Jorah Mormont

Jorah Mormont
A Song of Ice and Fire character Game of Thrones character
Iain Glen as Jorah Mormont
First appearance	Novel: A Game of Thrones (1996) Television: "Winter Is Coming" (2011)
Created by	George R. R. Martin
Portrayed by	Iain Glen Game of Thrones
Information
Aliases	Jorah the Andal
Gender	Male
Title	Lord of Bear Island
Family	House Mormont
Spouse(s)	Lady Glover Lynesse Hightower
Relatives	Jeor Mormont (father) Maege Mormont (aunt) Dacey Mormont (paternal cousin) Alysane Mormont (paternal cousin) Lyra Mormont (paternal cousin) Jorelle Mormont (paternal cousin) Lyanna Mormont (paternal cousin)
Kingdom	The North

Jorah Mormont, nicknamed Jorah the Andal, is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones.

Introduced in 1996's A Game of Thrones, Jorah is the only son of Jeor Mormont, the honorable lord of Bear Island, an ancient island in the North of the fictional kingdom of Westeros. He subsequently appeared in Martin's A Clash of Kings (1998), A Storm of Swords (2000) and A Dance with Dragons (2011).

Jorah is portrayed by Iain Glen in the HBO television adaptation.^[1][2][3]

Character description

Ser Jorah Mormont is the only child of the Night's Watch's Lord Commander Jeor Mormont, who abdicated shortly before Robert's Rebellion to join the Night's Watch and let Jorah assume the lordship of Bear Island. At some point Jorah married a lady of House Glover, who died after miscarriage after ten years of marriage. Jorah fought in Greyjoy's Rebellion, distinguishing himself by being one of the first to enter the fray during the Siege of Pyke, and was knighted by King Robert Baratheon. At the Tourney of Lannisport celebrating the Baratheon victory, Jorah fell in love with the beautiful Lynesse Hightower (aunt of Margaery Tyrell), and named her Queen of Love and Beauty after winning the tourney. Lynesse's father agreed to their marriage, and although Lynesse reciprocated his love she soon found herself ill-suited to the rough life on Bear Island, longing for the splendour and comfort of her youth in Oldtown. Jorah bankrupted himself trying to provide her with luxuries, eventually selling poachers to a Tyroshi slaver to fund her lifestyle. His liege lord, Eddard Stark, condemned him to death, but Jorah and Lynesse fled to the Free City of Lys. Jorah made his living as a sellsword, though still unable to provide for Lynesse. One year he returned from fighting Braavos on the River Rhoyne to find that Lynesse had become a concubine of a wealthy Lysene merchant. The merchant warned Jorah that he would be enslaved to settle his debts if he remained in Lys, and Jorah was forced to flee again. Afterwards he drifted between the Free Cities, offering his services to the highest bidder.

Overview

Jorah Mormont is not a point of view character in the novels, so his actions are witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of other people, such as Daenerys Targaryen and Tyrion Lannister. Jorah is mostly a background character in the novels.^[4]

Storylines

Coat of arms of House Mormont

A Game of Thrones

In Pentos, Jorah enters the service of House Targaryen during Daenerys Targaryen's wedding to Khal Drogo, though he is actually spying on behalf of Robert's Master of Whisperers Varys in the hope of earning a royal pardon. Though Jorah holds Daenerys' brother Viserys in contempt, he comes to admire Daenerys for her bravery and strength of character and eventually falls in love with her. In Vaes Dothrak he is warned by Illyrio Mopatis that Robert has ordered Daenerys' assassination, and saves her from being poisoned. After Drogo's death he is the first to pledge fealty to Daenerys, and is astounded when she emerges from Drogo's funeral pyre with three dragon hatchlings.^[5]

A Clash of Kings

Jorah accompanies Daenerys and the remnants of her khalasar to Qarth. There, Jorah stops sending reports to Varys, having truly fallen in love with Daenerys. Daenerys discovers his love after Jorah notes her physical similarity to Lynesse, but does not tell Jorah that she knows. At Qarth's docks, Jorah and Daenerys encounter the former pit fighter Strong Belwas and his squire Arstan Whitebeard. Arstan claims to know Jorah; Jorah finds him familiar, but does not recognise him. Despite Jorah's mistrust, Daenerys accepts the duo into her service.

A Storm of Swords

Jorah confesses his love to Daenerys, who rejects his advances. Jorah recommends that they sail to Astapor to buy an army of Unsullied, and commands the army when they overthrow the masters of Yunkai. As they arrive at Meereen, Arstan is revealed to be Ser Barristan Selmy, former Kingsguard to Aerys II Targaryen and Robert, and he announces Jorah's former status as a spy. Daenerys orders Jorah and Selmy to infiltrate Meereen and release slaves. Upon their return, Jorah refuses to beg forgiveness, insisting that Daenerys owes him forgiveness as reward for his service. Daenerys agrees but notes that she cannot do so without undermining her authority, and banishes Jorah.

A Dance With Dragons

Jorah encounters the fugitive Tyrion Lannister in a brothel in Selhorys and takes him prisoner, hoping to return to Daenerys' graces by presenting her with him. In Volantis they encounter the dwarf Penny, whom Tyrion takes pity on and is allowed by Jorah to accompany them. During their voyage to Meereen, their ship is seized by slavers and Jorah is badly beaten and branded trying to fend them off. In Meereen the trio are sold to the Yunkish master Yezzan zo Qaggaz. Jorah becomes despondent after learning that Daenerys has taken the Meereenese nobleman Hizdhar zo Loraq as her husband. When Yezzan dies from dysentery, they escape to the camp of the sellsword company Second Sons, formerly in service to Daenerys before defecting to the slavers, and Jorah joins the company. Jorah realises that the Yunkish will lose the coming battle with Meereen and tells Tyrion that they need to convince the company to defect again.

Family tree of House Mormont

TV adaptation

Iain Glen plays the role of Jorah Mormont in the television series.

Jorah Mormont is played by the Scottish actor Iain Glen in the television adaption of the series of books.^[6]

Storylines

Season 1

Ser Jorah Mormont is an exiled knight in the service of Daenerys Targaryen and the son of Jeor Mormont of the Night's Watch. To fund his wife's extravagant lifestyle, he sold poachers on his land to slave traders, which is illegal in the Seven Kingdoms. Rather than face punishment by Lord Stark, he fled to Essos and learned the lifestyle of the Dothraki who embrace him as one of their own and know him as "Jorah the Andal". Jorah serves as an adviser to the Targaryens on both political and cultural matters of both the Seven Kingdoms and Essos. Jorah is actually spying on the Targaryens for Lord Varys in exchange for a pardon on his crimes but after learning more about Daenerys, Jorah falls in love with her and decides to protect and help her regain the Iron Throne.

Season 2

After Daenerys is widowed, Jorah remains with her and becomes the first knight of her Queensguard. He serves Daenerys as an adviser throughout Season 2 and tries to help her claim her birthright as queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

Season 3

In Season 3, Jorah plays an important part in the capture of Yunkai, together with Unsullied commander Grey Worm and Daario Naharis, Lieutenant and leader of the Second Sons. Led by Daario, the trio infiltrates the city and kills a number of Yunkish guards to open a gate, ensuring the capture of Yunkai. Jorah later assists Daenerys and her army in conquering Meereen, and later informs her of Joffrey's death, but at the same time dissuades her from invading King's Landing, since she is not strong enough to take all of Westeros yet. When Daenerys appears to begin a romantic relationship with Daario, Jorah voices his disapproval.

Season 4

In Season 4, following the Conquering of Meereen, Daenerys discovers that Jorah's original mission was to spy on her for the "usurper" Robert Baratheon, which led to her and her unborn son almost being killed by the wine merchant in Vaes Dothrak, and exiles him from Meereen on the threat of death. Jorah subsequently departs alone.

Season 5

In Season 5, Jorah runs into Tyrion Lannister in Volantis, kidnapping him with the intent to deliver him to "the Queen", meaning Daenerys. Sailing through the ruins of Valyria, the couple are assaulted by stone men long decayed by greyscale, and is seemingly infected by the disease as one of the stone men touches his hand. He drags Tyrion safely to land, where the couple are captured by pirates. Tyrion convinces them to take them to Meereen to be sold as slaves in the fighting pits, where they are bought by master Yezzan mo Qaggaz, and successfully escape during a tourney. Upon seeing Jorah again, Daenerys orders him taken away. Tyrion manages to convince her of his worth and urges her to take him as her adviser, upon which he advises her, correctly in his opinion, to have Ser Jorah banished for his treason, having concealed the true nature of his service although he had several chances to reveal it to her. Jorah is exiled a second time, and returns to Yezzan, wishing to fight in the pits before the Queen to see. He does so, and eventually emerges as the victor; brandishing his spear, he impales an assassin from the Sons of the Harpy about to stab Daenerys, and protects her as she is forced to flee into the pit as more harpies emerge. They are eventually saved by Drogon, who flies off with Daenerys on his back, and Jorah resolutely decides to track her into the wild to wherever she has gone, joined by Daario Naharis, while Tyrion stays behind to govern Meereen.

Season 6

In Season 6, Jorah and Daario discover Daenerys' intentionally discarded ring in a grass plain, which Jorah deduces correctly that Daenerys has been captured by a Dothraki horde and taken to Vaes Dothrak, since Daenerys, being a widow of the late Khal Drogo, should have gone there upon Drogo's death to live out the rest of her life as a member of the Dosh Khaleen, which she didn't. Upon arriving there, they are reunited with Daenerys, who rejects their offer of fleeing the city at once and instead asks them to help her with her own plan, which they reluctantly agree. The next evening, Jorah and Daario watch as Daenerys, after trapping and burning all the Khals alive in the temple building, emerge from it completely unharmed, and kneel before her in awe along with the rest of the Dothraki. Before returning to Meereen, Jorah reveals his greyscale to Daenerys and his intention to end his life before his illness overtakes him. Daenerys instead orders him to find a cure for his condition and return to her, declaring that she will need his counsel after conquering Westeros. Jorah then departs alone.

References