House Mormont

"Here We Stand."

A comparatively small Stark vassal house, ruling Bear Island, situated in the Bay of Ice.

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In General

Action Girl: While not a full Amazon Brigade, the Mormonts do train their female members (like Maege and her daughter Lyanna) to be just as much warriors as their men. It comes from living on a remote island where the men are out at sea most of the day on fishing boats to get basic sustenance; the women left behind on land had to be capable of defending themselves from attacks by the Ironborn longships and Wildling boats.
Adaptational Attractiveness: We only get one brief glimpse of Bear Island, but it is nothing short of breathtaking.
Adapted Out: The other Mormont daughters, with the exception of Lyanna, are absent.
Ancestral Weapon: Longclaw, a Valyrian sword. Lord Jeor passes it to his protegee Jon Snow, a bastard son from House Stark.
Animal Motifs: Their sigil is a black bear in a green wood.
Art Evolution: Their heraldry switched from having the bear passant (striding) from Season 1 onwards to having the bear rampant (rearing on its hind legs) in Season 6, without explanation. It appears to be a case of Ascended Fanon - the TV production team doesn't really have a dedicated Heraldry office, but did it all in one big burst when the show began. The Season 6 version is an exact copy of the Mormont sigil fanart used on A Wiki of Ice and Fire, as were the Reed and Stokeworth sigils. Apparently by later seasons the costume and props departments just used fan wikis as reference, not realizing that this was book-based fanart, and unaware that earlier seasons of the TV series had already established an official design for these sigils within the TV continuity.
Badass Family: To a man (and woman).
Beware the Nice Ones: Characters we met who belong to this house are all benevolent people but are extremely ferocious if pushed too far.
Dying Moment of Awesome: In the Battle for the Dawn, Jorah and Lyanna die holding the line of humanity, and House Mormont goes extinct in the only way it ever could: loyal to the end.
Everybody's Dead, Dave: The two last surviving members of House Mormont, Jorah and Lyanna, perish in the Battle for the Dawn.
Had to Be Sharp: Bear Island is the ass end of nowhere to the Seven Kingdoms, located almost north of The North on a remote off-shore island, vulnerable to raids from both the Ironborn and the Wildlings. It's the northwestern corner of the known world, away from any sea lanes. On top of this, they lead a hardscrabble existence on their resource-poor island: it is heavily forested, largely untamed (albeit beautiful) wilderness filled with bears, to the point that their main food source is from fishing instead of farming or hunting.
Identical Stranger: The Captain of the Guard is a dead ringer for Stannis, of all people.
Scenery Porn: The scenery in Bear Island is beautiful.
Undying Loyalty: To House Stark.
Lyanna Mormont: Bear Island knows no king but the King in the North, whose name is Stark.
You Can't Go Home Again: Jorah Mormont is totally reluctant to go back to Bear Island or even send word about his happenings because he's dishonored and disgraced the family name so much that he's dead to them.

Lord Jeor Mormont

Played By: James Cosmo

The former Lord of Bear Island, later Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. See Game of Thrones - The Night's Watch

Lord/Ser Jorah Mormont

Played By: Iain Glen

Son of Jeor Mormont. Fled his lordship in disgrace after selling slaves, leaving Bear Island to his aunt Maege. See Game of Thrones - Daenerys's Court.

Lady Maege Mormont

Played By: Elizabeth Barrett

Lady of Bear Island, sister of Jeor Mormont and aunt of Ser Jorah.

Adaptation Dye-Job: Her hair is already snowy white in the books. Here, it's still brown.
All There in the Manual: Her name.
Cool Old Lady: One of the few females fighting alongside Northmen and leading a noble house.
Death by Adaptation: Maege is still presumably alive in the books. ^{From the books...}
Demoted to Extra: And suffering from Chuck Cunningham Syndrome in Season 2.
Killed Offscreen: Confirmed by her heir Lyanna in Season 6 to have died during Robb's Riverlands campaign.
The Lad-ette: Wearing mail and fighting along men and leading men.
Kneel Before Frodo: She is one of the nobles present when Robb is declared King in the North.

Lady Lyanna Mormont

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/lyanna_mormont.png

"House Mormont has kept faith with House Stark for a thousand years. We will not break faith today."

Played By: Bella Ramsey

"Bear Island knows no king but the King in the North, whose name is Stark."

Lady Maege's daughter, the new Lady of Bear Island and head of House Mormont, presently a girl of ten.

A Child Shall Lead Them: Since Jorah is disgraced and exiled, and since the death of her mother during Robb Stark's campaign, she became the head of her house.
Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: She's very blunt and full of sass at her young age.
Ascended Extra: An unseen character mentioned in a single anecdote in the novels, in the show she is made the Lady of Bear Island and appears in person, even accompanying the Starks into the field.
Badass Adorable: She may be young, but the girl knows how to hold her own against older men in debates. In Season 7 she states her intent to train everybody on Bear Island how to fight and she fully intends to fight as well.
Breakout Character: She was only intended to appear in a single scene, but the showrunners were so impressed with Bella Ramsey's performance that they continually brought her back. After just three episodes, she quickly became one of the most popular characters on the show, and in one of those, she doesn't even have any lines, only a withering Death Glare of utter contempt for Ramsay.
Brutal Honesty: Lyanna is not one for softening her words or the reality of the situation. The Starks didn't come to reminiscence, they came for her soldiers, no point wasting time chatting. Jon's an illegitimate son while Sansa's been married twice, making neither a legal Stark. And if they want her to send what little men she has into yet another battle for the Starks, then they had best give her a damn good reason. She's honest about herself, too: when Sansa tries to compliment her by saying that she'll grow up to be a great beauty, Lyanna responds: "I doubt it. My mother wasn't a great beauty or any other kind of beauty."
Calling the Old Man Out: Does this to Jorah, the closest thing she has to a father, who abandoned his house and left her to lead it alone:
Jorah: You are the future of our house.
Lyanna I don't need you to remind me of that!
Chekhov's Gunman: She's first mentioned by Stannis in Season 5 after she wrote him a letter that rejects her house taking up arms for him before becoming an integral part of the Stark restoration in Season 6.
Commonality Connection: How Davos persuades her, as both know what it is to suddenly be in charge of a position they never expected to have.
Composite Character:
- Her book counterpart has multiple older sisters, and was only acting Lady of Bear Island when she responded to Stannis since her mother and sisters were away. Here, she's the only daughter, making her a condensation of all four of Maege's younger daughters.
- While Lyanna writes the letter to Stannis in the books as well, the show version seems to combine aspects of Wyman Manderly's granddaughter, Wylla, with her wanting to fight in the name of House Stark — odds be damned — and her capacity for badass speeches.
- Lyanna is also given a considerable part of the characterization from Alys Karstark (who actually exists in the show as a minor character), especially from her pride and openly rebellious attitude.
Creepy Blue Eyes: The Night King briefly revives her as a wight after her death, she is sporting lightning-blue eyes.
Dead Guy Junior: Discussed when Sansa attempts, largely in vain, to instigate some small talk by mentioning the young Lady Mormont was specifically named for her late aunt, Lyanna Stark.
Death Glare: Fixes one on Ramsay during the entire meet between she and the rest of the lords sworn to House Stark, and Bolton's men. It's a miracle the bastard didn't burst into flames.
Defrosting Ice Queen: Despite their rough introduction, she eventually mellows to Jon and Sansa. She even nominates Jon as the new King in the North, which the other lords accept.
Dying Moment of Awesome: Already bloody and grimy from the fight, she goes down killing a wight giant while being crushed to death in his grasp.
Establishing Character Moment: Even before the viewers get to see her, her blunt nature (for her age) is established in her letter to Stannis, refusing to support him or any other king who isn't a Stark of Winterfell. In her first appearance, she brushes off any attempts at smooth talk and flattery by Jon and Sansa and dominates the scene with her presence, in spite of being a little girl.
Exact Words: Lyanna pledges loyalty to the Starks, but not to Sansa, who is technically both a Lannister and a Bolton, nor to Jon, who is illegitimate. This changes after the battle, as she is the first to name Jon, King in the North.
Frontline General: She accompanies her men to Jon Snow's camp, putting herself at considerable risk. She also is part of the parley on Jon's side before the battle. And in the Battle against the White Walkers, she refuses to take refuge in the crypts because she feels as leader she should be out there with her soldiers.
Gender Is No Object: Openly resents Lord Glover's implication that the women and girls of the North should be exempted from training to fight with dragonglass.
Hates Small Talk: She quickly shuts down the admittedly poor attempts at small talk and flattery during her meeting with Sansa and Jon. She'd rather just get to the point. Even her initial greeting ends so abruptly that it catches her guests unaware.
Lyanna: I think we've had enough small talk. Why are you here?
Ice Queen: She's a no-nonsense character and her frank nature is quite intimidating. Appropriately enough, her House's seat is called the Bay of Ice.
Iconic Sequel Character: Does not appear in the series until Season 6.
Iron Lady: She's a stoic, determined, brave, and no-nonsense leader despite her very young age.
Jerkass Has a Point: Her attitude is harsh but it's not incorrect. An illegitimate son and a twice-married lady arrive requesting she aid them in another war for the Starks, even though neither — despite being of Stark blood — are legally Starks. Loyalty is not reason enough to risk losing everything.
Little Miss Badass: Despite her age, Lady Lyanna Mormont proves to be just as fierce in person as her written words to Stannis indicated. This is a girl who can shame an entire room full of northern lords three times her size and age. She also goes out in a blaze killing a giant.
Davos: I suspect if [House Mormont soldiers] are as fearsome as their lady, the Boltons are doomed.
Little Miss Snarker: She's full of sass.
Meaningful Name: Lyanna was named after Lyanna Stark, the mother of Jon Snow. Fittingly, it is Lyanna Mormont who first declares Jon Snow to be King of the North, and convinces the other Northern houses to follow her lead.
Memetic Badass: Out of universe, fans quickly latched on to the little girl who stole every scene she was in, with several memes showing her to be the strongest character in the story. In-universe, Davos is clearly impressed that her attitude face-to-face matches her terse written correspondence. Moreover, Lyanna Mormont made sure everyone knew that House Mormont was the first to commit to Jon Snow, and she is directly responsible for Snow's ascendance as King in the North.
Mutual Kill: She is crushed by an undead giant, but uses the last of her strength to stab him in the head with a dragonglass blade before succumbing to her wounds.
Nerves of Steel: Lyanna always keeps her stoic disposition and rarely shows any signs of fear, not even facing down Ramsay Bolton and knowing what a vile monster he is, only meeting him with withering contempt.
One-Steve Limit: A rare aversion for the TV show, which otherwise went out of its way to enforce a One Steve Limit onto the source material, i.e. "Robert Arryn" was changed to "Robin Arryn". The showrunners argued, with some validity, that while the long books could get away with multiple characters with the same first name, it would have been too confusing in the more condensed format of a TV series. Lyanna Mormont was a rare exception, because it's a plot point that she's a Dead Guy Junior, named after Lyanna Stark.
Outside-Context Problem: Ser Davos wins her support by affirming their true enemy is the Night King and the real war is between the living and the dead. The Boltons divide the North and the Northern houses will fall if they are allowed to remain in power. Faced with long odds against the Boltons versus no chance against the White Walkers, Lyanna opts to take her chances fighting alongside the Starks.
Quality over Quantity: Although the force she can offer is small, she claims that each of her warriors are worth ten mainlanders (evocative of House Mormont's sigil animal; a bear). Considering how badass Northern soldiers have generally been portrayed when fighting larger southern forces, this is quite the Badass Boast. This isn't an idle boast, either. As explained in the novels, the Bear Island is off the northwest coast of the North, so they're constantly fighting off not only wildling raids (in small fishing ships) but heavy raids from the Ironborn coming up from the south. Thus they have very strong martial traditions — look at how tough Jeor was and Jorah still is — and they also had to train even their daughters to be warriors (to survive while the men are out at sea in fishing ships).
Reasonable Authority Figure: Most of her decisions are taken with advice of her maester and sentinel but she also knows when it's her call. Even though she is loyal to the Stark she won't throw her men in battle without convincing arguments and does not ask any large compensation from the Starks when she sides withe them as they are her liege.
Refuge in Audacity: As contrary as it may seem, her honesty and bluntness are actually even more effective coming from the mouth of a ten-year-old girl than they might be from an adult.
Shaming the Mob: At the gathering in Winterfell following the retaking, she firmly reminds the other Northern houses lords that they didn't do anything to help the Starks after the Red Wedding and after said houses were betrayed by the Boltons and Freys. Lord Manderly admits she's right. Lord Glover immediately follows up admitting his own shame as well.
The Smurfette Principle: Lyanna Mormont is literally the only head of a major Northern House shown to be female, even during their war council in the Season 6 finale. In the books, at least four Houses are headed by women at this point (due to all the men dying in the war). Notably, in that same war council scene, "Lord Cerwyn" appears — in the books, House Cerwyn is headed by a woman at this point, because Ramsay killed her father and brother. The TV series actively gender-swapped female leaders into male ones — possibly to showcase Lyanna as "exceptional" (when in the books, female rulers are fairly commonplace).
- Lyanna Mormont is literally the only female head of a major vassal House (not one of the Great Houses like the Tyrells or Lannisters) who has appeared in the first six TV seasons that is both a recurring role and has speaking lines. She's also only the second female head of a major noble House to have speaking lines — the first was Anya Waynwood in Season 4, who only appeared in one episode. Even though Lyanna's mother Maege did appear on-screen in Season 1, she didn't have any speaking lines nor was she identified in dialogue (it was really just a cameo).
- In Season 8, Alys Karstark is shown at several meetings representing her house, of which she is one of the last surviving members. Just as is the case with Lyanna, Alys' young age (17 years) and gender makes her stand out from the rest of the Northern Lords.
Spanner in the Works: Unknowingly throws Littlefinger's plan to make Sansa his puppet out of whack by choosing Jon Snow as king.
The Stoic: Past her Death Glare to Ramsay Bolton, she shows very little emotion.
Taking You with Me: She fatally stabs the wight giant who's mortally wounded her.
Undead Child: She was briefly reanimated by the Night King after her Dying Moment of Awesome.
Undying Loyalty: She lets Stannis know in no uncertain terms that House Mormont will only follow House Stark. When Jon and Sansa call upon her to aid them against the Boltons, Lyanna eventually decides to uphold their millennia old alliance and fight with them once again. Once the Stark alliance reclaims Winterfell, her scathing words shame all the other northern lords, many of which did not answer the Starks' call, and then she becomes Jon's kingmaker. Despite being unable to devote not even a hundred troops to the Battle of the Bastards, she turned out to be by far the most valuable ally that Jon and Sansa recruited.
Lyanna: House Mormont has kept faith with House Stark for a thousand years. We will not break faith today.
Wise Beyond Their Years: The young Lady Lyanna is quick to point out the many flaws with a Stark/Mormont alliance without even bothering to consult her advisers. Jon isn't legally a Stark, but a Snow, and Sansa is a Lannister or a Bolton (depending on the source). She then rather bluntly asks why should she risk Mormont soldiers for a Stark, especially after the losses they suffered last time around. It's only when Ser Davos gives a rather sobering account of the real threat, the undead hordes, she agrees to help.
Lyanna: Why should I have to risk one more Mormont life for someone else's war?
Young and in Charge: Lady Lyanna is now the leader of House Mormont despite being a child. Judging by how she handles the room and her own adviser during her meeting with the Stark leadership, she certainly seems to have the disposition for it.

Characters / Game of Thrones - House Mormont

See also the book character sheet for these characters.

House Mormont

Lord Jeor Mormont

Played By: James Cosmo

Lord/Ser Jorah Mormont

Played By: Iain Glen

Lady Maege Mormont

Played By: Elizabeth Barrett

Lady Lyanna Mormont

Played By: Bella Ramsey

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Characters / Game of Thrones - House Mormont

Edit Locked

See also the book character sheet for these characters.

House Mormont

Lord Jeor Mormont

Played By: James Cosmo

Lord/Ser Jorah Mormont

Played By: Iain Glen

Lady Maege Mormont

Played By: Elizabeth Barrett

Lady Lyanna Mormont

Played By: Bella Ramsey

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