The world book says that the Marsh Kings used the castle to defend the North against southern invaders, but I think that's mostly propaganda. 'They might be out there right now, listening to everything we say.' Their houses move, even the castles like Greywater Watch.' He glanced nervously at greenery that encircled them on all sides. Those who go into the bogs after them get lost and never come out.

Mudmen are sneaks, they won't fight like decent folks, they skulk and use poison arrows. 'Not so long as the frogeaters are with them. 'We won't find them,' the Frey boy said suddenly. “Ravens can’t find Greywater Watch, no more than our enemies can.” I don't think it fits the northern timeline for when they took over the neck, but certainly southern invasion would have chipped away at the defences of the crannogmen which could have been to the advantage of the house Stark. I don't remember that to be honest when was this mentioned? It just does not make sense that it held off many invasions, if any. I think it's clear that Moat Cailin's reputation as holding off invasions if the product of a long history mixing myth and propaganda. So clearly this never stopped an Ironborn invasion. The castle has no good view to the west, so the Ironmen could actually surprise them, and 2 of the remaining towers could not even offer aid to the western one as it is attacked. This is why the castle is abandoned, there is practically no reason to keep it garrisoned in any reasonable scenario. An enemy force arriving from the south would suffer hell first. It has no reason to exist when the Children are gone and the locals are Stark bannermen.

When it was built by the First Men, the armies it held off were those of the Children of the Forst. The armies it held off were of local Crannogmen at best. The Freys are the most northern house in the Riverlands, and never made it that far, nor have any house in the Riverlands before them. Moat Cailin had held off attacks from Crannogmen. Better to just ship stuff in from White Harbor. Trade is practically non-existant in the area, with the locals mostly keeping for themselves, and any trade caravan needing significant logistics to make it through. One can only assume that if this is the new road, the old one never existed aside of a general direction to travel by small boats. The Starks of Winterfell waged wars with the Crannogmen for ages.Ĭonsider that house Frey is only 600 years old.Ĭonsider that the Frey kings tried to take over Greywater Watch from the Marsh kings.Ĭonsider that the last Marsh king died by the hand of a King of Winter.Ĭonsider that the King's Road is the muddy rough path, the only way Robb managed to get 18,000 to pass through was because his van had to go and lay logs and planks on the mudd to get his men to pass through that mess.

Game of thrones moat cailin