cities and castles, but these are not meant for long-term confinement of a prison population: they are
more along the lines of holding pens used until sentencing through corporal or capital punishment. Valuable military
or political prisoners may be confined for an extended period, i.e. in the Black Cells under the Red Keep, but this is
exceptional.

Certain serious offenses such as rape are punishable by amputation (specifically castration), though in some cases
even petty theft may be punishable by amputating a hand. Treason and oathbreaking are punishable by death.
Those sentenced to execution or amputation, noble or commoner, have the option of joining the Night's Watch
instead, as a form of exile (this has caused some to look down on the present-day Night’s Watch as a glorified penal
colony). Only men can join the Night’s Watch, so women do not have this option (they usually join the monastic
order of Silent Sisters instead). Once a man has sworn the oath to join the Night’s Watch, the oath is for life, and the
penalty for desertion is death. Open refusal of a direct order is also considered treason and oathbreaking to the
Night's Watch, and punishable by death. However, in certain situations, such as the ruling monarch's approval, it is
possible for someone to actually leave the Night's Watch.

In the south, professional executioners deal out death sentences, often by

beheading or hanging. The royal executioner is known as the “King's Justice”,
though in a looser sense the term "king’s justice" refers to the laws enforced by the
king’s authority throughout the realm (i.e. the executioner who acts as “King’s
Justice” thus becomes the living embodiment of law and sentence).
Northmen still believe that the
man who passes the sentence
The North, however, still follows the practices of the First Men, which hold that the
must swing the sword.
man who pronounces the sentence must swing the sword. The reasoning is that if a
lord is not steadfast enough in his convictions to look a man he has sentenced in
the eye and then kill him personally, there will be doubt that the condemned man
was guilty. Moreover, the life-or-death struggle for survival that the Northmen have
had to face in winters means that they take the weight of command very seriously.
The Northmen feel that if a lord cannot look a condemned man in the face as he
personally executes him, he is unworthy of the weight of responsibility and Obedient to the laws of his father,
Robb Stark personally beheads
consequences of his own orders. Furthermore, the punishment is not only limited to
Rickard Karstark for treason and
beheading with a sword; for instance, following the Battle of the Bastards, Ramsay murder.
Bolton is executed for his crimes against House Stark, but Sansa Stark, as Ned
Stark's eldest living trueborn child, does not personally behead him, but sets
Ramsay's own hounds on him to devour him alive as she watches. Had Jon Snow,
who is older than Sansa, also been trueborn, it would logically have fallen down to
Jon to behead Ramsay personally (although Jon was later revealed to be Ned's
nephew).
Jon Snow follows the laws
passed down by his father, and
In the Iron Islands, condemned prisoners are often put to death by drowning.
personally beheads Janos Slynt
for treason.
House Bolton in past centuries infamously practiced flaying, both as punishment
against criminals and as a method of torture against enemies. After House Bolton
was defeated by House Stark a thousand years ago, and absorbed under their rule of the Kingdom in the North, the
Kings of House Stark outlawed this practice. After the Targaryen Conquest, when the Boltons were still vassals
under the rule of House Stark, flaying remained illegal.

Blood money is sometimes turned to as an alternative punishment for murder, to end a feud. In this case, the family
or lord of a murderer will pay a large fine to the family of the man he killed, thus resolving the matter.

Taxes and Fines

People do pay some taxes to the central government in King’s Landing, but it isn't enough to sustain a standing
royal army. Typically, under a manorial system, peasants pay their rent to the local lord as taxes-in-kind from the
crops they raise or metals they mine. The Great Houses also collect taxes from their vassal Houses.

The crown also imposes various tariffs and fines on trade and shipping. Smugglers do try to sneak cargo past
customs officials to avoid high shipping fees at ports, though the penalty if caught for smuggling is amputation.
Davos Seaworth was once a notorious smuggler, yet was rewarded by Stannis Baratheon for his aid during the
Siege of Storm’s End. Stannis rewarded Davos with land and title, but still insisted on punishing him for his past
smuggling crimes. However, while the penalty is often the amputation of an entire hand, Stannis commuted the
sentence to simply cutting off Davos’ fingertips on his non-dominant hand.

Prostitution and other sexual activities

See main articles: "Prostitution" and "Gender and Sexuality"

Prostitution is tacitly legal in the Seven Kingdoms, in the sense that there is no official law preventing brothels from
openly operating in the major cities and towns. Organized religion does discourage prostitution, and it is socially
frowned upon, but it is nonetheless present, sometimes seen as an outlet for uncontrollable male sexual desires.
Secular lords and kings have not (in general) tried to shut down prostitution, as taxing brothels is a good source of
revenue.

There are no secular laws against adultery or having bastard children out of wedlock, but the major religions
criticize it, particularly the Faith of the Seven. Similarly, there are no actual "laws" against homosexual activities, as
in secular laws, but it is severely frowned upon by the Faith of the Seven and regarded as sinful, like adultery. The
Seven-Pointed Star has sections of the text prohibiting "buggery and perjury".

The revived Faith Militant embraces a fanatical version of the Faith of the Seven which punishes homosexuals as
sinners, but they are zealots not considered normal by the general standards of Westerosi society up to that point.

King Joffrey Baratheon once bragged that he might make homosexuality punishable by death, as a spur of the
moment attempt to impress Margaery Tyrell - but in their society this is as ridiculously psychotic as saying he would
make adultery punishable by death.

Rape is considered a heinous crime, though the wealthy and powerful are often able to get away with it against
commoners. Men found guilty of committing rape are often faced with a choice between castration or exile to the
Wall.

Slavery
See main article: "Slavery"

Slavery has been illegal in the Seven Kingdoms for thousands of years. Slavery is considered an abomination by
both the Faith of the Seven and the worshippers of the Old Gods of the Forest. It was illegal in Westeros long
before there even were Seven Kingdoms, and the unification of the Seven Kingdoms in the Targaryen Conquest
three hundred years ago only served to strengthen the enforcement of this prohibition. Even selling criminals to
foreign slavers from Essos is considered a heinous crime. When Jorah Mormont sold some poachers he caught on
his lands to foreign slavers, he forfeited his lands and fled into exile.

The ironborn push the limits of this with their practice of taking thralls, but they are technically not slaves as such
(thralls cannot be bought and sold).

Beyond the Wall

The Free Folk (or “wildlings”) that live beyond the Wall in Westeros do not, generally, have settled communities with
established laws. For the Free Folk, "law" and "possession" mean that if you can steal and successfully defend
something, it belongs to you.

One of the major differences between the society of the Seven Kingdoms and the lands north of the Wall is that the
Free Folk do not recognize a class of hereditary nobility within their culture. Instead, they choose their own leaders
based on their ability, such as when a King-Beyond-the-Wall manages to unite the many wildling clans. From their
perspective, the Free Folk see the “kneelers” who live in the Seven Kingdoms as functionally slaves, serving under
masters who only rule them because their fathers did.

Essos
Essos, the eastern continent across the Narrow Sea from Westeros, is vast and culturally very diverse. It would be
difficult to discuss the "Laws and Customs" of the entire continent in one place (anymore than the Laws and
Customs of "Eurasia" could be succinctly lumped together). Also, the narrative describes their societies in much
less detail, so less is known about each of their distinct customs. Therefore, see the main articles on the Free
Cities, Dothraki, Qarth, and Slaver's Bay for further information on the Laws and Customs of each region.

Costumes
See main article, "Costumes".

In the books
In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, it is stated that many centuries ago, certain areas of the Seven Kingdoms had
lords who practiced the right of “First Night”, to sleep with a commoner’s wife on their wedding night. The practice
was outlawed in many regions long ago, and was officially outlawed throughout the Seven Kingdoms two hundred
years ago by King Jaehaerys I, grandson of Aegon the Conqueror. Nothing remotely like First Night ever existed in
the real-life Middle Ages. It is an urban legend. The film Braveheart in particular popularized the belief that it was
ever a real phenomenon, which was very controversial because historians had already rejected First Night as
nothing but a myth fifty years before Braveheart was even made. Nonetheless, this became a major plot point in the
books: Roose Bolton was known to claim the right of First Night even though it had been illegal for centuries; the
product of one such rape was his bastard son and major character, Ramsay Snow.

In the real-life Middle Ages, prostitution was also usually not technically illegal. The rationalization that was usually
given in such male-dominated societies was that it was a convenient outlet for male sexual desires, which were
assuredly uncontrollable – the concept that men should simply try to restrain such impulses and their own behavior
wasn’t frequently considered. A general attitude of "boys will be boys" pervaded.

At different times, real-life medieval countries had actual laws punishing homosexual acts and behavior. No specific
mention has been made of anything like this in the books. Renly Baratheon and Loras Tyrell do hide their sexual
relationship, though this could just be due to the religious condemnation they would face from the Faith of the
Seven, not an actual secular law they would face punishment from. Dorne is quite tolerant and widely accepting of
homosexuality and thus seems to have no outright "laws" punishing it, though Dorne was allowed to retain many of
its own local laws when it entered the realm through marriage alliance, such as equal primogeniture. Thus, the
"legal status" of homosexuality in Dorne is not indicative of its legal status in the other kingdoms.

Among the wildlings, who do not have established laws but loose customs, a man and woman are considered to be
"married" if the man is able to successfully steal a woman away from her home and keep her prisoner. The woman
is expected to fight back the whole way. If the man is able to successfully defend himself from her assault and then
have sex with her, they are considered to be married. After Jon has sex with Ygritte in the books, she points out that
according to the customs of the wildlings, because he successfully managed to take her prisoner and then have sex
with her, from a strict technical standpoint they are considered officially married in wildling culture.

See also
Customs on A Wiki of Ice and Fire

Law and justice on A Wiki of Ice and Fire

First night on A Wiki of Ice and Fire

References
1. ↑ Justice of the Seven Kingdoms

v•d•e Crime and Punishment [hide]

Games Movies· Oathbreaking
Desertion · Kinslaying TV · Raiding
Wikis · Rape START A WIKI
Crimes
Rebellion · Regicide · Treason · Violation of guest right

Punishments Attainting · Execution · Exile · Flaying · Castration · The Wall · Walk of atonement

Categories: Culture & Society

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