Robb Stark, also known by his epithet, The Young Wolf, is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin and its HBO television adaptation Game of Thrones, in which he is portrayed by Richard Madden.
Introduced in A Game of Thrones (1996), Robb is the eldest son and heir of Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell and Lady Catelyn Stark. He subsequently appeared in Martin's A Clash of Kings (1998) and A Storm of Swords (2000). After his father is executed on the order of King Joffrey Baratheon, Robb is crowned King in the North by his bannermen and wages a war against the Iron Throne. Robb's subsequent betrayal and murder at an event known as the Red Wedding shocked both book readers and television audiences alike.
Character Description At the beginning of A Game of Thrones, Robb Stark is 14 years of age (increased to 17 in the TV series). As the oldest legitimate son of Eddard Stark and his wife, Catelyn (), Robb is raised as the heir to the ancient House Stark of Winterfell, which holds dominion over the North, one of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. Trained by Winterfell's master-at-arms Ser Rodrik Cassel, Robb is a talented rider, swordsman, and lancer. He has five siblings: younger sisters Sansa and Arya, younger brothers Bran and Rickon, and a bastard half-brother, Jon Snow. He is also a close friend to Eddard's ward, Theon Greyjoy. Robb is accompanied by his direwolf, Grey Wind. Like most of his siblings, Robb favors his mother's House Tully features over those of House Stark. He is strong and fast with a stocky build, blue eyes, and thick auburn hair.
Development, overview and reception James Poniewozik of Time describes Robb as less eager to seek retaliation than his father Eddard but as more pragmatic. Poniewozik's overview of the television version of Robb focuses on his role as a foil for Eddard:
In the third novel, A Storm of Swords, Robb is assassinated in an event called the Red Wedding, which was inspired by the Black Dinner and Glencoe Massacre from Scottish history. Martin has said that he decided to kill Robb Stark because he wished to keep the story difficult to predict: "I killed Ned because everybody thinks he's the hero ... The next predictable thing is to think his eldest son is going to rise up and avenge his father. And everybody is going to expect that. So immediately [killing Robb] became the next thing I had to do."
In their 2015 book Game of Thrones and Business, Tim Phillips and Rebecca Claire agree:
Richard Madden has received positive reviews for his role as Robb Stark in the TV series.
Storylines
Novels Robb is not a point-of-view character in the novels and is mostly a background character. His actions are mainly witnessed and interpreted through the eyes of his brother Bran and mother, Catelyn, as well as via memories of Jon Snow and Theon Greyjoy.
A Game of Thrones When his father departs for King's Landing to serve as the Hand of the King for Robert Baratheon, Robb becomes the acting lord of Winterfell. Following his father's arrest for presumed treason, he calls his banners and marches south with an assembled Northern army in an attempt to free his father. Additionally, Robb seeks to relieve the besieged Riverlands, the dominion of House Tully, which has fallen under attack by the forces of House Lannister after his mother imprisoned Lord Tyrion Lannister for the suspected attempted murder of Bran Stark.
To secure safe passage at the vital crossing of the Twins, Robb consents to marrying one of Lord Walder Frey's daughters or granddaughters as negotiated by his mother. After crossing the river, he surprises and destroys the Lannister army besieging Riverrun, capturing Ser Jaime Lannister during the Battle of Whispering Wood. Upon hearing of his father's execution on the orders of now-King Joffrey Baratheon, Robb is crowned the King in the North and King of the Trident by his bannermen.
A Clash of Kings Robb continues to win crushing victories against Lord Tywin Lannister's armies, and earns the nickname The Young Wolf for his ferocity in battle. With the War of the Five Kings raging, he sends his mother to negotiate an alliance with King Renly Baratheon, but Renly is assassinated by his surviving brother, King Stannis Baratheon, with blood magic by the priestess of R'hllor, Melisandre. Robb invades the Westerlands in order to strategically assist Stannis's campaign against the Iron Throne. He also sends Theon Greyjoy to Pyke to broker an alliance with Theon's father, Lord Balon Greyjoy, ruler of the Iron Islands. However, Balon declares himself king and decides to invade the North instead. Theon betrays Robb, seizing Winterfell by surprise. Theon is believed to have murdered Robb's youngest brothers, Bran and Rickon; in reality, they escaped and went into hiding.
A Storm of Swords During an assault in the Westerlands, Robb is wounded and learns of the apparent deaths of his brothers at the hands of his closest friend. Falling ill from mourning and injury, he is cared for by Lady Jeyne Westerling and takes her maidenhood. To preserve Jeyne's honor, Robb marries her, rescinding his previous marriage arrangement with House Frey, causing them to desert his army.
Following King Stannis's defeat at the Battle of the Blackwater, Robb withdraws from the Westerlands and returns to Riverrun to attend the funeral of his grandfather, Lord Hoster Tully. Robb learns that his mother has secretly released Jaime Lannister as an exchange for her daughter Sansa, who remains a hostage in King's Landing. This leads to the mutiny of Lord Rickard Karstark, whose two sons were slain by Jaime, forcing Robb to execute Rickard and subsequently lose House Karstark's support. With his army dwindling, Robb tries to repair the alliance with the Freys by bargaining his uncle Edmure Tully to marry Lady Roslin Frey. The Freys demand that Robb personally attend the wedding at the Twins as an apology.
Robb learns that King Balon Greyjoy has died, and he decides to lead his army to retake the North immediately after the wedding is complete. He soon learns that his sister Sansa has been forcibly married to Tyrion Lannister. To prevent the Lannisters from claiming Winterfell through Sansa's child by Tyrion, Robb, against the opposition of his mother, disinherits Sansa and signs a decree legitimizing his bastard half-brother, Jon Snow, as his heir if he happens to die with no children, and requests the Night's Watch release Jon from service. Robb then entrusts the decree to Lord Galbart Glover and Lady Maege Mormont, sending them to make contact with Lord Howland Reed so that he can launch a coordinated attack to recapture the strategically crucial Moat Cailin.
At the Twins, the Northern convoy, which is treated with bread and salt (and thus promised guest rights and safety), is betrayed and massacred by House Frey and House Bolton during the wedding feast in an event orchestrated by Tywin Lannister known as the Red Wedding. Robb is shot by crossbow bolts multiple times and then personally murdered by his chief vassal, Lord Roose Bolton, who has secretly defected in exchange for House Bolton gaining dominion over the North from House Stark. After his death, the Freys mutilate Robb's body by sewing the head of his dead direwolf, Grey Wind, onto his decapitated corpse. His mother, as well as his entire army (save for the Boltons and Freys, a few soldiers who managed to escape), are also murdered.
Television adaptation
Richard Madden portrays Robb Stark in the television adaption of the series. There are some slight differences between Robb's TV portrayal and the book version. Robb's age changes from 14 to 17 at the start of the series. Instead of marrying Jeyne Westerling, he marries a healer from Volantis named Talisa Maegyr. Robb is not a point-of-view character in the books, but he is given a much larger role in the TV series.
James Poniewozik comments in TIME on Madden's performance in "The Pointy End": "Both the script and Richard Madden show in deft, quick strokes how the crisis focuses him. (This is another case where having a live actor does a better job of showing a transition that seemed more abrupt in the book.)"
Madden said that he learned that the character would be killed off early on but otherwise read the books season by season, focusing primarily on the scripts: "I'm, as an actor, forced to bend the path I put Robb on and change it and keep the surprises coming. Hopefully, I managed to do that."
Season 1 Robb is the eldest son of Lord Eddard and Lady Catelyn Stark. When King Robert Baratheon summons Eddard to King's Landing to serve as Hand of the King, Robb becomes the acting lord of Winterfell. After his father is arrested for apparent treason, Robb summons the Northern bannermen and assembles an army of 20,000 in an effort to rescue his father and aid the Riverlands, which have come under attack by the armies of House Lannister. Catelyn brokers an alliance between the North and House Frey when Robb consents to marrying one of Lord Walder Frey's daughters, allowing the Stark army to strategically cross the river at the Twins and launch a surprise engagement against the Lannisters, successfully capturing Ser Jaime Lannister in the process. After the death of King Robert and the execution of Eddard Stark on the orders of King Joffrey Baratheon, a bastard born of incest between twins Jaime and Cersei Lannister, the Northern and Riverland lords declare their independence from the Iron Throne and proclaim Robb as the King in the North.
Season 2 Robb proves to be a skillful military commander, and he wins a succession of battles against Lord Tywin Lannister's forces, earning him the nickname "The Young Wolf". He sends his closest friend, Lord Theon Greyjoy, to the Iron Islands to broker an alliance with Lord Balon Greyjoy, Theon's father. In exchange for Greyjoy support and the use of their naval fleet, Robb intends to recognize the Iron Islands' independence. Robb also sends his mother to parley with Renly Baratheon, who has declared himself king and has amassed an army of 100,000. However, Stannis Baratheon, having also declared himself king via the lawful line of succession, prepares to engage Renly. Catelyn is successful in brokering an alliance with Renly, but he is assassinated by Stannis using blood magic. Theon fails to convince his father to ally with Robb, and instead Balon declares himself king and launches an invasion of the North. Theon decides to capture Winterfell to earn his father's favor. Robb offers amnesty to the Ironborn invaders on the condition that they hand over Theon. Robb soon meets and falls in love with Talisa Maegyr, a foreign healer from Volantis.
Stannis assaults King's Landing at the Battle of Blackwater Bay and is defeated when Tywin, joined by the armies of House Tyrell via a newly brokered alliance, arrives and stops the city from being sacked. While Robb travels to the Crag to negotiate a surrender, Jaime escapes and kills the son of Lord Rickard Karstark before he is recaptured. Catelyn stops Rickard from killing Jaime, but discontent within the Stark army begins to grow. Additionally, despite his mother's protest, Robb breaks his engagement with the Freys and marries Talisa. As a result, the Freys abandon the Stark army.
Season 3