"House Harrigon" is part of the Histories & Lore, a special feature in the Blu-ray of Season 4 of Game of Thrones. It is narrated by Rickard Harrigon
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Narration[]
Rickard Harrigon: "Forging Strength", the words of House Harrigon. Many say those are boastful words, or even arrogant words. But to me, my father and his father before him, these words are not a boast, they are a promise, and to that end they are a reminder, to every king, lord, knight; all the way down to every peasant with a knife by their side, that House Harrigon has paid its part in keeping Westeros safe.
"Blacksmithing is peasant work" our fellow lords tell us, an arrogant thing to say. A lord or lady who says such forgets; without Blacksmiths, how could their ancestors have produced the steel to help gain their own power.
Our ancestor, Vaehamar Harrig, travelled from the lands now known as Braavos to the lands held by House Smithe, known then as the "Kings of Steel and Silver". After a rebellion, one of our other ancestors took the Smithe lands for himself, as well as his daughters. But soon enough, a few centuries later, House Durrandon became the mighty Storm King's, and we bent the knee. We served House Durrandon faithfully, helping to keep their power alive, until Aegon Targaryen Landed with his dragons. Soon enough, King Argilac perished, and after him we bent the knee to the Baratheons, and served them faithfully. But whether King, or liege lord, demanding our steel means buying it.
For thousands of years, House Harrigon has perfected its craft. As soon a member of our house can hold a fork, they're given a hammer. They will work day and night, crafting swords, hammers, spits, chains, until it becomes second nature to them. I suppose it makes the Dornish happy that even our women learn our trade. I can't complain though; forging weapons means preparing for war, and in such times, we would prefer they know how to prepare for murderers and rapers, if only to ensure we have more hands to man our forge. As well as daughters, our trade is also granted to our bastards. Bastards are House Harrigon's greatest asset; every lord and knight with the Harrigon name has played their part in populating our lands and forges with them. They would call that their duty, many others would call that their undoing, not that I could disagree with my family, after all I've fathered quite a few myself. Many of these bastards have branched out and found greatness away from our forges; the Highstorms, Farringtons and the Berrefords can certainly thank their bastard founders for that.
If there's one good thing about the Dance of the Dragons, the Blackfyre Rebellions and the War of the Ninepenny Kings, it's that each of these wars only made our coffers fatter. But, forging for one house only means you're forging an enemy with the other.
Many sneer that we care more about money than honour. Maybe we do, what of it? Honour doesn't keep a forge manned or running. Certainly, we live by the ways of gallantry and knightly endeavours live every other house in the Stormlands, but as we are all taught as children, "the work never dies". Duty comes honour to us, and if you want our blades, and spears, and axes, we don't care about some family alliance, we demand payment first before anything else.