I totally missed that the first time Jon is a called a “corn king” is in Jon VIII, ADWD:
“He’s a wildling.”
“He was, until he said the words. Now he is our brother. One who can teach the boys more than swordcraft. It would not hurt them to learn a few words of the Old Tongue and something of the ways of the free folk.”
“Free,” the raven muttered. “Corn. King.”
This is all happening as Jon discusses his various decisions with his officers, who are decidedly not happy. Chief among those decisions is Jon’s extension of grace towards the wildlings. So it interesting that when offered guest right, Marsh refuses. And then Mormont’s raven says this:
Septon Cellador drank some wine. Othell Yarwyck stabbed a sausage with his dagger. Bowen Marsh sat red-faced. The raven flapped its wings and said, “Corn, corn, kill.”
It’s clear: Jon will die. But that isn’t a surprise. GRRM has been sowing the seeds of “daggers in the dark” since Jon I. But what’s striking is that this chapter offers our first direct connection to ritual sacrifice and resurrection. That theme is later affirmed in Jon XII, when he wakes from his dream and is declared “corn king” again; this time, by his full name.
The Corn King is a sacrificial figure who dies so the land may live: think Osiris, Persephone, the Green Man, etc. In true messianic, dying-and-rising god fashion, Jon must die and be reborn if Westeros is to survive the winter. It also echoes the tale of the Fisher King, whose wounding ushers rot into his kingdom, and whose healing is the land’s redemption. What ties these two “corn king” moments together are the wildlings. In Jon VIII, he’s planning peace and common cause. By Jon XII, he’s following through. These same wildlings will be allowed to settle in the Gift; a direct realization of Ned’s “dream of spring.”
And it’s here, too, that the messianic framing becomes impossible to ignore. Christ sat among outcasts more than rulers; his ministry upended the social and religious order, and it enraged the establishment. Though legally descended from the House of David, a true king, he wore no crown and ruled no realm. He was called king, but it was not yet his time. This, to me, is the core of Jon’s kingship. It’s not about crowns or thrones. It’s about the promise of kingship: to sacrifice oneself for all your people. And in mythic tradition, the king rises. The Corn King is reborn in spring to rule the summer. Christ returns after the final battle to reign over a new world. The Fisher King, now healed, brings his land back to life. Jon’s death is foretold here, but so is the dawn. And with it, a king who returns to lead his people into the light.
annaxmalina
dededos
kianamaiart
yousharknotpass
prguitarman
