Theon Greyjoy is blessed by one of the Drowned Men
The Drowned Men are the clergy of the Drowned God in the Iron Islands. The most prominent of them is Aeron Greyjoy.
The Drowned Men wear roughspun robes of mottled green, gray, and blue, the ocean colors of the Drowned God. They carry waterskins filled with sea water, which they use to ritually anoint the faithful.[1]
Known Drowned Men
- Aeron Greyjoy
- Unidentified Drowned Man
In the books
The Drowned Men carry cudgels of driftwood. They are forbidden from shedding the blood of other Ironborn, but this restriction is taken quite literally: they are still permitted to bludgeon enemies to death with their driftwood, and it is quite praiseworthy to drown an offending Ironborn, as a sacrifice to the Drowned God.
The Drowned Men themselves become priests by being "drowned" a second time, this time for real by being forcibly held under the waves by initiated priests. After their lungs fill up with water and they stop moving, they are brought back to shore, and revived by a priest using a crude form of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. If he is successfully revived, the gathered Drowned Men welcome their new brother to the clergy. The Drowned Men are not always successful in reviving adherents, however, and a Drowned Man is considered to be very holy indeed if he has failed to revive only one or two men who undergo the ceremony in his career.
The Drowned Men priesthood have no organized level of hierarchical organization. However, prestige, time as a Drowned Man and the number of initiates successfully resuscitated do grant particular Drowned Men a level of authority. As of the War of the Five Kings, at least, Aeron "Damphair" Greyjoy is universally held to be the leader of the Drowned Men, who obey his orders without question, and he commands great respect from all of the Ironborn.
See also
References
- ↑ "What is Dead May Never Die"