@camii23 reblogged your post “I was thinking about Brienne the other day, and that got me wondering about her father....”
#I have a question! #why are they ‘of Tarth’ instead of idk Brienne Tarth period?? is it a stupid question? i'm sorry
It’s not a stupid question, we just don’t know the answer. The ACOK appendix lists Selwyn as “Lord Selwyn of Tarth, called the Evenstar” and Brienne as “Brienne of Tarth”; the ASOS appendix doesn’t mention either of them; AFFC has her as “Brienne, the Maid of Tarth” and her father as “Lord Selwyn the Evenstar”; and the ADWD appendix has them as “Brienne, the Maid of Tarth” and “Selwyn Tarth, called the Evenstar”. So it’s not consistent. But in text, the only wording is Brienne’s own “my father is Selwyn of Tarth” and everyone calling Brienne “Brienne of Tarth” (including herself), so I take those as authoritative.
If I had to guess, I’d think that the reason for the “of Tarth” is because they’re lords of the whole island, which has their name. Perhaps it’s a form to denote possession or separation, like how Elia Martell is sometimes called Elia of Dorne. Or maybe there used to be House Tarth cadet houses, and so the main branch was called House Tarth of Tarth (like Rodrik Harlaw of Harlaw), and those of the lordly line became titled “of Tarth” for short. (Which could be why Endrew Tarth of the Night’s Watch has no “of”, he’s probably not of the lordly line.)
Or it’s possibly an old form, maybe of First Men origin, like how Meera Reed calls Bran and Rickon “my lords of Stark” before reaffirming House Reed’s oath of fealty. Though note you sometimes see references to “my lord of Lannister” as well, especially when talking politely to Tyrion, who is not Lord Lannister... so maybe that doesn’t apply, idk.
However, Doylistically, it’s almost certainly GRRM making a reference to the name of Joan of Arc, who was also often called “the Maiden” or “the Maid of Orleans”. Very deliberate parallel to Brienne, the Maid of Tarth...
