The Dreadfort
Seat of House Bolton, once the Red Kings of the North
- House
- House Bolton
- Region
- The North
- Raised by
- The Boltons of old, the Red Kings who warred with the Starks
- Age
- Ancient as the Stark seat it long defied
The stones themselves
The Dreadfort is a grim, formidable stronghold on the Weeping Water, all thick walls and squat strong towers with never a graceful line among them. It is a fortress built by a family that expected to be hated, and its most infamous chambers lie beneath: dungeons that the North speaks of only in whispers, where — the old tales insist — the flayed skins of enemies were once kept as trophies. It is a seat that matches its masters, and no traveller lingers there by choice.
Famous halls and features
The dungeons
Deep cells beneath the keep where, the North remembers, the Boltons kept the flayed hides of their foes — Stark kings among them, in the days of the old wars.
The strong towers
Squat, thick-walled towers built for endurance rather than beauty, holding a seat that has weathered thousands of years of northern winters and northern feuds.
Sieges and history
Where the story of The Dreadfort touches the great chronicle of the realm — follow each thread back into the timeline.
A legend of The Dreadfort
The Boltons were the Red Kings, and the darkest of the tales the Starks tell of the old wars is that Bolton lords wore cloaks made from the skins of Starks they had flayed, and hung the hides of their enemies in the Dreadfort's halls. House Bolton has never quite denied it — a flayed man is still their sigil, and their words, 'Our Blades Are Sharp,' leave little to the imagination. The maesters record the custom as suppressed by the Kings of Winter long ago; the Boltons, one suspects, merely grew discreet.
Beyond the chronicle's edge
What the Boltons made of the North after a certain wedding is a horror for those who have read on.
これらの分かれ道は、書物では未だ辿られぬ死や結末、道を名指す。両の道を知る者のみ ― あるいは知ることを恐れぬ者のみ ― 覆いを取れ。
Common questions
Why are the Boltons feared in the North?
House Bolton were once the Red Kings, rivals to the Starks, infamous for the practice of flaying their enemies alive. Their sigil is a flayed man and their words are 'Our Blades Are Sharp' — a reputation for cruelty they have never entirely shed.
Did the Boltons really flay the Starks?
Northern tales hold that in the old wars, Bolton kings flayed Stark enemies and wore cloaks of their skin, keeping the hides at the Dreadfort. The practice was said to be outlawed by the Kings of Winter, though the Boltons kept the flayed man as their emblem.
Where is the Dreadfort?
The Dreadfort stands on the Weeping Water in the North, the ancient seat of House Bolton. It is a strong, grim fortress east of Winterfell, matching the harsh reputation of the family that holds it.
What are the words of House Bolton?
House Bolton's words are 'Our Blades Are Sharp,' and their sigil is a flayed man on a pink field — both fitting for a house whose ancestors were remembered for flaying their foes.