Mutiny at Craster's Keep

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"- The Gods will curse us for this! By all the laws--
- There are no laws beyond the Wall!"

―Lord Commander Jeor Mormont and Karl

The Mutiny at Craster's Keep is an event during the Conflict Beyond the Wall. It was major violation of guest right and caused the death of Craster, a wildling collaborator of the Night's Watch, and Lord Commander Jeor Mormont.

In the books

In the A Song of Ice and Fire novels, the mutiny is not only the result of the rising tensions between Craster and the black brothers, but also of a prior plot by a group of Night's Watchmen to murder Lord Commander Mormont, Sam and several other individuals so they could ensure the end of the Ranging and desert the Watch. However, their plot is foiled by the sudden snowfall and the subsequent attack of the Others. A few men who had been discussing betrayal before the massacre at the Fist ultimately stay loyal during the mutiny, while some other men who weren't part of the earlier plot spontaneously join the mutiny when it breaks out.

The retreat to Craster's Keep had brought down their down morale further down and certain brothers, most notably Dirk, Clubfoot Karl, Ollo Lophand, Garth of Oldtown and Garth of Greenaway, become more vocal with their frustrations. Craster contributes to the hostile atmosphere by making it clear his guests are not wanted in his place and suggesting to slay the critically injured brothers rather than treating and feeding them.

Sam and Giant had done their best to treat the wounded, but the medicine bags had been lost during the battle and Craster had been giving them scant food, so all they could do was to keep the wounded dry and warm and feed them. Due to lack of medicinal treatment and scant food, four of the twelve injured men perish, among them Bannen.

After couple of days, Mormont decides it is time to leave, although the injured men hadn't gotten any better, and they had only twenty-two horses - half of them would probably not make it to the Wall. Craster is glad to see his unwelcome guests depart, and throws a feast for them.

The trouble begins when Clubfoot Karl complains they need more bread and Dirk suggests that Craster has a secret larder. Karl calls Craster "niggard and liar". As the would-be mutineers speculate what food Craster might have hidden and Craster grows furious, Mormont orders the men to silence, and nearly manages to control the situation. But Craster waves his axe menacingly and expels Karl, Dirk and both Garths. One of the Garths calls Craster "bloody bastard", and the brawl breaks out. Craster vaults across the table axe in hand. Some of the brothers draw knives. Dirk grabs Craster by the hair and slits his throat. Mormont cries in anger at the violation of guest right but gets stabbed in the stomach by Ollo Lophand. It seems to Samwell Tarly that everything goes mad after that.

See also

• Mutiny at Craster's Keep at A Wiki of Ice and Fire (MAJOR spoilers from the books)