Jory Cassel is a member of House Cassel and the son of Martyn Cassel, one of the six people that accompanied Ned to the Tower of Joy to find Lyanna Stark after Robert’s Rebellion. His father died fighting the knights of the kingsguard. After the end of the war, he became the captain of the household guard at Winterfell and was a trusted confidante of Eddard. When Lord Eddard Stark left the north, Jory followed as his captain of guards. When the tension between the Lannisters and Starks rose, Ser Jaime Lannister attacked Lord Stark, and in the process, he lost his life.
Jory Cassel Personal Details
- Name: Jory Cassel.
- Position: Captain of Lord Eddard Stark’s Household Guards.
- Culture: Northmen.
- Allegiances: House Cassel, House Stark.
- Year of Birth: In or around 273 AC.
- Year of Death: 298 AC at King’s Landing.
- Father: Martyn Cassel.
Appearance and Personality
Jory is a good-looking man with an irky smile and a calm demeanor. He is fond of jokes and tells them while eating at the Great Hall of Winterfell. Jory shows his wry smile to Arya Stark, the last-born daughter of Lord Eddard, and though good-looking, Sansa Stark, Arya’s sister, thinks of him as less attractive compared to Alyn, another member of House Stark’s household guards. Jory wears simple clothing, and while not in anything casual, he wears a plain blue-grey armor plate with chain mail underneath. He wields a sword and wears a thin cloak on his armor.
Biography
Jory was born in Winterfell to Martyn Cassel, Ser Rodrik Cassel’s brother. He was the only son of Martyn to grow into adulthood, as his father lost three sons before they grew up.
Robert’s Rebellion
After Prince Rhaegar kidnapped Lyanna Stark, her brother and father got killed by King Aerys Targaryen, and Robert began a rebellion against the Iron Throne. During the conflict, Robert, Eddard, and Jon Arryn sought allies and met Lord Hoster Tully of Riverrun. In exchange for an alliance, Hoster gave his daughters, Catelyn Tully and Lysa Tully, to Lord Eddard Stark and Lord Jon Arryn. Jory attended the Wedding of Eddard Stark at Riverrun. At the bedding ceremony, Ned ripped his bride’s gown in haste.
After the wedding, Hoster Tully joined the war effort, and at the Battle of the Trident, Robert Baratheon killed Prince Rhaegar. After the battle, Eddard traveled to the Tower of Joy in the Red Mountains of Dorne with Jory’s father, Martyn, Howland Reed, and four other men to rescue his sister. However, the group met three knights of the kingsguard, and a fight erupted. Martyn got killed and buried.
Post Rebellion
After the rebellion ended, Lord Eddard returned to Winterfell because of a disagreement with King Robert I Baratheon. Jory became Lord Eddard’s Captain of Guard and served the Starks loyally. He became friends with Eddard’s children Robb stark, Jon Snow, Bran Stark, and Arya Stark, and he took Robb and Jon to fish for trout in a rushing stream and chased Bran on Winterfell’s tower tops. He also sparred with Theon Greyjoy in Winterfell’s yard.
Relevance in A Song of Ice and Fire
A Game of Thrones
When Gared, a man of the Night’s Watch, gets caught after deserting, Jory Cassel accompanies Lord Eddard to witness his execution. After the execution of Gared, Ned’s children find a dead direwolf with an antler stuck in its throat. Jory tells them the antler in the direwolf is an omen. As the group is about to leave, they discover the direwolf has pups. Though Lord Eddard orders them to get killed, his children convince him otherwise. On returning to Winterfell, Eddard’s wife, Catelyn Stark, tells him that Lord Jon Arryn is dead and King Robert is heading to Winterfell. Ned sends Jory with an honor guard to meet Robert on the Kingsroad.
When Robert reaches Winterfell, he asks Eddard to become the Hand of the King, and Ned accepts the offer. Meanwhile, Bran catches Queen Cersei Lannister sleeping with her brother and gets thrown off a tower for it. Jory accompanies Eddard south when he accepts Robert’s offer. At the Trident, Arya Stark’s direwolf assaults Prince Joffrey Baratheon, and she runs away. Jory gets sent to find Ned’s daughter and her direwolf Nymeria. Jory helps Arya chase Nymeria away by throwing stones at her. With Nymeria gone, Sansa’s direwolf, Lady, gets killed instead. The bones of Lady get sent to Winterfell.
Upon reaching King’s Landing, Jory gets a new cloak with a white satin border from heavy grey wool. Eddard begins investigating the death of Lord Jon Arryn. Jory helps in the investigation by speaking with Ser Hugh of the Vale. However, the newly knighted Hugh refuses to give any information. He later meets a former stableboy of Jon who became a watchman and learns the Lord visited a brothel with Stannis Baratheon.
Robert Baratheon organizes the Hand’s Tourney for Eddard. At the tourney, Jory unhorses Ser Horas Redwyne. He also unhorses one of the Freys but loses to Lothor Brune. When the captain learns that King Robert wants to participate in the melee, he tells Ned, who convinces Robert otherwise.
Eddard and his men travel to a brothel. Ned learns that Stannis and Lord Arryn went to meet one of Robert’s Bastards, Barra, at the brothel. Meanwhile, Catelyn traveled to King’s Landing and learned from Lord Petyr Baelish that Tyrion Lannister was responsible for the attempted assassination of her son. When Catelyn arrests Tyrion, his father calls his banners and begins raiding the Riverlands. On the return trip from the brothel to the Red Keep, Jory, Heward, and Wyl get killed on the streets of King’s Landing by Lannister guardsmen to serve as a lesson to the Starks. Eddard gets injured, and Jaime flees the city.
Upon his death, Eddard sends Jory’s body to the silent sisters to prepare it for burial. He gets buried beside the grave of his grandfather. Later, Eddard’s investigation leads to the revelation that Cersei’s children are illegitimate.
A Clash of Kings
When Theon Greyjoy becomes a turncloak and captures Winterfell, he sees Jory in a nightmare of a feast. Later he gets arrested by Ramsay Snow, the bastard son of Lord Roose Bolton.
Appearance in Adaptations
In HBO’s television adaptation Game of Thrones, Jory got portrayed by Jamie Sives. He appeared in season 1 and starred in 5 episodes. Jory accompanies Eddard to pass judgment on Will, a deserter of the Night’s Watch. He follows Ned and gets killed by Jaime Lannister, who stabs him in the eye.
Jory Cassel: The Valiant Soldier
Jory’s character shows the value of loyalty. Though his father got killed serving the Starks, Jory remained loyal to the Starks and served Eddard till the very end. He was a soldier who obeyed every command and served without question. Though he was a minor character, he portrayed the value of loyalty.
FAQs
What happened to Jory in ASOIAF?
After leaving Winterfell with Lord Eddard, Jory gets a new cloak and becomes Ned’s Captain of the Guard. When Tyrion gets imprisoned by Catelyn, Jaime confronts Ned on the streets of King’s Landing, and a fight erupts. Jory gets killed in the process.
Who was Jory’s father?
Jory’s father was Martyn Cassel. He accompanied Lord Stark to the Tower of Joy and fought with the three members of the kingsguard stationed at the castle. He lost his life during the fight and got buried next to the Tower.
Why is Jory from Game of Thrones, not a knight?
Jory is not a knight because, according to Andal culture, only those anointed by the Faith of the Seven can get knighted; this meant that those who served the Old Gods of the Forest were technically not knights. However, in some cases, they could get knighted as an honorary status.
Was Jory in GOT a good man?
Yes, without a doubt, Jory was a good man who remained loyal. He was also friendly; this made him an even better person.
