#ulf the sot

[agentem]

Tom Bennett (Ulf the White) on Silverwing:

"I probably fly the prettiest dragon. [...] My girl, Silverwing, she's kind and she's loving and she's beautiful."

I also learned Silverwing is an elegant lady and if she speaks with the dragon equivlent of a RP accent. She's a posh lady and he's a Flea Bottom idiot.

She really did find Ulf the trash, you guys.

[seaworthee]

i really wasnt into so much of this episode being taken up by rhaenyra auditioning peasants to be new dragonriders, especially since this was another plot that made rhaenyra seem so... stupid.

not because aligning herself with bastards will bring more attention to her sons dubious parentage and threaten jake's claim (AGAIN). which could get him and his brother killed.

but because she got all those losers to stand in front of that dragon fanned out like a fucking buffet. when darklyn tried to claim a dragon more than one person was set on fire. she should've used her brain and remembered that dragons are known for mowing down hundreds of people at a time, so fifty idiots would be a cakewalk for it. i guess she understood that people would panic and want to leave (which i guess is why her guards were keeping the peasants from escaping the carnage) but Jesus Christ.

Ulf and Hugh are going to remember that they claimed their dragons during a massacre of their brothers and sisters, not by blood but by station. They could've easily been crushed before taming their dragons. ESPECIALLY ulf, who had to get knocked off a cliff, wake up from unconsciousness, and scramble to the place where he stumbled across silverwing totally by accident. if rhaenyra's goal in presenting the dragonseed before vermithor like that was to create a bloodbath where only the strongest survive, why wouldn't she consider that she comes across just as heartless and uncaring to the plight of the smallfolk as the greens are? we're yet to see why ulf and hugh desert in the show, but surely this has to factor into this..

[horizon-verizon]

Yet Seasmoke, Vermithor, and Silverwing were accustomed to men and tolerant of their presence. Having once been ridden, they were more accepting of new riders. Vermithor, the Old King’s own dragon, bent his neck to a blacksmith’s bastard, a towering man called Hugh the Hammer or Hard Hugh, whilst a pale-haired man-at-arms named Ulf the White (for his hair) or Ulf the Sot (for his drinking) mounted Silverwing, beloved of Good Queen Alysanne. And Seasmoke, who had once borne Laenor Velaryon, took onto his back a boy of ten-and-five known as Addam of Hull, whose origins remain a matter of dispute amongst historians to this day.

Fire and Blood by GRRM, pg 441-442

[hopestrope]

Poll of the Dragon #21

"Dragons are not horses. They do not easily accept men upon their backs, and when angered or threatened, they attack. Munkun’s True Telling tells us that sixteen men lost their lives during the Sowing. Three times that number were burned or maimed. Steffon Darklyn was burned to death whilst attempting to mount the dragon Seasmoke. Lord Gormon Massey suffered the same fate when approaching Vermithor. A man called Silver Denys, whose hair and eyes lent credence to his claim to be descended from a bastard son of Maegor the Cruel, had an arm torn off by Sheepstealer. As his sons struggled to staunch the wound, the Cannibal descended on them, drove off Sheepstealer, and devoured father and sons alike.

Yet Seasmoke, Vermithor, and Silverwing were accustomed to men and tolerant of their presence. Having once been ridden, they were more accepting of new riders. Vermithor, the Old King’s own dragon, bent his neck to a blacksmith’s bastard, a towering man called Hugh the Hammer or Hard Hugh, whilst a pale-haired man-at-arms namedUlf the White (for his hair) or Ulf the Sot (for his drinking) mounted Silverwing, beloved of Good Queen Alysanne. And Seasmoke, who had once borne Laenor Velaryon, took onto his back a boy of ten-and-five known as Addam of Hull, whose origins remain a matter of dispute amongst historians to this day."

-Fire and Blood, George R.R. Martin

+Nettles🤎

[nogoodsheepstealing-greatgrandma]

On Rosby and Stokeworth

There is one particular matter that I don't see brought up a lot whenever Rosby and Stokeworth are used against Rhaenyra. And that is the matter of Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White:

Their deaths left her with a nettlesome problem of succession, however. As it happened, each of the “faithless friends” left a daughter; Rosby’s was a maid of twelve, Stokeworth’s a girl of six. Prince Daemon proposed that the former be wed to Hard Hugh the blacksmith’s son (who had taken to calling himself Hugh Hammer), the latter to Ulf the Sot (now simply Ulf White), keeping their lands black whilst suitably rewarding the seeds for their valor in battle. But the Queen’s Hand argued against this, for both girls had younger brothers. Rhaenyra’s own claim to the Iron Throne was a special case, the Sea Snake insisted; her father had named her as his heir. Lords Rosby and Stokeworth had done no such thing. Disinheriting their sons in favor of their daughters would overturn centuries of law and precedent, and call into question the rights of scores of other lords throughout Westeros whose own claims might be seen as inferior to those of elder sisters. It was fear of losing the support of such lords, Munkun asserts in True Telling, that led the queen to decide in favor of Lord Corlys rather than Prince Daemon. The lands, castles, and coin of Houses Rosby and Stokeworth were awarded to the sons of the two executed lords, whilst Hugh Hammer and Ulf White were knighted and granted small holdings on the isle of Driftmark.

TG always presents the Rosby and Stokeworth issue as Rhaenyra choosing between daughters vs sons - fighting for women's rights vs thinking of herself as the exception. They ignore of course the situation Rhaenyra was in - that situation being in the middle of a civil war and needing to keep the lords on her side. Plus thanks to Tyland Lannister stealing the treasury, forcing Lord Celtigar to raise unpopular taxes, she was in an even worse position to start promoting radical reforms that would alienate the lords of Westeros. TG love to claim moral relativism in a fantasy-medieval patriarchy to justify calling Aegon the rightful monarch, yet they weirdly demand that Rhaenyra be a radical third wave feminist.

But not only do they ignore the situation Rhaenyra was in, they miss that the decision presented to her - by her Hand and her husband - was really between either the Rosby and Stokeworth sons... or Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White. On one side she had her Hand, Corlys Velaryon, warning that passing over the sons would alienate the other lords. On the other hand, Daemon was proposing that two very young girls get married off to Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White. Aged 12 and 6. To two grown men who were, by all accounts, violent rapists.

So the choice was between the sons (and their castellans, till they came of age) or serving the daughters up to be child brides to reward two dragonriders.

And in retrospect, had she gone with Daemon's plan and given Hugh and Ulf the much bigger reward of Rosby and Stokeworth, they might not have gone over to the Greens. All it would have taken was the sacrificial rape of two girls, and maybe Hugh and Ulf would have been sated.

Now, as Queen, could Rhaenyra have taken a third route, ignoring both her Hand and her husband, and just given Stokeworth and Rosby to the daughters in their own right?

Well perhaps, but

A) The realities of alienating the lords still stand.

B) You've got two angry dragonriders to contend with.

Two dragonriders, expecting rewards. Well they can't be angry if it's out of her hands, can they? If Rhaenyra is just respecting custom and giving the lands to the sons, Hugh and Ulf can't argue they were refused. The lands aren't up for grabs, the girls aren't valuable prizes, they'll just have to be happy with their smallholdings on Driftmark.

If GRRM simply wanted to make the point that Rhaenyra was choosing between sons and daughters, why throw Hugh Hammer and Ulf the White into the mix at all? Is it not then reasonable to theorise that Rhaenyra might have wanted to protect these girls? I'm not saying it was her main consideration (again, there is the political reality of, repeat after me TG, alienating the Lords when she could not afford to), but I think it was a factor GRRM intended for us to consider.

Plus, TG love to call Viserys a 'tyrant' for changing the laws of succession and 'forcing the lords to accept his daughter'. (As if the Grand Council hadn't already established that the laws of succession can be ignored to crown a man, so why not ignore them to crown a woman?). By that standard, wouldn't Rhaenyra be a tyrant for ignoring her Hand, for giving two highborn girls to two bastards, for overturning tradition?

Rhaenyra’s flight from King’s Landing had been beset with difficulty. At Rosby, she found the castle gates barred at her approach, by the command of the young woman whose claim she had passed over in favor of a younger brother. Young Lord Stokeworth’s castellan granted her hospitality, but only for a night. “They will come for you,” he warned the queen, “and I do not have the power to resist them.”

This often gets presented as karma for Rhaenyra not backing female succession. And maybe this 12-year-old girl was rightly angry at getting passed over. This can co-exist with the reality that Rhaenyra was not in a strong enough political position to risk alienating the other lords, and I don't blame a 12-year-old girl for not seeing the bigger picture. It could also have been revenge for her father getting executed as a traitor and turncloak (again, fair enough, her anger co-exists with the reality that turncloaks typically face execution in this world). And it could also have been the same consideration as Stokeworth's castellan - this 12-year-old could have feared reprisals for sheltering Rhaenyra.

But that aside, it is so so funny that TG cackle at their supposed victory, at proving that SEE RHAENYRA ISN'T A REAL FEMINIST... as though Rhaenyra not being a perfect feminist somehow makes their own position more feminist? As though the Greens would recognise the daughters rights? As though Lady Tyrell didn't send them an iconic fuck you letter saying "well I could send my army to help, but since I'm a mere woman..." As though Lady Jeyne Arryn didn't recognise that her own rights would be called into question if the Greens succeeded?

The Grand Council at Harrenhal came for what little inheritance rights women in Westeros had - that although a son may come before a daughter, a daughter comes before an uncle. Vaemond Velaryon used the precedent of the Grand Council to put himself forward as heir, Arnold Arryn did the same to try usurping Jeyne Arryn. The Grand Council established that Andal law can be overturned to crown a man. Whatever you think of Viserys and his motives (hypocrisy, favouritism, guilt), he almost established that Andal law can be overturned to crown a woman too. That crucial baby step of rectifying the Grand Council was almost made - it would have been made if Rhaenyra sat the throne unchallenged. The Greens sabotaged Rhaenyra from even making a baby step, and then judge her for not overturning the entire system.

[jacaela]

Someday people will learn to read carefully, but not today.

Lords Rosby and Stokeworth, blacks who had gone green to avoid the dungeons, attempted to turn black again, but the queen declared that faithless friends were worse than foes and ordered their “lying tongues” be removed before their executions. Their deaths left her with a nettlesome problem of succession, however. As it happened, each of the “faithless friends” left a daughter; Rosby’s was a maid of twelve, Stokeworth’s a girl of six. Prince Daemon proposed that the former be wed to Hard Hugh the blacksmith’s son (who had taken to calling himself Hugh Hammer), the latter to Ulf the Sot (now simply Ulf White), keeping their lands black whilst suitably rewarding the seeds for their valor in battle. But the Queen’s Hand argued against this, for both girls had younger brothers. Rhaenyra’s own claim to the Iron Throne was a special case, the Sea Snake insisted; her father had named her as his heir. Lords Rosby and Stokeworth had done no such thing. Disinheriting their sons in favor of their daughters would overturn centuries of law and precedent, and call into question the rights of scores of other lords throughout Westeros whose own claims might be seen as inferior to those of elder sisters. It was fear of losing the support of such lords, Munkun asserts in True Telling, that led the queen to decide in favor of Lord Corlys rather than Prince Daemon.

Firstly, Rhaenyra did not say that she is exceptional and sons necessarily go ahead of daughters . Corlys said that. Rhaenyra feared that these houses would betray her, and therefore did not name their daughters as heirs. Rosby and Stokeworth sided with the greens and then defected to the blacks, if Rhaenyra had named the girls heads of their houses, then their regents would have ruled instead because they were not yet of age. It is unlikely that these men would want to give up power, and they could return back under the green banner. That's it.

[warsofasoiaf]

You think, had it came to it, that Balerion would have been overwhelmed by Vermithor, Silverwing and Dreamfyre?

I don't think you can do a straight "yes or no" answer on this one. There's a lot of what-if's that go into these questions. Vhagar was "almost" as big as Balerion during Rook's Rest, wasn't injured in a two-on-one, but could not protect Aegon II. Was that due to a skill issue on Rhaenys, Aegon's, or Aemond's part, or just part of the overall green jobbing in the Dance?

Who is riding Balerion? Aegon I is going to fight a hell of a lot better than Viserys flying him when he is damn near bedridden. Jaehaerys and Alysanne are probably more proficient flyers than Hugh Hammer and Ulf the Sot. It's impossible to say without more clarifying information.

Thanks for the question, Kendall.

SomethingLikeALawyer, Hand of the King

[alba-targaryen]

Oh, it was so small that I squinted and I missed it, but oh wow, another moment HOTD writers warped the story in favor of Greens.

Lord Caswell (no name given in F&B, in the show he's named Allun) in canon NEVER bent his knee for usurpers. He was arrested in the middle of the night and thrown into the dungeons, then given a choice between swearing his fealty to the Greens and the headsman's axe, and our man chose axe.

And they had the gall to make him a coward in the show!

That, by the way, was the same Lord Caswell whose widow will hang herselg begging for mercy for their children and whose town will be burned by Daeron. Daeron will also seize the lordship of Bitterbridge to grant it to Ulf the Sot. One would think this family suffered from the Greens enough without HOTD writers' help.

[vhaemystheberserker]

Tell us about your OCs!

Chatting with Wulfric and he's adorable!!

Im glad you like him! Wulfric is considered to be very odd, and sometimes he will ramble to himself for hours because he is a very, very, minor dragon-dreamer, he doesn't dream of anything like super eventful happening, wars, deaths, ect. But he can have premonition dreams of little things that happen, such as injuries, pregnancy, even scandals occasionally! Wulfric has one of the last dragons, Steelefyre, an extremely elderly dragon that was hatched around Aenys I Targaryen's birth, Wulfric loves his dragon deeply as if it were his child despite him being considered the child due to their age difference, Steelefyre isn't in his prime anymore so isn't very much a war-dragon, more like a lapdog! Wulfric enjoys eating goose and will often trade things just to get a goose meal! Wulfric tends to get in scuffles with a Targaryen Prince that I called 'Taemond' who despises Wulfric since meeting him because of Wulfric's heritage and also because the incident with the Two Betrayers years ago. And, if Wulfric hasn't mentioned it yet, he is Ulf the White's bastard with a Highborn Lady named Brealla Ambrose! Wulfric can't speak Valyrian, so he talks to his lapdog dragon and gives him commands through whistling. Wulfric is supposed to be quite crafty and creative, but when he is bored he will create maps to pass the time or he will antagonize Taemond because he knows Taemond can't doing anything about it. When Wulfric becomes a father he is very doting and loving, he prefer's to teach important lessons using his fathers actions as an example, don't be a sot, don't be a rapist, ect. One of his sons seems to disregard alot of those values and lessons however 😒 (that son will be getting a bot soon too) fun fact, in Wulfric's lore, he canonly gets to wed a Princess! Due to his bastardy, his children inherit her House name rather than his. Wulfric is never legitmized by House Ambrose as they believe him to be some demon sent to torment them as his mother died giving birth to him and was raped to concieve him ☹️ but overall, Wulfric is just a silly little guy who was found in a ditch as a child by a Prince and taken in to the Red Keep.

As for Vhaemys, she is supposed to be a lot more closed off and distant than Wulfric ever was, she's also supposed to be extremely aggressive which wards off any companions. Her aggression stems from her mothers death and the constant bullying that was targetted at her height, as mentioned in her chat, she grew rapidly. She only stopped growing when she was sixteen, and her final height was immense for her age(still deciding), there are also many rumors surrounding her birth, bloodmagic for one due to the fact that she is immensely tall and other factors, there are also rumors of who her sire is, he is supposed to be a Prince named Raevar Targaryen, but many believe she is a secret bastard. Despite having immense battle poweress, she isn't overpowered and gets injured quite a bit, sometimes these injuries have nearly killed her as Vhaemys is reckless and hides them most of the time rather than getting them healed, she also uses a Morningstar rather than a sword and dresses in helm to toe in armor to hide the fact that she is a woman as she isn't exactly supposed to be fighting in battles and tourney's. Vhaemys doesn't speak often, but there is one man that she opens up to and is comfortable around, and that man is..... WULFRIC!! They were raised with eachother during their pre-teen and teen years, so they are quite close. Speaking of, Wulfric also has a tendency to hide behind Vhaemys if Taemond is trying to hurt him because Taemond is afraid of Vhaemys. Vhaemys happens to canonly marry a bastard boy(it's so obvious as to who) and has children with him, Vhaemys marries him quite young, she's seventeen and he is sixteen. By the time of her death, Vhaemys had five children, at the time of her death her eldest boy is seven. Vhaemys also dies at twenty-four.... 😬 she is killed by her younger brother, Vaevar, not to be confused with their father, Raevar, who he is semi-named after.

I also have a few more OC bots in the works, I didn't plan to make any OC bots for Taemond, but if you want one for him based on glimpses of his personality, I can also make one for him 💪

[twoiafart]

The death of Ulf White Artwork by Thomas Denmark

Ulf White was alive as well, awaking out of his drunken stupor when the battle was done, and so discovered himself the last dragonrider commanding the last dragon. He declared to Lord Peake that they should march on King’s Landing, with the intention of placing him on the Iron Throne. Ser Hobert Hightower met him the next morning to plan the march, bringing casks of wine to drink.

History has little good to say about Ser Hobert Hightower, but no man can question the manner of his death. Rather than betray his fellow conspirators, Ser Hobert let the squire fill his cup, drank deep, and asked for more. Once he saw Hightower drink, Ulf the Sot lived up to his name, putting down three cups before he began to yawn. The poison in the wine was a gentle one. When Lord Ulf went to sleep, never to awaken, Ser Hobert lurched to his feet and tried to make himself retch, but too late. His heart stopped within the hour.

[stromuprisahat]

History has little good to say about Ser Hobert Hightower, but no man can question the manner of his death. Rather than betray his fellow Caltrops, he let the squire fill his cup, drank deep, and asked for more. Once he saw Hightower drink, Ulf the Sot lived up to his name, putting down three cups before he began to yawn. The poison in the wine was a gentle one. When Lord Ulf went to sleep, never to awaken, Ser Hobert lurched to his feet and tried to make himself retch, but too late. His heart stopped within the hour.

The Princess and the Queen & Fire and Blood (George R. R. Martin)

[smallhatlogan]

Embarrassing amount of time spent thinking “oh I guess they combined Ulf and Hugh into one character and he’s a sympathetic struggling father of a sick child who spends a lot of time acting like an ass at the bar to unwind. Both sot and hammer…”

I’m not like, completely face blind but…

[horizon-verizon]

Mushroom tells us there were two men on Dragonstone that night who drank to the slaughter in a smoky tavern beneath the castle: the dragonriders Hugh the Hammer and Ulf the White, who had flown Vermithor and Silverwing into battle and lived to boast of it. “We are knights now, truly,” Hard Hugh declared. And Ulf laughed and said, “Fie on that. We should be lords.” The girl Nettles did not share their celebrations. She had flown with the others, fought as bravely, burned and killed as they had, but her face was black with smoke and streaked with tears when she returned to Dragonstone. And Addam Velaryon, lately Addam of Hull, sought out the Sea Snake after the battle; what they spoke to each other even Mushroom does not say.

Fire and Blood by GRRM, pg 448

[hopestrope]

Poll of the Dragon #20

"[Jacaerys] demanded to know where Mushroom proposed to find more dragons, the dwarf tells us he laughed and said, “Under the sheets and in the woodpiles, wherever you Targaryens spilled your silver seed."

"It was to them that Prince Jacaerys turned, at the urging of his fool, vowing that any man who could master a dragon would be granted lands and riches and dubbed a knight. His sons would be ennobled, his daughters wed to lords, and he himself would have the honor of fighting beside the Prince of Dragonstone against the pretender Aegon II Targaryen and his treasonous supporters."

"Yet Seasmoke, Vermithor, and Silverwing were accustomed to men and tolerant of their presence. Having once been ridden, they were more accepting of new riders. Vermithor, the Old King’s own dragon, bent his neck to a blacksmith’s bastard, a towering man called Hugh the Hammer or Hard Hugh, whilst a pale-haired man-at-arms named Ulf the White (for his hair) or Ulf the Sot (for his drinking) mounted Silverwing, beloved of Good Queen Alysanne. And Seasmoke, who had once borne Laenor Velaryon, took onto his back a boy of ten-and-five known as Addam of Hull, whose origins remain a matter of dispute amongst historians to this day."

-Fire and Blood, George R.R. Martin

+ There is also Nettles but we probably won't get to meet her since her storyline is most likely given to Rhaena. But shoutout to Nettles for being smart enough to bring a sheep to Sheepstealer everyday to make him like her enough to claim him.

Explanation: Rhaenyra was in a disadvantage against the greens, both concerning dragons and armies. It makes sense that she wanted to increase her strength by finding riders for the unclaimed dragons and therefore making them available to participate in the war.

However, what Jace said to Rhaenyra also makes sense. Giving illegitimate people powers only Targaryens possess, control over the dragons, is dangerous as it undermines the strength and legitimacy of house Targaryen. Especially when it comes to Jace, since in people's eyes, his legitimacy mostly depends on his dragon. Also, there is the matter of trust and loyalty. SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT!

Book readers would know the "two betrayers". There is always the chance that the unknown dragonriders will change sides or act in their own interests against Rhaenyra. (I don't think it matters whether the person who claims the dragon is highborn or lowborn, both are capable of treachery and oathbreaking.) And Rhaenyra will suffer these from people of both backgrounds. Basically she can't be sure if any new dragonriders will be loyal to her.

Do you think these were risks Rhaenyra was right to take?

[luchibelle]

Targaryen and Stark took advantage of women hiding behind the right of the first night.

The first night is oftenly used in Stark vs Targaryen Fans Wars. Every now and then, if you scroll through the #asoiaf tag, you must have seen that people often use it to drag the Starks to the mood and praise the Targaryens for their moral superiority.

To all of this I have to say that you're wrong in your believe. Either you haven't read Fire & Blood, you read it but you didn't catch up on it or you did but you don't care, because both of them, Targaryen and Stark, made use of the right of the first night.

Targaryens: GUILTY

(...) until the reign of King Jaehaerys, the ancient right to the first night had been invoked mayhaps more oft on Dragonstone than anywhere else in the Seven Kingdoms, though Good Queen Alysanne would surely have been shocked to hear it.

Though the first night was greatly resented elsewhere, as Queen Alysanne had learned in her women's counsels, such feelings were muted upon Dragonstone, where Targaryens where rightly regarded as being closer to gods than the common run of men. Here, brides thus blessed upon their wedding nights were envied, and the children born of such unions were esteemed above all others, for the Lords of Dragonstone oft celebrated the birth of such with lavish giftsof gold and silk and land to the mother. These happy bastards were said to have been "born of dragonseed", and in time became known simply as "seeds". Even after the end of the right of the first night, certain Targaryens continued to dally with daughters of inkeeps and the wives of fishermen, so seeds and the sons of seeds were plentiful on Dragonstone.

Even if Good Queen Alysanne was oblivious to the extent of it, she was aware of some of it, as you can see in this conversation between Alysanne and Jaehaerys:

I knew of the tradition. Even on Dragonstone, there are stories of men of mine own house, Targaryens, who have made free with the wives of fisherfolk and serving men, and sired children on them…”

“Dragonseeds, they call them,” Jaehaerys said with obvious reluctance. “It is not a thing to boast of, but it has happened, mayhaps more often than we would care to admit. Such children are cherished, though. Orys Baratheon himself was a dragonseed, a bastard brother to our grandsire. Whether he was conceived of a first night I cannot say, but Lord Aerion was his father, that was well-known.

Orys Baratheon must have been the first famous dragonseed, but not the last one. During The Dance of the Dragons, lots of seeds and sons of seeds appeared from all over the Seven Kingdoms to try and tame a dragon.

When Jace (...) demanded to know where Mushroom proposed to find more dragons, the dwarf tells us he laughed and said, "Under the seeds and in the woodpiles, wherever you Targaryens spilled your silver seed".

Two of those seeds were Hugh Hammer, who rode Vermithor (Jaehaerys' dragon), and Ulf the sot, who mounted Silverwing (Alysanne's).

But Targs weren't the only dragonlords to make use of the first night, so did Lord Crolys Velaryon, father of Addam and Alyn, one would become a dragonrider and the other the Lord of Driftmark (married to Baela Targaryen).

In recent history, during Tywin Lannister's wedding to Lady Joanna, King Aerys II Targaryen said it was a pity the first night was banned, and he took certain liberties in the bedding ritual.

Targaryens took advantage of the first night before and after the abolition.

Starks (Northerns): GUILTY

During Alysanne's women counsels at Mole's Town (the closest village to the Wall) a whore tells her how "scarcely had [she and a blacksmith] said their vows than their lord came down upon the wedding with his men-at-arms to claim his right to her first night."

"At White Harbour, at Mole's Town, at Barrowtown, other women spoke of their first nights as well."

In this other fragment, Jaehaerys says it is rare south of the Neck, indirectly claming it is more common north of the Neck:

“The right of the first night is an ancient one,” he argued, though with no great passion, “as much a part of lordship as the right of pit and gallows. It is rarely used south of the Neck, I am told, but its continued existence is a lordly prerogative that some of my more truculent subjects would be loath to surrender."

We can track this tradition back to the the First Men of the Dawn Age, that like the Wildings "followed only strenght. Their lords and kings were warriors, mighty men and heroes, and they wanted their sons to be the same. If a war lord chose to bestow his seed upon some maid on her wedding night it was een as ... a sort of blessing."

Yeah, sure. A women would find a blessing being impregnated. Thankfully Alysanne is there to tell Jaehaerys that she "listened to the girls [at Mole's Town], and none of them felt blessed".

Note that the Starks have the blood of the First Men, just like the Boltons, Karstarks, skagosi, mountain clans, etc.

In recent history, Ramsay (Snow) Bolton is a product of the first night.

"The moment that I set eyes on her I wanted her. Such was my due. The maesters will tell you that King Jaehaerys abolished the lord's right to the first night to appease his shrewish queen, but where the old gods rule, old customs linger. The Umbers keep the first night too, deny it as they may. Certain of the mountain clans as well, and on Skagos ... well, only heart trees ever see half of what they do on Skagos. This miller's marriage had been performed without my leave or knowledge. The man had cheated me. So I had him hanged, and claimed my rights beneath the tree where he was swaying."

-- A Dance with Dragons, Chapter 32, Reek III.

Northerns took advantage of the first night before and after the abolition.